It is probably no accident that the conversation following my recent private recital was about cooking eggs.

Few things are as delicate as an egg. Temperature, humidity, proportions of wet and dry ingredients--any and all factor in as critical.

For the pianist every sound is a different specific egg. The hand is thermometer, hydrometer, scale and balance. Touch is the handling that produces if not a perfect, at least a memorable result.

In the presence of properly trained gross-motor skills children are fascinated by such playing and seek instintively to emulate the finesse that only sensitive touch can produce. Fingers drilled without the support of large muscle coordination are too busy to respond to the ear.

Is that why so many young players do not listen?