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Harrison Kight
Prof. Blair
UWRT 1103 003
December 16, 2015
The Piano Proficiency
A secondary Discourse is often a term used to describe an activity beyond the family in
which one must be fluent in order to truly be considered a part of it. While I have become a
member of several different secondary Discourses, one that I have joined from an early age is the
practice of piano playing. When I was in second grade, my parents and I felt that I should start to
learn an instrument, perhaps just to have something else to do in my free time. Less than a week
later, I arrived at the boxy, quiet home of my new piano teacher: Mrs. Pearce. This short, brownhaired, older woman soon became my mentor for the next decade, as well as somewhat of a
second maternal figure. I proceeded to discover the language, aesthetic and values to piano
playing over many different experiences so I could become fluent in one of my very first
Discourses.
Although the music notes could figuratively be considered a language of their own, many
new real words were required to become a part of my regular vocabulary. Many of these terms
originate from Italian language; allegro, for example, means at a brisk or bright tempo, while
adagio refers to a slow or easing pace. In fact, tempo also comes from Italian, translating to
time. Similar terms refer to dynamics, which relate to the volume of the piece. Two basic
notations exist in music: p (piano), meaning soft, and f (forte), meaning loud. Other prefixes
and suffixes can be added to indicate how loud or soft a piece can be, and at what pace one

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should increase or decrease their volume. As I studied music theory at an early age, I had plenty
of time to learn these terms, as well as many others. Mrs. Pearce and I also applied some
simplified terms and occasionally created some of our own. One that I particularly still use today
is an acronym created to help remember the order of flat notes assigned to a piece, depending on
its key. This acronym, BEAD and GCF, helped me to remember, for example, that F major has
only one flat (B-flat), while g-minor (signified with a lowercase g) has two flats (B-flat and Eflat). Many more terms are used in music, and I would not be able to list them all here.
While I did not use a mental model for my music theory, as physicist Roy Page-Shipp
made for some music students in a study called Resolving Cognitive Conflicts And A Paradigm
Clash, I placed in enough work to ensure that I knew what was necessary in order to play. Also,
Mrs. Pearce was the only person that I learned from over my course of study. I have, however,
had very brief experiences with playing piano with other people. Although I have not
experienced students perceptions of their learning from each other (Reid and Duke, 2015), I
have befriended others who have played piano, either with my own teacher or others, and seen
differences in how each of them perform certain pieces.
Looks can be considered important parts of many Discourses. In many instances, this was
not a high priority from my experiences. Despite this, one aspect of piano playing required a
certain aesthetic: recitals. Whenever I was to perform at a recital, I was required to dress in a
semi-formal manner, wearing a sport coat over a button-up dress shirt, khaki pants, and loafers.
On any other occasion, such as practice or casual performances, dress did not matter for the
show. As for the manner in which I played, different gestures were used for Mrs. Pearces
teaching of me, and for the way in which I was required to play. According to research from the

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past year, Piano teachers who performed more non-verbal behaviours were deemed by students
as most effective and non-verbal sensitivity plays a significant role in the teaching of music
performance. (Simones, Schroder, and Rodger) For example, I was shown directly how to
position my fingers, and she pointed to certain parts of the music to highlight how to play those
sections. I was required to imitate the demonstrated actions of playing piano in order to learn
how to properly practice pieces. This would help me to easily work on my technique and reach
the actual playing of works sooner.
All that I have learned would come into play sooner than expected, from my very first
recital to my latest one. Almost ten years ago, in what I remember to be a more contemporary
neighborhood, I participated in my first public recital with Mrs. Pearces other current students. I
had only started playing piano a few years (maybe even one year) beforehand, and I certainly felt
the nerves that any eight-year-old would feel on their first showcase in front of thirty some
people. After what felt like two whole hours, my name was called upon by my teacher herself; if
memory serves me correctly, I was close to last on the list of performers. Several deep breaths
later, I thought I would try to pretend that I was still at home practicing, as I felt more calm at the
thought of sitting at my own bench playing my favorite songs. Suddenly, I was playing, without
even thinking about doing so. The crowd seemed to think that I played well, and I was certainly
satisfied to know that I did a great job.
Fast forward ten years, after a long eight months at my boarding school in the mountains
of North Carolina, I spent some time refreshing my skills as a pianist. While practicing one of
my favorite pieces, Albinonis Adagio in G Minor, I got a call from Mrs. Pearce, asking if I could
play at her mothers nursing home the next month. I did what most people would do and

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accepted the offer, but I was worried that I would not brush up the piece in time. The Adagio
remains to this day the most difficult piece I have ever played in my decade of piano. Yet, at the
same time, I felt more determined than before to succeed. I wanted to show that even though I
had stopped playing for an extended period of time, I was still fully capable of performing such a
piece. So, I set aside several sessions each day to work on the Adagio in order to rectify any
mistakes and build upon my strong points. The date finally arrived and I performed last to a very
warm reception. While Mrs. Pearce was certainly proud of me, I was more proud of what I had
accomplished in such a short time.
Over my several years and developed memories of my Discourse, I have developed
several different beliefs while witnessing how piano has affected other aspects of my life. Most
important of the values, I first-handedly experienced the importance of practice in the field of
music. For many years, my piano teacher had told me that I needed to practice more than I
already did, and for those years, I did not truly take that to heart. In fact, it was not until my
recital in 2014 described above that I found out how important practice truly is to a musician.
When I first returned to the Adagio, I did not perform at a level satisfactory to myself. After
multiple weeks of what felt like nonstop practice, my greatest recital was played, and it was
thanks to that practice.
One thing with which I have always been fascinated with, and something that I believe in
deeply, is the idea that knowledge of a musical instrument helps to improve performance in
academics. I looked up some studies recently that mentioned how academics and music are
interconnected, and how new learning processes can improve performance in music or
academics. One of the ones that I found involved improved performance in music tests; the

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author of the paper mentions that as a result of collaboration, individual performance scores
increased significantly on sight-reading and harmonization tests. Improvements in continuity,
musical flow, persistence, and self-efficacy were notable. (Pike, 2014) Another author, states on
the music side, that with new approaches to sight-reading, training does have a positive impact
on various aspects of sight-reading and that additional sight-reading activities improve post-test
performance. (Zhukov, 2014) While I still do not know much about the interconnection, I am
willing to research further to understand how academics are improved with knowledge of music.
As for my own personal experience, I have seen overall high academic scores, and I contribute
my way of thinking on these tests, in part, to my long-time experience playing piano.
After a decade of hard work, I can confidently say that I have become fluent in the
practice of piano playing. While I have not worked on these skills over the past year, I still can
see the effects that piano has formed in my life. I even found out not too long ago that I was
tested to have perfect pitch, which means that I can recognize the pitch of a note just by listening
to it. A very small percentage of people are blessed with this ability. It has also gotten me more
interested in other types of music besides the classical that I usually play in my recitals. I have
worked into different genres of music to play, including some very brief experiences in a jazz
band in middle school. Although so much has developed now from my piano skills, I believe that
I still have yet to see the full potential that music can play in my life.

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Works Cited
Page-Shipp, Roy, (author), and Caproina, (Author) Van Niekerk. A Superannuated
Physicists Attempts To Master Music Theory: Resolving Cognitive Conflicts And
A Paradigm Clash. International Journal Of Music Education 32.2 (2014): 150170. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (1967 to Present only). Web. 15 Nov.
2015.
Pike, Pamela D., (Author). An Exploration Of The Effect Of Cognitive And
Collaborative Strategies On Keyboard Skills Of Music Education Students.
Journal Of Music Teacher Education 23.2 (2014): 79-91. RILM Abstracts of
Music Literature (1967 to Present only). Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Reid, Anna, (Author), and Michael (saxophonist), (Author) Duke. Student For Student:
Peer Learning In Music Higher Education. International Journal Of Music
Education 33.2 (2015): 222-232. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (1967 to
Present only). Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Simones, Lilian, (Author), Franziska, (Author) Schroder, and Matthew, (Author) Rodger.
Categorizations Of Physical Gesture In Piano Teaching: A Preliminary Enquiry.
Psychology Of Music 43.1 (2015): 103-121. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
(1967 to Present only). Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Zhukov, Katie, (Author). Evaluating New Approaches To Teaching Of Sight-Reading
Skills To Advanced Pianists. Music Education Research 16.1 (2014): 70-87.
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (1967 to Present only). Web. 15 Nov. 2015.