"Teacher... my hand is sore..."

Once the mindset was adjusted, the approach to solving problems became clear as well.

At this stage, Professor Yu’s requirement for Ji Yang was to increase speed. The goal was still unclear, so for now, it was to be understood as an arts examination requirement.

Currently, Ji Yang was already forcing herself to play faster in her practice. Her right hand suffered from severe slipping, producing weak and unstable tones, lacking in rhythm and endurance. Her left hand had no proper hand position, jumps were stiff, accuracy was low, and the chords showed no sense of layering or proper arm movement. Occasionally, the pedal was stamped on nervously. As for playing hands together... how to put it... Let’s focus on the positive: at least she could get through the whole piece with both hands in such a state. That was a skill in itself.

Combining Professor Yu’s teaching philosophy and the goal of tonight’s visit, Li An knew he had to help Ji Yang achieve a noticeable improvement before the end of the lesson. The improvement could be small, but it had to be visible to both parent and child.

In the quiet practice room, the scratch of a pen across paper was magnified. The mother and daughter watched Li An busily at work, each lost in their own thoughts.

After about ten seconds, Li An’s pen stilled. He looked up and offered a satisfied smile, speaking sincerely, “You played very well.”

These four words set Hu Rong’s anxious heart at ease. She had never heard Li An play the piano herself, but from the short twenty minutes since he entered the living room, from her observation of his words and manners, she had already labeled him a professional in her mind. It no longer mattered whose student he had been.

During her daughter’s playing, she had noticed Li An’s brows furrow from time to time, which made her worry. But now, her heart was calm.

Ji Yang, recognized for her effort, was beaming with joy. She liked this new practice coach and naturally wanted to leave a good impression. She had succeeded.

“Thank you, teacher!”

The atmosphere in the practice room relaxed considerably. Li An put his notebook aside.

“Ji Yang, you said you’ve been practicing this piece for five months now?”

“Yes.”

“How long did it take you from getting the sheet music to playing both hands together?”

“Two weeks?” Ji Yang tilted her small face and scratched the back of her head, looking at Li An with uncertainty. “Three weeks?”

Li An had no way of knowing, but Ji Yang’s answer was clear enough. That was exactly the issue.

Because of the unique nature of this piece, the requirement for separate hand practice was especially high.

All the right hand runs in this piece were performed almost entirely on the black keys. It’s widely known that the black keys on a piano are shorter and narrower than the white keys. The tempo was fast, and the notes densely packed, so slow, separate-hand practice in the early stages was crucial for whether the piece could ultimately be played well.

He himself had spent five weeks practicing this piece before his teacher allowed him to use both hands. The previous student, under Teacher Wei’s strict supervision, had taken nearly seven weeks. Their foundations at the time were far stronger than Ji Yang’s current level.

So it was no wonder Ji Yang started playing hands together after just two or three weeks and couldn’t play it well.

But from another angle—

“You read music quickly. Not bad at all.” Li An praised her again, then pointed at the electronic metronome resting on the piano. “May I use this?”

Ji Yang nodded eagerly. “Yes, of course.”

Li An set the metronome to sixty beats per minute, and the room filled with its steady “tick—tick—tick—.”

“You want me to practice slowly?” Ji Yang asked.

“Not only slowly,” Li An confirmed, “I’m sure Professor Yu emphasized the importance of separate hand practice, didn’t he?”

“Uh...” Ji Yang struggled to recall. Maybe it had been mentioned a few times.

Li An continued, “Let’s look at the first eight bars for the right hand. Make sure your fingertips stay as close to the black keys as possible. Use more of the front pads of your fingers. Keep your key strikes even, the touch light and agile, like this.”

As he spoke, Li An demonstrated on the teacher’s piano.

It sounded beautiful!

To Ji Yang, the sound was clean, even, with a crisp clarity. She remembered nothing else—just how beautiful it sounded.

After a second demonstration, Li An added, “Slow, separate-hand practice can effectively help you fix missed notes in your right hand and the lack of rhythmic flow in six notes per beat. These two issues have troubled you for a long time, haven’t they?”

Every time she asked Professor Yu in class, he just told her to keep practicing slowly, and she’d get it eventually. He had even given her a method: practice at three speeds, a few times each at 80, 85, and 90 beats per minute. She could feel herself improving with this method, but her playing still didn’t sound good.

Recalling Li An’s words, Ji Yang raised her right hand, ready to play, but Li An interrupted her.

“Don’t raise your wrist so high,” he said, pausing before adding, “At least during practice, keep your whole body loose. Just rest your hand comfortably on the piano, breathe, and follow the beat.”

Ji Yang did as she was told, following the metronome and playing fingers 3, 5, and 1 in succession.

Li An corrected her from the side. “When your pinky lands, bring out the top note. Can you hear the high note?”

Ji Yang played her pinky with more strength.

The difference in volume was immediate.

[Ji Yang’s student-teacher index rose to 7]

However—

“Don’t pound the keys. Once the tempo increases, you won’t be able to hit them like that.”

“When you press a key, grip it; at the moment you press, you should feel a slight pull back, then relax instantly. The point of slow, separate-hand practice is to deepen your muscle memory for every technical point of each note at a slow pace.”

Ji Yang corrected herself immediately.

“Yes, that’s it.”

[Teaching point +3]

However—

“Wait, don’t focus only on the top note. Pay attention to the strength of every finger.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yes, that’s it. Not bad. Repeat from the first bar again. Keep going. Where’s the top note? Where is it?”

“Spread your hand, stretch out. Play boldly. Good. Each touch on the black keys needs to be supported with strength. Why are you always missing and landing on the white keys?”

“Repeat.”

“Keep going.”

“Repeat.”

“Keep going.”

“Repeat.”

In this endless cycle...

“Teacher... my hand is sore... can I switch hands now...?”

“No, keep going a bit longer.”

Two minutes later.

“Teacher Li, I really can’t do it anymore.”

But Li An still didn’t call a halt. Instead, he reached out his right hand to the piano and played together with Ji Yang.

“Repeat two more times. Think about how Professor Yu explained it to you.”

Ji Yang thought about it; Professor Yu had never said much, and certainly had never pushed her this way. Now, her mind was filled with Li An’s concise guidance for these eight bars.

With the last set of three-octave triplets, Ji Yang began vigorously massaging her wrist.

But Li An did not stop. Keeping to the 60 beats per minute in his ear, he doubled the rhythm, turning six notes per beat into twelve.

In an instant, a brilliant melody blazed forth from the monochrome world of black and white keys.