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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