Balanced Lifestyle – Page 2

The Pianist’s Air

Pianodao Wellbeing
Article written by Andrew Eales

“Installing air filters in classrooms can raise children’s scores in tests by the same amount as cutting class sizes by a third, research has found… Mike Gilraine, author of the paper and assistant professor of economics at New York University, said the improved scores were equivalent to ‘roughly two-and-a-half months of extra learning’.”

So blazes a news story published in The Times on January 10th 2020. The article quotes from research suggesting,

“The results indicate that air filter installation is a highly cost-effective policy to raise student achievement “

And it goes on to point out that several London schools, having installed air filters in classrooms. have reported reductions in absence because of sickness, which teachers attributed to cleaner air.

Given my previous writing about the centrality of breathing in piano playing, regular readers will no doubt anticipate that none of this comes as a surprise to me; indeed, I believe that quality of air in my teaching studio is a paramount concern, and have encouraged players and teachers to take the issue seriously long prior to these new findings.

In this article I will offer some simple advice about air quality and the need to create a suitable environment for piano learning. But rather than focusing on the educational benefits in isolation, we need to consider the health benefits first and foremost…

The Pianist’s Brew

Pianodao Wellbeing
Article written by Andrew Eales

I used to be a coffee addict. I had several pots of fresh coffee a day, and when I tried to cut back I experienced acute withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately though, coffee has some fairly unhelpful side-effects; among other things, it is especially bad for us if we suffer from anxiety (which is so common among pianists).

Having read about the virtues of tea drinking, I decided to try a switch. My previous experience of tea was the warm, milky, teabag variety. I realised that this is not exactly the drink that the great Daoist sages spoke of, so I jumped into the deep end and started to explore the wide variety of Chinese leaf teas that are available without straying too far from the beaten track.

To cut a long story short, switching to tea has proven one of the best choices I’ve made. Aside from tea drinking being better for my health (physical and emotional), my exploration of different Chinese teas has become a fascinating and absorbing journey in its own right.

It may seem odd to encounter an article about tea drinking on a piano site, but I will explain some of the reasons why tea might actually be the perfect brew for all pianists (and, well, people in general).

Also bear in mind that Pianodao addresses my interest in Daoist philosophy and practices; hence the “dao” part of the site name. Tea drinking is so embedded in Daoist culture and practice and that it might as well be described as a core tenet of the Daoist worldview. As the contemporary Daoist master Zhongxian Wu explains:

“Pin Ming Lun Dao is a commonly used Chinese phrase which means ‘to discuss and understand the Dao through the taste of tea‘. This phrase embodies the lifestyle of the most traditional Chinese sages and scholars, whether they be a master of Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, martial arts, music, calligraphy, and/or Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

foreword to Daniel Reid, The Art and Alchemy of Chinese Tea, Singing Dragon, 2011.

With all this in mind, this article will address the following questions:

Why is tea good for pianists (and people in general)?
How does one get started with drinking Chinese tea?
What different types of tea are there?

Tea is by far the single most popular beverage on earth today, so chances are that most people reading this are already at least casual tea drinkers. I hope that the perspective and insight offered here will add to your enjoyment of tea.

And for those who haven’t yet considered this fascinating subject, inextricably bound as it is with the history of mankind, commerce, and even the rise and fall of empires, my hope is that this article will pique your interest, and give you good reason to try something new!

Let’s start by going back in time….

Lingering awhile with friends

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

“Morning rain in Wencheng dampens rising dust.
Sprouting willows colour the guest house green.
Sir, let us drain another cup of wine.
Once you’re west of Yang Gate, you’ll have no friends.”

Seeing Yuan Er off on a mission to Anxi, Wang Wei (699-759)
translated Deng Ming-Dao, Each Journey Begins with a Single Step (2018)

This simple, if somewhat oblique verse has been bearing down on my thoughts in recent weeks. Ever since encountering it, it has stuck in my mind as a salient reminder of the importance of cultivating lasting relationships and savouring friendships.

It is also, in context, fundamentally a poem about going on a journey…

When you feel ignored

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

If you have ever felt ignored, passed over, or overlooked, these profound words by the Daoist writer Deng Ming-Dao (from his popular classic 365 Tao Daily Meditations,206 (Harper Collins, 1992) will perhaps resonate with you:

“Help others for all the times that you have been ignored;
Be kind to others, for all the times that you have been scorned.”

These are powerful sentiments, which point towards a wholeness which can be ours if only we respond to life’s disappointments and hurts with wisdom and generosity.

It can seem counterintuitive to be kind when we are scorned, and to help others when we ourselves have been ignored. Shouldn’t we fight back, hold our ground, pursue our own agenda, and put ourselves first?

And yet it is within our nature to have empathy; if we ignore the impulse to do good, we diminish our own humanity. Having been scorned we know what it is to be scorned. Having been ignored we know what it is to be ignored. Surely we will want to spare others such pain.

Deng Ming-Dao isn’t suggesting we be kind to the very same people who have slighted us. We should set clear boundaries, and not leave ourselves vulnerable to the same recurring toxicity and humiliation.

Rather, he highlights our continuing commitment to show kindness in general, and to all who need it, so moving on from self-pity. Our generosity to others should neither be a veiled mechanism for settling scores, nor an excuse for self-promotion.

The Piano Teacher’s Posture

Pianodao Wellbeing
Article written by Andrew Eales

All good piano teachers are concerned to teach and monitor good posture to their students, and as players we are hopefully equally aware of our own posture at the piano.

But how about our posture when we are teaching? This, in my experience, can too easily be overlooked as a less important concern.

I am trying to address my own posture while teaching, so write this article to share my experiences and findings, while also suggesting a few easy tricks that other piano teachers can incorporate into their thinking and practice where helpful.

In this article I will hope to touch upon:

Should we sit less, and if so how?
What about good posture?
What other factors have an impact on our working environment?