Letter from Boston Restarting Piano Lessons By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ピアノレッスン、再び 早いもので、夏休みにはいってもう1ヵ月が過ぎました。大学院に入って以来、研究に打ち込んできた雅子さんですが、それが人生のすべてではありません。専門も勉強のほかにも何か有意義なことをしたいと考えた雅子さんは…。

My graduate level physics courses have been one of the biggest academic challenges of my life, and no matter how much time I have, there's always more to learn. The thing is, I've always known that physics isn't everything for me. I'd miss it terribly if I chose to quit, and I am still very much an amateur, but it's simply not enough to keep me content. Therefore, I've decided to reincorporate some of the activities that used to mean a lot to me. I don't know whether this will help or harm my physics, but I'm sure that it will improve my mental well-being.

I've started a major search for a new piano teacher this month. Since I've always been fairly serious about my musical activities, I've decided to look for the best fit that I can find. Since BU has a reputable school for the arts, I first called the music department to see whether they offer private piano lessons. It turns out they offer them only as an academic course. They charge course prices plus a facilities fee (a total of about $2,500 for only 15 lessons) in exchange for giving official credit. This is an outrageous price, and I don't even need the credits, so I asked what other options I had. They told me that I could find a graduate student to teach me. Since I am probably at the graduate level anyway, I decided against that and moved on to the next number on my list.

Longy School of Music is a small conservatory in Cambridge. It's well-known for its warm attitude toward extension students. Extension students are students who are not full-time music students at the college or graduate school level. They can be in elementary school or they can be senior citizens . Many conservatories shove extension students (with the exception of very serious teenagers who want to become professionals) to the side, and I didn't want this to happen to me, so I decided to look into this school.

I played for the chair of the piano department and asked for her advice. She told me that while she feels all of the music schools in Boston have teachers of similar caliber (indeed, many of the teachers are on the faculty of more than one conservatory), Longy has a total atmosphere that is more home-like than others. I liked what I heard, but I told her that one of the prime disadvantages of Longy is that it is in Cambridge, not in Boston, where I live and study. I told her that I didn't know whether I could continue at Longy once school starts, and at that point, she told me that I should look into the New England Conservatory, since it's too much of a hassle to switch teachers midyear.

New England Conservatory is one of the best conservatories in the States. I like the idea of taking lessons at a place where many of the students want to be professionals. Of course, I don't always want to be in the shadow of more serious students, but I definitely feel a burst of inspiration when I associate with them. Again, I played for the chair of the department and she gave me advice as well as a few references. She told me, "I'm one of the prima donnas of the department and I'm proud of it," so I wasn't surprised when she told me that she prefers dealing with professional-track students. That said, she offered to take me on, but I was a little bit afraid of her. She was chatty and pleasant, but I got the sense that she'd push me harder than I was used to ― and then she'd lose respect for me (smiling, still) if I couldn't pull through.

She obviously knew the importance of chemistry in the teacher-student relationship, so she gave me the names of two other teachers I might fancy. I met one of them in his home near BU. I played for him and then asked him what he thought. By then, I knew that not only was he judging me, I was also judging him. I grilled him on fundamental questions regarding his teaching style and style of musical interpretation. I liked his pleasant demeanor (in spite of his own serious musical education) but I got the sense that he was TOO flexible and accommodating and I realized that I preferred somebody with a clearer vision.

It's hard to believe, but well over a month has passed since summer vacation started. My dreamlike musical summer hasn't even begun! However, I know that the teacher I choose will likely be one who I'll keep during my graduate school years, so I want to be careful. I'm meeting another of the references soon. I hope I get along with him.

Shukan ST: July 4, 1997

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