Acoustic (real) piano, digital piano or keyboard

Lot’s of parents love to send their kids to take piano lessons. However, there are some concerns that stop them from buying an acoustic (real) piano. Is it necessary to have an acoustic piano right from the beginning? How about digital piano or a keyboard to start with?

Being a mom of 2 young kids, I totally understand why parents are holding off buying an acoustic piano. What if my kid lose interest down the road? How to maintain an acoustic piano? It takes up some much space, it’s way too loud…..etc… As a piano teacher, I would say it depends on the kid. If I see a young kid age 5 – 7 with potential, I would say YES. An acoustic piano is a MUST! Kids at that age is very critical. They can be molded to anything, good or bad. A digital piano manufacturer always quote that it’s weighted and it’s almost the same as an acoustic piano. This is just a marketing thing to say. As a professional teacher and performer, a digital piano can’t be compared to any acoustic piano. The tone and touch are not the same and the music played by a digital piano sounds dead! If a digital piano is as good as an acoustic piano, then the acoustic piano should go distinct long long time ago.

Is keyboard an option for beginners? Well, yes for the first month. A keyboard is much shorter than a piano. Some introductory pieces have a big range for young beginners to explore sounds from the lowest to the highest note of a piano. Some introductory and grade 1 pieces from the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM Exam) require students to play with pedal(s). A keyboard doesn’t have a pedal, so it limits the kind of music that the student can play.

Parents have already invested their money and students have already invested their time on piano lessons. Getting a proper instrument can make the learning more fun and students can get more satisfaction from making beautiful music.

2010 Year End Recital

The 2010 Year End Recital was held June 5 at Ellesmere United Church at SFU. It was a successful mini-concert for me and my little stars. I played 2 duets with my partner, Jammy Smith, for the opening and closing of the recital. It was a good opportunity for both parents and students to listen to different piano music with different arrangement. Students did very well. They overcome their nervousness and showed the best that they can. I believe playing in public is a precious way to learn how to perform in a public setting. It feels totally different than playing at home or at lesson. It requires extra concentration and control. I’m so proud of my stars! One last useful comment is that if you want the audience to enjoy what you play, you have to enjoy the music that you’re making!

Look forward to the Christmas Recital in December and once again, thank you for all the support from the families!

How to find a Registered Piano Teacher?

I’m a registered piano teacher teaching from home and from a music studio. I found out that most of the parents have difficulty looking for a qualified piano teacher for their kids. Having a qualified and well experienced teacher is very crucial not just for higher grades piano students but also for beginners as well. A good teacher would not only make the lesson fun, but also digs out students potential to make them blossom in shorter time. Some parents thought that teachers from commercial studios are all qualified, but that’s not always true. To find out if a teacher is qualified, go online to http://www.bcrmta.bc.ca/html/vancouver.htm and see if you can find the name of the teacher in the list. If not, the teacher is not a registered music teacher.

The requirements of being a registered piano teacher are

• Hold one of the following qualifications:
  • A Music Teacher’s Certificate or Diploma (in the instrument or subject of instruction stated on the application) from any School of Music recognized by the BCRMTA Provincial Council
  • A Music Performers Certificate or Diploma (in the instrument or subject of instruction stated on the application)) from any School of Music recognized by the BCRMTA Provincial Council and a record of four years teaching of subjects recognized by the Board of Examiners.
  • A University Music Degree (with a major in the instrument or subject of instruction stated on the application) and a record of four years teaching of subjects recognized by the Board of Examiners.
    OR
    be a member in good standing of a Registered Music Teachers’ Association of a Province other than British Columbia
    OR
    satisfy the BCRMTA Board of Examiners that he/she qualifies to be accepted as a member of BCRMTA.

Don’t waste your money and your kid’s time. Find a registered piano teacher!

2009 Christmas Recital

This year, we went to Ellesmere United Church at SFU for the Christmas Recital. My colleague, Jammy Smith and I hosted this recital of our students. I’m glad that everyone played beautifully. It was a nice opportunity for the students to experience the fun of performing. Look forward to the next recital in May/June!

Performing tips

As a performer, I totally agree that be able to perform in public is something to be learned. Play at a festival is a good opportunity to challenge yourself and see how well you can handle the unexpected circumstances. It is required to concentrate and pay attention just in your music no matter what. I remember one time I was playing at a univeristy club house where dinner was served right after my performance. The staff were busy setting up the food so the utensils were clinging and the phone was ringing. It was kind of noisy and that shouldn’t have happened during a performace. So I totally ignored the noise by keeping my concentrate only in my music. Everyone were amazed by my performance and suprised by how well I know my piece. 

Another tip for performing is be able to play through mistake(s) as if there’s no mistake at all. This is the only way to minimize the “demage” of a music and this is also the only way to cover up your mistake. Stop and play from the beginning is FATAL. Fixing your mistake(s) at the middle of your performance does not make your playing easier but it worsen the whole process by telling the audience that you are lack of concentration, control and knowledge of your piece. Play a note wrong is already one mistake. If you repeat your mistake, you’re rhythmically wrong too. So you created 2 mistakes by fixing a wrong note. Therefore I always emphasize my students to be able to play from anywhere in your piece by memory. Be able to move forward instead of going back.  Another good strategy is knowing the ending very well. In worse case scenario, if you lost your memory in the middle of the piece and can’t continue anymore, jump right to the last 4 bars and finish the piece so that you can walk away from the piano with an ending.

Piano festival, yes or no?

Recently, I sent my students to the SPG piano festival in which only Registered Piano Teachers can apply for their students. All of my students who played at the festival got either first, second or third in their classes. I’m pleased with their accomplishment. However, what attitude should teachers, parents and students use when facing a competitive piano festival?

As a piano teacher, I always make sure my students are well prepared. Memorize the pieces correctly and be expressive. Enjoy the moment when you’re making your lovely music. Share your enthusiasm in music as if you wanted to tell a story or express an emotion through playing.

 As a parent, be supportive by providing a good environment for practicing. Be positive no matter what happened during the performance. Don’t focus too much on the marks or ranking or the trophy. Focus on the whole experience rather than the marks. Praise your child(ren) after performing as children often have to bravely step out of their comfort zone to do it. 

 As a student, treat it like a precious moment to share your music to someone you don’t know. Persuade the audience that the piece that you picked is the best in the world. For students, it’s a good opportunity to experience the difference in playing out of your familar settings (either at home or at lesson). It’s an opportunity to learn how to control their nervousness before and during the performance, learn how to cover up their mistake(s) if there’s any. It’s also a great opportunity to listen to other players at the same level. Students also get comments from the adjudicator. So as a whole, students always gain something from this experience regardless of the marks.

Piano ensemble concert- The Big Day has come!

Yesterday was finally the big day. I enjoyed every minute of it. From doing the hair, to make-up, then eating and waiting in the dressing room in the back stage, rehersing on stage with photographer and video man stay close around you, to getting ready to perform live on stage. I loved it! I like the feeling of uncertainty but yet still  know everything will be under control. The music will just flow out from our fingers.  I loved to listen to the music that we made in the big concert hall.

Since our group (6 of us) performed after the intermission, we still had a bit of time getting together in the waiting room. We stayed together and sang out our parts with the metronome. Making sure we were in sync, be close and tight together. We practiced the eye contact between teamates from one piano to another piano, and among ourself in our piano. After doing this a few times, we felt that we were in unity. That’s the most important thing in piano ensemble.

The other fun part is that when we’re on stage, we have to act like one unit instead of 6 individuals. So the timing of walking, bowing, sitting, puting our hands on and off the keyboard, and standing up after finishing the piece are all very crucial in terms of the persentation.

Well, after doing it once, just want to do it again if we have a chance.

Practicing super hard right before performing, does it really help?

Practicing and Performing

What’s the difference between practicing and performing? When we practice, we extract the parts that need to be worked on. Just do the “trouble” spots over and over until we can play it nice and smooth. Usually start playing slow to get familiar with the finger and know what keys to play. Then gradually speed up. After being able to play it nice and smooth, then move back a couple bars and see if the transition flows with an ease. 

Whereas performing requires continuity. Stopping at the middle or start all over from the beginning is fatal!! Always move forward and play ahead if you get stuck instead of going back a couple bars or starting all over. When practicing, pick a few cold start point and be able to start any where in the music. Always know the ending as well as the opening. Just in case if you have memory lost, you can always play the ending so you can kindly go down the stage.

Playing piano or Typing piano

When we pick up a brand new music, most of us just care about getting the notes right followed by getting the rhythm right. Isn’t music just about getting the notes and rhythm right? Of course not! Some of my students wonder why I still want them to work on a piece which they can play correctly in terms of notes and rhythm. It’s because I’m teaching student playing piano not typing piano. 

Typing piano is more straight forward. Just “Type” the notes out on the right beat. That’s all! How does it sound when you “Type” piano? It sounds like typing with no expressions. Nowadays, we don’t need a teacher to teach us type. It’s the same for piano, everyone can master “TYPing” piano without an instructor.

Whereas PLAYing piano is about setting the atmosphere, conveying mood or feelings to the audience. But what exactly do you need to do? First, you need a knowledgable and experienced piano teacher. The teacher will help you with the correct touch, dynamics (loud and soft), phrasing and colours of the piece. Pay attention to all the markings on the sheet. They are as important as the notes and rhythm. Look at the title of the music. If it’s a Nocturn, it should be soft and quiet. If it’s a Waltz, it’s a 3 beats dance (Strong-weak-weak). Know all the italian words on the music. They are the hints. Listen to the sound you make. Play to the bottom of the keys to produce a rich and warm tone. Avoid hammering down from above which produces a harsh sound or play half way down the keys which produces a whispering sound. A qualified piano teacher can help you with all of the aspects.