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Welcome to my blog, Levitate! In this opening post, I explain my motivation for starting the blog. Read more
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When we conflate technique with skill, we trap ourselves in a narrow pedagogical space where skill acquisition is taught like a recipe to be memorized. Piano pedagogy is obsessed with technique. Piano teachers talk endlessly about “proper technique,” constantly urging students to “improve their technique.” World-class pianists are praised for their “sublime technique.” But few… Read more
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Few topics in music pedagogy spark as much debate as the value of practicing scales. Many musicians swear by them as the backbone of technique—building common musical patterns that can be applied to any piece. Others dismiss them as tedious or outdated, claiming that learning happens best through repertoire. I am less interested in taking… Read more
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Imagine a scene out of a sci-fi movie. Strap on a robotic arm, watch while it contorts your hand and fingers at superhuman speeds, and 30 minutes later you emerge with the Beethoven Emperor Concerto fully conquered and ready to slay. Okay, that is a bit of fantasy. Such a robotic arm does not exist… Read more
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I was amused at the curious coincidence that I would be getting a 6-minute warmup, not for figure skating, but for piano instead. To my figure skating friends and those who follow the sport, the 6-minute warmup is a familiar fixture at skating competitions. Competitors are allotted 6 minutes to warm up on ice at… Read more
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We resume Part 2 of this book review and interview with our special guest Dr. Molly Gebrian, author of Learn Faster, Perform Better, a professional violist with a background in neuroscience, and a faculty member of the New England Conservatory. Whereas Part 1 covered more overarching themes—mental practice and taking breaks—this second part will showcase… Read more
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I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Molly Gebrian, author of Learn Faster, Perform Better, for an in-depth interview about her book, and beyond. We covered many fascinating topics—external focuses, imagery and analogies, piano-specific learning challenges and other learning theories, to name a few—and ended with a round of Q&As to gleam her… Read more
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I’m super excited to have special guest Dr. Molly Gebrian join me for this two-part blog series, to talk about her book, Learn Faster, Perform Better. Dr. Gebrian is a professional violist with a background in neuroscience, and a faculty member of the New England Conservatory. Learn Faster, Perform Better draws from a wealth of… Read more
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Position your nose between your hands. – Roberto Poli One of the nifty new tricks I learnt when I started with my teacher was to lean. Not just any-old-how, but to strategically lean my upper body left or right towards the register that I’m playing in. It puzzles me why it took me decades of… Read more
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One Hand Washes the Other (Idiom) — Two parties share their unique strengths, each benefitting through mutual exchange.” It comes as no surprise that as pianists, most of us have a dominant hand and a weaker hand. What I find more interesting is that each hand has developed its own unique skill sets and strengths… Read more
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My summer vacation this year was spent attending the PianoTexas festival. It was an incredible experience: I felt like I’d stepped through a wardrobe into a fantasy world, assisting lions pursued by witches, with adrenaline pumping and riding the emotional highs and lows from the stress of putting myself out there to perform on a… Read more
Levitate!
Imagery and focus at the piano | A (self-)exploration of motor skill learning theory for practical music making
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