What's the point? A guest post by Laura Dean
What’s the point? Why do we play the piano in a society that assures us it’s a waste of time? Why do we continue to practice if we aren’t chasing goals? When we live in a world where headlines tell us that there are much more pressing things to do with our time, is it any wonder that we sometimes lose sight of why we continue to play?
“What’s the point?”
When pianist, instructor and author Laura Dean heard this question asked by one of her former teachers, she wrote a post on her blog as a reply. Her response was so full of passion and joy that when I read it I asked Laura for permission to repost it here. I’m grateful that she said yes.
Laura Dean has appeared as a guest writer on No Dead Guys in the past with her article, Piano Music of Heart and Place: a guest post by author and pianist Laura Dean. Since that post, she’s expanded her performing and adjudicating work and launched Play Piano Today: An Introductory Online Piano Course - a self-paced, elegant introduction designed to guide new pianists along their own musical paths. It’s an honor to feature her again on No Dead Guys.
A guest post by Laura Dean
One of the joys of my professional life for the past five years is the privilege of being a visiting artist for the Washington State Music Teachers’ Association. In this capacity I’ve had the opportunity to work with students in a variety of locations across Washington and to meet fellow teachers. Students who sign up for the Music Artistry Event (called MAP) perform two pieces and receive feedback in the form of written comments and a mini-lesson with the visiting artist. This year, I, along with several other visiting artists spent the month of March working in multiple locations around the state. In all, I listened to, wrote comments for, and worked with approximately 150 students. Although the schedule is grueling – with long days and travel away from home – it is truly a privilege to work with these students and to meet so many dedicated teachers.
With this in mind, you can imagine my surprise when I crossed paths with a former teacher at one of the events. While we were chit-chatting, I asked her, “Are you still doing any playing?”
She flatly responded with a question, “What’s the point?”
I was caught off guard. For once, I had no words. Her question was left hanging in the air as we parted ways. However, I was thinking of a response long after the conversation.
What is the point?
Well, let me count the ways……
The point is connection. Music brings people together – of all ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints – around the shared goal of practicing, creating, and listening to music. Connecting with one another through music makes the world a more connected and humane place.
The point is healing. In my book, Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier, I explore countless examples of how music in the 1800s provided solace, hope, and healing during difficult times. As people fought to hold onto their culture or made their way across the continent in covered wagons and set up homesteads in challenging landscapes, music was a touchstone, a candle in the darkness.
As in centuries past, music still heals. For example, in my own life, focusing on my musical studies and activities provided a comfort and grounding when my dad died in a car accident when I twelve.
The point is legacy. Music is a way of traveling through time. Every song, every piece carries echoes of culture, values, aesthetics, and history—the good and the bad. Music helps us make sense of the world we live in by creating, performing, and listening to works that reflect the spirit of their time.
Consider Antonín Dvořák’s New World Symphony, composed in 1893, which encouraged other leading composers to draw from homegrown musical traditions. What great musical work will our current moment in history yield?
The point is joy and celebration. Throughout history, we’ve turned to music to celebrate life’s big events as well as the small moments: births, friendships, weddings, birthdays, family gatherings, falling in love, the day to day workweek and weekends. Our lives are enriched by the joy of teaching, practicing, performing, listening, and dancing to music. Music brings laughter, delight, and lightness to our days.
The point is personal growth and discovery. As lifelong learners, teachers, performers, and listeners, music challenges us and expands our minds and hearts. As a devoted music student myself, I’m continually inspired to grow as a musician, teacher, and lover of music. The more I learn the more I realize how much there is to explore.
The point is inspiration. A treasured memory from this past March: I was working with an eight-year-old on Whidbey Island. After she performed her pieces, we worked together on connecting and shaping her legato phrases within her lovely melodic piece. When our mini-lesson was finished, I asked, “How do you think this sounds now?”
She beamed and responded, “I think I sound like an angel.”
Moments like this are the point!
Laura Dean’s dynamic music career spans over twenty years and includes audiences in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Originally from Montana, Laura lives in Seattle, Washington, where she performs, teaches, writes, records, creates music curricula, and offers private and public concerts along with school/community residencies and music education workshops. She thrives on travel to both domestic and international destinations where she collects stories, photographs, videos and music which inspire and inform her solo performance programs, writing, and educational residencies.
Laura’s first, book, Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier (McFarland Publishing),hit the shelves on May 23, 2022. In 2018, Laura created Hear It, Sing It, Move It: A North American Folk Song Collection – a complete curriculum including song book, teacher’s curriculum guide, and recordings. Romanza de Amor, her first solo recording, released on Yellow House Records (2011), features a selection of piano works from Mexico’s most beloved composer, Manuel M. Ponce. Women with a Past, released on Yellow House Records (2015), features piano works from five women composers from the Baroque through the twentieth century.
Her educational outreach for K-12 includes a variety of experiential learning opportunities such as teaching the folks songs of Mexico and the dances of Cuba. Aiming for maximum engagement, Laura’s solo programs and residencies weave together live music played on the piano and guitar, vocal selections, engaging narratives, and captivating photographs. Her concerts and residencies have reached over 3,000 students and community members in the Seattle area and beyond. As an experienced grant writer, Laura has received numerous grants for her work as an educator, performer, and research scholar from local and national organizations.