i remember my sister trying to teach me piano wen i was around 4.. she said ‘ there’s the a,b,c,d,e,f,g’ while pressing each note on d 2nd hand mini upright grand piano in an enclosed room.
‘ where’s the h?’
‘oh…it ran away. so there is no h..just a,b,c,d,e,f,g.’
‘really?why?’ ‘cus its just like that..’
And she tought me mary had a lil lamb. Stdrd 1. I started my piano lessons..level 1. I used to love theory as there were many stickers n stuff. n playing wus kinda fun. Id be so addicted to sum pieces but didnt reali like others..like d chinese mor li hua.My teacher was friendly n all.I even sat for an exam.. n i played my heart out. My score was 99 i tink… but i dunt even noe if it was over 100 or 150!
Stdrd 3. I entered grade 1. My mum made a fuss on y i had to go through level 1 instead of going grade 1 straight away like others.. i remember being in my piano teacher’s car s she rushed me to school right after a lesson.
‘ If you get merit ill give you sumting’
‘Married?’
My sister got nice stationary wif musical patterns all over it. Sumting you cant find easily in bookshops. I sat for my exam n got few more marks to distinction. My teacher never gave me anything..being sensitive i teared up secretly.
Years passed by n i played more n more pieces. At times i loved piano so much n at times i felt like quitting. Scales were frustrating n wen i practice so hard for exams but never played perfectly id get so frustrated n my head wuld get giddy cus of d black n white keys reflecting d daylight.. till now it still does. My piano playing wus nvr excellent. Partly cus i didnt wna practice n partly cus my teacher wasnt strict. She nvr taught me my basics properly n my touching wasnt solid or firm…often too banging or too fragile.
Grade 5 practical. You HAVe to pass this one to go on to grade 6 n above. I got 111 n my 2nd sis got 113 for grade 7. I wasnt too happy cus i thought i could have gotten higher.My theory however wus grade 4..lagging one year behind.
The next year i wus form 2. Doing grade 5 theory. You cant proceed to grade 6 practical without a grade 5 theory qualification. So instead of doing grade 6 practical i did grade 5 theory. I so sucked at it!Didn’t memorise d basics n my teacher kept having to repeat the same thing all over again. At times i’d be stuck at d same page having to do correction for 3 lessons..n id always do my theory homework half an hour before my teacher comes. I especially hated d cadences n what so part.
To train me for grade 5 she often gave me past theory exam papers to do n id get half wrong most of the time. But the real day came..jang jang jang…theory exam!it wus held in my school though so not dat scary. I went in…after memorising n cramming watever i needed to d nite b4. effort for once- hah. Sat for it n went off. Wen d results came i got merit!81. dey minused sum marks cus d london peeps said it was messy. puhleez man..fussy neat people.
The next year i did grade 7 practical. My piano lesson clashed with my english tuition. My teacher wus loaded with students n rushed straight from klang, arriving onli at 5.45 whereas my tuition started at 6. So there i had it…15 minutes lessons for rm 250 per month wen actually dey were supposed to be n hour. she spent 4 minutes chatting,2 to 3 minutes theory n d rest practical. By this point my playing stunk so bad i didnt even like it. I gave up on grade 6 theory.. having progressing too slowly wif d 2 minutes. I told myself i prefer all d subjects in school combined den dis horrible theory!!Before my grade 7 exam my teacher onli gave me 2 lessons of aural. she gave me cd to learn myself n yups dat cd wus helpful.
I sat for my exam n i failed every single one of my pieces…but did reali well in aural. i got 101!!thought id fail!!
2007 came..on 6th january i finally changed my piano teacher to sumone else. My mum’s childhood fren’s wife.I still remember stepping into dat tiny room wif a grand piano inside. She asked me to play whatever i learned in my grade 8 pieces frm my previous teacher n i did.
‘oh my!Your playing is horrible!Your touching on d piano is too rough..what did ur previous teacher teach you?’
I knew what she said was d truth. she taught me my pieces again frm scratch..explaining to me how to play better. Every position or tension in ur hand produces a different sound. She played on my hand wif her fingers, showing me different touchings that will produce different sounds. Her skinny structure n poofy hair, accompanied by golden round glasses made me grin n tried so hard not to laugh as she waved her hnds in d air. A funny sight.
I was so determined to improve my piano playing that i began to practice hard. She told me dat my piano playng is improving fast.
‘In the baroque period there are four different lines in d pieces. You have to bring out d theme n play those 4 seperate parts together with just two hands.’
I learned to play loud n soft, curves n slurs like ive nver did b4. I learned to listen to what i was playing..appreciate d beautyness of d melody. Apply dynamics n be obssesed wif perfectioning my every note. I learned how to take control over my fingers n not let it run like crazy.
It all zoomed by so fast. My new piano teacher made me take grade 8 in 2008 as she said i wasnt ready. I learned as much as i could n she said i can get merit n must get merit. I stared at her in disbelief
‘But the last time i got merit was like grade 1!’
‘I know my students. Now you have to get me that merit’
WAaaaliawe!!!
She shared many things wif me bout her students. We chatted like friends but she still made sure i played up to her standard n i got a solid 1 hour lesson everytime except wen i came late n her student ws next.
N den d last lesson came. i remember cherishing every moment i could. Stepping into her house n walking to d piano for d very last time. I started panicking slightly as if sitting for my exam itself. My playing was never perfect n until then i still told myself the most i can ever get is a past.Before i knew it my final piano lesson was over.I handed her a small gift, a golden brooch with musical notes on it embedded with 2 stones. Saying gudbye to her s i walked out d door was painful. I felt like i was leaving an important part of my life behind n started tearing up. But she didnt see those tears.
Today i went for my exam. My final exam.It was in hilton pj, n my father forced me to confirm wif my teacher dat it wus dis Hilton n not sum other hilton in kl although i wus soo sure. Haiz.. paranoid.
At the waiting room i was trying my best to keep calm, praying to the Lord n also reading Tuesdays with Morrie. The malay guy who was smoking earlier called me out n led me to the exam room.
I then stepped into the exam room after hearing a lady’s voice. I smiled to myself for i thought it wuld sureli be a guy examiner. The elderly lady around her sixties seemed so motherly n warm. But my fingers were icy.
She gave me lotsa staccato scales n i didnt play so well. Even my pieces didnt go too well either but i was already prepared to make mistakes so i didnt let my nerves get d best of me.
Sight reading wasnt smooth n aural..went better den i expected except for d sight singing. I didnt even noe wat i was singing n sumhow i sang exctly wat she played on her right hand o.0.
Soon it was over. The nightmare ws over!i stepped ut n den told my father s we made our way to the car.
‘450 bucks for 18 minutes. Man..imagine how much dey get.’
On d drive home it was raining heavily n deep inside my heart i knew dat my piano lessons have officialy ended. How i wish i could rewind time n not take em forgranted.
my grade 8 teacher gave me a gift no other human could give..
The gift of Music.
