Juilliard graduate helping dedicated adult pianists who love challenging repertoire practice less while learning more.
πΉ π€₯ the lie I believed for 37 years {video}
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I found old footage of my 1989 Cliburn audition. It inspired me to do something a little different. I recorded a message to her. To 27-year-old me, about to walk into that room. Here are highlights of what I told her. She thought it was all or nothing. Get into the Cliburn, or the career she'd worked her whole life for wasn't even possible. That's what she believed in every bone in her body. I know how devastated she was when she didn't get in. She thought that was the end. She didn't know it wasn't the end. It was the beginning of something she hadn't even dreamed up yet. π€·ββοΈ I posted a clip of this on Instagram and wasn't ready for the response. It currently has 33,413 views. What got me wasn't the numbers. It was what people took from it. Not getting into the Cliburn wasn't a verdict on my playing or my talent. It was just how brutal that field is. The moments that actually shaped my life weren't the ones I staked everything on. They were the ones that didn't go the way I'd planned. πΌ A tiny practice experiment for youβ Then ask yourself what actually happens if it isn't. π€ Usually, not what you think, right? |
Lisa Spector, Piano Ninja
Juilliard graduate helping dedicated adult pianists who love challenging repertoire practice less while learning more.
After I shared my Cliburn audition of the Bach B flat Partita, the comments on YouTube and Instagram kept mentioning my trills. People noticed how easy they sounded. Here's the thing. I haven't practiced a trill inside a piece since graduate school. π€·βοΈ Over 40 years ago, I learned a five-minute warm-up from John Perry, R.I.P. I've done it almost every practice session since. When a trill shows up in whatever I'm playing, it just works. I don't stop to negotiate with my wrist. I don't wonder...
I don't believe in endless hours at the piano. I believe some of your best progress often happens away from the piano. That's why two years ago I created, Beyond the Keys, a 3-day piano retreat in beautiful Monterey, California. πThis year, it's October 8-11. This is not your typical adult piano camp.Gil said it better than I can... Watch a 90 second trailer here. β¬οΈ No grinding. No judgement. No pretending you don't compare yourself to the person next to you. Just a room full of pianists who...
Someone caught it. 23 seconds in, on the Gigue from the B-flat Partita, the one from my 1989 Cliburn audition. A mistake, small, just a switch in the notes. He commented so everyone would hear it. Barely noticeable, but he felt good catching it. π₯Ί I replied without thinking twice. "My motto now is Screw Perfect. Just Make Music." 131 likes on that reply. More than the comment that started it. That reel also got me 466 new followers on Instagram which lead to celebrating 10K followers...