Viv's Thoughts

Some students think when they dont do well in music, they will say,, music is not FOR them or music is just for the gifted.

I want to address this misconception.

Music is FOR everyone, BUT everyone may not be FOR music.

Let me explain!
You see around you, music plays a much more important role than you ever think.
Music is needed for occasions like weddings, birthdays, funerals, opening ceremonies, etc,, you hear music at the malls, TV, radio, schools, church, in fact almost everywhere u go. 

Now  why is music so important?

Imagine life without music. How BORING n MONOTONOUS it would be!! 

Humans are emotional creatures, and music helps us to realise that part (called the soul) in us.
Music is very powerful to evoke the right atmosphere , the right emotions and it can help you to link to certain memories in your life.

Eg: maybe that certain song reminds you of your special moment with your dream guy/girl, your spouse, your loved ones?
or perhaps your glorious moment, u won competitions, or in a special occasion?

Learning a certain instrument will help you in your fine motor and cognitive  skills. For people with some injuries of the brain or have any difficulty in coordination, picking up a musical instrument can greatly help them.
People who have a desk job 9-5 will do well learning music, cos it will help them to unwind and keep in touch with their "human" self.

Even senior citizens will greatly benefit learning music as it helps them in stimulating their brains to prevent alzhemier disease (loss of memory). and also exercise their fingers (fine motor) so that they can do small discrete task better.

So, with all these benefits,, i can say Music is definitely FOR everyone...
BUT everyone may not be FOR music because of their lack of understanding of the benefits of music.

I know it's not all a bed of roses while learning an instrument but likewise, it's not a bed of roses when you learn anything.

So, dont be discouraged if you find the instrument difficult!
But continue to practise knowing it;s beneficial for you and the sense of satisfaction after mastering the instrument is simply rewarding!!


PS: Just a word of caution!
NOT EVERY genre of music is good, there was a research where they use water to experiment how certain music affects the body.
cos our bodies are made of 70% water.

It shows when we listen to heavy metal music, the water molecules turn bizarre and haphazard looking,, that is how it would affect our body cells too.

But when tested on classical music, the water molecules have a beautiful crystal like appearance  with symetrical shapes.

Also, when they tested on plants, those which heard classical music grew well and strong, those listened to hard heavy metal died.

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Question: Why do you want to learn music?

Answer: So that if I dont do well in my studies, I can always "fall Back" on my music.

Sounds familiar to you??
I have some students , when they first started with me had this thought until they know it's not as simple as it seems.

People look at piano teachers and think,, "Wow! that's good job for me to earn some extra money, and also i can have  flexi working hours, according to my rules".... well, you are right!
Some piano teachers do earn a lot and they have flexible hours, and also they can be their own boss.

Looks so good?
That's why so many want to jump in and have a share of the pie!

No problem! If something is really good, let's share it!
and i would encourage you to do it!

But before you really embark on this musical journey, let me tell you it's a journey and you must be committed in teaching your students, else you will end up being an irresponsible , unethical teacher.

1) For existing piano teachers:
You must have the knowledge and sufficient skills to teach,, eg: if you only can play gr 6 level pieces, can you teach a gr 8? if you cant demo their pieces??
and if you take in that student, you are being unethical!

2) For piano teachers wannabes:
You are still a student now and hurrying to take your gr8 exam in A YEAR , though you are prob only gr5/6 now,, and you hardly have any time to practise and you want the teacher to just prepare you the 3 exam pieces the next coming exam, so that you can skip paying more fees for yourself, and start making money.
That's irresponsible! cos you dont have enough repertoire and experience to start imparting your miserable bits of knowledge to your students.

3) For highly qualified teachers (i'm preaching to myself too), those have Bachelors, Masters, PHD,,, there is a complacency, we think we know a lot, so we stop learning and practising!... that's being irresponsible too.

Music is not something which you can fall back on if you fail in your studies.
It should be the thing you want to do, NOT because you have no choice!

It's a constant never ending learning and exploring.
You will never "finished" learning and playing all the repertoire in the world, even in 10 life times!!

Music is for everyone to enjoy but not everyone is suitable in walking the musical path. You must have interest,, and even great passion for it else your teaching would be mundane and boring.

For those who are doing it for money, i can tell you, you wont last long.
Unless you got a music related job in the administration side and you dont need to teach much, you are probably ok.

But for those who are 100% performance teachers, Passion will be your company and your supporter in this long musical journey!

So, dont fall in the trap of seeing at the surface, be a responsible and ethical piano teacher, being able to teach and impart your knowledge to the best that you can. Upgrade, do a refresher course, find some friends to discuss and share music, have occasional recitals among yourselves, this way you will keep the fire going.

Hope I din offend anyone in my message.
This is not to bring down anyone but to reflect on our doings, how our actions are affecting the musicians of tomorrow!!!

In all my 19 years of teaching, I've met many different types of students.
Some are my students right from the beginning and they studied with me all through from 1st grade to diplomas, some are recommended to me by word of mouth, friends, students' parents etc.

From the very beginning in my teaching career, i KNEW that the surest way to kill a student's interest in music is to just give them play 3 exam pieces a year and to take an exam every year.

Some of them,, if lucky enough will quit just right before they go to grade 8.
That's where their perseverance will last.
Most of them will stop at grade 3-4,, when they are old enough to know they need not please their parents anymore, and some will deliberately do badly,, so that their parents will initiate the QUITS instead of them, to avoid scolding ;)
All kinds of tactics and methods!!

I KNOW cos from very young, i had cousins who learnt music the same time as me, but they never managed to carry on simply because they were not motivated at all.
Now , tell me, how to be motivated with just 3 exam pieces a year??

1) You dont experience enough styles to play the style / period you choose in your pieces.
Most probably, cos of your lack of technique, the teacher would choose the SIMPLEST piece for you.

2) Because you have NO STRONG FOUNDATION, you have NO TIME to learn other repertoire besides your exam pieces,, so you actually need 1 year to prepare.

3) You dont even know the composer of your piece, neither you know the background, the story , if any pertaining the piece,, so tell me,, how to APPRECIATE the music you are playing?

4) Parents are extremely KIASU to get into the wild exam certificate chase, to SHOW OFF to their friends, that their kids obtained a certain grade by a certain age.... which other than the exam pieces, the kids can play NOTHING! and also, they can only remember their exam pieces until right after the exam :P

5) The parents think by finishing the grades sooner, they save a lot of money.. little do they know they are actually wasting more money, cos either the child will stop before they get even the teachers' grade,, or the child actually learns NOTHING in the end!
YES! im not exaggerating,, at the end of the day, if you have not grasp a strong foundation and able to play a FULL SONATA, you actually have learnt NOTHING!

and more points to add on!

What Im trying to say is,, demanding the teacher to just teach the 3 exam pieces a year to take grades every year is the saddest and most pathetic music lessons ever!
For the teacher, is actually EASY job,, i can just take my time, drilling you bar by bar.
You pay me, I do it!
Your child will get to HATE MUSIC forever,, even if he/she is seemingly faithfully passing grades every year,, but NOTHING is retained in the head, the fingers move without the HEART and the knowledge about the music to compliment it.

So, do you want that??
I can do that,, since you are paying me, easier for me, no need to plan or think what repertoire to give to your kid, just sit down and just go through the notes, note by note, till they can coordinate the whole piece,, but because they dont have sufficient repertoire knowledge , their learning would be so slow, and the lessons would be draggy and boring!

So,, You think money can buy that??
Probably,, BUT NOT FOR ME!!!

In my conditions of music lessons, I did STATE,,,, IF any parent insist only 3 exam pieces a year and hurry the child to take exam even if he/she is not ready,, GO FIND ANOTHER TEACHER!

I will not entertain,, whatever reasons you have,, PSLE, your face infront of your friends, your obssession in collecting every exam grade certificate etc...

I dont want my lessons to be sad and pitiful..
I have my principles to give my students the BEST, widen their repertoire, taking some time to understand the piece and to interpret correctly and to play it as close as the composer intended it to be.

I have many parents who undertood this and the benefits are great! Their children are greatly motivated and you dont need to ask them go practise the piano, they will go on their own.
One case i had,, the mom told me , "How to stop my kid from practising the piano when it's time for dinner? he just cant stop playing" ... well  ;))

These children dont collect exam certs,, most of them dont have grade 1-4 certs,, they go straight to gr 5, 7, 8, diploma. and they dont just barely "pass" their exams,, they get DISTINCTIONS or MERITS!
The rule is,,, take exam only when you are ready!
You need not answer where you are at your level to your friends,, your child's performance is PROOF enough where they are!

Im not impressed with students who come to me saying, they are grade 8,, cos i will tell them whether they are truly gr8 or not when they come to me,, when they first start, some gr8s are even worse than my gr 5s.

Learning music cannot be rushed, but need to take time to ENJOY,, then it can last you a lifetime!

Is there such a thing as "custom made" music lessons? 

Well, we all love to feel special, dont we?
And we also like to feel that ,, ok this is made ESPECIALLY for ME!!

We have custom made clothes... "Hi Mr Tailor, can you add a pocket here for me at the sleeves?"
"Sure,, Mr Unique, as long as you like it".

We have custom made drinks... "Hi Mrs Bubble Tea,, I dont want any pearls in my bubble tea, but add jelly instead".
"Sure, any how you want it Miss".

We can custom make anything we want in this world, as long as we are willing to pay $$$ !!! Right??

Ok, and today im going to talk about "CUSTOM MADE" Music lessons!!!

This may sound good AS IF you can custom make your lessons , meaning you can omit certain things you DONT wanna learn, or add things you wanna learn.
Eg,, i hate scales! can you omit that in my music programme??

WELL... if that's what you mean by custom made lessons, IM SO SORRY< BUT THAT"S IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE A GOOD COMMAND OF TECHNIQUE N SKILLS IN YOUR PERFORMANCES!

Of course you can choose what you want to learn before starting lessons, like classical (which encompasses music written in the baroque period all the the way to 20th century).Or music written from the 20th century like jazz, ragtime, novelty piano , pop etc.

BUT you have to experience all styles and genres when you choose to take up classical piano lessons.
Therefore, scales which greatly benefit you especially when you play classical sonatas is a MUST to include!

Music lessons should be holistic meaning it should have all these, like aural training , sight reading, scales, expression, history of music, interpretation , theory, performing etc.

You cant pick and choose what you want or dont want to do.

So, there's really NO SUCH THING as a custom made music lessons!!!

Some students are shy or even afraid to perform for others.
This should not be! Music is for sharing and not to keep everything to yourself.
It is a universal language that we can speak to all people even if there's a language barrier.

Why are some so afraid to perform?
Many reasons 1) they are just shy by nature ,2) they scared to make mistakes , 3) they are afraid how people will look at them ,, self conscious etc

Performing for others is a JOY! it's a priviledge that you can play a piece well, even easy pieces.
Dont compare yourself with others, but let others encourage and spur you to greater improvement if they play better than you.

You will feel the satisfaction after mastering a piece AND sharing the piece with others.
That's TRUE Learning, and you should target yourself to that stage through daily practice till you gain mastery of the piece.

So, dont be afraid, but LOVE performing :)
Shalom!