Piano Diary

Grade 8 Music Theory?

2012-01-13T23:33:00.000-08:00

This is something that I am considering. Should I proceed to continue to learn the Music Theory after my Mar exams? My piano teacher is not teaching Music Theory from Grade 6 and above. So, I will need to find another teacher to learn from if I wish to continue. And then the question is, I learn until Grade 8 for what?

The higher Music Theory Grades seems to be more on composition for different instruments in an orchestra to create harmony and identifying the composer and the period of a given piece, which seems interesting to me but very intimidating. And is not as if I will be really composing a piece for an orchestra. Would I be even able to hear my composed piece played by an orchestra? Is there a software where I can load the scores and they play it out for me to hear? Haha. It is then will I know if the piece I compose sounds horrible or not. Hahaha.

I went to check out the rates to learn the higher Music Theory. They don't come cheap. I mean, a rough estimation is about $3k+ just to learn from Grade 6 to 8. And that is provided I am "talented". If I stupid stupid, the amount might be more if I insist that I want to pass the Grade 8 exams.

Anyway, a teacher offered to teach me during my lunch time on weekdays, which means I don't need to think of ways to settle my 2 kids while I go for lessons, since they will be in the childcare from 7am to 7pm on weekdays. And she claims that she can cover Grade 6 to 8 syllabus and prepare me for the Grade 8 theory exams in 7 months, which works out to be about $1.2k in total. Should I just give it a try and see how?

Back to Piano at a Relaxed Mode...

2012-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am returning to continue my piano lessons starting tomorrow. My mother in law was very nice. She offered to come over to my house to help take care of the 2 little ones together with my hubby so that I can go for my piano lessons at peace. And yes, I am continuing to learn on alternate weeks and continue to prepare for my exams in 2012.

My piano teacher had registered me for the Grade 5 Music Theory exams on 17 Mar 2012. And I am nowhere near being prepared for the exams. So, the next 5 lessons, the focus will be on the Grade 5 Music Theory. According to my teacher, she says there is sufficient time, so don't worry.

Also, my piano teacher plans to register me for the Grade 5 Piano Practical exams in July 2012. As of now, I have completed all the scales and arpeggios and have learnt the 3 exam pieces, which are:

A2: Joseph Hector Fiocco (1703-41) Andante: from Pieces de clavecin, Op. 1
B1: Aleksandr Fyodorovich Gedike (1877-1957) Miniature in D minor: No. 2 from Dix Miniatures en forme d'etudes, Op. 8
C3:Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) Joyous March: No. 5 from Enfantines

So moving forward, I just need to practice and try to perfect them to be ready for the exams and focus on learning new pieces to brush up my sight reading skills and aural skills!

So, I will just take it slowly and see what the results will turn out to be. Passing both the Theory and Practical exams are in my 2012 Resolution! But not at the expense of my other priorities =)

cbox Removed...

2011-11-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

I have removed the cbox from my blog as someone is trying to impersonate me by using my username "Pooh Bear" in providing comments that does not originate from me. I don't like people to "put words into my mouth", although I am ok if that someone had just used your own username to provide your own comments.

To that someone:
Be daring to speak up your own views, and don't hide behind another person's identity. If you really think something is better, just share your views and reasons using your own identity.

To NW:
I don't know who that someone is, but please ignore the last message in the cbox. Someone is obviously trying to be funny.

My little boy arrived...

2011-10-27T20:02:00.001-07:00

My dear little boy arrived on 20 Oct 11. This is much earlier than what I expected and hence I was caught unprepared. Luckily he is my 2nd one, so I have some prior experience which came in useful.

I will be returning to work on 20 Feb 12. So I have a full 4 months break from work to spend time with my 2 little ones and my hubby and of coz to try to prepare for the Grade 5 exams.

My goals for these 4 months would be:-
1. Re-establish a routine with my hubby which is sustainable when I go back to work.
2. Fully toilet-train my girl.
3. Wean my girl off her pacifier.
4. Settles my girl well and manage sibling rivalry.
5. Train my boy to sleep through the night without any night feeds.
6. Settles my boy well in the infant care before I start work.
7. Breastfeeding my boy for at least 4 months.

With the encouragement and support from my hubby, I will be registering for the 17 Mar 2012 Grade 5 Music Theory exams and the July 2012 Grade 5 practical exams. He thinks since I am already preparing for it, might as well give it a try. If fail, then so be it. Haha, just waste money on the exams fees lor.

If I am taking my Grade 5 exams...

2011-09-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

If I am still taking the Grade 5 exams, below will be the planned schedule...

Grade 5 Theory exam:
Fees: SGD 130
Exam Date: 17 March 2012 (Saturday)
Registration Dates: 28 Nov to 9 Dec 2011

Grade 5 Practical exam:
Fees: SGD 240
Exam Dates: July to September 2012
Registration Dates: 13 Feb to 2 Mar 2012

Taking another break...a long one this time...

2011-09-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

FY2011 had been a very busy year for me so far, where I had to cope with so many things happening at the same time. It wasn't really a smooth year for me with many bad events, but there were good ones too. As much as I want to continue learning my piano, I have decided to take a break indefinitely, so that I can free up more time to welcome another new member into my family soon and spend more time on other aspects of my life. Yes, a little boy will come into my life next month. With that, I have done my "national call" of replacing my hubby and myself, saying goodbye to baby bumps. =)

I will still play the piano when I need it to relax, but I will not be doing any exams or going for lessons until maybe when my 2 little ones are much older. And yes, it is going to be a few years.

I am glad that my girl sticks to me quite a lot and with another one coming along, I do not want her to feel upset when she realises that she needs to share my time with a "competitor". I believe that sibling rivalry can be managed and minimised, but all that will require effort and time. I am grateful to my hubby for trying all efforts to make sure that I get to pursue my hobby, but I also think I need to spend more time with him and my mummy who is growing old faster especially after my dad moved on just a few months ago. And of coz, as I wish to progress in my career, my work also require more time. So until I can say that I have that extra time to spare without affecting my other aspects of life, I will put piano learning on hold.

It is obvious on what are my priorities and though I do feel sad that I have to put piano learning on hold, I think there are a lot of things that are "fighting" for the limited resource (time) which are more important to me. Definitely, I will introduce music to my 2 little ones and hope that they will enjoy it as much as I do. =)

Higher Music Theory Courses

2011-08-11T16:57:00.001-07:00

Places where higher music theory courses are offered (for my own reference):-

1) http://www.musicworkshop.com.sg/piano.html
185A Upper Thomson Road, Singapore
Tel: 65 6455 6647
Email: enquiry@musicworkshop.com.sg
Grade 6 - $140, Grade 7 - $150, Grade 8 - $160
Duration (about 21 months) One hour per lesson, with four to six in a group, taught by specialist with a Master degree of Music Education, and author of Theory examination Model Answers.
Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8): S$3,150 (assuming 21 months)

2) http://vervemusic.com.sg/
Blk 713, Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, #01-4040 (2nd Storey), Singapore 560713.
(take the staircase beside Banquet Food Court)
Duration: 12 to 15 months
The course fees for our Music Theory Accelerated Course Grades 6-8 level is $600 per term (approx 3 months) on an individual basis covering 11 lessons of 60 mins each. There is also a one-time registration fee of $20.
Email: enquiry@vervemusic.com.sg
Phone: 6554 4097
Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8): S$3,020 (assuming 15 months)

3) http://www.private-piano-teacher.com/abrsm-music-theory.html
157 Toa Payoh Lor 1, next to MRT
Fees for grade 6 are $120 per month for ten lessons per quarter. This class will start on orchestral scores/instruments and harmony.
Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8): S$3,120 (assuming 24 months)

4) http://www.learnpianolessonsingapore.com/intensive-abrsm-music-theory-class.html
Contact Number : 8388-6876 (Janice)
Email : janice@learnpianolessonsingapore.com
(If you decide to email us, kindly provide your name, age, contact number).
Duration: 1 hr/session (4x per month)
Grade 5 $230 (3 mths)
Grade 6 $260 (3 mths)
Grade 7 $280 (4 mths)
Grade 8 $280 (4 mths)
Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8): S$3,020 (assuming 11 months)

5) Music Theory Lessons taught by highly experienced music graduate teacher
Individual 1 to 1 and group theory.
Grade 5 at $120 for 4 hourly lessons,
Grade 6-8 crash course at flat rate of $130 for 4 hourly lessons.
The fees for 1 to 1 theory is $150 for 4 hourly lessons.
* For students doing crash course, fees is paid the 1st session of every lesson month for the total no of sessions conducted in that particular lesson month. That is if he or she is able to pack 6 lessons, payment therein will be of 6 sessions, if only 4, then will be just 4 sessions.
Email theory.ding@gmail.com for enquiries and lesson structures
Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8): S$1,200 (assuming 32 lessons)

6) http://www.jkmusicstudio.com/contact.html
29B Binjai Park, Singapore 589831
Turn in from Dunearn Road, before Caltex petrol station.
5 minutes walk from the main road.
Walk past the antique shops and Ivins restaurant.
Go up by the last stairway to the top floor.

Theory Classes
Grade 6 (group)	$145 per month	1 hour
Grade 7 (group)	$155 per month	1 hour
Grade 8 (group)	$165 per month	1 hour
Grade 6-8 (individual)	$360 per month	1 hour
Professional Consultation Lessons	$100 per hour	-

Estimated Total Damage (Grade 6 to 8):$3,720

Updates on my Piano Learning

2011-07-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some updates...

My Grade 5 piano lessons is suppose to be 45 mins per lesson. Although, the lessons usually span from 45mins to 1 hour. In fact, I have checked with my teacher and she says that all her lessons will be 45 mins even when I move up to Grade 6, 7 and 8.

And the tentative charges will be as such:

Grade 5 --- $160/4 lessons (45 mins each including Theory)

Grade 6 --- $180/4 lessons (45 mins each excluding Theory)

Grade 7 --- $200/4 lessons (45 mins each excluding Theory)

Grade 8 --- $220/4 lessons (45 mins each excluding Theory)

And my teacher shared that she will not be teaching Grade 6 and above Music Theory. So which means, if I want to continue to learn my Music Theory up to Grade 8, I will need to look for another teacher who just teach Grade 6 to 8 theory or who can teach both Grade 6 to 8 piano and theory. But I start to like my current teacher, so maybe, I am not that keen to change a piano teacher. Maybe I will look for group lesson for my theory. Anyway, that is an arrangement that I will need to make next year after I sit for my Grade 5 theory and practical exams and receive my results.

I have started to learn my exam pieces and my Grade 5 scales. This first exam piece is A:2 Joseph Hector Fiocco (1703-41) Andante: from Pieces de clavecin, Op. 1. I managed to play through the whole piece. But not at performance level yet. I am actually surprise that I can still play the piece. Haha, I had always think the Grade 5 exam scores look scary and is impossible. And ya, I noticed my sight-reading has improved alot since I completed my Grade 2 exams. Thanks to Nancy for forcing me to learn a new piece every week. But I think I have much to brush up before I am ready to sit for the Grade 5 exams, hence keep practising! =)

Planning to teach my 4 year old niece

2011-07-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

My sister had wanted me to try teaching her 4 year old girl piano, hoping test out to see if she is interested in learning piano. And if the test is positive, then my sister will look for a qualified teacher to teach her and get her a new piano! My niece will be using the old Schubert piano which I have given my sister when I bought my Hailun piano.

I guess, this is our cheaper way to test out the interest of our child. I intend to also self teach my girl when she is older to see if she is interested before sending her to formal lessons. I have seen many cases where the child is not interested but being forced to learn piano and never enjoyed it, which I think it is simply a waste of money, coz in the end, these children will never touch the instrument ever again. So if my girl or my niece is not interested, we shall stop and maybe re-introduce it again when they demonstrate that they are interested when they are older.

I will be starting my first lesson with her this coming weekend. This is my first time formally teaching piano to another person and of course, my first time teaching a young child. Hence it is also a learning experience for me. Hope that with this experience, I will also learn how to teach a young child better and apply it to my girl when she is older. Hence, I made my way down to Bras Basah to look for method books for my niece.

I had chosen 2 books for her, not sure if they are the best, but I thought it has lots of activities and pictures in the book which hopefully can keep her interested. And at the same time, they are prepared to prepare young children to move from beginner to Grade 1. There are 4 levels for this series, and of course, I bought Book 1. The 2 books is $17.40 together, so it is not that expensive.

The 2 books chosen are:
(1) Poco Piano for Young Children – Book 1
(2) Music Theory for Young Children – Book 1

I have went through the books and understand the syllabus covered. I have also been trying to plan out my lessons. How fast or how slow I go will depend on how long I can keep my niece interested. I may start with a 30 mins lesson for a start and see how she response. I guess I may need to prepare some self-made teaching materials too, so trying to surf the net to get more ideas.

Will share again after my first lesson with her, and from there, I will see how I can improve and make the learning more interesting. Come to think of it, teaching young children is not an easy task. Teaching adult beginners could be much easier.

3 exam pieces selected (tentative)

2011-05-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

The 3 pieces which my teacher has chosen for my Grade 5 practical exams are (tentatively):

A2: Joseph Hector Fiocco (1703-41) Andante: from Pieces de clavecin, Op. 1
B1: Aleksandr Fyodorovich Gedike (1877-1957) Miniature in D minor: No. 2 from Dix Miniatures en forme d'etudes, Op. 8
C1: Eric Thiman (1900-75) Flood-Time: No. 5 from Water Pieces

Officially promoted to Grade 5?

2011-04-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

My piano teacher has promoted me to Grade 5, that is, charging me Grade 5 fees since 1 April 2011. But I have not totally moved into Grade 5 in all the aspects of my piano learning. Hence, I do think she is charging a Grade 5 fees prematurely. But afterall, she is not charging as much as other piano teachers, hence, I took the "give and take" approach and allowed to be prematurely promoted to Grade 5. Afterall, don't want her to feel unhappy and she did touch on Grade 5 stuff, and with that, hope she will focus more on me.

Although prematurely, below is the time I have moved from one Grade to another. Not counting the 3 months which I rested when I gave birth. This is the start of the 33th month into my piano learning. I will be in Grade 5 for quite a while as the exams is tentatively schedules on the 2nd half of 2012.

Beginner --- 6 mths (no exams)
Grade 1 ---- 8 mths (no exams)
Grade 2 --- 10 mths (theory & practical exams - 7 mths of alternate week lessons)
Grade 3 ---- skip
Grade 4 ---- 7 mths (no exams，alternate week lessons, including the 3 mths break I took to catch up)
Grade 5 ---- starting from Apr 2011

The fees she charges are below, which includes both theory and practical. Reasonable?
Beginner ---- $100 / 4 lessons
Grade 1 ----- $110 / 4 lessons
Grade 2 ----- $120 / 4 lessons
Grade 3 ----- $130 / 4 lessons
Grade 4 ----- $140 / 4 lessons
Grade 5 ----- $160 / 4 lessons
**Noted that most teachers increases the lesson time from 45 mins to 60 mins in Grade 5. Maybe I should ask her too...

What I have covered so far:-

Scales and Arpeggios:
Using the ABRSM Grade 5 Book now.
Learnt all the major scales (both hands together and hands separately)
Learnt 9 harmonic minor scales (both hands together and hands separately)
Learnt 3 harmonic minor scales (hands separately only)
12 melodic minor scales (not yet)
Contrary-motion scales (not yet)
Chromatic scales (starting from all black keys only, white keys not yet)
Chromatic contrary-motion scales (not yet)
6 Arpreggios (both hands together and hands separately)
18 Arpeggios (not yet)

Exam Pieces:
Just bought the ABRSM Grade 5 book, but not yet started.

Aural:
Not yet started. Will be using Nancy's book.

Sight-reading:
Just bought the ABRSM Grade 5 book, but not yet started.

Theory:
About 66% through Grade 4 theory.

Keys to Stylistic Mastery 2:
3 more new pieces from contemporary period before I finish the book.

John W. Schaum Piano Course F - The Brown Book:
Learnt 6 pieces.

A Dozen A Day Book 2:
Have not touched it for a real long time. Guess Nancy is not keen to touch on this.

Reviewing 2011 Music Resolution

2011-03-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

After one quarter into FY11, just wanted to see how I have progressed on the Resolution which i set in the beginning of the year, and what is the exam plan which my teacher proposed.

2011 Resolution

1. Return back to Piano Learning with a Teacher! [Completed]
2. Able to work out a more sustainable practice routine! [In progress]
3. To complete my Grade 4 Theory (Music Theory in Practice & Past Year papers) [In progress]
4. To learn and master at least 12 new pieces (1 piece a month) [In progress]
5. To complete the "A Dozen A Day Book 2" [Not on track]
6. To learn the scales and arpeggios needed for Grade 5. [In progress]

Exams Siting (tentative plan from my teacher)

Grade 5 Theory ............ Mar 2012 (register in Nov 2011)
Grade 5 Practical ......... Sep 2012 or Mar 2013 (register Feb 2012 or Sep 2012)

Yes, I will not be taking the Grade 3 and 4 exams. This is also so that I can spend more time playing more pieces. =)

Restarted...

2011-02-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I officially restarted my piano lessons. Great feeling! Glad that I am back in action after a break. My hubby will bring my girl to play at the playground downstairs @ my piano teacher's house, while I am having lessons. This is also to ensure that she gets some workout!

I had a discussion with my teacher, and we decided that my theory and practical shall progress separately. So the plan is that I will take my Grade 5 theory either Oct 2011 or Mar 2012. And either take the Grade 4 practical in 2012 or Grade 5 practical in 2013. Still undecided.

This is so that I have enough time to pick up and not feel too stress about it. I guess she also gathered that I am facing problems finding time to practice the piano.

The examination dates and registration dates for my reference:-
http://www.abrsm.org/en/regions/singapore/singapore/make-an-entry/exam-dates/

2011

	Examination Date	Registration Dates
Theory of Music Grades 1 - 5: 1000 - 1200 Grades 6 - 8: 1400 - 1700
	Saturday 5 March 2011	15 - 26 November 2010
	Saturday 29 October 2011	1 - 12 August 2011
Practical Examinations Mon - Fri: 0900 - 1715 except on public holidays
Grade Exams	February/March 2011	20 September - 8 October 2010
Diploma Exams	April/May 2011	3 - 7 January 2011
Grade & Diploma Exams	July - September 2011	14 February - 4 March 2011

Restarting Piano Lessons...

2011-01-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

Time flies. Feb 2011 is coming. I was targeting to restart piano lessons in Feb 2011 when I decided to take a 3 month break in Oct 2010. Ya, I have been 3 months plus into my new role, but I am still learning and picking up. It is better now, in that, I do not need to bring work home over the weekend. So the weekend is now mine totally. =)

But I have yet establish a routine to ensure that I have at least half an hour a day to spend learning piano., especially on weekdays. Sigh, guess I need to sacrifice half an hour of my beauty sleep everyday!

Yes, I am still planning to have lessons on alternate weeks, so that I don't feel so rushed. Hoping to take it slowly. Jennifer does not have any weekend slots available this year. And Nancy only have Sunday afternoon available. So I'll restart again after Chinese New Year.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

2011 Music Resolutions!

2010-12-17T23:08:00.000-08:00

My 2011 Music Resolutions:
1. Return back to Piano Learning with a Teacher!
2. Able to work out a more sustainable practice routine!
3. To complete my Grade 4 Theory (Music Theory in Practice & Past Year papers)
4. To learn and master at least 12 new pieces (1 piece a month):-
a) 7 new pieces from "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2" to complete the Book
b) 5 new pieces from "John W. Schaum Piano Course F - The Brown Book", that is up to Page 17.
5. To complete the "A Dozen A Day Book 2"
6. To complete the scales and arpeggios needed for Grade 4.

Voce Studio Recital 2010

2010-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

The Voce Studio Recital was held at the Arts House on the 12 Dec 2010 (Sun) and I played 2 pieces:-

Temple Bells
By Dennis Alexander
from Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book1

Longing
by Cornelius Gurlitt
from Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book2

Ok, I don't think I played that well, but I think it is still ok. Haha. Some hiccups here and there. But I really enjoyed myself. Yes, my hubby and my little girl were there to see me perform. But because it was on a Sunday, and by the time I finish my pieces, it was already around 10pm. Well, my girl usually sleeps at around that time. So, yes, she was getting very cranky. So, immediately after I finish my pieces, I went home. So, I didn't manage to stay til the end of the recital. But I really appreciate the effort that Jennifer had put in to give everyone to have a chance to perform. And some of her students were simply FANTASTIC. I really enjoyed their playing!

Some photos for you to see:

The Board outside...

The lights...ok, my hubby was finding things to take...

My girl very excited and happy that the recital is starting soon...

One of the MCees...

Jennifer and one of the young pianist. Think she is the same person as the MCee. Haha, for some reasons, my hubby like to take her photo. There were so many other performers.

Mummy playing...

For a moment, I thought Jennifer teaches violin.

Taking a break...

2010-11-21T05:31:00.000-08:00

As I have moved on to a new role in my career, which had been very busy for me, I would want to spend more time to pick up and stablise first, I've decided to take a break from my piano learning, for about 3 months. Hopefully when I managed to pick up on my work, then I will be able to resume my piano learning. So, yes, tentatively planning to restart in Feb 2011. But which means I will need to rearrange the slot with Nancy when I am prepared to restart. Sigh, need to give up my 10am Sat slot, which is like, just nice!

Meanwhile, I am busy preparing for my recital which will be coming in Dec 2010. Hopefully this short break will also allow me to catch up with the pieces which I haven't have the time to really learn them well, and also revise and practice what I have learnt so far. Ya, slow and steady is my approach on pursuing my hobby. At the same time, I also need to work out a personal time-table such that I will have enough time to practice. Well, as one move up the Grades, I believe naturally you will need to spend more time practising! But I still hope this to remain as my hobby and don't want to feel stress about it. I'm also hoping Jennifer will be able to free up one weekend slot for me next year (2011), which I am not very hopeful actually. Hope I can hear good news. Haha.

Change of Venue for the Recital 2010

2010-11-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

Just putting it here for own reference:-

There will be a change of venue for Voce Studio Recital 2010 as the Young Musicians' Society (YMS) is undergoing partial closure under the instructions from the Building Construction Authority (BCA). Although the YMS Auditorium is unaffected, all toilets are closed at YMS and the building might subject to complete closure should BCA considers the building unsafe. For the safety of the performers and those involved in this recital, the recital venue is changed t0 the following:

The Art House - The Living Room
1 Old Parliament Lane
Singapore 179429

By Car: Enter via 1 Old Parliament Lane. Parking spaces available at the current Parliament House, The Adelphi and the road side along Empress Place

By Bus: North Bridge Road (Opposite Funan Centre or Outside MITA Building): 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 103, 124, 145, 166, 174, 195, 197, 603, 851, 961 Collyer Quay (At, or Opposite Clifford Pier; Fullerton Square; Opposite Singapore Cricket Club or outside Victoria Concert Hall): 10, 70, 75, 100, 107,130, 131, 162, 167, 196, 605, 607, 608

By MRT: From Raffles Place Station, take exit H and walk across Cavenagh Bridge. From City Hall Station, take exit B (in front of capitol building), turn left, walk towards Funan Centre and turn left again upon reaching the present Parliament house.

From Clark Quay Station, take exit E, cross the road in front, then turn left, upon reaching the Singapore River, turn right and walk towards the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower.

Recital
Date: Sun 12 Dec 2010
Time: 8pm

Rehearsal
Date: Wed 8 Dec 2010
Time: 9.30pm (30 mins)

Feel rushed...

2010-10-12T02:12:00.000-07:00

As I am not preparing for any exams now, the teaching method which Nancy is using now is very different from what she used when I was preparing for my practical exams. Now, I feel very rushed. I need to learn 2 new pieces for each lesson. And frankly, I find it very taxing, even when I have lessons on alternate weeks. I was told, her students are usually given 2 new pieces every week. So, I am already learning at half the required pace.

Due to my family and my work, I only get to really practice on weekends. Practising on weekdays is almost impossible though I do try to make an effort, without sacrificing too much time to spend with my baby and sleep. Also, usually I need quite a lot of practice before I can play a piece smoothly through without any notes error and with the dynamics and articulation needed at the correct tempo. Ok, may not be perfect, but I know I have learnt the techniques needed to play the piece well. But now, I can only merely play through the piece through sight-reading, much slower than the required tempo, pauses here and there. And the dynamics and articulations are not as what I wanted. Before I am ready, the next lesson comes, I need to play to my teacher, she comments here not good enough, there not good enough, replay it during the lesson, then she will pass it. And I need to learn another 2 new pieces for the next lesson. And this continues.

I feel like I am playing some catching games, and ya, I know this method helps in my sight-reading, but I do feel that I did not get the chance to train my playing skills, and appreciate each piece that I am playing. She did comment that I cannot expect to have 1 full month to learn 1 piece, which would be the case if I need to repeat the same piece for another lesson. And she does not expect me to play the piece perfectly. Most of what is needed of the piece is done, then we will move on. But I do really find the pieces that I am playing now is relatively much harder than what I was exposed to previously. Am I the only one feeling this way? Maybe I should also reflect to see if I really did not practice as much as I should.

I am ok when she rushed through theory. I mean, maybe after studying for about 20 years, I can still catch up for theory when she goes very fast. But practical is like, I just need to spend more time to practice and there is no short-cut!

So, sigh, either I tell Nancy that I really need her to slow down, or I really need to find more time to practice without affecting my family time, my work time and my sleep time. Playing the piano is suppose to be a relaxation for me turn out to be so stressful now. Haha, maybe I should ask for a demotion to Grade 3? Haha.

Mark Sheet (Grade 2 Piano)

2010-10-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here is the comments that were written on the Mark Sheet for my Grade 2 Piano Exam.

Got a Distinction for my Practical!!!

2010-09-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Okok, I must say the examiner was very lenient, and she was not very particular on the errors which I made. So, I am very lucky to have her as my examiner! Really, in my opinion, I did not do as well for the exams as I think I would be able to do. But well, maybe the exminer don't expect too much for a Grade 2 student!

But of course, I am very very happy! Yeah! I got 133 marks. Ya, not fantastic, but good enough. DISTINCTION!!! Hohoho....

Grade 5 and beyond...

2010-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to see what it is like for Grade 5 and beyond, so went to look at the complexity of the scores and the music theory books:-

Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book3
John W. Schaum Piano Course - G - The Amber Book (Grade 5)
ABRSM Grade 5, 6, 7 and 8 exam pieces

They look scary! I mean, when I look at the books which I am currently using, at least I feel, ok they are difficult but it is still possible. But when I looked at the Grade 5 and beyond pieces, I have the "jaw drop" feeling. They look so complicated, with so many "bean sprouts"!

Then I also went to looked at the Music Theory in Practice. Shocked to realised that the books are so thick compared to the books which I am currently using. And different author. No longer Eric Taylor. The Music Theory Books are not longer binded together using staples! Ok, just roughly look through the syllabus, there is so much on music composition for orchestra and for different instruments, must remember each instrument's range, which clef to use. There are some numbers (which I don't understand) written below the scores to denote something. And really need to know the intervals very well and need to know what are the characteristics of the pieces in which period. Really not easy!

Haha, looking at those, I start to find Grade 4 not as bad as I initially thought. Guess is always good to look at something much more difficult to be mentally prepared for the challenges...

Salute to all those Grade 5 and above! You are wonderful! =D

New Book for Grade 4

2010-09-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

As I moved into Grade 4, I have also started on a new book chosen by Nancy, which is:-

John W. Schaum
Piano Course
F-The Brown Book
Leading to Mastery of the Instrument

So now, I am working on 4 books
1. A Dozen A Day Book 2
2. Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2
3. John W. Schaum Piano Course - F (The Brown Book)
4. Music Theory in Practice - Grade 3 *

* I have finished the book. I will be doing some past year exam papers before moving on to Grade 4 Music Theory in Practice.

Voce Studio Recital 2010

2010-09-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

This year, my ex-piano teacher, Jennifer, has invited me to play 2 pieces for the Voce Studio Recital 2010. Yeah! I was not able to play last year coz it was near my delivery date. So, how can I miss it this year right? Haha!!! Ok, though I think I did not do well for my practical exams, I hope I can play better for this recital! And of course, I want to gain more "performance" experience such that I will not feel so nervous when I need to play for others. But the thought of performing always stresses me a lot! Sigh! Must learn to overcome!!! Relax!!!

The details:-
Venue: YMS Auditorium (http://www.yms.org.sg/venue.html)
Performance: Sunday 12 December 2010
Time: 7.30pm
Rehearsal: Friday 10 December 2010
Time: 8.30pm

And the pieces which I will be performing are:-
Temple Bells
By Dennis Alexander
from Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book1

Longing
by Cornelius Gurlitt
from Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book2

Grade 2 Practical Exams

2010-09-03T22:32:00.001-07:00

On the 30 Aug, I went for my Grade 2 Practical exams at City Square Mall, which is near Farrer Park MRT. This is the first time I am there, and was expecting a very old building. To my surprise, it is a very new building and the music school is very nice! Ya, I didn’t book the studio to try out the piano before the exams. Nancy, my current teacher, told me that it is not necessary. She said that she did not book the studio when she was a student either. But the difference was that, she learnt piano from a school and the exam took place in one of the rooms of the school.

Ok, back to the day of the exams. I was there early, coz I wasn’t sure where the place was, and just in case I can’t find my way, I deliberately left home early. When I was there, I still have about 45 mins before my exams starts. I met a few students and parents there too. One of the parents I met is actually someone whom I seated beside during the Victoria Concert which I attended (The Chopin). She had a twin girls and one boy. All 3 are learning piano from my previous teacher, Jennifer. Her 2 daughters were taking the Grade 1 exams, one after another. I also met another teenage girl who is going to take her Grade 8 exams, after the 2 girls. Then, it will be my turn. I am glad that the arrangement is such that different grades take exams together, so I do not feel so out of the place.

For the twins, I looked at their exam pieces, and saw a lot of drawings. The mother told me that she liked Jennifer a lot, because she will help the student visualize the story line and use a story line to help them play the piece, which is very useful, which is when I feel I had missed out because I cannot learn under her because I cannot make it on weekdays.

Then, I started chatting with the girl which is taking her Grade 8 exams. This is her first time taking the Grade 8 exams. She is currently in LaSalle, learning Music Composing, which is her strength. She looks very confident. And when I looked at her scores, it was also filled with writings and drawings. Then I start to wonder why is it that Nancy insist that I erase all the markings from the score. Sigh.
Ok, the 2 girls went for their exams, came out, smiling, think they did well, and they left. Then the teenage girl went in for her exams. So, I am alone waiting outside for my turn.

When it was my turn, I felt very nervous. I think I was overly nervous. I went in, greeted the examiner, and sat at the piano. I told her that I would like to start from scales first, so this was how my exams progressed:-

Scales, Arpeggios and Broken Chords

I forgot to tell the examiner that I will be playing harmonic minors. When she asked for G minor both hands, I just played. Also, when she asked for A major, I started on the wrong key, but very quickly, I replayed it correctly. Arpeggios and Broken Chords went fine. So, I have moved on to the pieces.

Pieces

I started with the Allegro Grazioso. It was ok when I started. But oh no, I played the last note wrongly, and it was very very obvious. Anyway, I just continued and pretend nothing happened. Then I played the Mazuka, same thing, I played the last note wrongly. But I told myself, is ok, just continue. Then came Mozzie. Sigh, I played halfway, then my mind just went blank. Maybe I was thinking too much on my previous errors. So, I requested to replay it again. Luckily, the second attempt was much better.

Sight-reading

Sight-reading as usual, I pause at certain places while reading the score and figuring what to press. And I was pleasantly surprise that I can actually practice and play the piece aloud before I need to play it officially. I was told by Nancy that I could only read the score silently and cannot play it aloud. So, sigh, I think I didn’t make good use of the chance I have, coz I am not very “trained”.

Aural

Of all, Aural was the best, from my perspective, but except the part when I need to do echo singing, think I sang one of the pitch wrongly, but not very obvious bah.

So, on the whole, I don’t think I did well. Anyway, pass or fail, I have moved on to Grade 4 in Sep. This is definitely a good experience for me. Now I know what to expect when I take my next exams and practice harder! I am also waiting for Jennifer to see if she will have any weekend slots available next year such that I can switch back to her.

At the end of my exams, I chatted with a parent of another student who is taking the exams after me. Her son is also learning from Jennifer. However as Jennifer says she wishes to further study in Music and hence not able to make time for her son going forward. Hence, she decided to change another teacher instead of changing the time for the piano lessons. So, I gave her the contacts of Nancy. Though I told her honestly speaking, I really do think Jennifer is a much better teacher. But Nancy allows me to skip Grades which is not the case for Jennifer.

Anyway, at the end of the day, whether the teacher is for you or not, depends on what you expect and want.

I am glad that the exam is over. Although I know I didn’t do well, but am not feeling very sad, coz it is still a valuable experience for me. I am also very impressed by the fact that the young children are going through these at such a tender age. I hope parents are not forcing their children into the exams but rather let them enjoy the process. Success or failure is not only measured by the results exams, but by the passion they have =)

Baby Girl Playing with Pedals...

2010-08-02T19:47:00.001-07:00

Just uploading for fun. Baby and Mommy can play piano together. Mommy plays the keys. Baby play the pedals. She saw me stepping on the pedals, and wants to be press them too!

Some questions I have...

2010-08-02T00:51:00.001-07:00

I have some questions here, would be great if anyone can help me:-

1. My piano teacher told me to erase all the markings I have made in my Exam Pieces book. She says these markings are not allowed during the exams and I should be able to play the piece without the help of these markings. Is it true? Coz I remembered my previous teacher says markings and even drawings are ok. So, who is right? Anyway, I guess I will need to erase them coz now she is my teacher. =(

2. Grade 5 Practical is not complusory right? I only need to pass the Grade 5 Theory if I were to proceed to Grade 6 and beyond right? So, is it advisable that I take Grade 4 Practical exams, and skip to Grade 6 practical exams? And I will skip Grade 3 and 4 Theory, but go ahead and take Grade 5 Theory. Haha, I am trying not to take too many exams, coz preparing for exams is so boring and so exam oriented, and I need to keep playing the same piece over and over again, which makes the lesson not very interesting. I would rather spend more time learning and improving my overall musical ability. But ok, I want to take exams to certify that I have reached a certain level. I feel that I improve more when I don't prepare for exams. Haha...

Magic Fiddler Studio Booking

2010-08-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

For those who are taking their practical exams at:-
Peace Room, Magic Fiddler 180 Kitchener Road #09-11 City Square Mall S208539.
You may call to book the studio, details are online, they even have a Web Calendar:-

http://www.magicfiddler.com/en/studio-booking

Positive correlation between Grades and Teacher

2010-08-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

With my Grade 2 practical exams coming on 30 Aug, and because it is time to register for the 30 Oct 2010 theory papers, I had a discussion with my piano teacher on how we will proceed after I am done with my Grade 2 practical exams. She feels that if I were to move and prepare for Grade 3 exams (both practical and theory) as the next milestone, it would be a waste of time, since the pieces which I am playing now (from the Keys to Stylistic Mastery) is already Grade 3 to 4 level, and that she feels I should be able to cope with Grade 4 requirements (but need to practice lah). So, it would make more sense to move direct to Grade 4. So, starting 1 Sep, I will be officially moving to Grade 4 and starting the following books:-

1. Grade 4 Scales, Arpeggios and Broken Chords (there will be a lot more than what I have now)
2. Grade 4 Theory (after finishing the Grade 3 book, which is finishing and some Grade 3 past year exam papers)
3. Grade 4 Aural (doing it directly, no need to go through Grade 3, she says should be ok)
4. Grade 4 Sight-reading (so scary!!!)
5. Grade 4 exams pieces

and continue with:-
1. A dozen a Day Book 2
2. Keys to Stylistic Mastery 2

Not counting the 3 months which I rested when I gave birth and adjusting to the new member in the family. This is the start of the 24th month into my piano studies, which will also be the last month in Grade 2 whether I pass the practical exams or not.
So, summary of time spent on each grade (for those who are interested):-
Beginner ------ 6 months (no exams)
Grade 1 ------- 8 months (no exams)
Grade 2 ------ 10 months (theory & practical exams, 3 mths of weekly lessons & 7 mths of alternate week lessons)
Grade 3 ------ skip
Grade 4 ------ starting from 1 Sep 2010 (alternate week lessons)

But I am just thinking, most of the times, how fast you move across the Grades depends on your teacher right? If the teacher is someone who is not very demanding in terms of excellent performance and think you are ok ok, would tend to move a student faster through the grades. And for one who is more by the book, step by step approach and a perfectionist would tend to move you slower through the grade? Coz, I am just thinking, skipping Grade 3 is definitely a no-no to my previous teacher. I mean, I don't think I will be allowed to skip Grade 3 totally if I were still with Jennifer. But my current teacher thinks that she is comfortable moving me to Grade 4.

Anyway, I am glad that I will be promoted to Grade 4 next month. What an accomplishment! Yeah! But which means the lesson fees will go up. Aiyo!

Hedy King Robinson prizes

2010-08-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Karmeleon "http://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032" for the info:-
http://www.abrsm.org/regions/fileadmin/user_upload/emails/images/headerimages/annualReview2009.pdf

Hedy King Robinson prizes
These prizes reward high achievement in Theory of Music exams. They are awarded to candidates worldwide who score 90 marks or above at Grades 6 to 8, and, additionally, to those in the USA who achieve full marks (100) at Grades 1 to 5. We offer our congratulations to the following candidates who were awarded prizes for exams taken in 2009.

For Grades 1 to 5, only those in USA who achieve 100 will be awarded. So sad. =( So unfair!!! Haha..

One more month to exams

2010-07-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, with one more month to my practical exams, starting to feel the stress. Haha. How can I make my this one month as fruitful as possible? Ok, listing down all the weekends/public holidays I have left (5 weekends):-
31 July - 1 Aug ---- Week 1
7 Aug - 9 Aug ------ Week 2
14 Aug - 15 Aug -- Week 3
21 Aug - 22 Aug -- Week 4
28 Aug - 30 Aug -- Week 5

Week 1:
Sat (31 July): Lessons (Aural), out whole day.
Sun (1 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exam pieces, Theory homework.

Week 2:
Sat (7 Aug): No lessons, out whole day.
Sun (8 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, A dozen A day, Keys to Stylistic Mastery.
Mon (9 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, A dozen A day, Keys to Stylistic Mastery.

Week 3:
Sat (14 Aug): Lessons (Aural), Theory homework, Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces
Sun (15 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, A dozen A day, Keys to Stylistic Mastery.

Week 4:
Sat (21 Aug): No lessons, Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, A dozen A day, Keys to Stylistic Mastery.
Sun (22 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, A dozen A day, Keys to Stylistic Mastery.

Week 5:
Sat (28 Aug): Lessons (Aural), Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces
Sun (29 Aug): Scales, Sight-reading, 3 exams pieces, revise all terminology!
Mon (30 Aug): Exams!!!! Good Luck!!!!

Marks
Scales and Arpeggios/Broken Chords: --- 21
Pieces 1 ---------------------------------------------- 30
Pieces 2 ---------------------------------------------- 30
Pieces 3 ---------------------------------------------- 30
Sight-Reading --------------------------------------- 21
Aural --------------------------------------------------- 18
Total ------------------------------------------------- 150 (100 to pass, 120 for merit, 130 for distinction)

Important notes for students taking the exams:
1. Do arrive 15-20 mins earlier than your scheduled time. This will ensure that there are no last minute panics.
2. Sometimes examiners might finish examining the previous student earlier so you might have to go in slightly earlier than your scheduled time.
3. Do check the exam venue correctly. Different buildings and streets might have similar names.
4. Remember to bring your exam pieces book for the practical exam
5. Bring Candidate slip, NRIC & jacket.

Candidate Slip (Grade 2 Practical)

2010-07-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Exam Date: 30 Aug 2010 (Mon)
Time: 1648
Venue: Peace Room, Magic Fiddler 180 Kitchener Road #09-11 City Square Mall S208539
(Farrer Park MRT)

Notes:
1. To book the studio and practise there a few days before the exams.
2. Need candidate slip in order to do the booking.

Reviews of Piano Teacher

2010-06-27T19:53:00.001-07:00

My previous teacher (Jennifer) passed me my Grade 2 Theory results slip and my Certificate on Friday when I meet her at the VCH just before the concert started. I opened it and did not find any cheque.

I mentioned in my previous post that I met a Piano Teacher (Jacqueline Cho) and almost had to do my lessons with her (http://piano-diary.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-piano-teacher.html). She told me that if I get full marks for my theory papers, I will get a cheque of the same amount as the exams fee back as a form of "scholarship", such that effectively the exams is free. So now, I have gotten full marks but no cheque found. So, she must be imagining things and talking nonsense. My impression of her, is very bad. Effectively talking and telling students and parents stuff that she is not aware of, pretending to be an expert just because we layman do not know. I WAS NOT TAUGHT BY HER. SO, MY FULL MARKS IN THEORY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER! Really, I still prefer Jennifer as my piano teacher. But too bad, Jennifer is too busy. (http://voce-studio.com/)

My current teacher (Nancy) is ok. Not very organised. Always forgeting what are the assignments that she had given me. But at least able to point out areas to improve further after I played the same piece a few times (so a bit waste of the lessons time), such that she will not be able to go through all the sections. Ideally my lesson should have the following components every week (or at least do it on alternate lessons):-

1. Theory:
Nancy keeps forgetting the assignment she assigned, and always forgetting to mark, even after I left the book with her during the week for her to mark. And does not really teach, but more of asking me to read and try myself. Last time Jennifer used to sit down and slowly go through the theory and explain and always noting down my areas of weaknesses. Thumbs up for Jennifer on this.

2. Scales/Arpeggios:
We will only go through IF Nancy remembers. And she is very particular on which octave I start my scales from. I was like, does it matters? Afterall, she admits that the examiner are not particular. And Nancy even read the temp marking wrongly, and keep asking me to play the scales faster! I was like, last time when I played that same speed, Jennifer would ask me to slow down and focus on my techniques. Jennifer used to make sure she goes through this every alternate week very systematically. Thumbs up on Jennifer on this.

3. Sight-reading:
Nancy focus quite a lot on this. And always 3 to 5 exercises at one go. She is very encouraging but also keep emphasizing on the importance of sight-reading. As for Jennifer, she progresses on the sight-reading very slowly. I was still halfway through the Grade 1 book when I was sitting for my Grade 2 theory exams, and less than 6 months to my Grade 2 practical exams. So, thumbs up for Nancy on this.

4. Aural practice:
Nancy focus a lot of this, which is good. I get to practice this every lessons. Jennifer, on the other hand, seldom touched on Aural, but it could also be because she feels that my aural is ok. Thumbs up for Nancy on this,

5. 3 Exams pieces:
I have never sit my practical exams with Jennifer, so I have no chance to do a comparison. But Jennifer did run through the pieces with me when I first got the exam pieces. As for Nancy, she focus quite a lot on these 3 pieces, but slow in catching my areas to improve. Always requiring me to play the same piece again and again during the same lesson, so that she can identify what areas to improve, which waste quite a lot of precious time during the lesson. But Nancy is patient and do not impose stress, and does not hold high expectations from her students, which is both good and bad. But for this, I prefer a teacher who hold higher expectations, coz I can improve more in this case. Ok, maybe I should say, both are on par.

6. A dozen a day:
Nancy almost did not even touch on this. Ok, to be fair, this book was introduced by Jennifer with the intention of improving my techniques and I used to practice it very faithfully, but now, is like rarely part of my practice. I included it during my day to day practice just because I remember how Jennifer emphasize on this. But the focus on Nancy is not on this, and until now, I feel I am not playing the practices correctly. Thumbs up for Jennifer on this.

7. Pieces from Keys to Stylistic Mastery
Nancy almost always forget about the assignments which she assigned, and she do not go through the history behind the pieces which I was about to play. Her expectations is very low on this. So long as I can play out the tune, she will pass it. Jennifer on the other hand, used to be very particular on my techniques, on the dynamics and on my expressions. She also explains the pieces, played sample of it, to help me get a better understanding of the pieces, the period and helping me to appreciate the pieces better. Jennifer's expectation on this, is high. I had to spend a lot of time in order to pass her assignments. Thumbs up for Jennifer on this.

But good to try a different teacher, so that I can better appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each teacher. But really, at the end of the day, it all depends on how much I practice. So, focus and practice more! Exams are coming!!

Chopin@200

2010-06-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Went for the concert on Friday 25 June 2010 at the Victoria Concert Hall. It was the piano performance by Benjamin Grosvenor. And the pieces which he played were:-

KAPUSTIN
Concert Study No. 6 -Pastoral
Concert Study No. 7 - Intermezzo
Concert Study No. 3 - Toccatina

LISZT
Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178

CHOPIN
Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2
Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39
Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. post.

RAVEL
Gaspard de la Nuit

Though Chopin is suppose to be the "main lead" in this performance, but personally, I prefer the Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178 by Liszt and Gaspard de la Nuit by Ravel. Haha. I like the way his hands move and hit the keys. So nimble, so fast and so accurate! And he changes the mood very nicely. From something jumpy to something soft and smooth and back again. I enjoyed myself!

Also, I only realised that it has been 12 years since I last step into the VCH! And the last time when I was there was when I was performing during my JC days when I was in choir. And is not the same as what I remembered. Nice to be back again after so many years. =)

Beginner/Intermediate/Advance = Grade?

2010-05-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Saw this classification somewhere, which is a rough gauge of the piano repertoire for different levels. Just putting here for my future reference, and for the ease of choosing books...
1.Beginner
2.Late Beginner
3.Early Intermediate
4.Intermediate
5.Late Intermediate
6.Early Advance
7.Advance
8.Expert

Perfect Score of 100!

2010-05-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

My previous teacher messaged me last night! And she had received my ABRSM Grade 2 Music Theory exams results. Hurray! I scored a perfect score of 100! Full marks! And yes, is a Distinction! Haha, I seldom score full marks during my mock exams. Sure to have mistakes here and there, so actually I am very surprise to that I can actually get perfect score. I was like, are you sure no mistakes?

Ok, I am an adult, so what is the BIG deal? But I am still very happy with my results! Haha, and I think this will be the only time I can ever score full marks for my music exams, so let me boast a bit! As I move on to higher grades, it will get more and more difficult, so I would be happy to pass at my first attempt subsequently...

Continue to enjoy my music learning journey...

Progress Report...

2010-05-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

I will be taking my Grade 2 Practical exams this coming September. So, another 3 months plus. Have learnt my 3 exam pieces and still touching up on the little details of the pieces. And need to practice enough such that even with the exam stress, I can still perform reasonably well. Sight-reading is still an area that I need to work on. Scales are ok, need to practice more. Aural, tried a few exercises, so far ok, but my teacher comment that I am too slow in realising if the piece played is 2 beats or 3 beats, though I ultimately got it right. So, on the whole, I feel that I should be ok by the time my exams is here. But definitely need to find more time to practice!!!

I have move on to "A Dozen A Day Book 2", continuing my "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2" and have started on my Grade 3 Theory. Grade 3 Theory is still ok at the moment, but I can feel that it is getting more and more complicated. Especially with more sharps and flats. Really wonder how the little kids can manage to understand these at such a tender age. Is that the reason why usually kids can advance very well in terms of practical, but lags behind when it comes to theory? But for adults, it becomes the other way round?

Glad that I am still making progress even with my baby and work. But definitely is at a much slower pace than before.

Suddenly have the thought that I may want to become a piano teacher one day as my retirement job. Something that I enjoy and yet not too stressful, as I can choose to teach how many students (Haha, provided I have students in the first place...). And at the same time, earn a little money to cover my old age expenses.

My baby girl plays on my Hailun

2010-04-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

Took a few pictures while my baby girl played on my Hailun...enjoy! =)
Reading the scores....

Start her "performance"...

Striking the keys with strength...

And even crossing over her hands....

17th Singapore International Piano Festival

2010-04-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

The 17th Singapore International Piano Festival is coming performed by professional concert pianists. I will be there!

Venue: Victoria Concert Hall (VCH)
Time: 8.15pm
Date: Friday 25 June 2010

My previous teacher has selected Benjamin Grosvenor's performance as she thinks the programme is interesting and it's on a Friday. Below is the link to the piano festival website. You can find out more about the pianists and their respective programme (what they are going to perform for that night). Students are given a discount of 30% off (those with concession passes) and adults will enjoy 10% off (she am still trying to work this out) and she is looking at Category 3. She has the privilege to order the tickets earlier than public ticket sales so we will be able to get better seats at VCH. The sales of tickets to public starts on 19 April 2010!

http://www.sso.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=244&Itemid=232

First Lesson with New Piano Teacher

2010-04-06T23:31:00.001-07:00

Had my first piano lesson with the new teacher on the 3 April. She was ok with the pieces which my previous teacher chose for me for exams after I played the 3 pieces for her. I have learnt the notes, but a lot needs to be done to add in the dynamics and the feel. However, as she does not want me to overcook the pieces, so she will be continuing the pieces which I have in the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2" and also will proceed with the Grade 3 Music Theory In Practice. I might want to skip Grade 3 exams and move on to Grade 4.

Generally, I find her not bad. Her baby will be coming to Singapore to stay with her starting from the middle of this month. Will need to see if she will be able to cope with the baby and teaching by then. I guess there will be a lot of adjustments that will be needed going forward. However, I feel comfortable with her and hope she will be able to manage it well.

Oh...I need to find more time to practice the piano! I hardly have time now in the weekdays! Need to find time!

3 exams pieces selected...

2010-03-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

The 3 pieces which I will be playing for my Grade 2 Practical exams (chosen by my previous teacher) are:-

A2: Allegro grazioso - Biehl
B1: Mazurka from Coppelia - Delibes
C2: Mozzie from Easy Little Peppers - Elissa Milne

Will see if my new piano teacher is ok with the selection...and when confirm and when I have practiced them enough to be presentable, will upload the video =)

Found a New Piano Teacher!!!!

2010-03-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

Hurray! I finally found a new piano teacher!!! She also just gave birth to a baby. But hers is a baby boy! She gave birth on the 21 Dec 2009. Well, that will make it easier for her to understand the commitment that I have.

Great news is that she is willing to let me have lessons alternate week, at $30 per lesson for Grade 2! (so much more reasonable!） Her piano is ok, nothing to complain about. The house is clean and tidy. And I can have lessons at 10am on Saturday mornings! And I will have lessons in one of her rooms! With aircon! Wow! So good!! =) She also played some short pieces for me. Generally ok. Will start with her in April and she will see me through my Grade 2 practical exams and onwards.

But coz is quite a distance from my house, so I need to get a bicycle to ride there. Anyway, I look forward to starting my class with her, a very down-to-earth person. I like her, not pushy. My first feeling is good =)

I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!!! =D

Piano Teachers Wanted!

2010-03-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

Piano Teacher Wanted! Please quote me. My personal email is eng00443@yahoo.com.sg.

Requirements:-
1. Qualified Piano Teacher.
2. Able to prepare me for ABRSM exams practical and theory. I am in Grade 2 now.
3. Able to have lessons on Saturday/Sunday. (alternate week - 2 lessons per month). Preferably Saturday mornings.
4. Lessons to be conducted at the Teacher's Home.
5. Stay in Sengkang, Punggol, Hougang or Buangkok area.
6. Have a well maintained acoustic piano, frequently tuned.
7. Willing to continue the books which I am currently using. I am ok if I need to change my books after I finish the ones which I have now.
8. Free interview session is allowed.

Thanks!

New Piano Teacher...

2010-03-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

I used to have my piano lessons every Wednesday evening after work. However after my little princess arrived to this world and me going back to work after my maternity leave, I no longer will be to make it for weekdays classes. Sadly, my current piano teacher will not be able to take me on Saturdays as her Saturday is fully packed with students who are unable to swop with me and she is not teaching on Sundays. However, I want to continue my piano learning journey, hence I have change my piano teacher.

I will start with my new piano teacher in April. She is Jacqueline Cho. Her blog is here: http://www.jacquelinecho.blogspot.com/

I had a close to 2 hours interview session with her. To get to know her better, and to let her know me better. When I played a few pieces for her from the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2", she didn't have any much comments on my playing, just said that I played well. Also, she mentioned that the Book 2 which I am using is actually for Grade 3 to 5 range. And says that I should not have any problems preparing for my Grade 2 exams which will be coming in July - Sept. Her piano lessons fees are more expensive than my current teacher's one. I paid $140 for 4 lessons with my current teacher, and will need to pay $160 for the new teacher. Also, my current teacher allows me to have lessons on alternate week, but this new teacher does not allow. And even if she is ok, I will still need to pay $140 for the 2 lessons a month! So expensive =(

Not only that, the piano which the new piano teacher is so lousy =( When I played on it, the keys were not of the same touch. And when I highlighted to her that the piano is not correct, she just said that oh ya, it has yet been tuned. It is not only not tuned, it is also very badly maintained! Sigh, my current teacher's piano is so nice to play on.

And her house is so messy! So many pets, hamsters and dog! Ah!!! Ok, I am not someone who like pets actually, but I find the whole place very messy, dirty, smelly, noisy and dark! Actually I am very reluctant to change my piano teacher. But if I don't change, I will not have the chance to continue my piano learning journey. Well, between the two, I just have to accept the not so good teacher lor. =(

Hope my first lesson will help me change my negative impression lor.

SPH Gift of Music 2010

2010-03-19T01:31:00.000-07:00

Just put them in my blog for my easy reference. The admission is free. Visit http://www.sph.com.sg/gom.shtml for more information.

SSO @ Toa Payoh Central
20 March, 6pm, Open space in front of Toa Payoh Library

SCO Community Concert
3 Apr, 6.15pm, Bedok Reservoir Floating Deck

SCO Community Concert
4 Apr, 6.30pm, Bishan CC

SCO Community Concert
10 Apr, 7.45pm, Nee Soon East Sports Park (opp blk 243, Yishun Ave 9)

SCO Community Concert
24 Apr, 6.30pm, Japanese Gardens

Jack & Rai’s Little Rockers
7 - 9 May, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

SSO Rush Hour Concert @ VCH
21 May, 1pm, Victoria Concert Hall

Opera in the Park by the Singapore Lyric Opera
10 June, 6pm, Singapore Botanic Gardens

SSO in the Park
15 August, 6pm, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Hip Hop Festival
13 – 15 August, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

The Philharmonic Winds - Blast from the Past
5 Sept, VivoCity Amphitheatre

Celebrate December with Gift of Music
17 - 19 December, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

Christmas with The Philharmonic Winds
26 Dec, Esplanade Concert Hall

My Theory Exams...

2010-03-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Went for my ABRSM Grade 2 Theory Exams today at SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business. I left home at 8am and reached there at about 9am, 1 hour before the start of the exams. I am one of the first few students to reach, so I took this opportunity to tour round the school.

They have seminar rooms, which looks like lecture theatre to me, but a much smaller version compare to the ones which I have been to. They also have classrooms, where the tables and chairs are arranged in groups, instead of the usual straight rows. And what surprises me is that they have many study group rooms. I find the place very conducive. Also, other the classrooms and seminar rooms, there are tables, chairs, power socket and even LAN lines, with aircon. Nice to have the chance to visit the school. Even had chance to chat with some of the students. They are indeed very vocal. Best wishes for the SMU students =)

Ok, back to my Theory Exams. There are also some adult students, but I think they are doing higher grade theory exams. And as expected, there are a lot of children taking the exams. They look so adorable! Hope they enjoy the exam and the process and not doing it because their parents say so.

Frankly, I feel so happy while doing the paper. No stress at all. I guess this is the difference between taking up something as a hobby and as a must-do. Enjoyed the whole process. Haha, and I look so BIG size compared to those little kids. And ya, I completed the papers very quickly. Left the exam venue after 40 mins. Haha, checked through 3 times, think there is nothing else I can do there =)

ABRSM Singapore Website

2010-02-21T05:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.abrsm.org/regions/en/singapore/singapore/

Grade 2 Exams (registered)

2010-02-21T02:36:00.000-08:00

My teacher just registered me for the 2010 ABRSM Grade 2 Practical Exams. My practical exams will be coming soon between July to September! So starting from March onwards, I will be busy working towards my practical exams!

At the moment, I am busy preparing for my ABRSM Grade 2 Theory Exams, which is coming soon on the 13 Mar 2010. Starting at 10am. I will be taking my exams at SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business Level 3. Any other adult students will be there too?

Hohoho! Very excited. First time taking music exams. Haha, hope I will have fun preparing for them and doing the exams! Hope I don't 'malu' myself during the exams! Jia You!

I am playing Grade 4 exam pieces?

2010-02-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

I am currently using the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2", and as I was learning and playing one of the pieces for my teacher, she found it almost exactly the same to one of the Grade 4 exams pieces.

I was playing the Baroque piece: "Prelude" by George Frideric Handel

which is almost exactly the same as:

The Grade 4 exam piece: George Frideric Handel: Allegro in F, HWV 488

But mine is in G major, while I think the Grade 4 exam piece is the original piece, which is in F major. And mine has more performance directions, I think they were all editorial. But of course, my playing is not yet of performance standard, but good enough to pass the assignment by my teacher's standard. I was like, no wonder I find the pieces in the book so challenging. I used to be able to clear each assignment every week when I was using Book 1. But now, I am stuck at each piece for weeks! Ok, hope as time passes, I can clear the assignment in this book with a breeze =)

Music Bookshop

2010-01-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

The shop in Bras Basah Complex was renovated and had a new shop name:-

Old Address:-
Swee Lee Company
Blk 231 Bain Street #03-27/29
Bras Basah Complex
Tel: 63367886
Email:sales@sweelee.com.sg

New Address:-
Tempest Music
Blk 231 Bain Street #03-27
Bras Basah Complex
Tel: 63366518
Email: info@tempestmusic.com.sg

Bought a Digital Piano

2010-01-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my hubby bought me a digital piano Korg SP-250.

After a few trial and error, we notice that our dear baby is very sensitive to the Hailun piano sound. Whenever I attempt to practice on it when she is asleep, she will be awaken by the piano sound and will cry very loudly. But she can sleep with the TV on or the radio on. Maybe TV or radio are white noise to her, but not piano.

But my supportive hubby thinks I should continue my hobby, and hence decided to get me a digital piano as an interim solution. A digital piano can allow me to choose to use the headset or adjust the volume of the digital piano, hence the intent is that we will slowly increase the volume until the baby can accept the loudness of a piano, and then I can play on my Hailun even when she is asleep. The digital piano is never good enough a substitute for my Hailun piano (the feel, the sound, the way the notes resonates is so different), and so I can only hope that my baby will be able to accept the Hailun piano soon.

I can install the silent mechanism into my current Hailun piano, but I have decided not to do it, as I wanted a portable solution, and one that can allow me to adjust the volume. When my baby can accept the Hailun, I plan to move this digital piano to my in-laws place (my in-laws will be helping me take care of my baby when both my hubby and myself are at work) so that both sides have a piano, which my girl can play on and appreciate when she is older.

Visitors during my maternity leave...

2010-01-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before, I have moved my Hailun piano in the living room, in order to free up the room for my newborn. And I have lots of visitors during this period since my baby girl arrived. Visitors who come to give us their best wishes and obviously, they all noticed the Hailun piano sitting proudly in my living room.

As the visitors are all my friends, colleagues' kids, ex-colleagues' kids, relatives, nieces, nephews, little cousins and of coz the kids love to play the instrument. And there are kids trying to show off their skills on the piano, with the encouragement from their parents, and some shy ones, who dare not touch it at all. Then they start comparing who is in Grade what. You know, kids are just kids.

But I do think it is a nice chance for them to try on a Hailun piano. They seems rather impressed by it, though they have not heard of this brand before. Most of them actually own pre-owned Yamaha pianos. Some had brand new Yamaha pianos. And some parents are thinking what to get for their kids as they want them to learn piano when their kids are older. And getting a China made piano always seems out of the norm. And as usual, parents asking me about the piano, the price and so on.

I do think that it is important that pianos are maintained in the best possible condition all the time, as I would think visitors do judge the quality of the instrument in this kind of informal visit, with no intention of promoting a piano, and might form an impression, which would affect their decision making in future. And from a pyscological perspective, people tends to believe that what a person (who have gone through much research) have chosen, will be the correct choice, coz not everyone has the luxury of time to go test one piano after one piano in various shops, especially when they do not even know what is considered a good or bad piano.

Back to Piano Learning?

2010-01-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

After 2 months break from piano learning to deliver my baby girl, getting to know her better and getting used to life with her, I wish I can continue my hobby. However, currently I have some medical condition which might require a few operations to get well again. I have went for the first operation (minor) last Wednesday, and will go for my check up tomorrow to see how is my condition and decide if I need more minor operations. Hope that I can get well soon as it is affecting my life and my family's life, especially because of my condition, I cannot carry my baby and my hubby have been the one helping the baby to bath and hugging her. I miss hugging her and bathing her. And it has been very tiring for my hubby as this has already been for 2 weeks or so, and it might potentially be the case for a few more weeks. Ok, don't worry, the medical condition is not life threatening.

Anyway, my piano teacher had registered me for the ABRSM Grade 2 Theory Exams on the 13 March 2010. It costs S$83. I have completed the syllabus before I went on maternity leave, but have yet have the time to revise. I am suppose to resume back to my piano learning in Jan 2010, which is this month, but because of my medical condition, I decided to postpone it till I have fully recovered. Trying not to introduce too many things into my current life to create unnecessary stress. So, hopefully, I can resume back to piano learning latest by Feb 2010.

Motherhood seems more challenging than I thought. The nurses whom I have been in contact with, my confinement lady, my sisters and even my sister's maid all said that my baby girl is much harder to take care compared to most babies. Coz she cries a lot, need to feed a lot (every one to two hours), have problems going to sleep and gets very agitated when she can't go into sleep. And the greatest invention for her is the "sarong". But she needs to be constantly shaked for over like 1 hour plus in order to fall asleep. Else, she needs someone to pat her to sleep. Not a baby who can put herself to bed. So basically, my hands are not free to do what I like, without her crying for attention and security.

So, actually, I feel that to resume back to piano learning would be a challenging task. I could not even have the time to practise my piano without another person (usually my hubby) to comfort the baby. And as I am writing this entry, I have to constantly shake my baby who is sleeping in the "sarong". And it is impossible to do the same when I am practising the piano.

And when I am back to work, say if I am able to move to the role that I am hoping for, then I would not be able to work from home that often as compared to when I was pregnant. Ok, actually I do prefer going to office rather than working alone at home, and work with a team where everyone is in the same Singapore office, so that there is better teamwork and stronger relationship. But that would also mean that I have less time to spend practising the piano.

So, I actually do doubt that I will have the time to continue my hobby with my teacher, given that now, I need to spend more time on my little girl and I will also be focusing more on my career. And I still want one more baby. Maybe I might have to postpone piano learning until my kids are much older and they have their own friends and activities. As of now, my focus will be more on my family and my career.

Nonetheless, my Year 2010 Piano Resolution is to pass the ABRSM Grade 2 Theory exams with Distinction. And to be able to take the ABRSM Grade 2 Piano Practical exams with a pass is a bonus!

Happy New Year to all!

My little girl arrived...

2009-11-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

My dear little girl arrived on 9 Nov 09. And I will be very busy with her until I get more settled down, so will not be posting that many new blogs anytime soon. Hope I can continue my hobby after I am more settled down and things gets into a routine.

Future Hailun Pianos...

2009-10-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

After my visit to the Yamaha shop on their Hybrid Pianos, I was just thinking, it would be great if Hailun pianos have silent versions as well.

Ok, because my baby will be coming out soon, so we have shifted our dear Hailun piano to the living room to make space for more kids to come. Our dear Hailun used to have a room by itself, called our "Music Room". And we have emptied the room. So now, I have a corner of my living room, called my "Piano Corner".

And because now that it is in the living room. It means it will be closer to our neighbours. And because I am still at quite an initial stage of my piano learning, I always worry that I will "disturb" my neighbours too much. So, I usually practise and learn by depressing the "mute pedal", and only when I have mastered the piece, that I will play without the "mute pedal". So suddenly, I thought to myself, how I wish this can be converted to become a silent piano. Haha. But of coz, it will cost about a few thousands to convert this into a silent piano. But I always feel that a silent piano is better than a digital piano (in terms of touch and feel).

After about a year of owning the Hailun HL125, I went back to try their Hailun pianos. What used to be "HL125" is now replaced by "Crescendo HL125", which is suppose to be an improved version of "HL125". I tried, the keys are lighter than the older generation of Hailun, which is more similar to that of the Japanese brand pianos. But the sound is not as thick as it used to be, but personally, I still prefer the Hailun's sound compared to Yamaha's, even when the sound is not as thick as it used to be. The keys are smoother and much easier to play.

Glad to see that Hailun have been making improvements. And hopefully as time passes, more improvements will come along... =)

Hehe, I always feel the Hailun pianos has so much resemblence to the Kia Cerato I bought. Slowly gaining more and more recognition, better design (like the Kia Cerato Forte) and gaining confidence! =)

Hybrid Pianos by Yamaha

2009-10-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

One of the past weekends, I passed by the Yamaha shop at Plaza Singapura, and went in to try out their new Hybrid Pianos - AvantGrand N2 and AvantGrand N3.

Hybrid Pianos are like Digital Pianos, in that it is run by electricity, and they are very expensive. AvantGrand N2 is S$19k and AvantGrand N3 is S$25k. They promise that the Hybrid Pianos has a much more authentic sound reproduction, plus a grand-type action in a smaller space, as well as tricked out pedaling, which means that the technology is superior to the silent pianos. Also, Yamaha claims to reproduce the CFIIIS concert grand in a 4 foot package, which is quite useful for people short of space.

I must say it is a great jump in terms of touch, feel and sound from their other Digital Pianos, and also much better touch compared to the CVP-409GP which cost about S$13k.

But when I test the Hybrid Pianos against the Yamaha U1 Silent Piano which is about $11k. Frankly speaking, I don't feel any very big difference. But according to one of my forum friend (who is more expert in pianos), she feels that N3 feels and sounds better than both the silent U1 and U3, though it would be a far far cry from a Steinway & Sons Grand Piano. But a conclusion is that it is priced too high. If it were around the $12k mark, they might persuade those who buy the silent U1 to step up for the Avantgrand, but $25k for the N3 is hard to justify for a digital.

Grade 2 Piano Exams

2009-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

My teacher is planning to register me for the Grade 2 Piano exams. Initially she was aiming for the March piano practical exams. But because I will be giving birth soon (in Nov), which means I will stop lessons for 2 months in Nov and Dec during my confinement. Hence, she is looking at the July to September exams instead. I intend to resume my piano lessons from Jan 2010.

If I take all the 16 weeks of maternity leave continuously, my maternity leave will end on about 20 Mar 2010. So, I plan to take my theory exams on Sat 13 Mar 2010. I should have more than enough time to prepare for this, since I should be able to complete the syllabus by the end of Oct 09. And Nov 09 to Dec 09 to revise and study while getting used to a new member to my family, and Jan to mid Mar to try past year exams papers, before I go back to work.

But for practical exams, should I try for the March 2010 one? Or should I wait for the July to September 2010 one? As of now, I have yet started on the exam pieces. I have started on the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2" for 2 months, going on to 3 months. Will be completing the Baroque pieces soon, and moving on to Classical period in Oct. And I will be midway through the Classical period when I go on my maternity break. And assuming if my teacher buys me the Grade 2 exam pieces book, I can at least start trying on it during the Nov and Dec break, and start preparing exams under her guidance starting from 1 Jan 2010.

Advantages of taking Practical Exams in March 2010:-
1. It will still be during my maternity leave period. I will have more time to prepare.
2. Less stress coz I am not working yet. I will only need to cope with baby and piano exams.
3. Can move on to Grade 3 faster, since I have completed both theory and practical exams.

Disadvantages of taking Practical Exams in March 2010:-
1. I will need to prepare the exams over a period of 3 months. A bit rush.
2. Might be a bit stress, coz I need to get ready for work life after maternity leave.

Advantages of taking Practical Exams in July 2010:-
1. More time to prepare for the practical exams (over 7 months).
2. Can adjust to working mother life first, before preparing for the piano exams.

Disadvantages of taking Practical Exams in July 2010:-
1. Will need to stay in Grade 2 for a longer period.
2. Might end up not taking any exams if I cannot cope with work, baby and piano learning.

Should I insist to take my exams in March 2010? If pass, good, else, at least I tried, coz I might not have the chance to take the Practical exams anyway, if I cannot cope with work and baby.

Piano Party Videos

2009-09-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to upload the videos that were taken during the Piano Party. But because these videos are taken using HD mode using my hubby's Sony HX1, and hence, they are very big files. About 200MB to 600MB for each videos. If you are ok with the size, you may download these videos and watch Lynnette Seah plays her violin. These links will only be available until 15 October 2009.

http://minliang.org/temp/MAH00856.MP4
http://minliang.org/temp/MAH00857.MP4
http://minliang.org/temp/MAH00870.MP4

Aching Fingers is Normal!

2009-09-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have been having aching fingers since late last month. And it is getting bad to worse. My toes are also swollen. Went to see my gynea yesterday and she told me that this is normal as about 80% of pregnant woman will experience water retention.

I found from the net on this and I have pasted the info in my blog for my reference, just in case the website changes in future:-
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/symptoms-and-solutions/carpal-tunnel.aspx
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/work-issues/health-and-safety/coping-with-carpal-tunnel.aspx

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[1] Tingling Hands (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome)

What it is: Numbness, a "pins-and-needles" sensation, or aching in the hands and wrists, especially noticeable at night.
What causes carpal tunnel syndrome: Pregnancy swelling puts pressure on a key nerve in the wrists and causes the same aching and tingling symptoms most often associated with ergonomic strain and repetitive motion. (Of course, if you're pregnant and having ergonomic strain or doing repetitive motion, you're twice as likely to experience it.)
What you need to know about tingling hands: If you're feeling these symptoms more at night, it's because the fluids that accumulate in the lower part of your body during the day are redistributed elsewhere, including your hands, when you lie down. (Kind of reverse gravity.) And of course, if you've been at a computer all day long, nighttime leaves your carpal nerve with a double whammy. Luckily, though, this symptom should disappear after delivery as your swelling diminishes.
What to do about tingling hands: If you work at a computer, or do any other activity that requires repetitive motion, like playing the piano or filing, take frequent hand-stretching breaks. If typing, type gently, making sure your wrists are straight and your elbows are higher than your hands.
(a) Try not to sleep on your hands.
(b) Use a pillow to prop up your arms at night.
(c) Shake your hands & wrists out frequently. At night, you can hang your hand over the side of the bed & shake it.
(d) It may help to limit or avoid caffeine and stay away from tobacco (which you should definitely be doing, anyway).
(e) If you're in a lot of pain, try a wrist brace. Ask your practitioner which kind to buy.
Acupuncture might help — ask your practitioner for a recommendation.

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[2] Coping With Carpal Tunnel

Even women who have never experienced a repetitive strain injury before are vulnerable to it during pregnancy. If you spend your day tap-tap-tapping on a keyboard, you may already be familiar with the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) — that well-known worker’s malady that causes pain, tingling, and numbness in the hands due to too much time spent doing repetitive tasks. What you might not know, however, is that more than a quarter of expectant moms develop CTS during pregnancy, whether or not they ever go near a computer, thanks to swollen tissue in the body that presses on nerves (the same swollen tissue that makes it impossible for you to remove your wedding ring, or tell your ankles from your calves).

With carpal tunnel syndrome, the swelling takes place in the narrow "tunnel" in the wrist through which key nerves connect to the hand and fingers. The result is the pain, tingling, burning, and numbness that accompany nerve compression. CTS tends to kick in during the second half of pregnancy, and often seems to be worse at night, when the fluid that had been accumulating in your lower extremities during the day (thanks to gravity) has an opportunity to redistribute itself throughout your body and into your upper extremities.

Still, some pregnant women find that carpal tunnel takes its greatest toll in the workplace. Trying to work through an attack is not easy, and can be very painful. The good news is that carpal tunnel syndrome is not dangerous and usually subsides after delivery. And luckily, there are a number of remedies you can try until you see the light at the end of the carpal tunnel:
(a) Raise your office chair so that your wrists are straight and your hands are lower than your elbows as you type.
(b) Switch to a wrist-friendly ergonomic keyboard.
(c) Get mouse and keyboard pads that provide wrist support.
(d) Wear a wrist brace while typing.
(e) Take frequent breaks from the computer.
(f) Use a speakerphone or headset if you’re on the phone a lot.
(g) In the evenings, soak your hands in cool water to reduce any swelling.

Other possible remedies include vitamin B6 supplements (ask your practitioner before taking any supplements), acupuncture, or pain relievers (again, check before you take any medication).
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And so, it is only normal for me to feel the finger aches when I play and practice on my pianos. Ok, knowing that this is normal, I am not so worried now. But maybe, I need to cut down on the time I spend practising the piano? At the same time, I was hoping to learn as much as I can before my baby comes out. I don't think I will have as much free time to spend playing on the piano after the baby is out. So, hopefully I can strike a balance. I don't want to hurt my fingers permanently.

Piano Party @ Ben's House

2009-09-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

I went for the Piano Party held at Ben's House (a condo near NUS area) on 12 Sep 09 with my hubby. Ben is a friend I made in the Piano Forum. Ben is a very great host and tries to make us feel comfortable and I really appreciate it.

My hubby is worried for me to go there alone (a very protective man) and moreover I don't really know the people there, so he decided to accompany me. Haha, he being someone who doesn't really appreciate classical music and piano, and not so musically inclined, he brought his Sony HX1 there to take photos, so that he can "entertain" himself, while I sit there, enjoy the music, chit chat and have fun. I appreciate his presence though, but do constantly worried that he might be bored.

We went there immediately after our Antenatel Class which ended at around 12pm. The party is suppose to start at 1pm, but we were there at around 12.15pm. We were the first guests to reach. The caterer was still there preparing the buffet spread. Not long later, Wzkit arrived. Ben opened up his piano and switched off the TV. And here are some photos of his Suater Omega 220 taken by my hubby before the rest of the guests come. A very nice piano:-

Wzkit was playing the piano when my hubby was taking the photos of the piano. And you see him trying out the piano at the other side of the photo. Ben has tuned it to EBVT III temperament. Haha, actually, I can't really hear the difference between his EBVT III and my Equal Temperament. Haha, so, I guess I am quite "deaf" too!

While Wzkit was playing the piano, and stepped on the una corda pedal, the whole key shifted like what my Piano Teacher told me. Haha, my first time seeing it move. So interesting. Okok, I sound very "sua ku". But honestly speaking, I don't feel that the two sound with and without the una corda has much of a difference. Or, is there a difference?

This is Ben (the host) playing on his piano. He looks quite young. I mean, I expect to see quite an old man, coz he seems to have went through a lot of ups and downs in his life from the way I "talked" to him via messages and emails.

Ok, the caterer is finally done with the buffet spread, and this is the most interesting part for my hubby. It is nyonya food from Chilli Padi. Too bad, my hubby had a sore throat, so he did not try the mee siam, which looks very nice. Haha, though I don't fancy spicy food, but the food taste nice. I drank a lot of lime juice and it was very successful in helping me cope with the spiciness of the food. Think the spread is for about 20 people. The food was there from about 1pm to 4pm (when the people came again to clear up). But I saw that there were a lot "leftovers". I ate a lot liow. But I guess there are many who just played the piano and did not eat enough. Haha.

Ok, not long after the spread is ready, more and more people came. There were about 20 people (I think), and the whole living room, dining area and the study room (where the food were) are all packed with people. I met a few of the other Piano Forum friends.

Wow, they all have very powerful backgrounds. There are economists, NUS Mechanical Engineering Lecturers, Sauter Piano Dealer who is also an Interior Designer and Lynnette Seah was there too. And they all are very rich, as in staying in landed properties, freehold condo, buying condos like buying clothes, having Steinway and Sauter pianos at their home. All I asked have all completed their Grade 8 exams, some performing in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, some in the NUS Symphony Orchestra, some completed their Piano Diplomas, some will be taking their Diploma exams soon. Some can play other instruments other than pianos. Wow! Very very impressive group of people. Haha, my hubby commented that these group of people are like a different category, living a very different life from people like us (who seems to be crawling on the ground). They are all very English speaking group of people too. And when they asked about me and my hubby. Haha, like nothing very special about the 2 of us, just very ordinary people and a small potato in our company. And haha, when asked about my piano background, even funnier. Haha. My hubby know nuts about piano, and I barely know much, and just starting out my Grade 2.

But, I must say, I did enjoy myself, and was an eye opener to meet them. I mean you rarely get a chance to talk to another group of people whom you don't meet them in life right? And understanding how they feel and live their life. And most importantly, we share a common interest which is music, which is why we are all in this party. If invited again, I would love to go, but maybe not with my hubby coz he was getting very bored, other than the food. And hopefully when my baby is out, I can leave the baby with him. Don't think is a nice idea to bring my little one there, just in case she starts crying when they are performing.

I had a nice chat with Alvin, who is the Sauter Piano Dealer. And he shared with me and my hubby his experience of dealing with those even richer customers, who have terrible attitudes and expectations for his part time job as an interior designer. He also shared with us how he started his hobby into selling Sauter. Haha, and really selling pianos is not his rice bowl, else he would have been starved to death, but rather a passion which he needs to do some other part time job in order to support. Oh, he is also building his own piano for himself by himself. But because there is no equipments, parts, advices and factory in Singapore, he will fly to Germany when he has the time and money and do some work on his dream piano. And so far, it is far from ready. But quite a nice guy to chat with. As in, not someone who is at all interested to sell you anything, but just a normal friend talking about anything under the sun. Please lor, see my pattern, also know that I can't afford a Sauter. =P

The best part of the Piano Party. Lynnette Seah is performing on her violin. She play until it looks very easy, not nervous at all one, just enjoying herself playing some pieces and they are all very nice. I don't know who is the pianist, but seems to be someone whom she had been working with, or at least the pianist came prepared!

Haha, then she was asking volunteers to play on the piano as accompanists and haha, as usual, everyone just sat there and looked at each other. And she was like, "hey, good opportunity to play the piano with another musician and the best part is I am not charging you!" Haha, we all laughed. And when she realised is because no one dares to play a piece via sight-reading with her, she was like, what? Pianist can't sight-read? Haha, I guess though I feel these pianists are pro, still not pro enough as compared to her. Haha! In the end, everyone volunteered a guy called Jonathon, who is suppose to be the best sight-reader. And in the end 2 persons were playing on the piano, one playing the left hand and one playing the right hand and Lynnette was playing the violin. I thought the pianists were not bad, to be able to play the pieces just by sight-reading. Haha, I am far from that!

Then, after Lynnette finished her "performance", Jonathon brought out his don't know what instrument, and started blowing. I think is a Bassoon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassoon

Haha, my hubby was asking Lynnette if there is chance for all the 3 instruments to be played together. Haha, he was hoping for an orchestra kind of thing. But to his disappointment, don't have.

Just some comments which my hubby has about his observation. The people in this Piano Party all seems to be able to play the piano well. And the focus is on how well they play the pieces, how expressive and so on. But there is no element of composing and creativity. His thoughts is that instruments like a piano, should not be just about playing it from scores that were written many years back. Well, these pieces are also composed by people in the past. And why is it that this creativity is not the focus when one learns the piano? Shouldn't music be about creativity instead of strictly following the scores that were composed years ago?

Haha, and well, I also do notice that in my piano lessons so far, the focus has been on my piano playing techniques and how well I can play a piece. Though theory has some element of composing, but does not seems to be the focus of learning piano. But maybe there is this focus in the higher grades? I also not very sure. But I did asked my teacher about composing music, and she told me I need to have a strong understanding of the theory first before I can understand how to compose, and to get there, I need to complete at least Grade 4 or 5. Is that true?

ABRSM Exams 2010

2009-09-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Links:
http://www.abrsm.org/regions/en/singapore/singapore/about-the-associated-board/syllabuses/

http://www.abrsm.org/regions/en/singapore/singapore/make-an-entry/exam-dates/

	Examination Date	Registration Dates
Theory of Music Grades 1 - 5: 1000 - 1200 Grades 6 - 8: 1400 - 1700
	Saturday 13 March 2010	16 - 30 November 2009
	Saturday 30 October 2010	2 - 13 August 2010
Practical Examinations Mon - Fri: 0900 - 1715 except on public holidays
Grade Exams	February/March 2010	22 September - 9 October 2009
Diploma Exams	April/May 2010	4 - 8 January 2010
Grade, Jazz & Diploma Exams	July - September 2010	8 - 26 February 2010

More info on Hailun from Piano Book

2009-09-08T01:56:00.000-07:00

Don't know why my version of the Piano Book does not have any information on Hailun when I bought it last year. But since have the online version, so shall post it here for my reference. For more information, please refer to the online version which is here http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8ffb87c#/e8ffb87c/161

HAILUN
"Ningbo Hailun began making piano parts and components in 1986 under the Ningbo Piano Parts Factory name, and began assembling entire pianos in 1995. Its assembly facility converted to a full-scale piano-manufacturing facility in 2000. The company offers a full line of grands and uprights in its designer Art Case Collection, as well as traditional styles and finishes. In addition to making pianos under the Hailun name, it also make the Wendl and Lung brand for distribution throughout Europe and a few pianos stores in U.S. The company also makes pianos and components under contract for several other manufacturers and distributors.

The Hailun factory has over 400,000 square feet of production capacity and 800 employees. A 200,000 square foot expansion project is underway to accomodate distribution in the U.S. market. Additionally, a new cabinet factory is now complete and began production is 2008. Since 2001, the company has invested heavily in computer-controlled manufacturing equipment and has hired an impressive group of experts from Japan (Ema Shigeru), Europe (Peter Veletzky, Stephen Paulello, Claire Trichet, Sibin Zlatkovic), and the U.S. (Frank Emerson) to help it reach the highest quality standards. While modern manufacturing methods are full utilized, the factory also uses a large amount of skilled manual labour, and provides an in-depth training program for its workers, conducted by piano builders and technicians from the U.S. and Europe.

Hailun is a little different from most of the other Chinese companies selling pianos in the U.S. Its founder and owner, Chen Hailun, is an entrepreneur in the Western style, and deeply involved in every aspect of the business. Originally a maker of molds for industrial use, Chen got into the piano business when piano manufacturers started to use his services to make piano parts. In 1998 he bought out the government's position in his company to better control quality and hiring decisions. He seeks out the best workers by paying considerably higher wages than other piano makers in China, he says, and assists in the training of future piano technicians through an association with a local university. His greatest aspiration, Chen says, is to make the best piano in Asia.

Over the years, much of Chen's technical efforts have gone into maximising the precision and stability of the pianos and parts his company makes. This is evidenced by the substantial investment in computer-controlled machinery used for precision cutting; the design of keys, keybed, and other parts to resist warping; and the fact that grand piano actions are actually interchangeable between instruments of the same model (this requires an unusually high level of precision). The piano themselves exhibit good quality control and intelligence in design. In terms of materials, the company uses maple in grand piano rim, a feature indicative of higher quality and arguably necessary for the best sound. This precision, stability, and quality of materials, combined with the work of experienced design consultants, have resulted in pianos that perform and service better than most other pianos from China, and may favourably compare with some mid-priced pianos from other parts of the world. Our own reviewer tried out a Hailun grand and was impressed with its musicality.

Warranty: 15 years, parts and labor, transferable to future owners within the warranty period; except for action parts, cast-iron plate, and metal case hardware, which are warranted for the lifetime of the original purchaser."

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For those who are wondering what is the relationship between Wendl and Lung pianos and Hailun pianos, you can get a brief explanation here from the Piano Book.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8ffb87c#/e8ffb87c/185
Basically is because Hailun has hired a group of experts from Europe, where some were related to Wendl and Lung, such that the models became part of Hailun line of pianos. But history wise, Wendl and Lung had a different history altogether. But now, they are similar but meant to make pianos for different markets.

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer, Fall 2009

2009-09-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is the latest version of the Larry Fine Piano Book. He has included another mega section on Digital Piano which was not in the one which I bought previously. And here is the online version of the book.

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8ffb87c#/e8ffb87c/45

I have replicated the table which he has created here for my own easy reference. But for the details on what are the assumptions behind this table, please refer back to his book.

Performance-Grade Pianos:-

Consumer-Grade Pianos:-

In Singapore Context:-
My Hailun Piano not bad lah, still in the high mid-range of the Consumer-Grade Pianos. But just wondering how accurate is the table? China-made Yamaha pianos are ranked above China-made Hailun Pianos?

But I also notice Cristofori seems to sell a lot of the pianos in the Entry Level Consumer-Grade Pianos. And the prices are not that cheap also what. I mean, of what I remembered, their new Pearl River is about $3.5k, new Samick (abt 121cm) vertical was close to $4k, their Cristofori pianos are at $4k+.

A new Yamaha U1J from Yamaha is about $7k. Think last time when I asked about Perzina verticals, it was about $6k+. So effectively, Hailun can be sold at $5k to $6k liow, given its ranking...

So either Hailun is under priced now, or Cristofori are over-pricing their pianos? Haha, anyway, willing buyer willing seller, who am I to say how much these pianos should be priced =P. But from this little analysis, you will see which pianos are value for money...

Grade 2 expectations is so high...

2009-09-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

After one month into Grade 2, I have only passed one assignment so far (to my teacher's expectations). And have been playing the same other 2 pieces for the past 3 weeks. I can play the piece fluently when I am at home, but when I go for my classes, there bound to be hiccups here and there. I know when I make a mistake, I should just continue so that the piece is still considered ok. But practically, once I made one mistakes, all the other mistakes will follow.

I do feel that there seems to be quite a big jump in expectations from Grade 1 to 2. My teacher's rational is that I need to learn how to perfect every piece that I learn, so that when I am learning the exam pieces, it would come as a breeze, and not struggling through them. She says she has saw other teachers just teaching their students the 9 exam pieces grade after grade, and yeah, the students can play the exam pieces, but other than that, they are really not very exposed to the various pieces, and their technical skills will also not be as strong.

But I can't help to think, is it that her standard is high? Or is it that I am really very lousy? But well, hope by increasing my practice time, my piano standard will move quickly to match her expectations. Jia You!

Theory wise, so far ok. But the relative minors to the majors are making me a bit stress. And those Italian that needs to be memorized. Wow. Overwhelming!

Sight-reading, just feel that I am progressing very slowly. Need to practice more! So many things to look out for. The tempo, the key signature, the time signature, where to play loud and where to play soft. And before I know it, 30 seconds is over, and I need to start playing the piece, even before I feel ready.

A dozen a day. Wow. The exercises at the back of the Book One are getting so much harder. Argh!! My fingers keep pressing the wrong keys! =( And aching fingers! Especially my last 2 fingers for both hands.

Scales wise, still coping. Hopefully after a while, I will know exactly which notes to press when I am asked to play which minor and so on. Now, I still need to pause for a while, think first for like 5 secs, before I can play out the scale.

Ok, hopefully after a few more lessons, I will find Grade 2 easier and more manageable...

A visit to PianoMaster...

2009-08-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

I must say I am very touched by the service that PianoMaster have. They have read my blog and from my blog, they understand that I was upset with the double strike problem and the warranty issue. And they have called me up to understand the issue better. Since I am on a day's off to do my routine check-up on Si Qing today, I've made a visit to PianoMaster International after my check-up to talk about the issues that I had. =)

Well, it was a misunderstanding on both parties. Haha, there wasn't the important element of communication that had created all these misunderstanding. And I am glad that I've made the trip down and sort out the areas which I was upset about, and reached a mutual understanding =)

I have removed some of the postings which I have made previously and would also like to share with we have discussed here....

1. Warranty Issues
For those who have read my previous post on the 10 years Warranty on the Hailun pianos, I stated that I was upset because the Warranty only includes parts and does not include labour costs and transport.

But I only found out today that PianoMaster they themselves were not aware of the fine prints that were printed on the Warranty Cards, as they had outsourced the printing of the Warranty Cards to a 3rd party. And apparantly, there had been a misprint. Ok, they were careless on their end. In fact, the 10 years warranty provided by Hailun actually included both labour costs and transport costs and of coz the costs of the parts. It is both from the dealer and the manufacturer! Hence, yeah! Which means, my Hailun pianos does have a 10 years FULL WARRANTY! Woohoo! And they will be replacing the Warranty Card which they have issued after the re-printings have been done, and I will be collecting mine when the cards are ready soon. =)

And on the topic of the "must" to tune the pianos with PianoMaster 6-monthly, well it was their way of protecting themselves as they had encountered extreme cases of people not tuning the piano for 4 years and insist on selling the piano back to PianoMaster because they had the buy-back clause when the piano was bought. But it was never meant to be a hard and fast rule. However, in my opinion, it is still advisable that you tune your piano at least once a year (in Singapore) to ensure that your piano is in tune and perform its very best by the technicians! Haha, like I say, tuning piano yourself is not as easy as I thought as I read more into it.

And there is also a one for one new exchange for the case of Hailun too just like Kawai and Yamaha in the event it is a major problem in the piano, though it is not explicitly written in the Warranty Card. Frankly, I don't expect major problems will happen to the piano. I trust that Hailun has all the necessary checks to ensure that their pianos are of a different quality to set itself apart from the sterotype of China pianos are lousy.

Hence, I got to take back my blog on saying that the Hailun Warranty is virtually worthless. It is indeed very worthy!

2. Double strike issues
For those who have read what I have posted previously on the double strike problem, which was only resolved when I have approached a 3rd party technician. I was upset then coz the problem was not resolved, and it is actually a minor problem.

But ok, I must admit, I don't belong to the kind of person who will go and call and complain until my problem is solved. Haha, rather, I will highlight the problem subtly when my piano was delivered, and if it is still there even after the piano settles down, I will wait until the next tuning session to highlight the problem again. But not the kind who will call the shop and complain!

But I only found out today that PianoMaster that when I raised the double strike problem the day when it was delivered, Jason meant to let the piano settle down for a few weeks first, before looking at whether the double strike problem would be better or not. And for the fact that I did not call them again to ask them to come down to fix the problem, they have assumed that the double strike problem is gone. And the 2nd tuning was done by a junior technician who had not reported the problem to the office when I raised it again. Ok, I don't blame the junior technician given that he is still very inexperienced and maybe did not know it was something which he should have highlighted to his boss. And on my side, I have assumed that they were not able to solve my problem and hence I have approached a 3rd party technician. Well, effectively, I did not actually give PianoMaster another chance to look into the problem, and just assumed that they could not solve it.

For this, there had been misunderstanding on both sides, and we both assumed, without proper communications. I am glad that we talked to each other today and cleared up all the misunderstandings.

Self tuning? Unlikely =P

2009-08-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

I recently bought this book from the Kinokuniya@Ngee Ann City. They don't have the paperback one, so I bought the hardcover one. Anyway, I realised buying online (including the shipping cost) is cheaper than what I spent for this book. Silly me. But ok lah, let Kinokuniya earn more profits lor.

The Book:
Piano Servicing, Tuning, And Rebuilding
For the Professional, the Student, and the Hobbyist
by Arthur A. Reblitz

My intention of buying this book is to read up and learn more about how to service and tune pianos. And thinking that if it is easy to maintain pianos, then it might make more monetary sense to tune the piano myself than to pay a technician to come every 6 months to help me tune my piano, which cost about S$70 per tuning.

But as I read more and more and learn more about tuning, I realised it is not as simple as I thought. In that, there is actually a lot of knowledge in piano tuning. So, haha, I think I have changed my mind and will continue to pay for my piano tuning. But, I've learnt a lot!

Ok, I will share what I have learnt. Limited lah. Coz I also "half bucket of water".

Price of the Gadgets Needed:

To do tuning, the simple gadgets you need are (quoted in Singapore Dollars from one of my technician friend):
1. Rubber Mute ~ 80 cents
2. Wrench $100 to $180 ("cheap tuning wrench from china are not so good. good ones are japanese or real US type")
3. Meter (tuning software is 380USD and pda is bought from used market. now very rare to find 2nd hand. good sets of ears, free.")
So, which means, just to have the gadgets, you will need to spend about $700, and more if you don't have a PDA. Is cheaper if you can tune by ear, but unfortunately, I can't differentiate the difference! And ya, I have this guitar tuner which my hubby bought when he was learning guitar for about $20+. It is EssenTune for Guitar/Bass/Violin JG200. And after some research, this is not good enough to replace the meter for the tuning of pianos. This is because based on the theory of tuning for piano, the tuning requirement for piano is much more stringent, and it goes by the counting of beats. It is ok to use a piano to tune a guitar, but not a guitar tuner to tune piano. Hence, this cheapo method cannot not work!

Haha, actually up to this point, I already feel that it does not make monetary sense to tune a piano yourself, given that per tuning is about $70. And by spending $700, I can already pay for 10 tunings, without risk of snapping the strings. And if I were to try it on my own, the risk of snapping the string is much higher, and of coz I will need to have a lot of patience to tune one string at a time. And not forgetting a piano has about 200 strings altogether. Haha, I am pure lazy! Also, I need to find a "Si Fu" to teach me first before I dare to try it on my Hailun. Else, it will most probably the Schubert piano (which is at my sister's house) which I will do experiments on! Haha!

Btw, I found this interesting course conducted by Asia Piano on how to tune pianos. If you are interested. But I don't know whether is it good or not. Not tried before. But just FYI that there are something like this available in Singapore. =)

http://www.asiapiano.com.sg/classes.htm

Theory of tuning pianos:

This is the "chim" part. According to what I have read, there are different temperaments which a piano can be tuned at. Usually in Singapore, the pianos are tuned at Equal Temperaments.

Temperaments are like different sets of frequencies to which a piano can be tuned to, and still "in tune". But does that as 2 different frequencies are played together, they will form constructive and destructive waves. And for piano to sound nice when 2 keys are played together like the 'C' and 'E', usually there are theories that these 2 frequencies should beat with each other. Basically it means that you can hear a series of loud and soft vibration when the 2 keys are played with each other and makes the sound more musical.

So what happens is that, there are a lot of "researchers" who go into trying out different frequencies and listen to how they sound, and then set a few temperaments which can be used. Some are more commonly used while some are less common. But the different temperaments will actually give the piano a different sound colour. Some will have an more Victorian feel, some will give a more spicy feel while some will give a more pleasing feel. So it also really depends on which one is it that the pianist prefer before the pianos are tuned accordingly. But frankly, sometimes, the pianist might not know there is this option. If not because I read more into this, I wouldn't know either.

Ok, so what temperaments are available (based on what I know):-
1. Equal Temperaments => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament
2. EBVT (Equal Beating Victorian Temperament) by Bill Bremmer => http://www.billbremmer.com/ebvt/
3. Bach/Lehman Temperament => http://www.larips.com/

For EBVT and Lehman Temperament, there had been various versions, and each version has a different sound colour.

And hence you need to first know what is the Temperament that is set on your piano before you can tune it accordingly.

But non of the Singapore Technicians are PTG certified:

PTG stands for Piano Technician Guild => http://www.ptg.org/

It is a US regulatory board to ensure that all Piano Technicans are certified, have their knowledge and skills tested to ensure that they have a sound understand of how to rebuild, repair, tune and service pianos. Ok, it might not be an international board, but at least they are trying to make it international. However, I do hear that some other countries also have their own regulatory board, like Japan. But I don't know very much about them.

However, sadly, non of the Singapore Piano Technicians are PTG certified. And in Singapore, there is no such regulatory board. Hence there are skillful technicians and also those that are bluffing their ways through. The only way to find a good technician is by the word of mouth. Unfortunately even piano teachers themselves do not know much about the technicial parts of piano, let alone differentiating which technician is better than which. I mean, it is common that everyone will follow the crowd and if one person say this is good, the rest will just follow and say this is good without really understanding what does it mean by "good".

So, a good way is to see which Piano Technicians are the ones who usually tune pianos for those Singapore Symphony and so on. But I suppose they are really expensive too!

Hopefully in time to come, there will be a regulatory board in Singapore to certify these piano technicians, else it is no difference from those "Jiang1 Hu2" doctors. Haha!

Recital on 15 Nov 09

2009-08-07T02:16:00.000-07:00

The recital which my teacher will be organising will be on the 15 Nov 2009. Since my estimated date of delivery will be on the 16 Nov 2009, I will have to give the performance a miss and maybe play a harder piece a year later. But in the event if I have yet delivered, I will still pop by to listen to the performance by her other students!

I am feeling sad and happy at the same time. Sad because I will not be able to make use of this opportunity to gain the performance experience which I would like to try. But happy coz, I will not be stressing myself and can go there and enjoy the "mini concert".

So, I will blog about the recital when I have a chance to go in Nov. Haha! But maybe the updates might not come promptly since I might be busy with Si Qing. =P

Meanwhile, focus on learning as much as I can. Met my best friend for lunch today. Haha. She keeps wondering why would I want to learn piano. Oh, she started learning piano since she was 4 years old. Gave up long ago after she completed her Grade 5 exams, and was midway through her Grade 6. And it was really for no reason why I want to learn other than to have fun and wanted to experience how taking piano exams are like. Think she feels that I am wasting money. But well, life is short. I rather spend the money on learning piano than buying bags and clothes. =P

Officially "promoted" to Grade 2! Yeah!

2009-08-06T00:15:00.000-07:00

Finally I have completed the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1" and passed all assignments. But frankly speaking, I think my contemporary pieces were not done very well. And maybe I do not enjoy it as much either. They don't sound very tuneful, and sigh, I have been playing them for weeks! Getting very sick of it. Haha. I really wonder how I will prepare for exams given that I get sick of pieces over just a few weeks. Unless I really like the piece, else, I really find it a torture to play the same piece over and over again week after week just to prepare for the exams!

This also marks the end of my Grade 1 and I have officially move into Grade 2 yesterday. This is the start of the 15th month into my piano learning. And Grade 1 took me 8 months to complete. Not too bad hor? Given that I am working full time leh! =P

Ok, I started on 3 new books yesterday. They are "Grade 2 Piano Scales, Arpeggios & Broken Chords", "Grade 2 Music Theory in Practice" and " "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2". I am only halfway the "Improve your sight-reading! Grade 1" and "A Dozen A Day Book 1". I asked my teacher if I am lagging behind for Sight-Reading. She says it is ok, coz the exercises which I am doing are harder than what is required for Grade 1 exams. So, ok lor. Oh, she also introduced me to some aural activities once. She says she is not so worried for me for aural, coz I am an aural learner. But I just feel a little insecure, coz I don't really know what aural exams are like.

So, areas to work on! Erm, really need to work on my techniques, and train up my left hand, some of the flaws are very obvious when I am doing the "A Dozen A Day". Fingers are just not as nimble as my right hand. Sight-reading! Practise practise practise.

And, ya, my tummy is growing bigger and bigger now. So, most probably I will need to stop piano lesson for 1 month during my confinement period. Hopefully I can resume lessons after my confinement. Or probably 1 Jan 2010. But if that is the case, chances are I will only be able to take the Grade 2 practical exams in Jul to Sep 2010 seating coz my teacher says she usually take about 6 months to prepare her students for the practical exams. Theory in Mar 2010 is still possible though.

Oh ya, my teacher says she is thinking of having a mini concert for all her students sometime in December this year, which is when my baby is 1 month old. She will be renting a place with a Grand Piano. The room will be about 2x the size of her living room. She has about 20 students, and I am her oldest student. But she would like me to perform a piece or two in that concert, where all her students will be there, with parents! Oh no! I am so scared! And her second oldest student is only 16 years old in Grade 8! Haha! I feel so old! And come to think of it, it might look very comical to have an adult as old as their teacher, performing a Grade 1 piece! Actually I am rather keen, got to be sporting right? But I really scared to "malu" myself! I will bring my baby and my hubby along anyway. Hopefully my baby will not start crying! Hehe! Please give me some encouragement! I might choose one of the Impressionist pieces from the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1". Hope to take this opportunity to pick up some performance experience! =P

Music Class for Toddlers #2 (Below 5)

2009-07-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

For kids who are below the age of 5 years old, these are some of the activities that can be introduced:-

Between 1 to 3, kids respond best to music when they actively experience it. Passive listening (like in the car) is fine, but look for opportunities to get your child rocking, marching, rolling, tapping, clapping, and moving to the beat.

At this age, give your toddler a pot and a wooden spoon and sing a song or play some music that has a steady tempo. Invite your toddler to bang out a rhythm, and then imitating what he or she does. Extend the game by tapping a slightly more complicated rhythm and inviting your child to follow or by asking your child to tap on different surfaces and seeing what sound these different taps make.

If you'd like to introduce an instrument, keep it simple. Very young toddlers will enjoy instruments they can shake like bells, rattles, shakers, tambourines, or rain sticks. As your child gets older and a little more coordinated, try rhythm instruments that can be banged, like drums, cymbals, or xylophones.

Some 2 to 3 year olds can use simple wind instruments, like a recorder, a pipe whistle, or a kazoo. Many companies now make musical instruments that are appropriately sized and shaped for little hands and that are safe for toddlers. Check the label when you buy them.

Kids' music CDs are great, but don't forget to share your own favorite music with your kids. Folk music and music from other cultures also can be good choices for kids. When you try new music, ask if your child likes it and discuss your opinion as well. Expose your child to various forms of music.

There are live performances suitable for kids. Museums, libraries, and bookstores often host child-friendly events. Outdoor concerts where kids can run around without disturbing anyone are also a good choices!

And some other very interesting ideas:-
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/music.html

Music Class for Toddlers #1

2009-07-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

As my niece and nephew are 2+ years old now, and my sisters had always hoped that I can give some simple music lessons for them, and maybe for them to see if they will like to pursue music when they are older. And also, since my little girl will also be arriving soon. I thought would be a good idea to do some research on how to actually introduce music to toddlers.

Based on the advise given by most people, the best time for a child to start formal music lessons is 5 years old. And anything before that is actually play!

For 5 years old and above:-

When I went for my piano class, I notice that my teacher has lots of games, flashcards and magnetic board (very cute stuff) which is used to teach very young children. I found those games and toys very interesting. And can see that she puts in a lot of effort in planning for the lessons.

What I know from my friends when they learnt piano when they were young, there wasn't those fancy games and colourful cards, but instead, they were using those black and white scores, with BIG letterings. Nowadays, the manufacturers really know how to make money.

Something I found online (Piano for Little Kids 5 years old & above - as a start):

Level 1:
1. Right hand only includes the following content:
a. Location of keys
b. Middle C position.
c. Recognition of quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes.
d. Location of Middle C, D, E, F, and G (Learned by letter)
e. Playing Middle C, D, E, F, and G
f. Counting correct rhythm while playing.

2. Left hand and hands together includes the following content:
a. Playing C chord
b. Playing G7 chord (simplified version of G7 chord)
c. Applying both chords to songs.
d. Playing songs with both hands simultaneously.

Level 2:
This level continues to build on reading real notes, incrementally replacing all previous play by letters with real note recognition.

Level 3:
At this level, your child will be reading simple sheet music, applying rhythm and have a very solid understanding of how to read music. Basic music reading skills are used in easy songs with fun lyrics.

At the end of these lessons, your child will be playing simple songs with both hands, using two different chords, knowing how to apply rhythm, not looking at hands, and have a very strong foundation to continue to reading music.

My 2009 Musical Resolution (Revised)

2009-07-21T01:21:00.000-07:00

Previously, I have posted about my 2009 Musical Resolution in my prior post and revised it once:-
http://piano-diary.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-2009-musical-resolution.html

But now, I need to revise it again, because a little girl (tentatively named 陈思晴) will be coming my way in November, and because of that my piano teacher advise me not to take the Grade 2 theory exams this end October. Haha, she didn't want me to make a scene in the examination hall just in case it is due then.

And because of 思晴, I will need to stop my piano lessons in November and probably December as well. And after I have gotten used to the new additonal to my family, able to manage my time again, hope that I can continue to learn piano.

But just thinking, by 2010, when I return back to work and I need to pick up 思晴 from my in-laws place everyday after work, and of coz play with her, feed her, I might be too busy to practice piano again. Let's see how. Meanwhile, learn as much as I can! Hope that I can continue my hobby, and maybe take both my Grade 2 practical exams and theory paper in 2010.

I am very excited that 思晴 will be coming out soon - 4 months to go! Haha, now, I play piano everyday for her to listen, not that she has a choice! Haha! She kicks a lot, so I suppose she is enjoying the music. Or she is trying to tell mummy to stop playing, it is sooo noisy! Haha!

Don't know if she will pick up piano or not. But definitely, I will introduce it to her...

Some "Artistic" Shots of my Hailun by my Hubby...

2009-07-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

My hubby recently bought a new camera, Sony HX1, so trying to do some artistic shooting for my piano. It is more like testing his camera! Haha! Enjoy the pictures!

=> http://practical-photography.blogspot.com/

Contemporary Period (1900 to present)

2009-07-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Contemporary Period is the fifth period of music (European) which I am exposed to, where repertoires in this period are composed from 1900 to present. It refers to the modern forms of art music. For a more detailed historical background of repertoire created during this period can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_music

Bela Bartok is one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was born in 1881 in Hungary, and died in 1945. He began studying piano with his mother when he was five years old. The family settled in Pressburg where Bartok met Ernst von Dohnanyi who became a good friend and advisor. He also became good friends with Zoltan Kodaly, with whom he later researched Hungarian folk music. In 1909, Bartok married Marta Ziegler. His six volumes of piano pieces called Mikrokosmos were written for his son, Peter. He used many folk tunes in his compositions.

To play music of this period, we need to take note of the following:-

1. The melody is based have unpredictable or irregular phrase lengths. Shape is often jagged using very narrow or very wide intervals, often based on non-traditional scales.

2. Greater usage of irregular meters. Chords are made up of 4ths, 5ths or clusters of three or more adjacent notes to create a dissonant sound. Tempo changes are common.

3. The full range of the instrument is utilized, from ppp to fff (a wide dynamic spectrum).

4. Need to plan fingering carefully to play the less familiar patterns and hand shape must adjust to narrow or wide intervals and unusual chord shapes.

5. Titles tell a story, pieces express a wide range of emotions, sounds reflect the character.

6. Often use of unconventional pianistic movements such as playing with the palm or forearm, or tapping the wood of the piano. Big physical gestures and motions needed to accomodate extreme registers of the piano.

Yeah! Invited to a Piano Party...

2009-07-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Made a couple of friends in the Piano Forum, and I feel so happy to be part of the invitation list to their 2nd Piano Party coming September! Will share more about it then.

They had their 1st Piano Party sometime in February this year, but as I wasn't that close to the host then, I was not in the invite list. Was pretty sad though, but haha, not as if I am professional, so even if I go, I am very unlikely to touch the host's ivory keys. So nothing to be sad about.

But really looking forward to the September Piano Party. And a chance to meet a lot of powerful pianists showing off their skills!

The host bought a Sauter Omega 220 (Grand Piano) sometime in 2007 and was only delivered to his house on the 8 August 2008. 080808 (huat ah!) Though I don't know how much the piano costs, but I would think it is at least 100K SGD. I think he managed to request the kind of piano design in terms of the wood, the colour, and even how to make the piano sound the way he wants it. So effectively, it is a tailor-made Grand Piano. And for all that, he had to wait 11 months from the time when he ordered to the time the piano finally reached his house!

Though the wait was long, but can see that he is very happy with it. He used to own a Kawai K-8 upright piano before he bought this Grand Piano. Haha, guess his taste has already moved up. But come to think of it, to appreciate and learn pianos is really very expensive. Is good that he is a working adult and able to afford this kind of luxury, but imagine if in future, my kids have the talent and needed pianos of this standard before they start working, I would have gone bankrupt first. Haha! So, haha, it might be a good idea for my kids to be exposed to music, but don't be too professional into it.

The host bought the piano from Raffles Piano, from a person named Alvin. Based on the forum threads which I read about this guy, he seems to be someone who is very highly trained and provide very good service and advise to his customer. But I guess, of coz, it comes with a price too. Haha, not economical for me to engage him to help me with the tuning of my Hailun piano right? Anyway, great to read and hear from people from the other side of the "bell curve".

The host was very generous, had invited us to his house for a buffet lunch (Peranakan food) and when I asked for this account number so that I can transfer him the money, he doesn't want it. So, I am thinking hard, how I can help to "pay" for the lunch, unlikely that they will enjoy whatever that I am going to play on the piano, given my limited skills. Haha, maybe I will volunteer my hubby to be the camera man, since he loves taking photos so much. But there again, it depends on if the host already have professional camera man to help with the photo taking. Coz my hubby is only using Sony HX1, not the professional type (DSLR) where you can change lens one. Haha, so anyway, we will bring the camera and see if we can "pay" for the lunch through this =P Else, we will most probably be just 2 parasites, sitting there and enjoying the party =)

Had my 2nd Tuning on 14 June

2009-06-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

Haha, I know I am posting this a bit late, but had been so busy with other stuff that I rarely have the time to post stuff now.

Just wondering, do you usually sit in the room when the tuner is tuning your piano, or you just leave the tuner alone to do the tuning? Haha, I guess I am not experience enough to notice if the piano did go out of tune or not, and am happy that it was being tuned again, coz everyone says that it should be tuned once every 6 months.

Previously, I had stayed in the room with the tuner and see how he tune my piano, and I felt that I was "supervising" him too much, and felt a little guilty. But rather because that was the first time I see someone tune a piano, so was very interested, and happily sat behind him. This time round, I decide that I should leave the tuner alone, so I led him to the room where my piano is and on the aircon, left the door slightly open and let him do his job alone. And I assume he is done with his tuning when he starts playing tunes on the piano, and thank him for coming.

Is that what you usually do during your piano tuning session? And do you offer him drinks? I offered him, but in the end, he left it on the table and didn't drink it. Do you test on the piano in front of the tuner after he tunes? Haha, I guess I am not a very "talkative" person, so, I also don't know what to talk to him about. Haha, and maybe coz I am still at the very beginning stage of my piano learning, so haha, nothing to discuss with him =P

Appreciate if you can share your experiences as well.

Jazz Music is not my cup of tea

2009-06-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Having played a few more pieces on Jazz Music, and even duets with my teacher. I realised Jazz Music is not my cup of tea. Not quite like it actually. Once a while to play something different, it is ok. But I feel that I drag myself to practice a piece on Jazz Music. Haha, think my teacher is going to give up on me for those pieces =P

Previously, I thought Jazz Music is something like Pop Music (the Singaporean, HK and Taiwan Pop Songs), but haha, the feel is so much different. I still prefer Pop Music much more. Maybe coz I grew up learning Pop Songs, so of coz I can relate much better. =)

In fact, I like the few pieces which I played from Impressionist Period so long as they are not too abstract like making sounds of birds chirping, making sounds like how a child play with a toy. So long as it is soft music that can be played while you have cup of tea by the balcony, admiring the scenery, with tunes (haha...the key word is with tunes!), I enjoyed it very much.

And I will be moving on to the "Contemporary Period" soon. Oh! I think I will have a hard time through those pieces. Haha, sometimes, I feel that after the period of Romantic period, it seems like because the composers wants to come out with something that is very different from what was composed perviously, they start to experiment with clashing notes to create different moods, excessive pedalling to create a dreamy mood, which is no longer as pleasing to hear as those pieces that were composed prior to Romantic period. But well, maybe it is still too early to gauge as I am still at the very beginning of my music learning journey, but I start to form some preferences on some of the music from various periods.

Will have my class tomorrow, and oh no! I am not yet sufficiently prepared for the class with my Jazz piece. Need to practice hard today! Though I don't really like it very much. How I wish I can clear this piece tomorrow, and move on to the "Contemporary Period" which I don't really look forward to it either. And so hope that I can finish this book quickly and move on to the next book, which seems more interesting to me. Haha!

My Teacher bought me new Books!

2009-05-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

Just a post to list down the new books which my teacher bought for me:-

1. Jazz, Rags & Blues Book 1 by Martha Mier
[Suppose to be very comfortable for me to learn on my own, with the intention that I can learn pieces on my own for personal enjoyment, and at the same time work on my sight-reading. So, which means, she will not be going through with me, but if I have any questions, I can always ask...]

2. Music in Theory in Practice 2 by Eric Taylor
[Because I am an adult student, so I am using this book. For young children, they use other books which has larger fonts and pictures to keep them interested! As of now, she will not move on to Grade 2 Theory yet, until I finish the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1", which should be about another 2 more months to go...]

3. Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 2
[Ya, I haven't finish Book 1 yet, but because she will not be going down to the shop very often, so being "kiasu", she bought this book for me first. Because this books will have pieces from all the period, she thought would be good for me to continue with this series. But I might move on to another series upon completing this book. Let's see how...]

Impressionist Period (1890 to 1930)

2009-05-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Impressionist Period is the fourth period of music (European) which I am exposed to, where repertoires in this period were composed between 1890 to 1930. For a more detailed historical background of repertoire created during this period can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionist_music

As repertoires during this period are of a higher standard, there is almost no pieces which is of my current level. Hence, the ones which I learnt and played are all composed by Dennis Alexander, who is one of the author of the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1" which I am using.

Claude Debussy is one of the very famous composer for this period, and these pieces are very much influenced by the impressionist paintings by Claude Monet.

To play music of this period, we need to take note of the following:-
1. The melody is often based on pentatonic scale (whole tone scales), giving an Eastern sound. And Debussy love to compose using the black keys only.
2. Use the pedalling as suggested. If none is given, experiment with full or half pedal. Keep pedal down on long bass notes. Pedalling is used almost throughout the pieces. The pieces are played composed for piano. Hence, there is a heavy use of pedal to create the necessary mood. Because of that, trills are not used to extend a note. The pedal is used instead.
3. Introduction of una corda (u.c.) pedal is often indicated to give certain parts a different colours/tone.
4. Pieces in this period is usually very expressive and uses the full range of dynamics, from ppp to ff.
5. Does not follow a structure, and it will not sound nice by playing the notes individually. But when combined with all the expression and play the whole piece as a whole, it will give a unique impression.
6. Often include Eastern scales (pentatonic scales) and sounds imitating bells and gongs.

Jazz Music!

2009-05-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Had been so busy for the past few weeks, that I didn't have the time to update my blog! So, finally after all that mad rush at work, I get the time to review what I have learnt so far for my piano. Haha!

Ok, so far, I have completed the first 3 periods of the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1". Namely, the Baroque period, the Classical period and the Romantic period. I don't particularly like any of the period, but maybe the repertoires which I am exposed to is still very limited given that I am still in the very early stage of my piano learning.

So, to do something different rather than going through page by page through my basic diet, my teacher exposed me to another kind of music. Jazz piano. Jazz is an important and distinctive American contribution to 20th century music. While the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery" is the European music over different periods. I played a piece from the book "Jazz, Rags and Blues Book 2", and the piece is titled "Jelly Bean Rag". According to my teacher, this is considered as a Grade 2 piece. Well, took me 3 weeks to master the whole piece. This was over 3 pages, first time having to practice with page turning while playing. Not easy.

Good to try something different, and currently, back to my "textbook", I have moved on to the 4th period, which is the Impressionist Period...

Romantic Period (1815 to 1910)

2009-04-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

Romantic Period is the third period of music (European) which I am exposed to, where repertoires in this period were composed between 1815 to 1910. For a more detailed historical background of repertoire created during this period can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_music

To play music of this period, we need to take note of the following:-

1. The sustain pedal is invented as pieces is usually played using a piano or organ. Hence, there is a heavy use of pedal to create the necessary mood. Because of that, trills are not used to extend a note. The pedal is used instead.

2. Pieces in this period is usually more expressive and emotional. There is a need to use a greater range of dynamics, long crescendos and decrescendos. And the piano used in this period are capable of delivering a much bigger range of dynamics.

3. Usually more complex patterns than Baroque and Classical periods.

4. Greater flexibility, allows rubato to bring out the emotive and increase the expressions.

Classical Period (1730 to 1820)

2009-04-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

Classical Period is the second period of music (European) which I am exposed to, where repertoires in this period were composed between 1730 to 1820. For a more detailed historical background of repertoire created during this period can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_period_(music )

To play music of this period, we need to take note of the following:-
1. The pedal is invented as pieces can be played using a piano. Hence, light use of pedal is allowed. But generally, still not too much use of the pedals. Because of that, trills are not used to extend a note. Pedal is used instead.

2. Melody can be sing out, usually accompanied by chords (blocked or broken) by the left hand. And the melody needs to be 2 dynamic levels louder than the accompaniment.

3. There is often repeated motives (in terms of notes or beats or rythmns), which will be played with varying dynamics in each case.

4. Range of dynamics is also larger. From pp to ff.

5. Breath between phrases just like as if you are singing the melody, need to breath. So a clear cut.

6. Sonata (or Sonatina: smaller versions of Sonatas) are introduced. Sonata is splitted into 3 movements. 1st movement, 2nd movement and 3rd movement. For the ABRSM exams until Grade 8, we are only exposed to 1st movement in the exam pieces. A full Sonata will have all the 3 movements in a piece. Under the 1st movement, it is typically the sonata-allegro form, where there are 3 basic sections: exposition, development and recapitulation.

Music History...

2009-03-14T20:33:00.001-07:00

Recently, I went to the library to borrow a book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History" which I found it an eye opener to help me understand the Music History and the culture of different countries. And, after reading through the book, I would like to list some of the important ideas and concepts which I have self-derived.

As I am learning piano now, and will be taking the ABRSM exams, and my teacher is a Classical piano teacher, I am currently more exposed to the so call "serious" and "Classical" music. And usually the people who play piano will say that popular music (pop songs) are boring, no creativity and that classical music are timeless, and no matter how many years after they are composed, they can still be appreciated and nice to hear. Not like popular songs which are written just for this time, and years later, it will no longer be nice to listen to. And so on...

Well, it is not the whole story yet. Actually, each piece of music (be it the well-known classical, or popular songs, or opera), it actually tells a lot about the culture and the background of the person from the pieces that were composed. The current pop songs can still be appreciated after hundreds of years into the future, and it might be classical to the people then.

In the very ancient time, music were created using very simple tools like bones (to create a flute), hitting the log to create beats and imitating the sound of animals, and realising that there are different pitch.

Slowly, as human evolve, there are better ways to create instruments using string, and hence people in different countries created different instruments like guqin, flute, harpischord, drum and so on.

And in the ancient time, the main purpose of creating music is for worshipping of their God, sing as prayer, and even have opera as a form of entertainment and conveying the thoughts and ideas which then reflects the lifestyle, culture background of these music.

And different country has different definition of keys, notes, tuning, scales and ways of writing their music (currently know as music theory). Western music (as we all know), have 12 evenly toned "semitones" within an octave, where each semitone is equally spaced apart, and there is where we have the major scales and minor scales. And that is why a western music sounds western, because it is composed based on a set of rules and scales. And slowly, they evolved to have a standardised frequency of 440Hz which represents the A key.

However, other cultures divide an octave into more or fewer pitches relative to the Western 12 tone in an octave. India music divides an octave "microtones", which have 22 closely spaced pitches. Which means, there are some notes that can never be reproduced with a piano, which is of a frequency somewhere between a white and a black key of a piano, and because it does not follow the 440Hz rule, it might sound a bit off compared to the Western music. And they have their own set of scales and music theory.

China music also has a 12-tone scale, but they usually follow a pentatonic scale (5 notes that are approximately similar to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th of the Western major scale), so, it would be C, D, E, G, A (which forms a scale for Chinese music). And Chinese define C and A as an octave apart, and hence, the scale of an octave higher vs the scales of an octave lower, sounds different. And when writing a piece with 2 octaves, it is like writing a piece with C major and A minor (the major and its relative minor). This is what makes a Chinese music sounds Chinese.

As for Middle East music, they do not follow the kind of time signature which we learnt in a Western music, instead, their rhythm are much more complex than Western music, which might mean changing the time signatures almost in each bar of the music and then the whole rhythm is repeated.

And if we read more into the current Chinese Pop Songs (in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and HK), it is noticeable that the music actually follows the Western way of notation, where we have Treble Clef, Bass Clef, playable using a piano, follows the major and minor scales of the Western classical music, chords. And hence we can in a way say that our culture, our liking of music has very much been influenced by the Western culture. We often feel India songs or Chinese songs (from China) sounds funny, and this could be because we grew up in an environment listening to the Western music, and we feel that major scales just sounds "normal" and any other scales sounds weird.

And there are so much more to music than classical music. But for the fact that I have chosen piano as my first instrument (not counting singing in the bathroom), I will only be exposed to learning Western music. Sometimes, I feel sad, coz as a Singaporean Chinese, I don't know how to appreciate Chinese historical music, yet spending my time learning Western music. And even now, the Chinese (from China) are also learning piano and the Western culture. I do hope the beauty of their traditional Chinese music will not because of this influence be seen as "inferior", as they have their own taste and beauty. Likewise for the other music from other culture and historical background.

May want to learn more about Chinese music in future....But I want to master my piano first =)

What I learnt so far in my piano class...

2009-03-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

I am into the 10th month into my piano studies now...

Beginner (6 months)
For the first 4 to 5 months, my teacher used "Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course Level 1" and completed it in the beginning of the 5th month. Mainly focused on note reading, playing with different dynamics (p to f), chords, five fingers movements.

On the 5th and 6th month, I learnt to play simple duet (with my teacher), scales, Christmas Carols and some other folk songs. I used some of the pieces from "Let Us Have Music for Piano, Volume One, Seventy-Four Famous Melodies", "The World of Master Composers Series 1", "50 Golden Christmas Sings" and 1 or 2 duets pieces which my teacher shared with me. I also learnt a few pop songs on my own, though I play it with my own style.

Grade 1 (4th months into Grade 1 now)
In the 7th month, I officially move on to Grade 1. Where I started using the following books "Grade 1 Scales & Broken Chords", "A Dozen A Day Book One", "Improve your sight-reading Grade 1", "Music Theory in Practice Grade 1", "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1" and doing note namers exercise every week.

As of now, I have completed the Baroque pieces of the "Keys to Stylistic Mastery Book 1", and have moved on to the Classical Period, focusing on some problems I have:-
1. Pedalling (keep having coordination problems with when to change pedal and when the depress)
2. Trills (using right hand 2, 3, 2, 3 finger position are fine, any other fingering will give me lots of problems, the beats are simply not correct)
3. Dynamics (the range is not big enough, need to expand the range, and my left hand is always too loud for classical pieces)
4. Learn the different style of the music in the different periods (relatively more academic)

I have completed the Grade 1 Theory, and my teacher will be buying some theory exam papers for me to try (under exam condition), but I will not be taking Grade 1 theory exams. My teacher will move me on to Grade 2 Theory. And I am finishing my "Grade 1 Scales and Broken Chords" soon. I am still in the first set of dozen for the "A Dozen A Day". And moving very slowly with the "Improve your sight-reading".

My teacher will be working on my aural soon, and she says she will need to take 6 months worth of lessons to prepare me for my practical exams (3 pieces) to be of performance standard. So if I count backwards, I will need to start preparing for my Grade 2 practical exams starting from Aug 2009, for the Mar 2010 exams.

For some reasons, I suddenly feel very stress now. And I feel I have a huge gap in my technical skills. Theories are still ok for me, maybe coz I am an adult and have already gotten used to study and taking exams. But practical, oh no, I feel I play so badly! =(

Alfred Publishing Skill Level

2009-02-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.musicroom.com/ProductSkillLevel.aspx?skilllevel=4
1 Beginner (Complete beginner, no previous musical knowledge)
2 Easy (Simplified arrangements; Grade 1-3)
3 Intermediate (Slightly simplified arrangements; Grade 4-6)
4 Intermediate / Advanced (Accurate transcriptions of most rock/pop titles; Grade 6-8)
5 Advanced (Accurate transcriptions of more complex pieces; Grade 8+)

Disclaimer: Our experienced Editorial team have assessed the skill level of this product; however, this is a subjective process and this rating is intended for guidance only.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
METHODS AND TEACHING LIBRARY LEVELS:
Pre-Reading
Notation
Pre-staff notation:
- Groups of 2 and or 3 black keys with simple keyboard chart above to show placement and fingers numbers for what note/finger plays
- or letters names only for notes to be played
- or letter names in noteheads
Song lyrics included.

Rhythm
Quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests, dotted half notes, whole notes

Dynamics
Piano and forte

Early Elementary
Notation
Introduction to staff-reading
Guideposts: treble G, middle C, bass F
Usually required to play only one clef at a time, but can include grand staff
Single-note melodies
Middle C or C position
No hand position changes
Song lyrics included

Rhythm
Quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests, dotted half notes, whole notes

Dynamics
Piano and forte

Elementary
Notation
Middle C or C position, G Major position, F Major position
Introduction to F# and Bb, but no key signatures
Tied notes
Melodic and Harmonic intervals of 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths
Song lyrics included

Rhythm
Quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests, dotted half notes, whole notes and rests, introduction to eighth notes

Dynamics
Piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte

Articulation
Legato, staccato, slurs, phrasing

Late Elementary
Notation
Half steps and whole steps
Introduction to pentachords - basis for Major and minor
Major triads in root position
Song lyrics included

Rhythm
Eighth notes in various uses, introduction to syncopation

Dynamics
More dynamic contrasts, crescendo and diminuendo, balance between the hands required

Articulation
Legato, staccato, slurs, phrasing

Early Intermediate
Notation
More movement of hand positions
Intervals greater than a 5th
Major scales and the chromatic scale
Major triads in inversions, root position minor chords
Arpeggios in root position
Alberti bass accompaniment
Concept of tonic and dominant
Introduction to 8va
D Major and A Minor added to keys
Compound time signatures

Rhythm
Dotted quarter notes, 16th notes, triplets, swing rhythm

Articulation
Pedaling (damper and una corda)
Ornamentation (appoggiaturas)
AccentsTenuto

Repertoire
Ecossaise (Beethoven)
Arabesque (Burgmueller)
Valse (Clementi)
Gypsy Dance (Haydn)
Soldiers Song (Kohler)
In Church (Tchaikovsky)
Fantasia (Telemann)

Intermediate
Notation
More inversions of triads
Minor scales
Chord progressions/cadences
E Major added to keys
Introduction to sonatinas
Original pieces by known composers

Articulation
Trills, turns

Repertoire
Elfin Dance (Grieg)
Fur Elise (Beethoven)
Knight Rupert, Op. 68, No. 12 (Schumann)
Le Petit Negre (Debussy)
Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, Mvt. 1 (Beethoven)
Prelude in C Major (J. S. Bach)
Two-Part Invention No. 8 in F Major (J. S. Bach)

Late Intermediate
Notation
Major and minor intervals
Most Major scales
Minor scales: a, g, d, c
Parallel 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves
Keys up to B Major and Eb Major
Introduction to easier Sonatas and Bach Inventions

Rhythm
Dotted eighth notes and 32nd notes

Repertoire
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Debussy)
Solfeggietto in C Minor (C. P. E. Bach)
Sonata in C Major, K. 545 (Mozart)
Traumerei, Op. 15, No. 7 (Schumann)
Children's Corner Suite (Debussy)

Early Advanced
Repertoire
12 Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle (Mozart)
Cat and Mouse (Copland)
Clair de Lune (Debussy)
Nocturne in Eb Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (Chopin)
Prelude in Db Major (Chopin)Reverie (Debussy)
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1 (Beethoven)

Advanced
virtuosic, technically and musically challenging - the most advanced level

Repertoire
Rhapsodie in Eb Major, Op. 119, No. 4 (Brahms)
Etude, Op. 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary) (Chopin)
Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14 (Mendelssohn)
Seguidilla (Albeniz)La Campanella (Paganini/Liszt)
Jeux d'eau (Ravel)Etude, Op. 2, No. 1 (Scriabin)

Progress Report 2009 #1

2009-02-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

Had my lesson yesterday. These are my strengths and weaknesses at the moment. My teacher will be matching teaching my Theory grade based on my Practical grade. And hence from there, my teacher has the following plan (tentative) for me...

Strengths:
Music Theory
Sight Reading

Weaknesses:
Tempo (Internal pulse)
Daringness in creating dynamics. Teacher says I have the ability, but very shy to express. Brush up on Techniques and Fingers Training.

2009/2010 Musical Plan (given by my teacher):
1. Complete Grade 2 Music Theory - 31 Oct 2009 seating
2. Complete Grade 2 Practical Exam - Feb/Mar 2010 seating

Piano Grading Progress & Fees
Dec 08 - Apr 09: Grade 1 (S$130 per mth)
May 09 - Feb/Mar 10: Grade 2 (don't know yet)

ABRSM Exams Info for Piano

2009-02-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

[1] OUTLINE PLAN
Diplomas
Each level of diploma or its substitution must be passed before proceeding to the next level.
Grade 8 Practical (and, for Teaching,Grade 6 Theory) or substitutions must be passed before taking DipABRSM.
DipABRSM ---> LRSM ---> FRSM

Graded exams
Grade 1 to Grade 5: Candidates may be entered in any grade without previously having taken any other Practical grade.
Grade 5 or above in Theory, Practical Musicianship or solo jazz subject must be passed
before taking Practical Grades 6 or above.
Grade 1 to Grade 5 ---> Grade 6 ---> Grade 7 ---> Grade 8

[2] PRACTICAL EXAMINATION
Practical exams for Grade 1 takes place within 12 minutes, each grade taking a little longer up to the 30 minutes allowed for Grade 8. Candidates can choose to do the exams in any order, and should inform examiner of their preference.

You should get yourself comfortable and settled before you begin. If the stool or music stand is the wrong height, don't be scared to adjust it or ask for help. Pianist may ask to try out the piano first by trying a scale to get a feel of the instrument.

Pieces (90 marks)
Most exams consist of 3 pieces. Each piece is marked out of 30.
Distinction ... 27 - 30
Merit ........... 24 - 26
Pass ........... 20 - 23
Keep going even when you stumble. Do not replay the wrong repertoire again from the start. Learn to pick up and continue.

Scales and Arpeggios (21 marks)
Distinction ... 19 - 21
Merit ........... 17 - 18
Pass ........... 14 - 16
Usually the examiner will only ask for 2 major scales, 2 minor scales and one from each other sections.

Sight-reading (21 marks)
Distinction ... 19 - 21
Merit ........... 17 - 18
Pass ........... 14 - 16
Candidates are always given 30 seconds' preparation time to look through and try out the test. Check the time signature, key signature, set up regular basic pulse, play or sing the opening and final bar and check any awkward-looking corners on the way.

Aural Tests (18 marks)
Distinction ... 18
Merit ........... 15 - 17
Pass ........... 12 - 14
Marks are awarded based on candidate's overall response.

Total marks in all individual Practical exams are 150.
Distinction ... 130
Merit ............120
Pass ............100

[3] MUSIC THEORY EXAMINATION
Each theory paper is marked out of a total of 100.
Distinction ... 90
Merit ............80
Pass ............66
Practice questions within the time limit of an exams to get used to the type of questions asked and the speed needed to complete the paper.

[4] RESULTS
Results are posted to applicants after the end of each exam tour once all the double-checking has been completed. Applicants will receive in post a large envelope containing:
1. the mark form, written at the time of the exam
2. an impressive certificate, with the candidate's name on it
3. an entry form for the eventual next grade

All the above information is extracted from the ABRSM website. I have only extracted the information which I want to take note to have an overview and understanding of the exam structure. And of coz for all the details, please refer to the original information from the website.
http://www.abrsm.org/resources/theseMusicExams0607.pdf

ABRSM Examination 2009

2009-02-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

ABRSM Theory Music Examinations 2009
Registration Period: 17 Nov 08 to 26 Nov 08
Examination Date: 14 Mar 09 (Sat)

Registration Period: 3 Aug 09 to 14 Aug 09
Examination Date: 31 Oct 09 (Sat)

Music Theory Exams Fees:
Grade 1: S$79
Grade 2: S$81
Grade 3: S$89
Grade 4: S$104
Grade 5: S$116
Grade 6: S$131
Grade 7: S$137
Grade 8: S$143

ABRSM Practical Examinations 2009
Registration Period: 29 Sep 08 to 17 Oct 08
Examination Period: Feb to Mar 09

Registration Period: 9 Feb 09 to 27 Feb 09
Examination Period: Jul to Sep 09

Piano Practical Exams Fees:
Grade 1: S$138
Grade 2: S$168
Grade 3: S$184
Grade 4: S$202
Grade 5: S$218
Grade 6: S$263
Grade 7: S$302
Grade 8: S$357

Music Qualifications & Careers

2009-02-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

After some research, generally you can use the below as a rough estimation of the difficulty of music compared to what we normally understand:-

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABRSM Grade 6 Practical and ABRSM Grade 5 Theory
is equivalent to
GCE 'O' Level Music
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABRSM Grade 8 Practical and ABRSM Grade 8 Theory
is equivalent to
GCE 'A' Level Music
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are interested to pursue a Music Teacher career with MOE:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/applying/degree/

If you are interested to further pursue Music in LaSalle College of the Arts: www.lasalle.edu.sg/

If you are interested to further pursue Music in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts:
www.nafa.edu.sg/

Piano Teacher came my house...

2009-02-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my piano teacher came over to my house for Chinese New Year visit as a friend. And of coz, I asked her to try on my Hailun. Her sight-reading very powerful. Coz she was not prepared to play any pieces, so I gave her one of the J-Pop book which I have, and impressively, she played the whole piece, just by sight-reading and very smoothly!!! Haha, I wonder how long will it take me to reach her standard!

She is more of a classical piano teacher, who seldom listens to pop songs and accordingly to her, it has been a long time since she played pop songs. But well, having said that, she played very well.

My hubby was observing her when she played, her fingers were shivering when she was playing. I guess she was very stressed, as she didn't expect it. I don't mean to test her, but rather wanted her to test my piano. She commented that she feels very warm after playing the whole piece even when the aircon was on at 26°C, so we quickly bring down the temperature to 21°C for her.

Ok, so I asked her how is my Hailun HL125 piano, she commented:
1) She can hear that the piano is dry, which is good. Maybe coz I keep it in a room where the windows are always shut other than 5 hours a week on Saturday morning to allow air ventilation and to kill germs. And I put a "Thirsty Hippo" beside my piano to test the humidity of the room.

2) The keys are too heavy and that I should ask the technician to help me lighten the action.

3) The sustain pedal is a little hard to step on. But if is pedalling by ear, it should be fine.

4) The middle pedal is a mute pedal, which does not have the same feature as a Grand Piano and is different from her Yamaha YUS5, where the function should be to sustain the notes you want to sustain and not affecting the other notes.

5) The last pedal on the left should be meant to move the range slightly to the right in the case of a Grand Piano. But due to the constraint of an upright piano, the hammers are brought forward to make it closer to the strings to give a different tone colour, and in my case, it sounds the same. So, can ask the technician to help adjust.

6) The other 2 pedals (other than the sustain pedal) will need to be used in higher grades to create different tone colour.

7) The stool which I have is a professional one. Very good. And the piano looks good.

8) The piano is good enough to get me to about ABRSM Grade 7, and for my kids to get to about ABRSM Grade 6 or 7. When you no longer feel that the piano can give you the range and the feel you need, it is an indication that you need to change a piano.

9) ABRSM Grade 8 is equivalent to 'A' levels Music. Where both the theory and practical will be very demanding in that they require you to do composition for different instruments.

So verdict is, for the price I paid for this piano, it is good enough to use until you complete your Grade 8. But if you want to pursue music professionally like a degree, then need to go get a Grand Piano. But do not get the smallest baby grand, as it would be effectively the same as an upright. Get a bigger one, but no need a concert grand at home. So, hippy!! My Hailun HL125 pass my teacher's test!

New Technique Book

2009-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

My piano teacher bought me a new Technique Book yesterday...

"A Dozen A Day - Book One"
(Technical Exercises for the Piano to be done each day before practicing) Written by Edna-Mae Burnam. Instructional book for piano. 28 pages. Published by The Willis Music Company. (HL.413366)
ISBN 0877180318. With introductory text, illustrations, standard notation and fingerings. Technique. 9x12 inches. Includes sixty exercises for the mid-elementary pianist.

The Dozen a Day books are universally recognized as one of the most remarkable technique series on the market for all ages! Each book in this series contains short warm-up exercises to be played at the beginning of each practice session, providing excellent day-to-day training for the student.

According to my piano teacher, Book One is for between Grade 2 to Grade 3. And the Mini Book is for kids who are still beginning. And the Preparatory Book is for Grade 1 to Grade 2. Tried the first few exercises, I think it is quite cute, with stick men and is a good workout for the fingers, and very focus on playing techniques.

How to Clean your Piano Keys?

2009-02-02T01:19:00.000-08:00

Piano keys are not made from ivory anymore. These days you will find that most piano keys are made from either plastic or a cellulose mix.

It is possible to have your piano keys recovered with ivory tops. It is a difficult and time consuming job, because the piano technician has to remove all the old piano keys and refit them with ivory. The old piano keys are stuck down with glue and the technician has to be very careful not to take off any wood along with the old key tops.

Ivory is very difficult to get hold of these days. If you employ a piano technician to recover your piano keys in ivory, they will either have to have stock of the correct size key tops, or they will have to take the ivories off an old piano. Recovering piano keys with ivory is a very expensive job.

How can you tell if your piano keys are ivory?
- Piano keys with ivory tops are made in two parts. If you look carefully you will notice a join.
- Ipiano keys is the off-white colour. Generally, as ivory ages, it turns yellow.
- Ivory has a grain. Modern pianos have plastic keys which does not have any grain. Be careful not to mistake ivory keys with cellulose keys, cellulose also has a grain, but the cellulose grain is more even than ivory.

How to clean ivory piano keys?
Cleaning ivory piano keys is a very delicate job. It is best to ask a qualified piano technician to do this kind of work.

If you are attempting it yourself, first you need to asses what condition the ivories are in. Are they a little dirty? Is the dirt really deep inside the key top? Are they yellow? Are they stained?

1) If your ivory piano keys are just a little dirty, then this is an easy job. You will need the following: Damp cloth, dry soft cloth, and washing up liquid.
Here’s how you do it: Rinse your cloth under the tap and squeeze out all the water.Put a tiny amount of washing up liquid onto your damp cloth. Press down firmly onto the key top and rub until the dirt has been removed Polish the key with a soft, dry cloth.
There are several liquid key cleaning products on the market, but in my opinion, you needn’t spend your money on them – just use ‘old fashioned’ washing up liquid, it does the job just fine. Lemon juice or vinegar also does a good job of cleaning ivory piano keys.

2) If your ivory piano keys are really dirty then you will need to buy an ivory scraper or the finest gauge 000 wire wool. Please note: the ivory scraper is the right tool for the job. Wire wool will leave very fine scratches in the ivory that may be noticeable in certain lighting.
Break off a little wire wool Rub the key top very gently all over Wipe off the excess with a dry cloth
Best results are obtained by taking the keys out of your piano and placing them on a table. If you are not sure how to take out your piano’s keys, it is best to ask a trained piano technician to clean the keys for you.

3) If your ivory piano keys are yellow or stained, then you will certainly need to buy an ivory key scraper. There is no guarantee that you will be able to completely remove the stain from the key top though.

Can you whiten yellowy ivory keys?
Over time and with repeated cleaning, the yellow in your ivory keys can be significantly reduced. Vinegar on a soft cloth is probably the best method I know of. Whitening your ivory piano keys takes along time and a great deal of patience.

How to clean plastic or cellulose piano keys?
Cleaning plastic or cellulose key tops is easy. Just follow the steps in number 1) above. To give your plastic or cellulose keys a shine, try a little T-cut.

How to clean black piano keys?
Black piano keys are made from either ebony or plastic. Modern pianos use plastic and older pianos use ebony. You can usually tell a plastic key by the shiny finish. Ebony keys are usually mat and can discolour with age. If your black key top has come off the key, take a look underneath. Plastic keys are usually hollow, wooden, ebony keys are solid.
The black keys are best cleaned with just a damp cloth and a little washing up liquid. No other materials or liquids should be used.

Piano Owner's Survival Guide

2009-02-02T01:07:00.001-08:00

http://balaams-ass.com/piano/piancont.htm

General Principles of Piano Technique

2009-02-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Found something very useful to build good piano techniques. Good reading material:
http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/Piano/PianoTechnique.html

Definition of a "Dead Piano"

2009-02-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

I read the Larry Fine's piano book on how long a piano can last. Pg 174 if you have the book. And he mentioned:

"...A piano may finally be considered "dead" and be discarded when the space it takes up is needed for other things, when a student outgrows the piano's ability to adequately play more advanced music, or when the resources to buy a better instrument suddenly becomes available..."

I posted this thread in the forum and got many replies from them like the ones below:-

"I am sure that "dead" means many things to many people. First of all you have to determine what your threshold for financial pain is and is it worth investing heavily in a particular instrument, if you can buy another similar or better for the same or less money.If there is NO emotional attachment, this is an easier proposition. For myself, I would consider a piano "dead" if it was an inferior brand/design and needed for instance a new soundboard. Generally, a cracked plate is the kiss of death, but I have had them repaired as well by competent welders. This would be worthwhile once again in a quality instrument, otherwise it would not be worth the risk. Many folks make a big deal about hammer replacement, but changing hammers to me anyway is akin to replacing the tires on your car. When they are worn beyond their safety limits you replace them. When hammers are filled with ruts from strings and have been shaped once, it is time for new hammers. Likewise if there is side to side motion in the keys they need to be rebushed and likely the action will need some refurb as well. This is routine maintenance stuff. Generally bass strings are good for 25 years, but many will go twice that length of time before they become tubby. During that timespan though the sound will be undergoing change and not a change for the good. This is gradual. The general decline of our instruments is indeed gradual. Depending on your skill level and your demand for a particular sound,this will determine when you can no longer stand playing a piano in a given condition. Then, you are back to the cost/benefit analysis. I own a collection of older instruments, all of which had gone beyond their useful lives, and have now been given a new lease on life. In truth, you can keep most quality instruments going indefinitely, but not without expense. Larry Fine lists his recommendations for what used brands are generally worth investing in remediation. It is not necessarily a conclusive list, but it definitely will get you on the right track. "

"Are you familiar with the "Ship of Theseus" thought-experiment? If so, you may recall that Aristotle posed a question about the perdurance of identity through change in terms of a ship whose parts were replaced with other parts, made of a different material, until one has on one hand a pile of broken "original" parts and on the other a ship comprised entirely of "new" parts. The question becomes, where is the original ship? I mention this analogy because when you asked, Steven, if a piano has to die, I started thinking that at some point (who knows when?) in the serial replacement of the materials of the piano, it becomes questionable whether one has the "same" piano that lives on or whether it is now a different piano, the initial piano being now "dead" (and in what sense so?). "

"When I was in college we had old pianos in many of the various lounges/common areas in my dormitory. Rather than throw away an old decrepit piano, some people would donate them to us. Most of these pianos would have been considered by many dead when we got them, but after a year or two of heavy pounding they would be in really bad shape -- most keys would not play, keys missing, pedals missing or broken, major damage to the case, etc. Now, rather than pay or do the work of hauling these hulks away it became traditional to throw them off the roof. The event would be advertised and the landing zone duly cordoned off. There would usually be a sizable crowd gathered to witness a piano impacting the ground and breaking into lots of little pieces. At this point I think it would be safe to say that the piano was truly dead. And, as most of the crowd would pick up a piece as a souvenir, there was really no problem with cleaning up the mess."

"Nice thread idea. Here are some more thoughts:
- An absolute like "dead" is hard to define in this case. A dead person cannot be reliably revived and restored to life (as a rule), but a piano can.
- If the piano has been burned or run through a grinding machine, it is effectively dead.
- It is dead to the owner doesn't want it any longer. People are sometimes, sadly, in this category as well - so this less absolute meaning of the word "Dead" must be considered.
- Some pianos are not worth spending the money on to completely restore, but people feel attached to them and have it done anyway. One person would look at the old heap and say it's dead, but the person who feels the attachment will not think so.
- Some old heaps are considered worthless to some, but to a person who has nothing, it will at least allow them to play! No matter how horrible and unplayable it might seem to us, someone, somewhere might feel blessed to have the piano and make use of it.
- Some pianos have the intrinsic value in the market place, and can always be brought back to life with time and fine craftsmanship. Someone, though, needs to make the decision to spend the time and money on the instrument.

As for the "Ship of Theseus" paradox, I would vote that once a new board is added to the ship, that board becomes a part of that ship. It has changed the ship's identity slightly, but we still call it "Theseus' Ship" because it's inconvenient to be so precise as to give it a new name each time it is repaired. So there is the "original" ship as it was, and the "new" ship. Both are valid and still exist, but now have different entities. Same is true for a rebuilt piano - there was the original as it shipped from the factory, which is forever gone and not absolutely recoverable. Then there is the rebuilt or restored piano, which could possible be a "better" piano than the original was!"

Other Interesting Pictures of Pianos

2009-02-01T20:19:00.001-08:00

Pictures of Special Pianos

2009-02-01T20:11:00.001-08:00

Pictures of Keyboard Theme

2009-02-01T20:03:00.001-08:00

Cartoons Pictures of Pianos

2009-02-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Moody Day

2009-01-29T01:32:00.000-08:00

While I was reading through the Piano Forum, saw this piece which was composed by one of the Piano Teacher in Texas titled "Moody Day". This piece is originally meant for a first year adult student in C minor.

http://texas-trax.com/moody-day.htm

Baroque Period (1600 to 1750)

2009-01-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

The first period which I am exposed to is the Baroque period, which is suppose to be repertoire that were composed during the period between 1600 to 1750. For a more detailed historical background of repertoire created during this period can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music#Notes

To play music of this period, we need to take note of the following:-
1. As the instrument used in the past are instruments like Clavichord and Harpsichord, where when a key is held on, the note will die off very easily. Hence, the sustain pedal is seldom and in fact not used for pieces during the Baroque period.

2. The usual repertoire during this period are March, Menuet (which is usually 3/4 time), Gigue (form of dance which is usually 6/8 time and very common to have anacrusis), Chorale (church hymns usually sang by the choir, with right hand as Soprano), Toccata and so on.

3. Because of the limitation of the instruments during the Baroque period, repertoire usually have many ornaments added like "trills" to fill in the long hold of the notes. Also, the notes are usually played with a sticky feeling. Not very short, nor held very long. But still certain parts needs to be played in a legato manner.

4. Usually both hands are equally important as both hands are the melody. And it is usually repeated, with repeated parts on both the right hand and the left hand. Hence the balance between the left and right hands are important, as both hands are equally important. And every time the repeated parts are played using a different dynamics to enhance the different layer of the music to bring out the feeling.

5. When running trills, the trills take precedence and have to be louder than the other hand to make the trills stand out.