I’d posted about a week earlier about the fact that my WLM9 beta for one reason or other just decided to go south and refused to allow me to sign in, ending with the 80070057 error. Today I decided to give it another try. Installed WLM9 beta and waited for the spinning pair to sign in – Error 80070057 popped up again. UGH.

Checked the Messenger blog. Nothing about this error, nada, zilch. So bit humble pie and returned to v8.5.1302.1018. Could sign in immediately. Would someone in Microsoft get to the bottom of this error, once and for all? However, I’m not going to hold my breath. If WLM9 was a piece of crap, I wouldn’t care much, but the fact is it’s pretty good, and that’s what is making me feel frustrated about not being able to sign in with it.

The ball’s in your court, Microsoft Messenger guys.

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Word is, the eScala string quartet have deferred the launch of their debut album to early 2009. According to their website, the quartet are still “finessing” the album, hence the delay. But I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait. And ladies, I have a suggestion: make your second album a classical one. Yeah, maybe some string quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, whatever. Now that would be really something to show off.

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I first blogged about Augustine in April 2008. Since then, he has made amazing progress as far as his piano is concerned. Augustine has now gone to Alfred’s Level 2 & 3 Complete Book and he’s now in pole position, ahead of all my other beginner students. Well done, Augustine! Furthermore, he will probably be taking the ABRSM Grade 1 Theory exam next year, so that’s another feather in your cap, big boy. Congratulations, and keep up the good work, Augustine. EDIT: Augustine is taking the Grade 1 theory exam in March 2009—fantastic!

Here’s Augustine, together with his proud parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eu, in my piano studio.

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After the euphoric high of yesterday’s Piano Idol finals at the Copthorne Orchid Hotel, today seemed a letdown in comparison. As one of the judges, I was really psyched up for the finals, and barring some disappointing song choices, I had an absolute whale of a time, just like the preliminaries held in September. So today seemed to be like a hangover; fortunately it was a public holiday, so I spent most of the time glued to my computer, checking my blog and website statistics. It didn’t come as a surprise to me that the most number of reads were for the Piano Idol posts. Modesty aside, if you did a Google search for “piano idol” you’d find my blog there, on the first page .

So what should I do now that PI is over? I confess I can’t wait for next year’s to come along, and hopefully Mr. Fong and Swee Lin will choose me to judge again, heh heh. Alright, back to more serious stuff, I thought I’d talk a bit about my observations regarding the present Piano Idol.

1. I was pleasantly surprised to find some amazing young talent among the contestants. Of course, the Ong brothers (a formidable force) comprising Vincent and Jason bowled me over, especially the former, who is playing some serious Chopin at the ripe age of 7! Jeez, he makes me want to dig up my Nocturnes and Polonaises to play again. Jason, the Xepher guy, wasn’t bad too. I mean, when I first heard him playing that song in the preliminaries, it was like, “Wow! What was that?” Keep up the good work, guys. Congratulations too, to Lim Jie Ying for a jazzed-up version of Greensleeves, Cheong Yi Wei for Barnyard Boogie, Philip Khor for tackling a Chopin etude, Jesselyn Wang for a Chopin waltz, and Tan Jin Yin (the Senior section winner) who came all dressed up like a professional pianist and played some mean Rachmaninoff. This lady really showed off the extreme dynamics of the Yamaha C3. Well done!
2. It was also wonderful to see so many parents and friends, etc. turning up to lend support, both for the preliminaries and the finals. The preliminaries held in September was almost a day-long affair. And yet, what I heard from Mr. Fong and Swee Lin was that many parents stayed back to watch the whole thing, even though their children had finished playing. Give yourselves a clap, parents!
3. Mr. Fong and Swee Lin are old friends of mine, and I really appreciate what they’ve done with this competition, to raise the standard of piano-playing in Penang. The amount of time and resources they undertook to get this whole thing running smoothly, well I tip my hat to them. When they asked me to be a judge, I was honored. Really, really honored. Thanks, Fong and Swee Lin!

Now I don’t mean to act like Simon Cowell. but here a few of my own personal tips for aspiring contestants (and teachers of contestants) preparing for the next Piano Idol:

• No more Richard Clayderman, please! I like his music, in fact I play some of his pieces at the hotel. Unfortunately they just aren’t suitable for a competition like Piano Idol. And Ballade for Adeline is a song that’s been played to death (and back) so please, don’t choose this song. Slow pieces tend to make the audience (and the judges) feel like falling asleep, so unless you can pull off a slow piece with lots of chops and expression (like what Vincent did), go for a moderate to fast piece.
• For a piano competition, good technique will really make a contestant stand out above the rest. Choose something like Flight of the Bumble Bee (Rimsky Korsakov), Chopin’s Preludes, Waltzes, Mazurkas, Etudes, etc. Want something extremely challenging? For Senior contestants, try Prokofiev’s Suggestion Diabolique op. 4 no. 4 (hear it in my website playlist). Pieces which make the judges sit up and take notice, understand? If you’d rather prefer Jazz pieces, go for boogie woogie, or something like Dave Brubeck’s Take Five (I play it in E flat minor, the original key). Or one of Gershwin’s Preludes.
• How you sit at the piano and your posture is important too. If you’re using the right sustain pedal, the heel of your right foot should always be in contact with the floor. Never pump the sustain pedal up and down with your whole right leg! You’ll also need to adjust the piano bench from the piano, depending on your height. The worst thing a contestant can do is to go straight to the piano and start playing immediately. Pause and take a deep breath before you begin the first note; it’s great for calming yourself down.
• Nerves are part and parcel of any competition or exam, and Piano Idol is no different. Here are some tips. Practice the piece to the best of your ability. Enjoy yourself and enjoy creating the music. Don’t even think about the audience, or the judges. Act as if you’re alone, playing. And think wonderful and positive thoughts.
• Although we judge contestants primarily on their playing proficiency, dressing and appearance play a part too. I’ve noticed very few contestants smiling (a lot of them looked rather solemn). I was glad to see all the contestants nicely-dressed for the finals (the Candy Rock group really excelled at this. Well done, Carina, Joy and Rachel!) But dress appropriately for the preliminaries as well, ok? Which means, no sandals or slippers. If you want to dress like Maksim, make sure you can play like him!

Guess that’s about it for now. Don’t be shy to comment, there’s a comment link for every blog post. Or use the Contact Me link. You can also find me on Twitter, on Windows Live Messenger; in fact I wonder how I can manage to be in so many places. I enjoyed meeting all of you contestants, and I look forward to seeing you again for the next Piano Idol!

Take care, and remember: perfect practice makes perfect.

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I’ve been suffering ever since they closed the apartment swimming pool for repairs more than two months ago. I went for morning walks, but really, swimming is what I like to do for exercise. The pool reopened a few days ago, but there were too many people swimming in it, this morning however, I went down and there wasn’t anyone around. Sat on the edge for a while dipping my legs into the water (icy cold, surprisingly) for a minute or two. Took a deep breath, and plunged in. And what a glorious feeling!

I could feel my serotonin and endorphin levels increasing. Experts have said that when you’re feeling depressed, try some exercise that you like. It boosts the levels of those two compounds in our bodies, giving us a feel-good sensation. Much better than taking a depression drug. Serotonin is a chemical that helps maintain a “happy feeling,” and seems to help keep our moods under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression.

With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins have been suggested as modulators of the so-called “runner’s high” that athletes achieve with prolonged exercise. Thanks to medicinenet.com.

Yeah, it’s a fact, swimming makes me happy. I was intrigued by a quote from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus:

“You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you.”

Hmm…yes, you can’t step into the same waters twice. But you can step into it once.

And that’s fine with me!

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Just returned from judging the Piano Idol finals at the Copthorne Orchid Hotel here. It was a blast, although it took the better part of 4 hours. The winner of the Senior section was Tan Jin Yin, who gave an impressive rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor (see the picture below). Seven-year old Vincent Ong grabbed the Junior section win with a surprisingly mature performance of Chopin’s Nocturne in C# minor. Want to make it in Piano Idol? Go classical, snigger. The winner of the freestyle ensemble section was Candy Rock comprising three enterprising ladies (Carina, Joy and Rachel) giving a performance of Avril Lavigne’s “When You’re Gone.” Ladies, consider getting yourselves on YouTube, you might make it big. MC Ricky, who came along dressed as the Love Guru, did a great job of holding the competition together.

The three judges, Helen, Angie and myself had an enjoyable time sitting through the contestants’ playing. It was a bit sad to note that many of them were let down by poor song choices. Contestants, remember that in future, prepare something that is dynamic and will impress us! Richard Clayderman’s songs are great for easy listening, but for a competition like this, they simply don’t cut it. Or at least, make up your own arrangements.

The Yamaha C3 was there in all its glory, thanks to the kind folk in Yamaha Kuala Lumpur who loaned it to us for this special event. Mr. Hitoshi Mochizuki (Managing Director of Yamaha Malaysia) was gracious to attend the event, together with Ms. Sharon Wong (General Manager, Musical Instruments Division) and Pan Pai Ling (Senior Manager). Thank you. Last but not least, kudos too to Fong and Swee Lin for organizing this competition.

And I just had to get my claws (nah, fingers) on the C3, after the event was over. Here’s a snap of yours truly for posterity. Isn’t this something that a certain establishment should be getting for me, LOL? Anyway, I can always dream.

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Doris, bless her soul, has just informed me of a recent posting in Inside Windows Live Messenger, dated October 23, 2008. The author Brian says, and I quote,

“An issue has been discovered in the current Windows Live Messenger beta that may leave users unable to sign-in.  Only a very small number of users may encounter this issue but wanted to proactively message this to the community.

To avoid the issue yourself, please DO NOT block a group and then leave the group. If you plan to leave a group, please unblock it first. Following this precaution will ensure that you will not be affected by this issue.

We are currently working hard to fix the problem and allow those customers who have been affected to once again sign-in to the Messenger beta.

Thank you for your time and for participating in the beta!  We will post more information about this issue when it becomes available.”

Ah, at least a wee bit of information there. However, I haven’t blocked a group nor left a group when that annoying Error 80070057 sign-in message surfaced. In fact I’ve never created, or joined, or left, or blocked, a group at all, period. And nobody else in my household has done that sort of thing to my account (they’re not as geeky as me).

So I’m right where I started. If anybody has any other ideas, please comment or fill up my contact form.

P/S And what a laugh, if you look at the Releases in the right sidebar of the Inside Windows Live Messenger blog, there is NO mention of Windows Live Messenger 9.0 at all. Are these guys living in the present or the past?

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