Wimbledon Championship Fortnight is halfway through and I have spent quite a lot of time watching tennis, with occasional breaks for some piano practice.
Whenever I watch a lot of tennis, or more particularly when I listen to a lot of expert commentary, I feel that my piano playing improves. It’s not so much that tennis is directly analogous to piano playing, but when you hear the commentators talking about racket-head speed and angle, topspin and slice, the dynamics of the serve, trajectory of shot, game strategy etc, you can’t help thinking about your own practice in a different way.
I think it helps simply to have your attention drawn to the fact that it’s always possible to do something differently.
‘Mmmm … racket-head speed! I might try approaching the keyboard faster when I play these chords’. Or: ‘If I kept my balance better during that passage, it might be less effortful.’ That sort of thing.
Yesterday I was listening to Iga Świątek being interviewed by Clare Balding after her match. Iga was talking about feeling more comfortable playing on grass this year. I was enchanted to hear her say, ‘I had a few practices where the ball was listening to me. …. Honestly, if the ball is listening to me, I don’t have to do too much … it’s just pretty smooth.’
I hadn’t thought about the tennis ball listening to the player, but I can imagine what fun it must be if you can get the ball to listen to you.
Obviously with piano-playing you have to listen to the piano, because we’re dealing with sound here, but I think in some way you also believe that the piano is listening to you. Luckily of course the piano does not have to whizz through the air and bounce on the other side of the net.
Yes I think that trying to do different things, fresh approaches, resting between short practice sessions, then returning to focus again is really important, don’t carry on practicing once your brain gets tired. I’m older now (75) just wish I could have had my present approach 20yrs ago.
Steve, I agree with you. The goal of practice is often to be able to be consistent – which is essential if you intend to perform in public. But practising how to be flexible in your thinking is probably more beneficial to you as a musician.
I didn’t gain much from my football lessons at school, but the constantly-repeated “Find a space” seemed good advice for piano playing and indeed life in general…
‘Find a space’! I like that. Thank you James.
I too have been enjoying the Wimbledon action this week and was likewise intrigued by Iga Świątek’s comment about the ball listening to her. Learning and speaking different languages is my thing rather than playing a musical instrument but I have often made the comparison between the two and with tennis (which I played in my youth). All these activities are so complex there is always room for improvement or, alas, a loss of form. I have good days when the words flow and others when I am literally speechless. If I don’t practice, my fluency suffers. A conversation is like a game of tennis as you trade words, constantly having to react to what your interlocutor says. It’s less about winning and losing though, more about relishing the exchange, learning and improving.
Wise words indeed! Thank you Laurence.