In music, the fermata sign is an indication that we should pause for a moment before playing on. The Fermata Series similarly invites you to pause, and consider big ideas in short, reflective blog posts.
Just as the expressive power of music depends upon the pace of its delivery and the space allowed for silence to speak between the notes, so too our personal wellbeing depends on the timing of our activity, the tempo of our thoughts, and the permission that we give ourselves to pause.
We all need to regularly reboot. Just like the misbehaving computer we have to switch ourselves off and, after a short pause, start back up again. We need to empty out the cluttered cache of our minds and allow the kinks of tension to naturally unwind. It is often in those fermata moments, when the mind is stilled, that ideas take shape, fall into place, and creativity sparks.
Fermata Series blog posts were born in the pause. They explore the intersection between our playing, teaching, and wellbeing.
Most reflect my interest and are rooted in Daoist philosophy. Taking as their starting point quotes from philosophers, poets, musicians, teachers, and great thinkers past and present, there is a recurring refrain which permeates the series:
As in our piano playing, so too in life.
As in life, so too in our piano playing.
Pause with me, and enjoy the Fermata Series…
Recent Additions:
Patience: The Greater Peak
Much is made of the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument, and rightly so. But perhaps the greatest of all these is this: the pinnacle of developing patience. Are those eager to progress as quickly as possible in danger of missing the point?
Spotlight or quiet life?
“Making a name” for ourselves can become an unhealthy preoccupation, whether through competition in its many forms, or through self-promotion. Let’s stop and consider whether we are truly content with the path we are on…
Piano teaching: an uncertain future?
By remaining flexible and open to change, piano teachers can find innovative ways to enhance their approach, attract new students, and maintain our passion for music education.
Creativity is a Dialogue
Creativity is always a dialogue. Let’s all try to make it a richer and more meaningful one!…
Explore the Fermata series:
The Year of the Horse
The upcoming ‘Year of the Horse’ could prove to be a time of significant initiative and action, innovation and change. Here are some reflections on the associations of the year, and how we might make the most of the coming months…
Why live performance matters
The confidence to perform to an audience isn’t conjured overnight. We need to provide plenty of occasion for learners to develop the art of performance if we want to ensure that live music continues to prosper…
Contradiction and Connection
A healthy teacher-student relationship offers a safe space in which we learn to pick up on cues, work stuff through, foster realistic expectations of others, navigate and embrace contradictions…
Attention to Details
The need to practice using our full attention is integral to our development as Three-Dimensional Pianists. We must develop our practice focus using our mind, body, and soul…
A Piano Teacher’s Foibles
Which of the incredible teachers in this picture would you like to sign up to have piano lessons with? Finding the “right” match can certainly prove challenging for some…
The Year of the 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.
The Schumann Effect
Until fairly recent times, it was the norm for classical pianists to improvise their own preludes at the start of their recitals, and to put their own indelible stamp on the repertoire that followed. Surely, the time has come to rediscover these interpretative and creative arts…
True Fun at the piano
Perhaps at the start of this new year, we can agree that True Fun at the piano is something we players and teachers can, and should, all highly prize…
Your New Piano Journal
Keeping you own Piano Journal is an idea that is so simple it seems obvious, yet so powerful that it could transform your piano journey in the months and years ahead…
The pianist’s unique voice
How can we develop our own individual, personal voice at the piano, speaking on behalf of composers, but with our own unique dialect?
The curriculum comes first
Instead of blaming the exam boards for a decline in standards or lesson content, let’s take responsibility and shape a better musical future. The curriculum comes first, and only then the prize…
Facing our Fears
Our most destructive fear is often not an irrational terror of supernatural gremlins, but the panic that fills our hearts at the thought of stepping out on stage, approaching a looming grand piano, and performing to an audience…
Why Perform?
Performing to others can be a positive focus that brings out the best in us as players, and helps us to raise our game, becoming the best pianists we can be. Here are some of the reasons…
Developing an interest
By providing a rich and enjoyable learning experience that stimulates their curiosity, positively celebrates their development, and fosters their ability to express themselves through their piano playing, we can offer learners the best opportunity to develop a lifelong love of music.
The flexible piano teacher
In a world characterised by constant change, how can we keep our piano teaching fresh and thrive as able, but appropriately flexible professionals?
In Praise of Cream Paper
Beyond aesthetics, there are scientifically understood benefits and practical reasons for asserting that printing music on cream paper supports accessibility, promotes inclusion, and fosters the wellbeing of all musicians…
Making Every Lesson Special
Let’s consider some of the ways in which we can help today’s students nurture positive expectations, and look forward to their piano lessons as special occasions…
The Wisdom of Trust
As a new academic season gets underway, and our thoughts turn to piano education, let’s consider how much more effective we can be when we have the wisdom to trust the advice of others…
Beauty Within Imperfection
If we could have a lighter spirit and be kinder to ourselves and each other, I suspect we might well find that our pursuit of excellence and our appreciation of the beauty within imperfection go hand in hand.
Time for an Afternoon Nap
For those wanting to build power napping into their health regime, find a cool spot with good ventilation, leave your phone on silent, and embrace your time out. Personally, I never regret it…
Why The Classics Still Matter
We need to inspire players to explore music of genuine quality. But how do we evaluate quality? What elevates one piece of music above another?
A Path that is Yours Alone
Enjoying the freedom to cut our path through uncharted musical territory, following our impulses as they suggest fresh new directions, we can begin to unravel the mysteries and wonders of our creativity.
The Einstellung Effect
We can all develop a more flexible and adaptive approach to practising, playing, and teaching the piano. Embracing variety can lead to improved skill development and musical creativity.
The Piano Jukebox
The prevalence of pop, game and film tunes in simplified arrangements in the latest piano syllabus offerings has provoked a healthy debate. There are issues here that need to be considered carefully, with appropriate attention to context…
Dangerous Piano Practice
Although practice is not inherently dangerous, it can certainly pose challenges and potential risks to any player, both mental and physical. Here’s some suggestions for evading the dangers of piano practice…
Practice or Procrastination?
What music are you learning on the piano at the moment? Do you feel overwhelmed? Let today be the day to say “Goodbye” to procrastination. One step at a time, tangible progress can be made. Let’s go!
Technique, or Dogma?
However enthusiastic we are for the system or school of piano playing that has most helped us, let’s be clear that there are others…
Embracing our limits
It is possible to admire and be inspired by the achievements of the world’s greatest players while enjoying working at our own level…
The Landscape of Play
In every moment of every piano lesson, we continually encounter forks in the path ahead. Where shall we go next?
A Lifelong Love of Music
Ask piano teachers what we perceive our highest goal to be, and many of us will affirm that we hope to foster a love of music that will last a lifetime. So how can we all better communicate these aims where they are ignored or misunderstood?
A Child Prodigy Speaks
Questions about ‘child prodigies’ lead inevitably to a consideration of how special talent develops, and the best ways for parents, teachers and the wider community to responsibly nurture young players…
Too Shy to Perform
Learning to play music can bring immense personal satisfaction, cultural enrichment and genuine enjoyment to our lives, whether we choose to perform or not…
A Streak of Calm
The older I get, the more aware I am that life is short, a too-brief window of opportunity. How important it is, then, to devote ourselves to that which we truly love, and which brings genuine meaning and intrinsic joy to our lives…
A Fresh Perspective
If we limit ourselves to our own perspective, ignoring the opinions, ideas, insights and beliefs of others, we can quickly become arrogant and indifferent. But there’s a better way…
The Power of Returning
If you feel you have lost your momentum or enthusiasm for playing the piano, it’s time to consider the “Power of Returning”…
High Mountain, Flowing Water
A famous folk tale, recounted in the Annals of Lu Buwei (239 BCE) tells the story of a special friendship formed through music, which has become immortalised in Chinese lore…
Running in place of horses
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
Spring is the time for new growth, often characterised by explosive energy and optimism. The vivid colours and vibrant new life of the burgeoning season offer spectacular reminders that CHANGE is cyclical, that the world doesn’t continue moving in a single direction.
The Importance of Notation
The current fashion for denigrating the importance of musical literacy is an educationally corrosive fad which, for the sake of all our students, we must seriously challenge and urgently resist…
Humility and Wonder in Play
Approaching our piano journey with a spirit of PLAY, a doorway opens to the greater respect for music that it undeniably deserves, and in doing so we can find greater contentment at the piano…
The Year of the Dragon
The Year of the Dragon is considered powerful and auspicious. Here are some general characteristics and predictions typically associated with the Year of the Dragon in Chinese culture, together with a reflection on what this might mean for us today…
Avoiding injury: a fresh outlook
The question of why some pianists suffer injuries is one which has occupied the minds and research of pianists, pedagogues and medics for decades. But some of the answers are obvious, and have little to do with playing techniques…
Wisdom and Expertise
How do you feel when so-called “experts” say things that just don’t match your experience?
Starting and Staying on Track
When piano players of any age are ready to learn, enthusiastic to succeed, and able to do so unimpeded, nothing will stop them!
Piano Paradigms
While social media can become an echo-chamber where we limit our attention to those we already agree with, good writing tries to do more. Being humble and truly open to learning from those whose paradigm is different to our own can be life-changing…
Peace on Earth
Let’s try to adopt love, goodwill and mercy as the guiding principles of our conduct. And yes, in all of our music-making exploits too!
Four Mistakes a Student Makes
Sometimes, the pathway ahead of us as piano players can appear forlorn, forbidding, difficult, uneven, shrouded in doubt. These are the times where we most need to cultivate patience…
When East Meets West
Music, albeit in many forms and styles, continues to offer a more universal vocabulary, one which can unite those separated by language, customs, heritage, geography and time…
Wisdom for the Winter
There is a real danger that our over-exertion in the early winter leaves us physically depleted, mentally and emotionally exhausted, and more susceptible to infection, illness and a general sense of feeling “run down”. Let’s take stock…
‘Hanging on a Cliff of Sorrow’
Global Leaders in education suggest that our present obsession with graded exams and standardised testing amounts to “childhood hanging on a cliff of sorrow”. Let’s carefully consider their impassioned plea…
Avoiding Excess, Cultivating Balance
In this short post, I want to address our need for a balanced approach to our piano practice and playing. But first, let’s take a step back and consider some more universal principles…
The Supreme Good
On Pianodao, I often quietly apply the wisdom of Daoism to our piano playing journey, but what of its broader relevance? Faced with misery on multiple fronts, can Daoism offer any hope?
An Empty Vessel
The rudimentary facets of our pianism, our musical understanding, technical accomplishment, and creative personality, are ultimately no more than a means to an end…
Playing like the Winter Sun
Cherish the music you play. Dazzle with the easy! Stop thinking in terms of levels and progress, and start thinking about reaching the soul. Play like the winter sun…
“Stand back from the edge please!”
Most of us rarely question the fears or values that were instilled in us at a young age. But perhaps we should do…
Lingering awhile with friends
As in life, so too in our piano playing, let’s take time to linger awhile with our old friends…
Practice in Perspective
Practice is amazing. And then it’s awful…
The Practice Room Sanctuary
Some may disagree, but if you play just for yourself, enjoying the private sanctuary of the practice room and never performing for others, that’s absolutely fine. It’s more than fine: it’s a genuine blessing. Make the most of it.
Compassionate Boundaries
If we’re going to practice acceptance and compassion, we need boundaries and accountability…
The Pianist’s Accomplishment
Piano playing is a journey with no fixed destination…
Slow Progress
Slow Progress: is there any other kind?
Musical Focus is Paramount
Here’s an excellent practice suggestion from Norma Fisher…
When you feel ignored
“Help others for all the times that you have been ignored; Be kind to others, for all the times that you have been scorned.”
Developing Fluency
The importance of hearing and rehearsing the whole piece, uninterrupted …
Finding your unique voice
The advice of teacher Nadia Boulanger set Astor Piazzolla on a course that would allow him to be creative by being himself, and developing his unique personal expression.
Developing Gradually
This was the first post ever published on Pianodao when the site launched on August 1st, 2015.
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