Two students of mine—Adriana and Vincent, recently participated in the Steinway & Sons Malaysian Youth Piano Competition 2011-2012. I received some good news today that they have made it through the audition stage. Now it’s onward to the semi-finals where these 10 shortlisted contestants will battle it out for the finals in Kuala Lumpur on March 22, 2012. Five will be chosen from this stage and then the first prize winner will go to Singapore to compete in the Regional Finals. If they make it through that they will then go to Hamburg, Germany to compete in the Grand Finals.

Congratulations, Adriana and Vincent. Now I’m going to roll up my shirt sleeves and work you two—stay focused and on course!

aka “Old pianists never die, they simply tinkle away”

I recently read Mary Schneider’s thought-provoking and witty article about trying to enjoy a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant whilst being bombarded aurally by the howling of a band of minstrels.  Being a pianist myself, I totally sympathize and agree with her and so here begins my rant about musicians. Before I proceed please bear in mind that the following criteria applies to this post:

• I’m talking about live music in a nice restaurant (not coffee shops or pubs).
• If this post strikes a nerve in you, please forgive me. I’m not targeting anyone in particular. Honest.

I feel like I’ve been playing solo piano all my life. I actually started out my first gig at the Golden Sands Resort here in Penang, way back in 1982. I was out from the States for a Summer vacation and my father said he had secured a piano-playing job for me at the named resort. Seeing that he had paid for my air tickets, who was I to argue? So I did the gig, I loved it, and I learnt some useful stuff along the way. I’ve loved piano playing so much that since then until now (imitates a Clint Eastwood accent) “I work alone.” No singers, no violinists, no kazoo players, zilch.

I’ve stuck with these rules of etiquette when playing the piano in nice, posh restaurants.

• You are only the pianist, you are not the main attraction. The food and company is.
• Don’t stick out like a sore thumb. Blend in with the ambience of the establishment. Look at the customers. Are they talking softly? Then play softly. Don’t be an ignoramus and drown out their conversations.
• If you aren’t sure whether you’re playing at an ideal level, get your ass off the seat and ask. Customers are usually direct and they will tell you. Also observe their body language (an outlandish example is if you see someone covering his/her ears. That is a strong signal for you to clam up!) If you’re too shy, ask one of the staff (I am assuming that you get on well with the staff. They’re always downright honest about music levels).
• I’ve also learnt that it isn’t worth it to bang on the keys even when the restaurant is packed and the noise level has increased dramatically. Why? Because you won’t win. So why make a fool out of yourself?
• It’s good to lose yourself in the music while playing but don’t get so carried away that you’ve forgotten about the level of sound you’re producing.

Ah, you ask. What’s your pet peeve? You really want to know? It’s this—I absolutely hate it when I walk into a fine restaurant and the pianist or musician insists on stuffing his/her music down my throat, together with my food. BLECH!! And also this—if you need someone to tell you that your music is too loud, you’re not a professional at all, you’re simply a show-off. So there!

Let me conclude by telling you one of my favorite pianist jokes.

A man and his neighbor are talking. The neighbor asks, “So now your missus has taken up the clarinet instead of the piano? Is that better or worse?”

“Better,” the man replies. The neighbor is intrigued. “Why?”

“Because she can’t sing and play at the same time.”

Following on the mini interview with Annabelle, here’s Bao Xiu’s version of it. I first met Bao Xiu when she was auditioning for the first Piano Idol. Since then I have seen this reticent young lady mature in her piano playing; she’s yet another very obedient student. It’s really students like her that make my piano teaching life less stressful (and believe me, as far as I’m concerned piano teaching can be stressful) So on with the interview.

When did you start learning piano with Mr. Yeoh? How old were you then?
Ummmm…I don’t really remember so clearly…. It was sometime in early 2010 I think, when I was…14?

What certifications have you achieved in your piano so far?
Eh, if you count the Yamaha piano exams that’d be quite a lot of certs….but for ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) exams I’ve done theory till grade 6, and I just took the practical grade 8….but since I haven’t gotten the results for that yet, I guess it doesn’t count? (Ed note: Bao Xiu scored a Merit for her Grade 8 piano exam taken in July 2011)

How do you find Mr. Yeoh’s teaching?
Hmmm. Honestly, (and I really am being honest here), he’s quite an awesome teacher. He’s got lots of stories to tell, about basically anything. But—he can be very strict sometimes…. I wouldn’t actually use the word mean though, cause even though he gives me intimidating tasks (like lots of sight reading), it actually does help me quite a bit.

Have you enjoyed your piano lessons so far?
Well yes, except for times when he starts playing some piece on the piano straight from memory like it’s the easiest thing in the world….then I feel pretty disgusted by his amazing piano playing skills (ESPECIALLY when he’s sight reading something!)

What would you have liked Mr. Yeoh to focus more on? Less on?
I don’t really know…. I guess he keeps a good balance of everything. And he knows exactly what a student’s strengths and weaknesses are….so….yeah.

Has Mr. Yeoh made you more interested and motivated to learn piano, or less?
Uh, honestly, I’ve never really liked playing piano that much, it’s like, a natural thing….but after learning with him I’ve definitely built more confidence in my playing

Any other comments, complaints, etc. will be welcome here.
Hmmm. I don’t know what else to say Oh yeah, he’s a technology geek too. So I would conclude by saying he’s a high-tech piano teacher/storyteller!

Bao Xiu’s interests and hobbies include dancing, drawing, reading novels, and photoshopping.

Thank you for your time in doing this interview, Bao Xiu. I’m sure you’ll do very well in your recent Grade 8 piano exam.

Annabelle started learning Grade 6 Theory with me barely four months ago. I’ve found her to be a very affable and hardworking person—she takes whatever advice I give to her. She’s also a piano teacher here, and I like the way she laughs whenever I give her a mock admonishment. Just like Regina, I asked her whether she’d mind doing a mini interview with me. Here are her responses.

When did you start learning theory with Mr. Yeoh? How old were you then? I started lessons with Mr. Yeoh on 5th April 2011. I’m 29 years old.

What certifications have you achieved in your theory so far? Grade 6 ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)

How do you find Mr. Yeoh’s teaching? I am IMPRESSED by the way he taught me during the very first lesson (and until now). He has everything in his mind, he doesn’t need to look at any book to teach me. I’ve never had a music theory lesson like this before. He asked me to jot down my own notes which I find to be very useful and it really helps me to understand things. He has been very patient with me as I’m not a smart student, and I thank him for that.

Have you enjoyed your theory lessons so far? I’ve enjoyed my lessons very much!! In fact, I enjoy every lesson!

What would you have liked Mr. Yeoh to focus more on? Less on? For now, I would say everything that I need to answer in the exam. Probably questions 4 and 5.

Has Mr. Yeoh made you more interested and motivated to learn theory, or less? The answer is MORE!!! I never get bored during his lessons.

Annabelle likes to read novels during her spare time. Thanks again for doing this mini interview, Annabelle.

All my 20+ years of teaching I’ve encountered students whom I fondly regard as “classics,” and then there’s Regina See. She’s one of my students in Digital Music here in Penang, and started learning with me about two years ago. I decided to conduct a mini-interview with her, emailing some questions to her and then asking her to append her replies. Here it is, heaven help me.

When did you start learning piano with Mr. Yeoh? How old were you then? I started learning piano with Mr Yeoh when I was in form 1, that was in 2009. I was 13.

What certifications have you achieved in your piano so far? Um. Passes? Distinctions and Merits; this proves how AWESOME I am!

How do you find Mr. Yeoh’s teaching? Hmm… *thinks hard* Boring. Boring, boring. Nah, just kidding. It’s quite fun actually. He’s like a friend. I can tease him oh and I always win whenever we argue. So yeah. I feel big and awesome whenever I’m with him.

Have you enjoyed your piano lessons so far? Yeah, I always look forward to the piano classes.

What would you have liked Mr. Yeoh to focus more on? Less on? FOCUS MORE ON PIECES. Oh my god. Less on scales, muahaha!

Has Mr. Yeoh made you more interested and motivated to play the piano, or less? Um. He doesn’t really affect me that much? I play whenever I feel like it. Not when Mr Yeoh starts smacking me and putting the metronome up close to my ear.

Any other comments, complaints, etc. will be welcome here. He drags and threatens me all the time. I should call Child Services one day and then we’ll see who’ll be the last one standing. Just kidding, Mr Yeoh is an AWESOME piano teacher. As the saying goes: awesome student, awesome teacher. Trust me, it’s not the other way around.

What other activities do you enjoy besides piano playing? I like horse riding and Mathematics.

I could regard Regina as a classic but I won’t because she’s always moaning about how tough school life is and what a drag it is for her to practice all those countless scales and arpeggios. Well young lady, you’d better roll up your sleeves and get movin’, otherwise I’ll sm… oopsie. Don’t want her to call Child Services, do we?

Notwithstanding that fact above, I’ll say that Regina is the only student who wants to do a high five with me, to tell me that my skin color is so fair, to complain about how mean I can be to her (you know this is totally untrue, young lady), to promise me (umpteen times) that she’ll do her scales next week, etc. etc. You get my point.

It’s been a challenging but great experience to teach this cooperative student (a little praise there) and she does work hard, I grant her that. And oh yes, before I sign off…her favorite word (as if you can’t tell from the interview) is “awesome.” I think it’s an excellent attitude for her to have. And Regina, you will keep practicing, won’t you, wink wink?

Here’s a vid of my student Vincent Ong playing his own composition, Flight of the Gargoyles at the recent Yamaha Junior Original Concert earlier this year. Vincent was the junior winner in the first Piano Idol competition held here in Penang way back in October 2008. Thanks for the vid, Sue!

Ed Note: Due to copyright restrictions I’m afraid that the above video has been marked as private by the owner. My apologies.

Here’s my student Bao Xiu again, playing Dave Brubeck’s King for a Day. A treat for all you jazz fans.

Having used Korg’s excellent KDM-2 for a few years now, I’m hoping that the KDM-3 (at least I assume that’s what the next version will be called) will be coming out soon. Here’s my wish list for it:

• Backlit LCD display
• A push-button number pad AND a rotary dial for inputting speeds
• A real metronome and bell sound
• A female and/or male voice to count out the beats (Note: some people might see this as a gimmick but I think it’s a nice touch. Moreover it has been featured in Yamaha’s latest Clavinovas)
• A choice of colors—black is always in fashion, but how about red, gold, brown, etc? A digital metronome could be the next fashion statement!
• A more powerful speaker system compared to the KDM-2. Don’t get me wrong, the KDM-2 is pretty loud, but…oh well.
• The ability to use rechargeable batteries would be nice
• A soft carrying pouch or case

If you have any other suggestions, feel free to drop me a comment.

Adriana won the second Piano Idol competition held in 2009. Since then I have seen her progressing very well in her piano playing. Of course it helps to have a strict teacher like me, yes? Here she is, playing Chopin’s Mazurka in F Op. 68 No. 3. She’s one student that will go very far (and that’s a promise)

Bao Xiu has been learning with me for about two years now. She’s a soft-spoken student, but very obedient and follows instructions to the latter. Here she’s playing one of her Grade 8 ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, UK) examination pieces—Clara Schumann’s Fugue. I recorded this video using my Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D in high definition mode. Well done, Bao Xiu!