Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Mastery. There are different levels of mastery, to be sure. There are virtuosi who can play anything at any speed without visible or audible effort. Not all of them have mastery. I have heard some who have no control over speed, for example. Because they can play anything their muscles run away, out of control.

Mastery--in the sense of full possession of one's own hand and one's own ear--is fully within the grasp of every musical person, even young children. My goal as a teacher is to acquaint each student with their own personal version of it. Nothing less.