Yes. You read right. I bet you never thought you'd see the words "pleasure" and "ear training" mentioned in the same sentence. Pleasure and boats seem so much more compatible. People tend to grimace at the very thought of ear training, as if they'd just discovered half a worm in their apple. When I was a student at McGill, "Ear Training and Sight S...

The demands of playing the piano at an advanced level are varied and complex. The list of skills pianists need to learn seems endless, and many of them are subtle and time consuming to master. How long does it take to understand the pedal (Anton Rubinstein's "soul of the piano") and its possibilities? How much practicing does it take to absorb the ...

There is a great deal of wisdom encapsulated in proverbs. While they are meant to apply to life in general, they also have specific applications to piano playing and teaching. I enjoy using these aphorisms while teaching, and they often become a quick way of reminding students of a principle that is eluding them at the moment. "A chain is only as g...

Our culture is saturated with slogans, advertising and otherwise, encouraging people to be bold and brave and fearless. No fear.  You go, girl!  Go for it!  Just do it!  Yes you can! Given the sheer volume and intensity of these and other slogans, one would think that we all would have assimilated the message by now and our...