Lubov Laura De Valois on why legato can wait, and why you need talented parents
The concert pianist and teacher on strong foundations, flat fingers, talented parents and music hidden under the mattress.
Lubov Laura De Valois is a concert pianist and opera singer. She is the founder of the Valois Academy of Music and Performance Art in Aurora, Illinois.
Here are fourteen of her best tips, from her Piano Star Masterclass on the path from middle C to virtuosity on Piano League.
1. If you have time to eat, you have time to practice
If you have time to eat, you have time to practice. If they have an excuse, they said, I didn’t practice today, I said, did you eat? Then you should practice.
Lubov Laura De Valois
2. Look for talented parents
Parent is a big part. We have one famous Russian teacher, he said, I don’t need talented students, I need talented parents.
Lubov Laura De Valois
3. Hold off on legato
I never introduce them with legato and staccato in the beginning. The most common mistake a lot of teachers do. Never introduce students to legato. Why? Because when they will play legato right away, they will have flat fingers.
Lubov Laura De Valois
4. No overcooked spaghetti
We do a lot of exercises to make fingers round. I created many, many different techniques, that the students keep fingers round, are never allowed to play like this, never. I always say this is overcooked spaghetti, and I said this is like a chicken claw.
Lubov Laura De Valois
5. Watch for music under the mattress
Kids need to feel attachment to the piece they play. If they hate it, they will not play it, and you will find music under the mattress or in a garbage can.
Lubov Laura De Valois
6. Finish a piece in three months
You have to finish the piece in not more than three months, two and a half sometimes.
Lubov Laura De Valois
7. Build the house on a foundation
Foundation, foundation, foundation. It’s what I tell on lesson number one for my students, and it’s what I share with the other teachers: to build the house on a very strong foundation.
Lubov Laura De Valois
8. Start with sight reading
If a student can sight-read very well, you can bring him or her up, up, up, from first floor to the second to the third. So number one, I built very strong sight reading.
Lubov Laura De Valois
9. Earn trust like a doctor
The student has to trust you, as you go to a medical doctor and the doctor gives you a prescription, you have to trust it will not harm you.
Lubov Laura De Valois
10. Record your own demonstrations
If I can play, they can play. I do left hand, I do right hand. It’s also key for success: always record from day number one.
Lubov Laura De Valois
11. Hear the orchestra in the piano
It’s not just layers of piano. It’s not my right hand, that’s my left hand. It’s actually my cello here, it’s my tuba, she’s a clarinet, he’s a flute.
Lubov Laura De Valois
12. Make up silly lyrics
When I play and record them, I always sing, and I sometimes make silly lyrics, funny lyrics about food, funny lyrics about spaghetti, chicken, chips.
Lubov Laura De Valois
13. Remember the softer note
Remember the rule: after the rest, after fermata, after tied notes, after dotted notes, next note is softer.
Lubov Laura De Valois
14. Hands first, then pedal
Then I put my hands on my lap and I will unglue the pedal. First hands on my lap, then pedal up.
Lubov Laura De Valois
Quotes are lightly edited for length and clarity. They come from Lubov Laura De Valois’s 2020 Piano Star Masterclass on the path from middle C to virtuosity. You can watch the full masterclass on the Piano League YouTube channel.
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