Settling in Musically...

Musically, I feel that I have finally settled down to a few genres that I am fully comfortable in. Teaching-wise, I guess I know my "type" of students that I would like... Most importantly, I think I have this formula lol...

I remember being a busy bee throughout my entire life - switching from method A to B, and then back to A again. I tried to do too many things, both pianistically and non-pianistically. I still love the fun of everything though, especially...well many other things. But, do you feel particularly secure when you just know yourself, your audience, your not-preferred audience & your... taste?

I think I will continue to nail classical... & probably already nailed C-pop?

My targeted students shall be stave Sight-Readers, most probably classical piano touch, aiming for ABRSM exams.

Weirdly, I truly miss my messy years, I did stupid things & over-dramatized my music, but, it was fun!

One thing I want for myself pianistically? A really atas piano. Even more atas than what I have right now. Good things are expensive & I feel...really sad about this fact. I can do way better.

Well, sighs... off to shake my ass.. thanks for reading!

Learn vs Catch

Before I turned 12, I was always told that I am a slow learner. Back in the 1990s, my Primary school still had streaming and I was put into the middle zone.

I thought I did well for my 2nd streaming exam at age 12, but turns out I was still placed into the same middle zone.

Only at age 15 did I managed to "upgrade" into a fast learner and thereafter, I shined. Secretly, I contemplated that my learning has to do with my looks... but that is a story for another day.

....I guess I am still a slow learner? I don't know why, I just feel like... I am a slow learner at the start of everything. I see my peers absorb, react & subscribe to anything at almost twice of my speed! I remember fighting to sit at the front desk of every lesson, and then slowly.... mentally I zone out.

But it is only in my 30s that I realised - Yes, I am a slow learner. But I Catch Things Fast. While I observed that most of my juniors, contemporaries & even seniors are quick learners but they almost never catch the gist of what they are learning. Especially for music. Specifically for piano. It's like having a wealth of knowledge, experience & connections but they don't belong to you because you don't know how to use them. And even if you know how to use them, you are not using them appropriately.

Would you be able to understand what I mean? If you can't, it means you also cannot catch... probably you would be wondering what does catching even means... 

Well, catching is a natural sense of 抓 the music. You just know what to listen to, how to practice, how many times to practice, practice what, when to change the piano etc. Catching has nothing to do with your speed of learning or your intelligence level. Wealth & connections play no role in speeding up your sense of catching.

The ability to catch the music is a talent. I know I have it. And I think it's because I'm a female.

What about you? Can you catch?

The Toughest Period (s)

Learning the piano requires a very specific energy, isn't it? Some of us find it easy to locate the right notes on the keyboard. Others find both-hands coordination a breeze. The luckiest among us "click" with the piano, and "woke" our inner music.

I would wish to say - that the piano journey ought to feel easy, relaxed & inspiring for every learner. But that would be utterly idealistic to the point of foolishness.

I had two toughest periods in my own piano journey.

The Start - I did technique training for years before my Shanghai teacher gave me "real" repertoire. I did not disobey at all and I'm glad I didn't. Due to my almost solid technique, learning any genre of music seems to feel so easy for me. I hope I don't sound too cocky again.

The End - I thought my final grade shall be LRSM. Turns out, I made it to FRSM! There was a 10 plus year gap in between my LR and FR. The piano really requires me to be very patient and weirdly, I. have. patience?!

I never struggled in the Mid-Journey. I enjoyed every single exam, performance & competition. I was such a happy goose in my mids hahaha I swear I practiced the piano on the dining table. In front of my primary school frenemy. And I even tried to practice piano on my friends' backs!! Hahahaha!

How about you? Where was the toughest periods of your piano journey? Lol... I truly believe that playing the piano should not feel difficult because music should feel natural. But I find every learner struggles deeply when they first encounter posture, notes & rhythm. Perhaps we should all normalize struggling...