Think about the difference between a public and a private instrument. Are all pianos public? One would think they were judging from the way children are encouraged to think about them--or rather, are encouraged to treat them. Because from what I observe, the child's thinking about the piano rarely enters into the picture.

The thought part is more closely bound up with the tonal imagination--with sound itself rather than with proper execution or interpretation.

The thought part is harder to define, harder to train, yet more lasting in its impact and more central to the real power of music.