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Speaking the Piano: Reflections on Learning and Teaching
This is a book to appeal to a wide range of readers - pianists of every level from beginner to professional, piano teachers, musicians of all kinds, and the broader community of music-lovers.
In Speaking the Piano, renowned pianist Susan Tomes turns her attention to teaching and learning. Teaching music encompasses everything from putting a drum in a child's hands to helping an accomplished musician unlock the meaning and spirit of the classics. At every stage, some fundamental issues keep surfacing. In this wide-ranging book, Susan Tomes reflects on how her own experience as a learner, in different genres from classical to jazz, hasinfluenced her approach to teaching. She tells us how her performing career has given her insight into what young performers need to know, and how discussions with students have fed into her own practice. She describes the brilliant and intriguing teachers whose masterclasses opened her ears to the many ways in which music can be brought alive and communicated. This is a book to appeal to a wide range of readers - pianists of every level from beginnerto professional, piano teachers, musicians of all kinds, and the broader community of music-lovers. In a passionate contribution to the ongoing debate about the place of music in education, Susan Tomes argues that this most inspiring of arts can play a unique role in personal development.
This is a lovely, wise, elegantly written book, filled with tips and anecdotes which could be helpful and encouraging for any pianist, whether a beginner or aprofessional. Above all it is a book in which one senses constantly the deep love the author has for music itself, for its ability to inspire, touch and, indeed, change lives. STEPHEN HOUGH
SUSAN TOMES is a multi-award-winning pianist whose career encompasses solo, duo and chamber music playing; she has been at the heart of the internationally admired ensembles Domus, the Gaudier Ensemble and the Florestan Trio. Her lecture-recitals have enabled many listeners to engage with the classics on a new level. She is the author of four acclaimed books about Beyond the Notes (Boydell Press 2004), A Musician's Alphabet (Faber, 2006), Out of Silence (Boydell Press, 2010), and Sleeping in Temples (Boydell Press, 2014).
In Speaking the Piano, renowned pianist Susan Tomes turns her attention to teaching and learning. Teaching music encompasses everything from putting a drum in a child's hands to helping an accomplished musician unlock the meaning and spirit of the classics. At every stage, some fundamental issues keep surfacing. In this wide-ranging book, Susan Tomes reflects on how her own experience as a learner, in different genres from classical to jazz, hasinfluenced her approach to teaching. She tells us how her performing career has given her insight into what young performers need to know, and how discussions with students have fed into her own practice. She describes the brilliant and intriguing teachers whose masterclasses opened her ears to the many ways in which music can be brought alive and communicated. This is a book to appeal to a wide range of readers - pianists of every level from beginnerto professional, piano teachers, musicians of all kinds, and the broader community of music-lovers. In a passionate contribution to the ongoing debate about the place of music in education, Susan Tomes argues that this most inspiring of arts can play a unique role in personal development.
This is a lovely, wise, elegantly written book, filled with tips and anecdotes which could be helpful and encouraging for any pianist, whether a beginner or aprofessional. Above all it is a book in which one senses constantly the deep love the author has for music itself, for its ability to inspire, touch and, indeed, change lives. STEPHEN HOUGH
SUSAN TOMES is a multi-award-winning pianist whose career encompasses solo, duo and chamber music playing; she has been at the heart of the internationally admired ensembles Domus, the Gaudier Ensemble and the Florestan Trio. Her lecture-recitals have enabled many listeners to engage with the classics on a new level. She is the author of four acclaimed books about Beyond the Notes (Boydell Press 2004), A Musician's Alphabet (Faber, 2006), Out of Silence (Boydell Press, 2010), and Sleeping in Temples (Boydell Press, 2014).
278 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2019
I can't describe how disappointed I was in this book. In theory I should have loved it, by a pianist whose work I have admired and on a general area, the learning process that, as a former teacher, I hopefully have a little understanding of. It didn't work out that way.
I'd even seen Ms Tomes speak at the Edinburgh International Book Festival as she promoted this book and bought a signed copy. Perhaps I should have sensed something wasn't quite right then. The questioner seemed to flit about from topic to topic, and the first half of Speaking the Piano is a rather disjointed series of essays on 'teaching'. As I read her advice, I didn't feel that I was 'learning', I felt I was being lectured. Aware that playing the piano can be a solitary activity, Ms Tomes has set up a Piano Club to give amateur pianists the chance to meet and play to and with each other. But more often than not she slipped into calling it 'my Piano Club', referring to the other participants as her 'students'. And I didn't get the sense that someone of my limited abilities would quite fit in.
The 'Learning' section of the book was better, especially in the chapters about trying to learn jazz and flamenco clapping. Yet even here, in the final chapter, she rather spoiled things by implying that schools were wrong to focus on giving all pupils the chance to play musical instruments without learning to read music. That would exclude many children for whom learning to sight-read music is as pointless as learning Ancient Greek. At the same time I got a real sense that the many outstanding folk and rock musicians who play entirely by ear would, in Ms Tomes' mind, be inferior beings.
I'm not sure if I'd like Susan Tomes as a person or not, because I don't know her at all. But Speaking the Piano gave me a real sense that she might not like me very much, simply because I probably wouldn't agree with her very much. If I'm wrong there, then her book hasn't done her much of a service. Thankfully, she's unlikely to read this, but if I'm wrong and she does, she's more than welcome to put me right.
I'd even seen Ms Tomes speak at the Edinburgh International Book Festival as she promoted this book and bought a signed copy. Perhaps I should have sensed something wasn't quite right then. The questioner seemed to flit about from topic to topic, and the first half of Speaking the Piano is a rather disjointed series of essays on 'teaching'. As I read her advice, I didn't feel that I was 'learning', I felt I was being lectured. Aware that playing the piano can be a solitary activity, Ms Tomes has set up a Piano Club to give amateur pianists the chance to meet and play to and with each other. But more often than not she slipped into calling it 'my Piano Club', referring to the other participants as her 'students'. And I didn't get the sense that someone of my limited abilities would quite fit in.
The 'Learning' section of the book was better, especially in the chapters about trying to learn jazz and flamenco clapping. Yet even here, in the final chapter, she rather spoiled things by implying that schools were wrong to focus on giving all pupils the chance to play musical instruments without learning to read music. That would exclude many children for whom learning to sight-read music is as pointless as learning Ancient Greek. At the same time I got a real sense that the many outstanding folk and rock musicians who play entirely by ear would, in Ms Tomes' mind, be inferior beings.
I'm not sure if I'd like Susan Tomes as a person or not, because I don't know her at all. But Speaking the Piano gave me a real sense that she might not like me very much, simply because I probably wouldn't agree with her very much. If I'm wrong there, then her book hasn't done her much of a service. Thankfully, she's unlikely to read this, but if I'm wrong and she does, she's more than welcome to put me right.
May 28, 2019
It was an interesting read - but I didn’t feel like I learnt very much or understood much more about Tomes’ life as a concert pianist. That might be more my fault than hers, though.
August 4, 2023
You come away with intriguing ideas to apply in daily practice. Susan makes it clear I’m not alone in struggling to breathe life into a piece beyond getting the notes right and fluently navigating the keys. A piano teacher suggested I’m over-practising, so I enjoyed reading stories about elite students guilty of the same thing. We all grapple with the same stuff: on a fundamental level, only the degree of difficulty separates me from a college musician. There are some hand-wavy tips for keeping your pieces fresh, and I’ll try to draw on them in my playing.
I found the glimpses into masterclasses interesting, but I’m glad to be a fly on the wall instead of a participant. That world is dominated by bombastic instructors (usually men) who will destroy your self-esteem to make a point or—even worse—for audience laughs. They have perfected the art of impersonating your playing in front of your peers. They roar with anger and amusement and intersperse glorious compliments with soul-destroying insults. It’s a wonder anyone survives to become a professional solo performer of classical repertoire.
Susan takes time to reflect on her teaching style and how it differs. I’m disappointed and baffled by her self-doubt; she wonders aloud whether it’s because she’s a woman and whether her students are better off for it. Thoughtful, compassionate teaching is always a better vehicle for feedback and critique. You can deliver advice and sharp insights without being a jerk about it.
The chapter “Fusion Cooking”, about the rising popularity of classical music in Asia, struck me as racist, elitist, and colonial. During a Q&A session at an American university, a historian asked Susan whether it mattered who or where the custodians of classical music were. In short, Tomes is willing to share classical repertoire with the world but wants Europe to retain ownership. I’m not sure European heritage is a prerequisite for understanding classical repertoire and its cultural and historical origins. I’m confident musicians and teachers outside of Europe can understand and communicate the “flavour and meaning” of the repertoire if they study it with sufficient care and context. Unlike flamenco music, it’s so carefully written down!
Be prepared for some navel-gazing, like reading a private, unedited diary. Too many sentences start with phrases like “It’s often assumed that” and “It often seems,” drawing attention to some lazy writing and thinking. Tomes jumps the shark when she prefaces pure speculation with, “As I am not a scientist, I have no basis for saying this”.
I’m surprised this book’s average rating (4.09) is higher than Tomes’s History in 100 Pieces (3.95), which I much preferred.
I found the glimpses into masterclasses interesting, but I’m glad to be a fly on the wall instead of a participant. That world is dominated by bombastic instructors (usually men) who will destroy your self-esteem to make a point or—even worse—for audience laughs. They have perfected the art of impersonating your playing in front of your peers. They roar with anger and amusement and intersperse glorious compliments with soul-destroying insults. It’s a wonder anyone survives to become a professional solo performer of classical repertoire.
Susan takes time to reflect on her teaching style and how it differs. I’m disappointed and baffled by her self-doubt; she wonders aloud whether it’s because she’s a woman and whether her students are better off for it. Thoughtful, compassionate teaching is always a better vehicle for feedback and critique. You can deliver advice and sharp insights without being a jerk about it.
The chapter “Fusion Cooking”, about the rising popularity of classical music in Asia, struck me as racist, elitist, and colonial. During a Q&A session at an American university, a historian asked Susan whether it mattered who or where the custodians of classical music were. In short, Tomes is willing to share classical repertoire with the world but wants Europe to retain ownership. I’m not sure European heritage is a prerequisite for understanding classical repertoire and its cultural and historical origins. I’m confident musicians and teachers outside of Europe can understand and communicate the “flavour and meaning” of the repertoire if they study it with sufficient care and context. Unlike flamenco music, it’s so carefully written down!
Be prepared for some navel-gazing, like reading a private, unedited diary. Too many sentences start with phrases like “It’s often assumed that” and “It often seems,” drawing attention to some lazy writing and thinking. Tomes jumps the shark when she prefaces pure speculation with, “As I am not a scientist, I have no basis for saying this”.
I’m surprised this book’s average rating (4.09) is higher than Tomes’s History in 100 Pieces (3.95), which I much preferred.
June 12, 2020
This author published many books before and they were all really good. Please read them befroe you get yo this one, because this particular book is a singular achievement. Every page is full of content, to the point that one must read this book extremely slowly in order to absorb it fully. Perhaps even reading it over a period of many months would be the best solution here. This book can (and is possibly designed to) accompany a musician's life. I highly recommend it to all musicians, professional and amateur, as well as all music students, and of course, to all pianists.
March 16, 2024
As a (very) amateur pianist, I thought that this book might give me useful insights from an accomplished professional pianist and teacher. I am not sure that I got many. Although interesting, it didn't really provide the inspiration which i expected.
September 25, 2018
Another excellent book by Susan Tomes, wise, thoughtful and profound. Her deep performing and teaching experience is reflected on every page. Thoroughly recommended.
January 10, 2021
Bit one dimensional
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews