"JUST BEING AT THE PIANO" by Mildred Portney Chase

Somewhere in this blog I may have mentioned Mildred Portney Chase's book, "JUST BEING AT THE PIANO."

Well I started reading it again, and it has such good things to say. I plan on coming back and editing this post with some of her quotes in this gem of a book.

From p. 5:

"The joy of the moment can be experienced at any stage of learning. We need only to recognize when we are guided away from ourselves by standards of performance based on comparison with others, or by the need of approval and recognition for accomplishment."

On p.10 she discusses a student:

"Fear of not playing well enough got in the way of his love for the music and the instrument." 

Again, on p. 10:

"Children are quickly acculturated to measuring their worth by their performance. Too many adults remain this kind of child all their lives."

On p. 23:

"The sculpture is already in the stone and you need only to remove the excess rock to reveal it....by removing concerns with the outcome of your playing, removing any interfering tension, you will be able to release the music that is within you."

Again, on p. 23:

"When you think you have gotten the best sound the instrument can bring forth, think a little magic into it, and you may discover a still better sound."

From p. 31:

"I like to ... visualize the fingers directly linked to the center of my innermost being; that place in my torso from which I draw breath, from which the emotions are expressed. The torso not only physically supports our movements at the piano; it is also the supplier of our spiritual energy."

From p. 33 into p. 34:

"Silence! The mother of sound! ... The phrases may frame the silence or the silence may frame the phrase. You must know."

From p. 35:

"Many composers and performers of the 17th and 18th centuries discuss the importance of expressiveness in performance...The player is instructed to take a strong sense of responsibility 'for reflecting every shade of feeling . . . so as to touch the heart . . . And carry the auditor from one passion to another.' Some writers even suggest that each measure be of a different mood!"