….. like Murray Perahia!

Like anyone who studied with an instructor for a number of years, I received many hours of advice and guidance, covering a wide variety of musical issues and repertoire. While I am grateful that I retain the sum of this advice, I would be hard pressed to quote exactly what was said in any one lesson. Perhaps the quantity of ideas presented in any lesson, or the regularity and sheer numbers of the lessons themselves, lead to a necessary distillation of the content, without a remembrance of the specifics.

But I do have remarkable memories of many one-off remarks made by my instructors, that struck me as so profound at the time, that I have retained them close to verbatim in my memory. These pithy truths could come at any time, any where.

One such remark that has for nearly 50 years been one of the cornerstones of my teaching philosophy was said in a masterclass by Dr. Robin Wood. He had just listened to a young student (not his) play a relatively simple piece. The performance was correct, exact in notation and articulations, contained some modest dynamic contrasts, and would elicit the words “nicely done” from any instructor that heard it. But in the end the performance simply fell flat in the communications department.

Dr. Wood, sensed that in the preparation of this performance, the student (and likely the teacher) had accepted some unseen, unstated and ultimately safe limit - a musical glass ceiling if you like. Dr. Wood decided to help the student achieve a higher degree of musical intensity, which he felt was possible. As he rose from his chair to approach the piano to work with the student, he matter of factly, but with great conviction stated that “one should teach every student, with every piece, as though in the end, they were capable of playing the piece just as well as Murray Perahia”. He added that to not do so, was to arbitrarily and artificially impose a limit on the student which could very well be below their actual potential.

The idealism of this statement was something that instantly resonated with me. Consequently, it stuck, and to this day informs my approach to all of my students as I work with them in each and every lesson. In actual fact, on one level, I am quite aware that my students will likely not play as well as Murray Perahia. But - and this is a very important but - I teach them all as though it will actually happen. This is not a contradiction of philosophies. It runs parallel to myself practicing a specific hard passage in a piece multiple times in pursuit of navigating the notes perfectly in performance, even while I am aware of the inevitability that I might not. The trick here is to retain the idealism untouched, even while accepting that the reality may fall short.

Over the years I have learned a few things that help me to get my students as close to the golden sound of Murray Perahia as possible. They are as follows:

1. - Be patient. This is a must. And not only must I be patient for myself, but I also need to instil this attribute into my students. In our modern world of instant achievement and gratification, the concept of patience runs contrary to much of what they encounter, and as such, opening them up to the benefits of patience is an ongoing process for all of my pupils.

2. - Do not compare. Every student has their own general speed of progress, coupled with their own specific absorption speed as it pertains to each individual piece they encounter. To try to hurry along a slower learner will inevitably compromise the end product.

3. - Neither authoritarian sternness nor an overabundance of enthusiasm are sufficient to attain the highest results. The best outcome with all pupils is the alteration of these attitudes, each one applied when needed.

4. - The best type of progress in terms of levels of difficulty from one piece to the next, is incremental. Occasionally I will introduce a piece to a student that is significantly harder than the pieces he is used to. But for the most part, I pick repertoire that will stretch the student without overwhelming him. Pieces that are well beyond the level of any student will rise only to a mediocre level of performance, and this is a sub-level of competence I do not wish to encourage in my students.

5 - All great performances require absolute fidelity to the score. No detail is too small, no marking is insignificant, no fingering inconsequential.

6. - The temptation to rush the set up of the foundation of any piece must be avoided. It is upon this foundation that everything rests, and it must be so secure that when the student’s mind is required to divert its attention to higher musical concerns, the foundation remains intact.

7. - There is a hierarchy of learning steps, the order of which must not be changed, blurred or overlapped if the outcome is to be at all satisfactory.

8. - One must anticipate problems from the outset, and set up learning and practice procedures to prevent these problems. This is far better than having to correct problems later on.

9. - There is no such thing as a small problem. Even a “small” problem can and will manifest itself in a disruption of the rhythm, a loss of phrase direction, and a momentary diffuseness of sound.

10. - In order for a student to be musically expressive, the student must first be absolutely physically comfortable. And this comfortability must remain when coupled with emotive expressiveness, which can often play havoc with physical relaxation.

11. - Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, so too is a musical sound-bite. I am a big believer in illustrating to my students and using recordings as well. Music is a language, (actually many different languages when one factors in different periods and styles), and the “mother-tongue” of each language must be “spoken” as much as possible if the student is to become at all fluent in it.

12. - In the learning of various musical styles, students often need help in understanding the emotive characters behind the dynamics, coupled with a glimpse into the psychological message that lurks just under these emotions.

13. - Once all is correct and secure, a performance will still fall short of the level of Murray Perahia unless I find a way to connect the student’s heart to the individual melodies, and I am able to help stimulate their imaginations to explore that which is NOT notated on the page.

14. - In the finishing process of a piece, there is ALWAYS a next level.

15. - It is important to recognize and celebrate the satisfaction that a student feels when a performance is at a high standard. As a teacher-student team, nothing can or should make us happier.

In the end, because I constantly try to elevate my students to the level of finesse of Murray Perahia, I know that they all play at a higher level then they would otherwise. All thanks to a one-off remark made many years ago by an incredible musician and teacher, Dr. Robin Wood.

…..….. Allen Reiser