I was in the Brazilian bakery next door to our teaching space, and there was a man singing on the television. The song was beautiful. He was singing in Spanish.
And then it occurred to me.
He could be singing about shaving his poodle, and I wouldn't have a clue.
And then I found myself wondering, is this what happens when singers learn songs in other languages? Do they really know what the words mean?
And it occurred to me that the same thing happens when piano students play pieces or songs they don't understand.
When the music is drilled in by a teacher who doesn't know any better. Or when a student just figures it out from a YouTube tutorial.
They may get most of the right notes in the right places. But they don't understand what makes the music the music.
Not that I can't appreciate a song I don't understand. But, I find myself wondering how much more I would appreciate it if I did understand.
Not a bad revelation to go along with a coffee and a pastry.