#11 What happens when piano students become active music makers? With composer, Elissa Milne
“Because we have keys [on a piano] we can press, it’s so tempting to turn the keys into a data entry exercise, and to think if we get the data wrong, the calculations will come out wrong. You could play all the wrong notes with the right rhythm, and it’s music.”
What if the way we've been teaching piano is actually getting in the way of real musicianship?
That's just one of the ideas Elissa Milne drops in this conversation, and it's one you won't stop thinking about.
Elissa and I sat down together at Top Music Live in Sydney, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat listening to this conversation as we explore the big picture and grand philosophies behind music making.
It’s funny, thought-provoking, and game-changing. Elissa is one of Australia's most beloved and internationally recognised composers, the mind behind Little Peppers, Pepperbox Jazz, and pieces that piano teachers and students around the world have been playing for decades.
If you've ever wondered how to build musicians who are truly expressive, this episode is for you. In this episode, you'll discover:
(00:00) Why Elissa started writing educational music
(05:00) The compositional philosophy behind her pieces
(10:00) Why she doesn't use her students as "crash test dummies"
(16:00) The Shakespeare analogy that reframes everything about performance
(22:00) Questioning why we become vessels for dead composers’ art
(28:00) A case for mucking around with music
(34:00) The harmonic hologram: a fascinating concept from contemporary music your students will love
(40:00) Why BTS, Taylor Swift, and the supermarket soundtrack matter in the piano studio
(46:00) The two pieces that deserve to be in every exam syllabus
Resources
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