When I was a little girl learning my first Bach Invention (a simple, two-part fugue), my teacher asked me if I knew what a sequence was.
“Yes,” I nodded eagerly. “They’re little shiny round things!”
“Little shiny round things?” My teacher was puzzled.
“I have them on my dance costume.” I thought she was talking about sequins.
Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour with a voice student working solely on rhythm: writing beats in the score, tapping subdivisions, speaking in rhythm, and count-singing. Perhaps concerned by the little amount of time we spent actually singing, at the end of the coaching, the student asked me, “What’s a normal amount of time to spend on this?”
I think she was hoping I’d respond with a prescription like “for ages 18 to 21: 30 minutes, four times a week,” but I had none. This student needed to dedicate a lot of practice time to counting, but her French was already excellent. On the other hand, I’ve known students with strong rhythmic aptitude who spent an entire semester improving their French from unrecognizable to somewhat passable.
Every musician has certain skills that require more practice. As a pianist with tiny hands, I spend a lot of time practicing awkward stretches and leaps that an average pianist would play without a second thought. It’s as frustrating and tedious for me as it is for my student to practice her 1 & 2 & 3 &s. A “normal” amount of practice is the amount it takes to make our difficult skills feel as easy as the skills that come naturally.
A conversation with a fellow collaborative pianist the other day got me thinking how I ended being a collaborative pianist for a living.
I believe my first accompanying experience was in third grade, when I made a cassette tape recording of the ’80s hit, “That’s What Friends Are For,” with my classmate’s mom. For real.
When my younger sister began violin lessons, I was her pianist for recitals and competitions.
In middle school, I was the accompanist for the Chorale, an auditioned, all-girls ensemble.
In high school I was the accompanist for the studio of a local violin teacher — my first paying gig! I also studied chamber music at Juilliard and Aspen.
In college I accompanied weekly lessons, juries, and recitals for several singers and violinists, was active in the chamber music program, and was the pianist for Vocal Repertoire and Performance class. At one point the faculty expressed concern that I had exceeded the course credit limit for music performance. I also played for the studio of a local flute teacher.
In light of my musical history, my current career shouldn’t be surprising. I’ve always enjoyed making music with others more than making music alone. Still, if you had asked me five years ago what I’d be doing today, I definitely would not have answered, “Being a pianist.”
Eileen Huang 