THE BEGINNING

-This is the story of how I started the piano-

2000/2001 Audrey and I were like most ppl forced to learn the piano, haha. My sister Amanda goes for piano lessons in Ipoh with Pianist - Hung Lan. So my whole family would go to ipoh every week and audrey and I were under Miss Joyce Teoh. I don't recall hating it, nor liking it. I remember once I was sitting and having lunch, while mandy was having her piano lessons. Then aunty Hung Lan played one piece that start with a huge/loud/big chord. " Wham!!" I literally feel of my seat! Hah. Good times good times... After mandy finished her Grade 7, her teacher then moved to KL to work with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Mandy never completed her Grade 8. After that we stopped going to Ipoh. Audrey and I didnt have any interest with the Piano anyway, so we stopped.

2002 standing at the CD rack, I was looking for some music to listen too. I saw this CD on Mozart, some of the pieces were Le nozzo de figaro, Eine kliene nachtmusik... I recall finding the names quite funny! Anyways I listened to that CD and didnt like it. I found it quite boring- like most ppl who dont appreciate classical music, I didnt have enough musical knowledge to understand the pieces and therefore found it boring. However few days passed and I became curious and wanted to listen to it again. I started listening to it every day, and before I knew it I couldnt stop listening to it. One thing that I was very drawned to was the Violin. That CD had the 3rd movement of Mozart's Violin Concerto No.4 in D and the Symphony No.35 " Haffner ". I was quite fascinated with the sound of the violin and the vibration of the strings, esp with those high-pitched harmonics.
Then there was a Bach CD, Dvorak, Wagner, Vivaldi. Apparently my dad listens to all this. In the Bach CD I heard again the violins playing the Brandenberg Concerto No.2. I soon developed an interest in music particularly from the classical period - Mozart. I still wasnt exposed to the Romantic period or modern. Anyways I asked my parents if I could learn the violin, and they said that its better to learn the piano first, because the piano is a more basic instrument. After learning the piano the violin would be easier to learn. I was quite reluctant.

2003 My family goes on a vacation to (er, I cant remember). Anyways during the drive, my dad played a CD in the car. The CD only had pieces played on the piano. After listening to a few pieces, I realised that the same thing was happening when I first listened to Mozart. There was a sudden curiousity in the music I was listening to. We took a break at some rest area. And when we got out, (gosh I still remember the scene!) I asked my dad if that CD was Chopin. See b4 that I have seen a CD with the words "chopin" on it, and so i thought that that was the CD. I pronounced it as " Chop pin" and then mandy and my dad started laughing out loud. I had no clue what was going on! But anyways it was then that my dad introduced me to one of the greatest composers of all time - Frederic Francois Chopin. A few pieces that really caught my attention was the Etude Op.10 No.12, Fantasie Impromptu Op.66, Prelude No.3 Op.24, and the waltzes. I recall lying on my bed with the radio beside me and I would play that CD all the way through, for days, WEEKS. Then I started growing an interest in the Piano and it was because of Chopin. So I then decided to take up the piano again, and this time, playing the piano was so completely different than b4. I was playing "sweet low sweet chariot" in the hall in Chefoo School when my mum suddenly came in with a lady - Madam Lam . That lady was my first real\formal Piano teacher. Then i started learning technique like hanon! I still dislike the Hanon studies! :( But I was lucky to have a good reasonable teacher in Cameron Highlands. So I took my grade 3,4,5 under her.

2007 Madam Lam then prepares me for my grade 8 exam the following year. In the same year, when I was practicing in Chefoo, one of the guest heard my playing and talked to my mum about a Piano Competition in KL. I got so excited, and started picturing myself on stage performing! Of course I had no idea what Piano Competitions were like. For all those who dont know - entering a piano competition is a race, survival of the fittest, a fight for your career. In performing music, there are only 2 ways to become famous and have concerts worldwide - you either are a Child prodigy or a winner of an International Piano Competition but not just any, the major ones. I think there are only 3 very popular ones - i) Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow ii) Van Cliburn Piano Competition,fort worth Texas iii) Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition, Warsaw Poland. there is no other way to become famous other than that. Imagine 3 competitions once in 4/5 years, tens of thousands of ppl compete and only 1 winner! the pressure is INSANE! So then I had enough interest to compete and I enrolled for the ASEAN chopin competition. Madam Lam was very reluctant to prepare me for an international competition, she knew she didnt have enough experience.
By God's perfect timing he opened a door for me when the Piano Tuner came to repair my piano. My mum then started talking to him about finding a Good piano teacher, and Lo and behold.... He told us his daughter Joyce Ho, had just returned from Germany with her masters in music and was now looking for ppl like me to coach for competitions. So I then started lessons with Joyce in Ipoh. I had to and still am travelling down to ipoh by bus every week for lessons.

Lessons with Joyce Ho Yin Fun.
I think that Joyce will always be the teacher that taught me the dark side of music! I knew that playing the piano for fun can be.. erm fun, but she taught me that playing the piano professionally requires hours of practice and torture, and can sometimes be very stressful! I realised that most accomplished pianist now, have very a bitter childhood. Evgeny Kissin - When he was young, he made a choice to become a Concert pianist. So his mother forced him to play countless of hours a day. Once he had a girlfriend but the mother didnt allow it, and told him that she would only be a distraction! Martha Argerich - When she was young too, her parents told her that the piano is the love of her life and nothing else. She had to think about the piano 24/7. (Unbelievable)
Joyce's standard of playing was uni level and so she had very high quality teaching. During her lessons, Half a slip/mistake is not allowed! Strictly not allowed. Your playing in front of her must be note perfect. Even though Im no longer under her tutelage now, I can see why God wanted her to teach me for 6 months. After that 6 months, music in some way has really disciplined me, and trained my mind to be more mature. I know thats cheezy! but its real. Hehe. So then on the verge of searching for another teacher, God then sent me to a teacher who is the complete opposite! His name is Peter Lim

Lessons with Peter Lim
He was nothing like Joyce and was everything that Joyce wasnt. I would put it that way. The last thing he would to in his class is scold you! He taught me the bright side of music. He is good friends with many malaysian pianist, eg Dennis Lee. It was because of Peter Lim that I had a FREE masterclass with Dennis. If not it would have cost RM200 per hour. Well now I have a diploma under Peter and still continuing my studies under him.

I really look forward to the future and what God has planned for me. Hopefully It would be as fun as what I have already gone through!