Every Good Boy Does Fine by Jeremy Denk - Reading Together - Chapters 11 and 12

In these chapters, Denk confronts the psychological and technical thresholds of musical maturity. As self-doubt and rigid perfectionism threaten his playing at Oberlin, he wrestles with the emotional burden of performance anxiety. Entering graduate study with Hungarian master György Sebők, he transitions into Part Three (Rhythm). Sebők demystifies piano playing by stripping away unnecessary tension, revealing that rhythm is not an external metric prison, but an organic, physical pulse. These chapters capture the liberating shift from desperate control to musical surrender, breathing, and artistic renewal.

If you want to delve into practice habits with your students, here are some resources to do that.

- On the Perils of “Perfect Practice”: Christine Carter & Ellen Hendriksen: Performance psychologists explain how rigid "zero-mistake" practice breeds anxiety, offering strategies to foster adaptive, resilient practicing instead.
- On Rhythm: How to Develop a Steady Pulse: Fitch shows how to move pulse off the page and into the body using physical movement, word subdivisions, and drop-out metronome drills.
- Thoughts on the Art of Practice: Highlights economy of physical effort, unforced weight, and listening over muscular strain.
- Practicing Efficiently: Provides a concrete studio routine to help students who feel overwhelmed or mentally scattered channel their practice time into calm, constructive problem-solving.

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I've published five piano music books and one guitar music book. Get them here. Sign up here for my free monthly newsletter! Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.