This is an English translation of an article published in Nikkan San on Sep 19, 2019, as a part of my column, “The Way of the Pianist.
「How many hours do you practice a day?」is one of the questions I get asked often. When a parent is asking in front of their children, obviously trying to encourage the young pianists to practice more, I tel them four hours. For young developing brains, and for beginners, daily practice in moderation is a key to improvement. However, for a professional pianist, the reality is a bit more complicated.
 Pianists’ lives are irregular. We travel often. A day with a performance is totally different from a day without. We deal so much more than people expect in the administration of concert planning and PR. In addition, my work as a writer and Dr. Pianist – with its lectures, workshops, and conferences – also make my days different from one to the next. And I tend to like immersion. Sometimes, I write my to-do list first thing in the morning. But often, once I get started on something, the list goes out the window.
I was immersed in my practicing for the latter half of my twenties. I would get up and go straight to the piano. If I happen to be under the same roof with my practice piano, my piano would see me in my in my pajamas. And sometimes, I’d stay in my pajamas at the piano until I could no longer keep my eyes open. Everything else in life is on a hold when you get so immersed in something. This way of practicing is not the most effective, if your goal is to learn a piece, or to improve as a pianist. Imagine yourself staring at something for hours without diverting your focus of vision even once. The object of your observation starts to get blurry and at the end you can no longer even tell what it is that you are looking at. However, this type of immersion brings your consciousness to an inexplicable state of bliss. One time, I looked up from the piano and was shocked to find Eiffel Tower outside of the window of an unfamiliar practice room – in my immersion, I had completely forgotten that I had come to Paris! This is rather foolish – but it’s an awesome feeling.
 For the last three days, I was immersed in writing my memoir. I was only supposed to dedicate half a day to this immersion, but a day became two, and then three. It was an invaluable journey of rediscovering my roots, and reconfirming my vision.
“Saints have no moderation, nor do poets, just exuberance.”　― Anne Sexton