Each teacher is encouraged to guide students using language which is readily understood and applicable to the particular student. The descriptors which you suggest for discussing phrasing are entirely appropriate. An understanding of harmony and phrase structure, coupled with an appreciation for musical style and a grasp of the composer’s expressive intentions, are the foundation for providing language best suited to each student.

Some students have a natural musicality that enables them to bring a musical composition to life easily with an appropriate range of colours and contour. Even particularly intuitive students need a teacher’s coaching to understand and implement convincing shaping in performance. Students for whom phrasing and expressive playing is less instinctive can also be guided and nurtured, through study of style, shape of line, and form, to encourage a most convincing performance.