Here are my late night texts to my husband on how to critique piano music.

• Can you hear Caroline playing?
• Listen for clean articulation of each note, even tho it’s fast
• A musician must be heard and given feedback. It’s stunted when she doesn’t get anything. But wait till she breaks for precise input
• Without the listener, the music is lost … the pianist needs the feedback loop for improvement
• First the notes.  The correct ones, so listen
• Second the rhythm, you can tell if that is consistent as a trumpeter
• Last the dynamics
• Her hard part is the middle
• Break it into small sections
• Listen, replay, repeat until she hears it
• N u hear it
• Again and again until muscle memory
• And beauty and truth and
• Goodness pour forth
• From her soul
• Into the air
• Floating to u
• The receiver
• Perfectly
• Never the same twice
• But always Caroline
• Her soul
• In music
• You’ll know when it’s right
• And it’s her
• Just like a perfect swing and the sound the bat makes
• And the kill  [on the volleyball court]
• But nothing is like music
• Because it’s a gift

I texted these notes tonight sitting on the stool of my Steinway Model B piano, taking a break to see the photo of my daughter practicing on a Yamaha P105 Keyboard rental in a hotel room.

Here’s a clip of a song I played and sent to Caroline and my husband, Gershwin’s Blue Lullaby.

I like this performance of my daughter’s song by Norwegian pianist Erik Jensen. The composer of Rustle of Spring is Christian Sinding.

My husband bought a set of headphones for Caroline to use with the keyboard.  I asked her not to use them; she could adjust the volume, BUT he should listen.

Music is better when it’s heard.