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The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose holy curiosity – Albert Einstein

One of the tenets of my own musical study, my writing and my life in general is to “stay curious”. I’ve always been curious and from a young age, I wanted to know stuff – from dinosaurs to Egyptology, Old English to the piano music of Schubert, or setting up my own website/blog and learning basic computer coding. Today, the internet is a remarkable resource for the curious-minded and my usual habit, if I want to find out something, is to look it up on Google or YouTube.

Curiosity is essential for the musician. Not only does it drive exploration, keeps practice interesting, improves problem-solving skills and creativity, and helps to maintain self-motivation, it also fosters creativity, thus encouraging one to explore further – new repertoire, techniques and more to improve one’s skills and expand one’s musical horizons.

Mindless, uncurious practising is boring. It’s often simply “going through the motions”, without thinking creatively about what you are doing at the piano. Look closely at the score, ask it questions – why has the composer used that harmony/ combination of notes/specific articulation? – and seek your own answers (and remember that there isn’t necessarily a single or straightforward answer, nor that there is a “right answer” or “right way” of doing things – adopting this mindset is liberating in itself, and breeds even more curiosity and creativity).

The curious pianist approaches each practice session with an open mind – “what can I do today that’s different/better?“.  Curiosity helps to keep practice engaging and interesting (because, let’s be honest, practicing can be tedious, especially if you’ve been working on the same piece or pieces for long periods of time, for example, when preparing for an exam or diploma performance). By approaching practice with a sense of curiosity, you can make the process more enjoyable and satisfying – and, importantly, more motivating.

Photo by Anastasia Kolchina on Pexels.com

Curiosity improves problem-solving skills too. When you encounter a difficult passage in a piece or a technical problem in your playing, curiosity can help you to find creative solutions. It encourages you to think outside the box and come up with new ways to approach a problem.

A good teacher will encourage curiosity in their students and give them the tools to be curious in their own practicing and musical study (and curiosity is related to independent learning and self-teaching which will be covered in a separate post).  Curious students tend to be more eager to learn – and to learn more – motivated and self-starting.

Away from the practice room, be curious about your encounters with other music. Go to concerts, experience music with which you may or may not be familiar. Listen with an open mind and find inspiration from others’ music-making.

Curiosity allows us all, at whatever level we play, whether amateur or professional, to push ourselves to improve and expand our skills, which is essential to becoming a better musician.

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“I am a beginner. I am always learning”*

Fou Ts’ong

This wonderfully humble quote from Fou Ts’ong, the acclaimed Chinese pianist, who died on 28 December 2020, is a reminder that even those at the top of the profession should never stop learning.

Our learning journey often begins in childhood, with early music lessons under the guidance of a teacher and later, for the aspiring professional, in music college or conservatoire. The support of a teacher or mentor may continue after graduation and many professional musicians return to their teachers/mentors for critical feedback and support during their career, even if they are no longer taking regular lessons.

The decision to cease regular lessons is not a sign that one has ceased learning; rather that one has reached a level of competency and confidence to continue on the learning path alone, and a good teacher can instil in a student the necessary tools to study and learn independently.

Ongoing learning requires curiosity and an open-mind, a willingness to accept and reflect on setbacks, the ability to self-critique one’s work, and to set realistic goals to maintain focus and motivation. This continual learning process is allied to mastery – embracing the role of the life-long student and dedicating oneself to the pursuit of excellence.

But there’s more, because what I think Fou Ts’ong’s quote also reminds us is that, as musicians (and human beings in general), we should always try to retain that thirst for knowledge and childlike inquisitiveness of the beginner student, unburdened by preconceptions and past experiences. The beginner’s mindset keeps us alert, curious and questioning, ready to accept doubt and open to possibilities and alternatives – important for the musician, not just when learning and refining music but also in performance and teaching.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.”

– Shunryu Suzuki

The beginner’s mindset can also be helpful when trying to problem solve or overcome obstacles. The “habits of the expert” can actually be an impediment, leading us to overthink or become mired in problems which aren’t really there. The “innocence of first inquiry” (Suzuki) allows us to see things as they are, to simplify, and to problem solve step by step.

Studies have shown that the accrual of greater knowledge can lead not only to us becoming bogged down and distracted by our expertise, but also rather complacent in the face of problems, which then leads us to approach issues in ways which are familiar or habitual, rather than thinking more creatively “outside the box”. Here too, we allow our ego, enhanced by our perceived greater knowledge, to over-complicate a situation. This may also prevent us from finding a better or more creative solution.

The accrual of greater knowledge and expertise, advanced technical facility and musicianship should always be tempered by the beginner’s curiosity and open-mindedness. It can only make us better musicians.

*from an interview with music journalist Jessica Duchen