The PianoPath Music Studio

Another successful session of ABRSM exams this week in Chicago, Minnesota and in Madison today.
Thanks to Juliet Edwards our Examiner for this session, Shad Wenzlaff of Studio Share Madison for hosting today’s exams, the students that prepared so well and took the exams today, and the parents that support the work and effort that goes into preparing for a successful event for their children. It takes a village, as they say!🎶🎶🎶

A piano major tried to solve a personal problem. What she uncovered raises a much bigger question: Why are we training pianists on instruments that don’t fit them?

At the Global Summit on Occupational Health in Music, Dr. Eri Yoshimura exposed one of the most uncomfortable truths in our field:

Pain is not the exception for pianists. It’s the expectation.

Her research shows:
• 86% of college piano majors report pain
• 91% of piano teachers report pain

But this didn’t start as a critique of the field. As a graduate student, Yoshimura set out to understand her own experience and the experiences of those around her. She asked: Why does playing hurt so many of us?

Instead of accepting the answer pianists hear all too often, “you’re doing it wrong,” she followed the evidence. That path led her to something the field has largely ignored:

👉 the instrument itself

The modern piano keyboard was never designed for the diversity of human hands.

Which means:

• We are systematically training students on an instrument that does not fit their bodies
• Then holding them responsible for the consequences

This is not pedagogy. This is structural neglect. And it’s happening at scale:

• 50,000–150,000 piano majors globally
• Millions of trained pianists
• Hundreds of millions of people who play piano

Now ask the harder question:

Where is this in accreditation?

In the USA, the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) sets standards for over 600 institutions. But where is the requirement that:

• instruments fit the human body?
• occupational risks are identified and mitigated?
• students are protected from preventable injury?

It isn’t there.

Instead, we continue to:
• normalize pain
• individualize blame
• ignore design

There is, however, a growing movement pushing back.

PASK (Pianists for Alternatively Sized Keyboards) has been advancing the science and advocacy around ergonomically appropriate keyboards, bringing together researchers, performers, and educators committed to aligning instrument design with human variability.

Their work makes one thing undeniable. This problem is solvable.
What’s missing is not knowledge. It’s accountability.

And Yoshimura’s journey, from graduate student asking uncomfortable questions to a leading voice challenging the status quo, is exactly what this field needs.

If occupational health in music is to be taken seriously, then this must become a standard, not an option. Because the issue is no longer whether pianists are at risk. It’s whether institutions are willing to acknowledge their role in creating that risk.

🎥 Watch Dr. Yoshimura’s presentation:

https://www.occupationalhealthinmusic.org/2025globalsummitvideos/v/eriyoshimura?categoryId=690127a90a462562b9699e87

Calling all composers, music producers and song writers! This one is for you! (Link works!)

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I’m so proud of my former student Bridget who I started out on piano lessons at a young age. She made the difficult decision when she started high school to stop lessons because she got so busy with sports and school, but thank goodness for group piano class at Edgewood HS and the amazing teacher there: she continued in school and this is the result on a recital. She played beautifully and continues to make great progress. Brava!👏👏

What I always tell my students!😃

“Musical learning strengthens so many musical pathways on the brain…”
This is such an educational interview with Dr. Anita Collin’s about the importance of music education at an early age. Please have a listen! It’s SO good!

Dr. Anita Collins | Sound Beginnings Podcast with Kindermusik Kindermusik is thrilled to present the first episode of our Sound Beginnings Podcast with renowned neuroscientist, author, TEDx speaker, and music education ...

Love this!

Life doesn’t pick and choose who it tests.

Everyone gets hit at some point.
Everyone faces moments they didn’t ask for.
Everyone goes through situations that feel unfair.

The difference isn’t in what happens.

It’s in how you respond when it does.

Some people let it break them.
They become bitter.
They start blaming everything and everyone.
They carry that pain into every decision they make.

And slowly… it shapes who they become.

Others take a different path.

They still feel the pain.
They still go through the struggle.
But they don’t let it define them.

They use it.

They use it to become stronger.
To become more disciplined.
To become more aware of who they are and who they want to be.

Because character isn’t built when things are easy.

It’s built when you’re tested.

When things don’t go your way.
When you feel like giving up.
When it would be easier to fall back into old habits.

That’s when you find out what you’re really made of.

And the truth is… you don’t control everything that happens in your life.

But you always control your response.

That’s your power.

That’s your advantage.

That’s what determines whether you stay stuck…
or move forward.

But having the right mindset isn’t enough on its own.

You need structure.
You need discipline.
You need a system that keeps you grounded, focused, and consistent—especially when life gets hard.

Because anyone can stay on track when things are easy.

The real test is who you become when they’re not.

If you’re ready to build that level of mental strength and take control of your life,
I break it down step by step inside my ebook.

Get your copy of The Winner’s Formula through the link in my bio.

It was such an honor, a privilege and so much fun to play with Laura Lentz last month in TN. Here’s a video of our performance. Enjoy!

Moonlight Concerto (Kevin Puts; flute & piano version) 1. Moonlight2. FollyLaura Lentz, fluteHelga Swatzak, pianoMiddle Tennessee State University (MTSU), March 21, 2026Guest Artist Performance