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As you can see at the rehearsals, children do not have any strong desires; there is nothing they really want; they do not choose things for themselves. It is precisely because they do not make these choices that you must tell them, at every lesson, to make their hands soft or to move their thumbs sideways. In Sacramento I asked students to move the thumb sideways, but they could not do it because they had not been told by their teachers to do it at every lesson. I told them to play legato, not to crash or hit the piano, but they were not told enough by their teachers, so they could not do it.

It is the same for the children in Matsumoto, of course. They do not choose and they do not practice. It is the same thing all over the world. But children in Matsumoto are told by their teachers every time, and that is why, if you ask them, they can do it on the spot! So you might think you see teachers in Sacramento asking the same things as we tell them here in Matsumoto, but it is totally different, TOTALLY DIFFERENT!! The students here are told the same things all the time, and that is why they can fix something right away. I really want you to understand this difference.

I do feel that the teachers who brought students to Sacramento are saying the right things, but it is not 100%. Students are not being told how to play legato or how to be natural at every lesson. It is just not 100%. Playing legato is the most difficult thing on the piano. It is not the student's responsibility to do this well; it is the teacher's responsibility that they do it. Teachers who have come here are willing to work really hard. You are all hard-working teachers, so please have pride in your teaching children. Be proud of yourself.

I understand that you are trying really hard, but you need a great deal of patience when teaching children. The most important things are the basics. When you perform on the piano, you can play the melody and accompaniment at the same time. Sometimes it is different, but most of the time the melody is in the right hand and the accompaniment in the left hand. The most important part is the left hand. You are not teaching the left hand parts well. The left hand is in charge of the meter and the tempo. (At this point, Dr. Kataoka played the first 4 measures of Minuet 1 from the Bach Partita.) I told students to practice this and they did not, so I had them practice it here at rehearsals and then it became beautiful. All ten of them played the left hand with three beats. Today we will hear Cradle Song. This is another piece where nobody teaches the left hand. Teachers all forget the accompaniment and go straight to the melody. They tend to take care of the more beautiful things. The students here in Matsumoto are told the same things over and over, so if I tell them to do it tomorrow, they can do it. Children are excellent because the teachers are excellent. So you probably noticed that the children in Sacramento were probably told the same things at the rehearsals, but the difference is that the children here have been told the same things at every lesson.

Everything comes down to the basics. It is really quite simple. Everything is either two beats or three beats. Even compound time signatures are basically in two or three beats. Please teach this basic first, before anything else. Everyone does the opposite. (At this point, Dr. Kataoka sang the beginning of the Alla Turca, stressing the way everyone always does it, with the upbeat getting the strong sound and the actual first beat--the downbeat-- sounding light.) That is upside down! It is like building a house: you must first make the foundation.

It is wrong when people play on the tips of their fingers, and it is wrong when they dance with their arms when they play. God gave us the ability to use our fingers correctly. (Dr. Kataoka removed her shoes and demonstrated walking.) When you walk, your toes have to grasp the ground. People who walk incorrectly, putting weight on the side of their feet, develop problems. The hand operates in the same way. Problems arise in the hand whenever the fingers are used incorrectly. Please do research! Please research in groups, because it is difficult to do this work by yourself. Use a very soft hand. Use the pads of your fingers, not the fingertips. This sort of research has not been done by 80% of the pianists and violinists in the world. Dr. Suzuki did the research, and I learned from him how to research.