That's how Rubinstein described piano playing: We do not touch keys, but rather the sounds we hear in our heads.
Just how important that is cannot be overemphasized, and it is important from day one of instruction. Once a child learns to hit the keys it is truly difficult to awaken a sense of touch.
Touch is the intimate connection between sound as imagined and sound as actually produced. It makes the difference between tedium and discovery. As a student put it this morning, it is what makes it possible to play on different pianos.
I teach children to read based on touch, not assuming it. They become better readers and they do not have to learn certain refined instrumental techniques as "add-ons."
