Piano Psychology

[fgabriel09]

Hello guys,

I'm a pianist, and was reading a book on playing piano the other day. In the book the author described an encounter with a concert pianist who was so drunk he could not stand up. This pianist played extremely complex pieces on the piano perfectly, though. In fact he kept playing until he fell off the bench.

The author's explanation of this was that playing piano had become so ingrained into him that it was completely second nature. But there must be another facet to that, because walking, standing, and sitting are second nature, too. But the pianist could not even sit up.

Any explanations?

Thanks!

 

[Daniel E.]

In fact he kept playing until he fell off the bench.

Well, there you go. He could sit up enough for his hands to reach the keys...until he fell off.

One could compare playing piano to typing out words on a computer keyboard since "muscle memory" is involved. So one way to understand what is going on may be to try to type (or play piano) while feeling sleepy.

 

[Heather]

How interesting,

I must say that I sometimes am able to type at the computer and not really be here! Not really the same thing though! This is due to uni, lol!

Maybe his love for it took over somehow subconciously. I do not really have any idea with this one truth be told, but thought it interesting.

Heather...