Piano In The Time Of COVID-19
“Keep calm, and practice on.” — Juliana Han
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the citizens of Planet Earth are having a tough time right now. I hope you and your loved ones are keeping healthy and sane. Even if we know the disruptions and sacrifices are worthwhile, they can be difficult to endure.
In times like these, we have a rare chance to reassess and prioritize our daily activities. In many American cities, these activities are being limited for us to the bare minimum. School is off that list. So is a lot of commerce and industry. Where, then, is the place of music?
One might wonder, in the time of cholera, crisis, or coronavirus, why bother practicing?
It’s a valid question, especially for us professionals with cancelled concerts and performances and projects. But I think the unstructured time in the wake of our usual activities is the perfect time to examine why we practice and how important it is to our lives.
To be clear, I am not talking about a professional practice, that of a career that you sustain, such as a medical or legal practice (though piano practice is part of my career — there is potential overlap).
I’m talking about the importance, in good times and bad, of having a personal practice, which I define as something you do regularly for yourself, with the intention of deepening your skill/knowledge/engagement every time.
For example, some people have a yoga or meditation practice, others treat working out or competitive sports as a practice, and yes, for many of us, learning a musical instrument is our personal practice. It could be part of your work, but many times it is not.
Nor is a practice merely a hobby. The last part of my definition tells you that. In a personal practice, you are constantly trying to improve, not merely passing the time.
To illustrate, you could have a fishing hobby and really enjoy hitting the streams once in a while without a further thought about it once you’d packed up your tackle and headed home. Or, you could have a fishing practice and dedicate yourself to it in the interest of becoming the best fisherman you can in your spare time. There’s a difference.
That difference leads us to the benefits of having a practice.
First, I have found that having a practice gives my life greater purpose. A piano practice gets me out of bed and onto the piano bench and makes me excited to become a better pianist than I was yesterday. For me, there are few things as motivating as pursuing the profundity and beauty of the piano repertoire!
Second, a practice gives our lives a sense of progress. You will not sustain any practice without healthy doses of self-evaluation, hard work, and acknowledgement of achievements. A practice can help us feel alive and always moving forward, which is critical for our emotional and spiritual well-being.
Lastly, a practice can give us perspective because it has the potential to take us from our default mode of existence into different planes of consciousness. This sounds very woo-woo, but the literature on the phenomena of flow can back me up here.
Practicing piano is one of the few activities where I can actually get lost in what I’m doing. For once, my brain stops its incessant chatter, and I am focused exclusively on the music at hand. It’s a mode that is introspective, energizing, and even revelatory.
Having a practice (ideally, a daily practice) allows us to disengage from the rush of everyday life and access our deepest thoughts and optimal capacities.
It seems to me that all of these benefits would be helpful in a crisis. We need all the help we can get to keep our eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel, to do what’s right for the greater good, to care for ourselves and others with good spirit and humor. Remember: this too, will pass.
Until then, keep calm and practice on.
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Pianist JULIANA HAN is an active collaborator, chamber musician, and soloist, lauded not only for her thoughtful and inspired performances but also for her musical lectures, which have introduced classical works to diverse audiences. She has performed in New York’s major venues, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Hall, as well as in other notable venues across North America and Asia. Her festival appearances include the Music Academy of the West, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival. She is co-founder and co-artistic director of the Piedmont Chamber Music Festival, an annual summer festival in the Bay Area featuring internationally-renowned performers. Previously Adjunct Faculty at the Juilliard School, where she received her doctorate, Dr. Han joined the faculty of Augustana College in 2018 as Assistant Professor of Piano. In addition to her doctorate from Juilliard, she also holds degrees in biochemistry and law, both from Harvard University, and has worked as a biotech specialist at L.E.K. Consulting and as a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
