Daoism – Pianodao

Patience: The Greater Peak

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

This succinct and beautiful verse has set me thinking about the true benefits of learning to play the piano. It’s called Gazing At The Peak, and was written by the Chinese poet Du Fu, who lived from 712-770:

“Who can describe the Great Peak?
The province is not yet green,
yet nature gathers its divine beauty
and yin parts from yang at dusk and dawn.
I bare my chest to the living clouds,
strain my eyes toward the birds flying home.
I will climb to the very summit
and shrink many mountains within a single glance.”

Translation by Deng Ming-Dao,
from his book Each Journey Begins With a Single Step (2018):

So what does this ancient poem have to do with the benefits of piano playing, or with developing patience? Well, let’s explore and find out…

Spotlight or quiet life?

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

Anonymity can mean many things. As musicians, we perhaps associate the word with those composers of old whose names have been lost to history. Their works are attributed to “anon”, either because they weren’t that interested in taking the credit, or because they left the stage without providing a forwarding address.

And let’s face it, in the pressured world of piano playing, as elsewhere, being well-known certainly brings its own challenges, with exposure to scrutiny, conflict, and the envy of those who are less successful or simply unfulfilled. No wonder some actually value the quiet life more highly than the spotlight!

And yet we still sometimes confuse anonymity with failure, because we equate success with making a name for oneself. But there are many other (some would say better) ways to measure our success in life.

So should we actively pursue anonymity? Can a wise balance be found, whereby we authentically share our gifts and lives without constantly craving the limelight?

The Year of the Horse

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

Since ancient times, the Chinese have followed the lunar calendar, New Year coinciding with the first hint of Spring’s arrival in the northern hemisphere.

New Year’s Eve 2026 falls on Monday 16th February, heralding the start of Spring Festival, which culminates two weeks later with the Festival of Lanterns on Tuesday 3rd March.

The years are traditionally named after the twelve symbolic animals of the Chinese zodiac. These are multiplied by the ‘Five Elements’ of traditional Daoist cosmology to create a 60 year cycle. Following on from the Year of the Wood Snake, we now enter the Year of the Fire Horse.

Regardless of how we view ancient beliefs and customs, it does us no harm to reflect on our lives and progress using the cycle of the seasons and calendar of old traditions as a simple tool.

Contradiction and Connection

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

In her acclaimed novel Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus cleverly puts into words the observations of the character ‘Six Thirty’, who happens to be the main protagonist’s dog. Here’s an example of Six Thirty’s canine wisdom:

“Humans were strange, Six Thirty thought, the way they constantly battled dirt in their aboveground world, but after death willingly entombed themselves in it.”

A fair point! But perhaps it is our contradictions that both define us, and prove the quality of our connections with one another…

The Year of the Snake

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

Since ancient times, the Chinese have followed the lunar calendar, New Year coinciding with the first hint of Spring in the northern hemisphere. New Year’s Eve 2025 falls on 28th January, which heralds the start of Spring Festival, culminating two weeks later with the Festival of Lanterns on February 12th.

The years are traditionally named after the twelve symbolic animals of the Chinese zodiac. These are multiplied by the ‘Five Elements’ of traditional Daoist cosmology to create a 60 year cycle. Following on from the Year of the Dragon, we are about to enter the Year of the Wood Snake.

Regardless of how we view ancient beliefs and customs, it does us no harm to reflect on our lives and progress using the cycle of the seasons and calendar of old traditions as a simple tool.

High Mountain, Flowing Water

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

A famous folk tale, recounted in the Annals of Lu Buwei (239 BCE) tells the story of a special friendship which has become immortalised in Chinese lore…

Running in place of horses

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

This striking passage from a classic of ancient Chinese wisdom offers many analogies and images that are worth pondering:

“Don’t run in place of horses,
or you’ll exhaust your strength.
Don’t fly in place of birds,
or you’ll wear out your wings.
Don’t act before others,
so you can observe their examples.
If you stir, you lose your position;
Be calm, and you’ll spontaneously succeed.”

Guanzi, attributed to Guan Yiwu (725-645 BCE), translated Thomas Cleary
The Way of the World: Readings in Chinese Philosophy (2009)

Any mention of horses on a piano-themed website inevitably reminds us of Bartók’s famous quip that “competitions are for horses, not artists”.

Guanzi’s rejection of competition seems to go further, however: compete against a horse in a race, and the horse will likely win. Try to fly like a bird, and your ‘wings’ won’t prove fit for purpose.

Such competition is bizarre, unnatural and entirely pointless. Follow through Guanzi’s thinking, and you’ll soon appreciate that the only living being worth competing with is actually yourself.

Guanzi goes still further, explaining that his admonition not to “run in place of horses” means, “not taking away the capacities of the capable.” In other words, let others be their best selves. Don’t try to take away or replicate their success, steal their identity, or compete for their position.

We can observe and learn from the examples of others without taking away what is rightly theirs, or seeking to replace them. Don’t try to beat or to be somebody else‘s personal best; try to be the best version of yourself.

Spring Awakening

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

The Chinese New Year heralds the fifteen day Spring Festival, and culminates in the Lantern Festival.

It perhaps seems odd to celebrate the arrival of Spring as early as February, several weeks before the equinox, but the stirrings of new life and fresh shoots are surely well under way, and the blossom appearing on the trees in our neighbourhood suggest that the Chinese have it right!

The Year of the Dragon

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

Since ancient times, the Chinese have followed the lunar calendar, New Year coinciding with the first hint of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and this year falling on Saturday 10th February 2024. This date marks the beginning of the celebration of the Spring Festival, which culminates in the Festival of Lanterns on February 24th.

As ever, the year is named after one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. These are multiplied by the Wuxing ‘Five Element’ concept of traditional Daoist culture to create a 60 year cycle, and within this we are about to enter the Year of the Wood Dragon.

“Oh great!” you may be thinking, “just what we all need: another year of drama, turbulence, disruption, and fire-breathing egos.” But happily, the Year of the Dragon is traditionally an auspicious one in Chinese lore, heralding a time of positive transformation and renewal.

Wisdom and Expertise

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

How do you feel when so-called “experts” say things that just don’t match your experience? Is their academic learning superior to your practical experience? Does their input leave you feeling more, or less confident than before?

Practical experience and academic learning ideally go hand in hand, the one neither replacing nor outbalancing the other. But it’s helpful to consider how the right balance between the two is best achieved.