The other day I wrote about the disconnect between pianists and the vibrations they are confronted with when they have to deal with an instrument they do not regularly play. There is another kind of disconnect, just as communicable.
The temptation is great to learn the notes without connecting them. This can be done two ways:
By memorizing the notes as written--beats, barlines, and all, adding up to the correct number of beats and subdivisions, nice and tidy.
By memorizing the piece as commonly played, in effect rewinding a music box.
The connection between the notes has to be made in the mind of the player, otherwise it does not exist. For me the clue that I am not connecting them is boredom. When I am bored I am missing the essence of whatever passage I am playing. Then I have to confront the problem.
Often the solution is troubling as it challenges the beats-and-barlines approach to tidy pianism. But, however dangerous, it is so much more fun!
