Like Playing the Guitar

That's how my student described the level she has finally achieved, after many, many years of seeking precisely this, the way she now plays the piano.  It is no longer like dealing with a machine that's out there.  It's much closer to home, much more in control in the best way.

How unusual that an accomplished adult will allow herself to cross that barrier and get to the heart of the matter, which is where she always wanted to be and was never given a clue how to get there.

I asked her what had enabled her to achieve this.  It was a combination of things, she said, among them, watching me play.

That is the best way to learn to play an instrument.  Observe closely someone whose playing you admire.  Without analyzing what she is doing simply go home and pretend that she is inhabiting your body and it is she, not you, playing your instrument.

That is how I learned to play the piano:  Two pianists I have to thank for that:  Artur Rubinstein and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.