My piano journey

One of the best effects becoming a Jay-maniac had on me was the re-ignition of my passion for playing the piano. I had neglected my beautiful instrument for some time, only playing some pop songs occasionally. The reason is uncertain but it was probably due to some other interests taking up my time or perhaps I had just run out of new music to play.
Whatever it was, when I discovered Jay's music, I had a strong compulsion to play his songs on the piano and that set me off on a hunt all over bookshops like Kinokuniya, Music Book Room and others to find the piano scores.
And somehow, some way...I managed to get my eager hands on eight books!

Anyway, this post is not to talk about Jay but more to reflect on my own piano journey, from when I was a child starting lessons at the age of about five or six up till the present.
This could be considered a form of fandom:
I'm a huge fan of the piano; I feel happy when I play; I love listening to and watching others play; and yes, I have a veritable library of music books and scores collected over the years!

For the first three years, my teacher was Ms Albuquerque and therefter, Ms Khoo (who was my brother's girlfriend-turned-wife) taught me up to Grade 8. They were very nice and never knocked my fingers with rulers or what-have-yous. But then again, I was a good student who practised diligently and did not give them any trouble either.
I am extremely grateful to my late mother for giving me the opportunity to learn this wonderful instrument. She herself learnt a little when she was younger but her lessons were disrupted by the Japanese Occupation and after the war was over, she was caught up in family and work commitments and could not continue.
My father, who came to Singapore from China was musical (he played the violin by ear) and my brothers were put through violin lessons. None of them play now but two of them did go on to play guitar.

As far as I can remember, I never had to be forced to practise. It was just an enjoyable routine for me to hit the keys for a certain time everyday and do what my teacher had set that week for me. Scales, arpeggios, drills and of course, the whole range of piano pieces, from the simplest and finding my way along to more difficult works over time.
I sat for the requisite Theory and Practical exams by the Associated Board Of The Royal Schools of Music and haha...managed to score Distinctions for them from Grades 1 to 8...I kid you not!
I still remember my Mum accompanying me to the venues for the exams, feeling nervous but still getting through the whole process alright and my elation when the results were out!
Yes, I still have all those slips where the examiners wrote their remarks and the certificates, and I like to take them out now and then to read and recall. :)

Naturally, most of the works covered for exams and such were classical pieces and that is a good background for any pianist. It enabled me to also play the organ fairly well, and I was good enough to accompany church services for a spell, thanks to the training on the piano.

However, besides classical music, it was also natural to want to play pop music and other genres on the piano when I was in my teens and thankfully, my teacher was open-minded enough to allow one piece of non-classical work per week for me to practise.
I think that was really good to sustain my interest and got me started off on collecting pop music scores, most of which I have kept till now, and still play.
When my friends came over recently, we had a ball singing all the old hits, with accompaniment from all those scores. Was I ever grateful I had them!!

Another important aspect which kept me well on the music path was the school environment in which I spent my childhood and teen years. I was in a Convent school, with WONDERFUL music teachers, who had no end of activities to keep the girls occupied. Everyone had a chance to play something, be it the recorder, pianica, harmonica or just sing in an ensemble, whether for an informal concert in school or for the Youth Festival. I'll probably write more on those experiences in a separate post.

At home, my third brother, Chris was a keen guitarist, forever strumming chords and singing all the hit songs of that time. I would play the piano along with him and from there, I learnt a lot about chords and accompaniment. :)

I completed Grade 8 and at one stage was even thinking of becoming a piano teacher but after my A Levels, I got accepted into the Uni and with that came less time to practise. However, after I got married, I bought a digital piano but somehow just did not play much on it. I think there's nothing like a proper upright piano but at that time, we thought the digital might be more interesting with its different sounds.

To cut a long story short, I eventually (or rather, my dear hubby) got a beautiful Sauter piano, an upright which sounds like a grand and I played occasionally in spurts of enthusiasm and periods of lulls where I wouldn't touch the keyboard for months!

I'm back to playing more regularly now and have even recorded my own playing of some of Jay's songs to upload on youtube to share.
And I'm getting back in touch with some of the classical pieces from my student days, although the fingers are a little stiffer now....lol!
I think I shall have to play those scales, arpeggios and drills again to regain any degree of flexibility!

The piano is an amazing instrument as one can play both melody and accompaniment on it. Even a simple arrangement can sound good. I believe music is a tremendous age-defying agent and I will keep on tickling those ivories.

And for those of you who think it's too difficult to learn to play the piano when you're an adult...I say...it's never too late!
Go for it!

Here is a song I just recorded...one of my faves from those days of piano lessons...Send In The Clowns.  :)

And here is one of my favourite Jay songs, Maple:

I've got more on my youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7CB352F79E7A449B&feature=plcp

One song I would love to record is Jay's Time Travel theme from Secret....but that is going to require loads of practice....oh well, back to the keyboard! ;)