Two Musical Ideas

Body Memory

I was truly amazed today by the power of “body memory.” I’ve experienced this phenomenon before with tai chi and a bit with yoga. But for me the true experience of body memory comes from piano and cello. The key to body-memory is simple repetition. If you want your body to remember how to do something eg. shift from one position to another, you repeat it hundreds and thousands of times. I am finding that this occurs more obviously and rapidly with piano than with cello. Repeating left hand phrases, for example ,within a week, leads to body memory. With cello, everything has come harder. But with piano, I’m noticing my body’s capacity to learn and remember more quickly. It’s nice because success makes you feel pretty good!

Counting

You think you know a piece, but until you understand the rhythm, and have spent the time counting, you don’t really. I was playing a lovely little piece “Two tender hearts,” and enjoying it heartily. The phrasing and melody are haunting and exquisite. I felt pretty sure that I’d figured out the mood of the piece and how to play it in a basic way. Well, when I went to my lesson, I discovered the fact that I hadn’t counted through the piece. I’d guessed my way through the rhythm, and I was wrong. So, humbly, I’m relearning it, and counting my way through it 1 and 2 and 3 and, counting all the “ands” in the quarter notes. It’s tricky, because after a week of playing the piece wrong, you have to work through the bad listening and playing habits, and start all over again. Tricky, but good for the brain.