My Piano And Me

My love affair with the piano began a long time ago. I have no idea what triggered it but I have always wanted to play the piano.

I started piano lessons when I was 8 years old. My father had passed away and my mother was making ends meet. Life was ...well, not really hard... but certainly not easy. But my mother knew that I wanted to play the piano and she found a piano teacher for me. I remember how my mother bargained on the fees from the going rate of RM30 to RM28 a month. That savings of RM2 a month was enough to cover the transportation cost.

I went for my piano lessons every week by bus. My piano teacher's house was at Old Town which was like a 15-minute bus ride away. My eldest sister would accompany me for my piano lessons after she had finished school. Later, my piano teacher shifted to Section 7 which was nearer to my house and I walked there every week by myself.

The duration of the official lesson was 1.5 hours, but I remember my mom would always encourage my sister be late in picking me up. She reckoned it was more worth the money if I stayed longer, lol! My piano teacher did not mind and I ended up doing a lot of theory practice.

When I delve into the corners of my mind, it's amazing what inconsequential memory still holds in my memory bank. I remember my piano bag was a clear plastic bag with red trimmings and a big strawberry picture in front and my first piano book was Michael Aaron. I remember my sisters gathering round me and singing Christopher Columbus, one of the earliest songs I learnt during those first few lessons.

I was a very disciplined music student. I practised everyday, initially an hour a day and steadily progressing to 3 hours a day when I reached higher grades. My family gave me a lot of encouragement. They never complained, not even once, when I banged away on my scales or my exam pieces repeatedly day in day out. In our small house, the racket that I was raising must be considerable. My neighbours must have wished that we would go away, I am sure!

My first piano, oh, I do not even remember its brand - it was a second-hand piano that my mother got for me for practise. When I reached Grade 5, my piano teacher advised my mother to get me a good piano. The Challen that we got was a joy to play and it was with me for many, many years.

As for my first public performance.... ah! When I was in Standard Four, I was the most advanced piano student in my class as I had skipped two grades. My class was scheduled to perform during one of the assembly periods. I remember I played Strauss's "Tales From The Vienna Woods" while a friend of mine choreographed the dance.

Once, I also played for a radio programme. My piano teacher had some connections with a radio station and she managed to get a slot for a few of her students to perform. I was about the youngest student that she chose to perform and I remember I played Dvorak's "Humoresque".

I finished my Grade 8 when I was 14. My teacher thought I should continue my music education with another teacher and she recommended me to one who lived at Pantai Hills. My mother would drive me there and wait for me for 45 minutes to finish my lesson.

I never completed my diploma in piano because I went down to Singapore to study when I was 16. For a short while, I had lessons in Singapore but staying in a hostel, it was just too difficult to continue. I had to walk like a mile to the music room to practise on this rickety Made-In-China piano. I enjoyed the walk though :)

But strangely, it was when my formal lessons ended that I really learnt to play the piano. I started experimenting with pop songs and making up my own music whenever I could and it was liberating. When I was in JC, I accompanied a friend of mine in a singing contest, playing the Carpenters' hit, "Goodbye To Love".

Today, I play all sorts of music, whatever my mood suits me, whatever I feel like playing.... the Classics, Mandarin pop, English pop, Disney's songs, Richard Clayderman ... When words fail, my music takes over.

For all this, I thank my mother - who gave me this great gift - a music education.