Juilliard alum, pianist, and founder of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, helping serious adult musicians develop intelligent practice strategies and perform with confidence under pressure.
🎹 What I'm choosing to work on this year
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As the new year begins, I want to share something I’ve decided. This year, I’m preparing to enter an international piano competition. At the recent International Chopin Competition, I heard a contestant say on an interview, That was never true for me. I always loved preparing for competitions. Not for the outcome, but for what the process demands: sharper listening, clearer decisions, less excess, more focus. It exposes what actually holds under pressure, and what doesn’t. At this stage of my life and career, that kind of work feels especially meaningful. This preparation is already reshaping how I memorize. As my relationship to the music has deepened, memorization habits from my 20s no longer work. Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing parts of this work, not as a behind-the-scenes diary, but as a way of articulating what serious artistic preparation looks like when you’re no longer trying to prove anything. Whether or not I ever hear the jury call my name, this work is worth doing. If you’re a musician who cares about depth, restraint and serious preparation, this year’s journey will speak to you. Play On, |
Lisa Spector, Piano Ninja
Juilliard alum, pianist, and founder of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, helping serious adult musicians develop intelligent practice strategies and perform with confidence under pressure.
It’s 1972, and I’m walking into Hogwarts. Okay, not Hogwarts exactly. But something like it... Crouse College, a building that belongs in another century. I’m 10 and enchanted by the bell tower ringing throughout the Syracuse University campus. It’s my first real concert. I’m here to see David Mulfinger perform all 24 Chopin Études. From the very first C Major bass octave of Op. 10 No. 1, I was mesmerized. While my hands could barely reach an octave, I knew in every ounce of my body that I...
As Chopin’s birthday approaches, I’ll admit it... I’m in a full-blown love affair. 💕 This week I’m recording the Polonaise-Fantaisie.After decades with this music, here’s what I’ve learned…You can’t decorate it.You can’t “add” to it. The moment you force it, the music resists. So how much rubato is too much? I recorded a short video exploring exactly that. 👀 Watch ⬇️How Much Rubato Is Too Much? If you want your Chopin to sound passionate but not messy, join me this Thursday.FROM TECHNICAL TO...
If you heard my Rachmaninoff on Valentine's Day, you know that I love schmalz in my music. 🥰 But I cringe when it’s added at the wrong time, especially in Chopin. 🙃 You're probably not lacking in expression. You may just be adding it in the wrong place. 🎼 A tiny practice experiment for you:Before you add rubato this week... Play the phrase completely without flexibility. Build the harmonic tension. Identify the exact point where the phrase can support rubato. Only then allow the rubato to...