Build your muscle story on the piano

I was working out today (using a mobile app) and the coach used that expression: “build your muscle story”.

This resonated with me.

Yes, she’s right, by focusing on getting the movement right, the posture efficient, I am telling a story to my body, to my muscles, my joints…

I tell them the sequence they should follow, the intensity, the angles, a lot of information to make the exercise the right way.

When you practice the piano (or any instrument), you do the same. There are a lot of similarities between fitness and playing an instrument.

You have to tell your body what it should do to produce the effect you want. To play one single note, you have to engage multiple muscles and joints in a very controlled manner.

If you are a beginner, but even a more advanced piano player, you have to take the time to build those stories.

That’s one of the reasons why practicing even a little but very regularly is so efficient. You repeat the story again and again.

And after some time, like children listening to the same story before going to bed, night after night, your body will know by heart those stories.

You won’t have to make more effort than that.

But just take the time to tell carefully the story each time. Don’t miss a word.

Make pauses when it is the right moment. Accelerate when you need to.

Play the music itself is the art of telling stories. Let your body learn them with patience. Then, it will be able to tell them by itself, effortlessly.