The aversion to playing slowly
This is a very common affliction indeed. Presto infatuation is traditionally known to manifest more in boys, although many girls also suffer from this condition. The student with presto infatuation does not see the point, relevance, or enjoyment to be found in playing a piece at a slow or moderate tempo.
Presto infatuation and vivace influenza are very easy to confuse with each other. The main difference will be found in the student’s expression, body language and small utterances. When asked to play slowly, does the student groan, complain or plead with you? If they are merely reluctant to play slowly because they don’t like it, yet can do so with ease when they try, then they probably have presto infatuation, not vivace influenza.
Symptoms
Prescriptions
Aural Storytelling
In lesson
Your student with presto infatuation may not see the value in music that is slow. She may have a competitive nature, and have come to associate fast playing with virtuosity and skill. Playing piano could mean “winning” piano to her, and winning piano may translate in her head to playing as quickly as possible. One way to counteract this is to help the student understand the stories and feelings behind music.
Begin by listening together in lessons to recordings of music that is descriptive of something specific. Pieces that describe animals, stories or scenes are particularly easy for children to connect to. Discuss how the music was composed to represent the imagery. What dynamics, tempo and articulations did the composer utilise? Understanding the descriptive power of music can help the student connect to music in a non-competitive way.
At home
Assign additional listening exercises for the student to complete at home. Ask her to come back to you with her thoughts about the pieces: why the composer made the choices they did and what they could have done differently. Gradually, over time, you can start to apply these ideas to the music she is playing herself. What is this music about? What could the story behind it be? What tempo would fit with that description?
Social Proof
In lesson
Show your student a virtuosic pianist on YouTube playing a flashy piece. ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ or the ‘Minute Waltz’ would both be good choices. Ask your student how she thinks this fantastic performance was achieved: how did she or he practice in order to play that quickly?
Demonstrate for her how a concert pianist would begin learning ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ (or whichever piece you chose). If you have the music, open it up and show the student how a first practice session with this piece would sound, breaking it down and slowly working through a small section in front of her, just as you would practice it if you were to work on it yourself. Help her to see that slow practice is necessary for any piece, no matter how quickly it will be played in a concert.
Related Diagnoses
Vivace Influenza