have sought out ‘tone’ on the piano. Here is a recollection by one of his pupils, on Chopin’s search for tone: “When I feel out of sorts,” Chopin would say, “I play on a Erard piano where I easily find a ready-made tone. But when I feel in good form and strong enough to find my own individual sound, then I need a Pleyel piano.” Chopin/Karasowski (from ‘Chopin pianist and teacher as seen by his pupils’ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger). The very first paragraph of Sidney Harrison’s article hints at a fundamental piano teaching question: ‘A student becomes a graduate. He is now going to teach piano. But how? Advice is plentiful.’ ‘Napoleon agreed to have a Conservatoire in Paris, and Mendelssohn founded one in Leipzig. Controversy still rages about the Matthay and the SUZUKI METHOD™. Surely by now there should be thousands of fine pianists.’ Basically hinting that, at that time, there was room for improvement in how musicians learn how to teach. His fundamental question was, ‘How do we teach?’ Teaching on a digital, and using an acoustic have, to my mind, different pedagogical implications and outcomes. Because I am striving in my teaching to teach tone production and a natural use of the body, and at a later stage, pedalling as part of a student musical equipment, I feel using an acoustic piano is a basic requirement. Maybe it is one step along the path to answering his question as to, ‘How do we teach?’, one step further towards producing ‘fine pianists’, whether amateur, or professional. Forty-one years on from the original article, I wonder what questions Sidney would be asking now if he could board a musical Time Machine? What changes would he remark upon, and what new questions would have arisen? What discussions at EPTA Conferences would he now be gently provoking amongst EPTA members as a ‘practised guide’? Would he think that the use of digital keyboards has raised teaching standards, or the opposite? What would he think about the digital revolution? However, can this be replicated on a digital? If not, how does this affect skill development, and the development of the aural imagination in the student? If pedalling is such a large element in expressive piano playing, in terms of pedagogy, and how we piano teachers teach and pass on good traditions in piano playing, an acoustic piano is a necessity, both in the studio, and more importantly in the students home (which is where progress takes place), so that its delights and possibilities can gradually be explored. One little mentioned, but a really hugely important aspect of the digital piano evolution, is how they are disposed of after their short life has ended, and the consequent effect on the environment and ecosystem for wildlife, and humans, especially through microplastics. They will in all probability end up in landfill, and since they are made from ABS polymers will take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose. According to a brief search on Google, 234 thousand digital pianos were sold in the U.S. in 2021. How many since then have been sold I wonder? What will happen to them once their life is over? Repairs are not always possible, and new models succeed the old. Potentially, where group lessons are given using digital pianos, the problems associated with the environment and disposal are compounded. Personally, I think there are many ways of giving musically useful group lessons using one, or two uprights, and that the use of digital is unnecessary. Digital keyboards have had their effect on the piano tuning profession and everything associated with piano manufacture, marketing, and dealership. I work with ages 3-18, and with mentoring piano teachers. I have been a qualified Suzuki teacher since 1982, one of the first in Europe, and a teacher trainer since 1994. Suzuki Sensei’s pedagogical ideas and humanitarian ideas are very close to my heart. I was fortunate to have travelled to Japan in the 1980’s for a total of 9 months to study with the cofounders of the Suzuki Piano School, Suzuki Sensei, and Kataoka Sensei. Unlike many approaches to early childhood education that start with reading, Dr. Suzuki had a well-thoughtout approach that had a different centre of focus: Dr. Suzuki said, “I teach tone, tone, tone.” Allied to this is the idea of using the whole body to play the piano, which is another concept he mentioned in conversation. I use these two interrelated principles as the foundations of how I teach. Therefore, for my own students I ask that they buy an acoustic piano. They will, after all, have their formative experiences with it, be living with the sound of it for a long time, maybe during 10 to 15 years of tuition and musical/technical development. It is nice if it is a wonderful sound to work with, and that the parents get the pleasure to hear, every day. Most of my pupils buy a new piano, very few second hand, and I give them advice on what to look for beforehand, and where to buy. A rising trend is that parents might sometimes enquire about lessons and already own a digital, but I still ask them to buy an acoustic. Everything I have written about so far concerns how children learn, but if a Concert pianist wants to practice on a digital, that is an entirely different matter, because their aural imagination and technical skills are already formed, not in the process of being formed, and won't be unduly influenced by the instrument. The June 1984 edition of ‘Piano Journal’ had an interesting article where Carola Grindea interviewed Magda Tagliaferro, ‘almost a legendary figure in the piano world’, and at that time EPTA patron. It ends with thoughts on. “...The TOUCH? ‘Le Touche’ - well, this is a very personal matter.” Then, after a very informative paragraph on tone, the article finishes with these words: ‘There is a French saying: ‘Le style c’est L’homme’ - I can say, ‘the pianist is his tone.’ Throughout the history of the piano composers, teachers, and performers (often one and the same in the past) 23 Then and Now – Teaching Piano in a Digital World Stephen Power
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