Anytime you have to "unlearn" an unknown practice habit, it slows down your progress faster than taking a wrong turn and not realizing it for miles. Jay is a founding member of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, so he knows all the tricks. They even helped him perform his first public piano recital in 30 years, playing Beethoven's Waldstein, Chopin's 4th Scherzo, 2 Bach Preludes & Fugues and Brahms op 76 Fantasies. Now he's learning the Chopin 3rd Sonata and is taking his comittment to smart...
13 days ago • 1 min read
30 years ago I was in Paris on vacation. It was fabulous, but as soon as I came back I was performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with orchestra, for the first time! My pianist friend Scott had a piano I could use, but he was busy teaching and only had one hour free on Tuesday. I said "great, I’ll take it." When I was finished practicing he said... "wow, you sure got a lot done in that hour." It wasn’t the hour. It was the focus. I went straight to what mattered. This Saturday, I’m bringing...
20 days ago • 1 min read
I have a talented student from a local private high school. She’s playing the 3rd movement from Beethoven Op. 10 No. 1. And she LOVES LOVES LOVES to play everything fast. 💨That works for the opening. But pretty soon her fingers can’t keep up, and all sorts of hesitations and stalls start creeping in. I’ve been working overtime to help her understand that if you want to speed up, you have to slow down first. 🙃It's basically become our mantra lately: What she’s running into is exactly what I...
27 days ago • 1 min read
An Instagram reel on Canine Classical, my dog music account, went viral, literally overnight. One week later.... Over 1.6 million views.9,000+ new followers 😮 From the outside, it looks like one of those “everything changed instantly” moments. It wasn’t. That video came after a long stretch of posting, practicing, tweaking, and showing up without much to show for it. No big spikes. No clear signal that anything was about to take off. Just reps. That’s the part people don’t see. It’s a lot...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I made a short, funny (but very real) video about what recording yourself feels like:👉 Watch on YouTube Or watch on Instagram here.It’s funny because it’s a little uncomfortable how accurate it is. Nothing about the recording actually changes over time.👂 What you hear changes everything. When you listen back right away, you’re not just hearing what you played. You’re hearing: what you meant to do what didn't quite land what you wish were different All at the same time. 🤦♀️ So of course it...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I spent the past couple weeks recording for a competition. Recording yourself is a fascinating psychological experiment. Day 1 – “That sounds terrible.”Day 2 – “Hmm… that’s not so bad.”Day 3 – “Well… I guess it’s OK.”Day 4 – “That’s actually pretty good.” And then six months later you hear the same recording and think: “Who’s playing that? It’s fabulous.” 😅 Somehow the recording hasn’t changed. But your ears have. When you first listen back, you hear everything you intended to do but didn’t...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
It’s 1972, and I’m walking into Hogwarts. Okay, not Hogwarts exactly. But something like it... Crouse College, a building that belongs in another century. I’m 10 and enchanted by the bell tower ringing throughout the Syracuse University campus. It’s my first real concert. I’m here to see David Mulfinger perform all 24 Chopin Études. From the very first C Major bass octave of Op. 10 No. 1, I was mesmerized. While my hands could barely reach an octave, I knew in every ounce of my body that I...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
As Chopin’s birthday approaches, I’ll admit it... I’m in a full-blown love affair. 💕 This week I’m recording the Polonaise-Fantaisie.After decades with this music, here’s what I’ve learned…You can’t decorate it.You can’t “add” to it. The moment you force it, the music resists. So how much rubato is too much? I recorded a short video exploring exactly that. 👀 Watch ⬇️How Much Rubato Is Too Much? If you want your Chopin to sound passionate but not messy, join me this Thursday.FROM TECHNICAL TO...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
If you heard my Rachmaninoff on Valentine's Day, you know that I love schmalz in my music. 🥰 But I cringe when it’s added at the wrong time, especially in Chopin. 🙃 You're probably not lacking in expression. You may just be adding it in the wrong place. 🎼 A tiny practice experiment for you:Before you add rubato this week... Play the phrase completely without flexibility. Build the harmonic tension. Identify the exact point where the phrase can support rubato. Only then allow the rubato to...
2 months ago • 1 min read