Personal philosophy

In my opinion, it is never too late to learn to play the piano. In my experience, adults and older people can learn just as quickly as children; however, it is true that the two groups learn differently.

 

While children spontaneously intuit with their senses how to confront a musical task, adults normally need first to understand intellectually what is demanded of them and how these demands can be met, both musically and technically. Children use their intuition for learning, adults their comprehension.

 

In my view, the enduring fascination, which the piano exerts on people of all ages, is due to the instrument’s ability to be played polyphonically. On the piano we can combine melodies with highly varied harmonies, and for this we have the full pitch range of a symphony orchestra at our disposal! Therefore even as a beginner, you will very quickly achieve appealing and interesting sound results!

At the same time, the melodic and harmonic conditions of the piano also pose a challenge to us, because as pianists we often have to deal with a great number of different voices that need to be mastered technically and which should also be interpreted with a view to the whole work or piece of music. This requires practice, concentration and patience. For our efforts, we are rewarded with the harmonic and melodic richness of the piano and with the wealth of piano literature!

 

It is important and encouraging for me to see that we don’t have to be blessed with advanced piano skills to interact with the piano in a creative way. It requires really “merely“ our interest and openness for the current moment in which the music or the sound is unfolding and carrying us along ...