Open Time: Opening Statement

Was it a new technique? Perhaps it was just a little different. It was playing-the-piano. And that has not changed. Already in its beginning the technique became organic: it was understood innately how to play; the music was set by those who could play; and it was the music that taught us how to play as them. Because they played so well; better than us. They played to the perfection of the human entity: the mind and body fused as one.

That is how we learned to do the same, because it was understood from within, what we had to do; because what we had to do was not only tempting, it was full of joy; for us and for those who heard it. The technique has reached, had reached, already long ago, what it was to do; it filled itself out immediately, because it reached that which it was striving for; it was already in our metabolism to do this. It was already perfect; but there are many perfect ways of being perfect.

Is this technique then enough? It is enough for what it has to say; but if music has another voice to speak with; if we can change our voice; what then? Should we call this a new technique or simply see it as our same voice singing in a new register? Let us say that we are setting out (in the present-day) to change the pitch of our voice. It has been for some time now at one pitch; steadily; that is good; it is a wonder to sing at this pitch. When a new pitch is given, let us sing with that one too. Perhaps some day we can sing with three or even four. Our voice could sing at one pitch; now it can sing at two; but the journey to reach this second one is no shorter than that which led us to the first.

No matter; we are always learning; our time is for learning; so let us learn well to sing with this second voice. One thing is sure: we never know when we have learned it. That is a strange thing; that, too, is a part of time. All we can know is that we have taken a step; certainly the view has changed; perhaps we can rest here and look at how far we've climbed. But do not be fooled into thinking that this step has put you at the summit. We are always facing away from the summit, out, with joy at the height; perhaps we can enjoy this altitude; far away we see other mountains; but they are not the mountain which we are climbing; that one we must take one step at a time, never knowing when and if we have reached the top.

This book was not written in any sequence of steps; they are as much a surprise for me as for you; we are still filling ourselves out; because we are alive; because of that, perhaps we will never master this new voice; as we are too, it is part of time with us; we are doing it; no-one yet has mastered anything; even ourselves; because we are everything, that matters.

No words can find this pitch for you; only practical discovery will; practising; we still do not know the meaning of this word; because it is understood as something painful; the sunlight, too, is painful to the mole (I suppose), but "painful" is not the essential meaning of the word, though sometimes it is that, for sure. Bring oneself to practise. Practise so that you can know again what you have seen yesterday; if you knew yourself yesterday, you must practise today to know that again; if you can do today what was done yesterday, then you are already doing it better; and it is no pain to meet again the old friend; keep him as a friend; you are older too.

So, I have forgotten this question I once asked about this voice; certainly I am still aware of questions; I just don't know how to ask. It has something to do with one step; not along a different way; it is still the same way; we are just one step farther along; let's not call this new; this taking of one more step; to take this little step, we must take many, many tiny-tiny steps; these tiny steps are deceitful; they look so terribly big every time; before, and after too. They, too, come and go in perspective. These steps are only as big as our reach can handle; the step of doing it is never "at-once"; because it is made up of many smaller steps, each along the way, to coming to reach that step; every step is immense; because we have done it.

It is neither hard nor easy; those words are meaningless in practice; what is hard cannot be done; only what is done is easy; therefore, simply do it.

Eventually, we have discovered that our voice can reach a different pitch. There is no reason not so sing with both pitches. Enjoy both notes; they are both necessary. A different pitch is given by a new technique; it necessitates the new technique; the two have created each other; from the music, learn the technique, and from the technique, learn what is this music.

First learn how to read; although this is not the beginning; "first" really doesn't come into it; learn how to read before you begin doing it; but you are doing it while you learn to read. There is nowhere to begin; so let us begin anywhere.

There are two things that must be separated; the ability to read the music, and the ability to play it; about the physical experience of playing this continuous music, I have quite little to say; what there is will be found on a few of these following pages; the act of the playing has its own feeling, and that feeling is quite a lot different from the feeling of playing other types of music on the piano; the different requests that the types of music demand are inherent to the form in which they are written; continuous music creates its own energy in the muscles, the body and in the mind; once the technique is at-hand for the player, the feeling will be evident; and that feeling is crucial to having the technique; and that feeling is near impossible for me to describe, even though it's so important that the player can know what it is; yet only practise will search it out; and that is why I say so little on it - and there's one other reason too: that once the music gets under the technique, there is almost no feeling in the hands at all; one feels almost nothing except oneself and the thought of the music's sound; so, what can one say, except for all the things that aren't there to be spoken of?