This One Goes Out to the Ladies
This is not a political post. Except this.
I’d like to talk about bosoms. Boobs, if you will. Many bodies have them. Many bodies with boobs play the piano. And sometimes these things interfere with each other.
“I feel like my boobs are getting in my way.”
Reader, can you imagine my laughter at hearing this sentence spoken a few weeks ago in a lesson? Let me tell you, it was nothing compared to the hilarity as I sought to very clearly, calmly, professionally, maturely, explain how to navigate one’s boobs in this specific piano situation.
“So. *nervous giggle* Boobs are great, in part because they are ahhhh, movable. I mean, they’re attached, but only on one um. Side. *laughter* You don't need to feel like you need to avoid them. Just let the inside of your arm *points out specific upper arm area* really go ahead and ahhh, push against them quite firmly. *gales of laughter* Your boobs, or just one, will then maneuver themselves out of the way. Go under them if possible, definitely not over, but just sort of...straight through, if that’s the best option. In other words, your boobs are in service to your playing, not the other way around.”
But here’s the thing: classical musicians don’t freaking talk about this! Having boobs at the piano is a whole THING that so rarely gets discussed in any sort of meaningful way.
Classical piano is still a man’s world (FTP). This means many teachers (including my three major teachers, for example) are male. My male teachers were wonderful, supportive, very attentive to the way my body functioned at the piano. By body, I mean hands, wrists, arms, elbows, back, feet. Even pectoral muscles. Collarbones. I was sure not going to ask them about my damn boobs though! And they certainly wouldn’t bring it up. Why invite a sexual harassment case? Or maybe they’ve never thought about it, having never had them.
But so many of us have boobs.
I’m so happy that my student asked about it. I was never confident enough to ask my female teachers about how to navigate arm crossings. In part, I felt constrained by the formalities of the classical world; one simply doesn’t ask about Such Things. But piano - at least in my world - doesn’t have to be so damn proper. These sorts of conversations are important. All bodies are welcome here—we’ll figure it out together.