Lessons from Diné Weaving: Thoughts on Music from Connor Chee



We would like to thank Connor Chee for this excerpted text from his PEDx presentation at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Chee is a Navajo pianist and composer. His award-winning works, featured globally, showcase his cultural heritage and technical mastery. He is also dedicated to music education and cultural preservation, inspiring the next generation of musicians. Learn more about him and his work in the Autumn 2024 issue of Piano Magazine.

Connor Chee, Ann DuHamel, Leah Claiborne, and Sara Davis Buechner after their NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference PEDx presentations.

This is my grandmother, Alice Chee, and a friend of mine, Kevin Aspaas, incredibly talented weavers. Often I look at these blankets and rugs that they weave and think how perfect they are. But I can tell you 100% with confidence that these images that you’re looking at right now are not perfect. That’s not to disparage my grandmother or my friend Kevin. That’s because Navajo weavers are taught [that] you have to put a mistake in everything you do. Every weaving they do, there is somewhere in there, an imperfection, because that’s our way of staying humble, of recognizing our place as human beings, and having humility. You’re not supposed to try to be perfect, and these imperfect things can still be beautiful. It’s a different idea of beauty. 

And I realized in my own life when I was practicing, and I was, you know, satisfied in the practice room and in my lessons; I would get on stage, and it was just never good enough. I mean, I just didn’t know why. I talked to one of my professors, and she said, “You know, I notice sometimes people, they make this like their entire being. If you miss a note, you’re a bad person.” We had this conversation. I thought, yeah, I’m chasing perfection. Once I took that time to stop trying to be perfect, it freed up my mind. I started playing better, and it was just something that was so transformative for me. 

I think for students, it’s important to let them know, yes, we’re trying to learn, we’re trying to do our best, but perfection is not the goal. We’re looking for art. We’re looking for creativity. These things are super important. When you’re chasing this idea of perfection, it really limits you in what you can do as an artist. These lessons from weaving—I’ve learned so many things from a lot of the traditional arts, but that’s one that really stuck with me.

Pianist Connor Chee performs “Weaving” (from Scenes from Dinétah)

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Connor Chee’s PEDx talk at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference, listen to our podcast episode with Connor Chee interviewed by Craig Sale on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

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