Sherina Piano

Children's Day 2011! :)

2011-09-21T22:36:00.001+08:00

Children's Day is almost round the corner again! :) I miss being a child at times...I believe that there is a child in all of us always. ^_^ Here are this year's Children's Day goody-bags I have just packed for all my dear students, each stuffed full with a variety of yummy candy...Chuppa-chups, M&Ms, marshmallows, Yupi hotdogs (a favorite of many children ^_^), jellies, etc...., waiting to be distributed soon! ;)

Teachers' Day 2011! :)

2011-09-07T14:13:00.000+08:00

One year passes so fast...Teachers' Day came and went again! Very soon, it will be Children's Day again! :) I just want to thank all my students who always make Teachers' Day special for me every year! :) I appreciate lots the well-wishes, thoughts and efforts and the gifts below....make my heart smile! :)

Thank you Yee Jiun, Mun Tat and Mun Hon for this adorable tea set for two! :) Tea is one of my favorite beverages......slurp slurp slurp! ^_^

Thank you Jia Shan for this pretty notebook! :) I love green leaves! :) Hmm....maybe I should use it to record all my students' homework, so there is no escape for my students...heehee.....kidding.....but I think I already do have a pretty good memory for that anyway......hahaha! ;)

Thank you Mrs. Teo, Isabel and Annabel for the pretty Korean pouch and yummy Korean seaweed!:) Korean seaweed is definitely one of my favorite snacks of all time! :) Fragrant, crispy and salty! ^_^

Thank you Mrs. Michelle and Kelly for this healthy tonic beverage! :) It will certainly further boost my energy levels for teaching! :) Yum yum yum! :)

Thank you Candy for this sweet elegant crystal necklace! :) Pretty! :) Girls and accessories! ;)

Thank you Mrs. Cheryl, Jarryl and Brandon for these delicious traditional mooncakes! :) Happy Mooncake Festival too! :)

Inside the mooncake box! :) Yummy! :)

Thank you Hilary for making this interesting accessory for me! :) Very creative! ;)


Thank you Mrs. Viena, Ray and Russell for this chocolicious and pretty hand cream! :) I love the happy-looking, pretty cupcake packaging! :) Certainly comes in full use for a pianist, who does housework too! ^_^ Just to share this kind SMS, sent on Teachers' Day this year, from Celine Yeo, who is a former student of mine years ago: "Hi Sherina! Happy Teacher's Day! Always the best teacher for all your students.:-D stay happy n healthy." Thank you Celine for having me in your thoughts! :) So sweet! :) Last, but certainly not least, thank you to all my students and former students who wished me a Happy Teachers' Day 2011! :) Thank you lotsy! :) Hugs and Smile! :)

Holy Matrimony :)

2011-07-17T17:56:00.002+08:00

Happy Lunar New Year 2011! :) 新年快乐！:)

2011-01-26T15:44:00.005+08:00

Happy Lunar New Year 2011! :) 新年快乐，迎春接福，四季平安，吉祥如意！！ :) May 2011, the Year of the Metal Rabbit, bring an abundance of happiness, prosperity, good health and good fortune to all! :) May 2011 be a smooth-flowing year of peace. ;)

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! :)

2010-12-28T14:13:00.008+08:00

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! :) May the spirit of Christmas grant you peace, the joy of Christmas give you hope and the warmth of Christmas bring you love. :) The cutest display this Christmas, discovered on my way to pipe-organ lessons.........

Awwwww.......STITCH! at Bugis........I haven't yet watched the cartoon though, but the display is most adorable! :) Huge eyes, button nose, long tattered ears......heehee ;)
2010 passed by really quickly, and I cannot believe it's is almost 2011! :) I just want to take this opportunity to say "Thank you!!! Hugs!!!" to all my wonderful students & parents for making 2010 a happy, enjoyable teaching year! :) I simply love piano, music, teaching, and I am very thankful for all the wonderful students I have! :) Currently, I am on a year-end teaching break, but I look forward to seeing all my students again in January 2011!!! :)))
SMILE ALWAYS!!! ;)))

Happy Children's Day 2010 :)

2010-10-07T13:10:00.005+08:00

Happy Children's Day 2010! :) I made little cards and got pretty pencil cases for my "children"/students this year for fun, instead of the usual packages of candies/chocolates I give every year. :) That little round chop in red is my Chinese name, 陈蓁楹， written in ancient Chinese script. One of my students, Jarryl, started to collect/stick his weekly piano sticker reward on his pencil case, since the pencil case is made of embroidered cloth wrapped in clear plastic....I found that really cute and ingenious! Cool. ;) Heehee ;) I am glad that my students are putting those pencil cases into great use!! ;) SMILE! :)

中秋节快乐！Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

2010-09-20T12:41:00.010+08:00

中秋节快乐！ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! :)
I love Mid-Autumn Festival! I am not really into mooncakes, though they are always nice :), but I love playing with the lanterns every year! :) [Haha, the child in me. ;)] The traditional paper lanterns with hand-painted flowers are really pretty. I still do not quite understand the point nor fun of the battery-operated plastic ones that play rather annoying, flat electronic tunes. My mum says that when she was young, playing with lanterns during the festival was a luxury, and they used to sell pretty hand-made, hand-painted paper ones in different animal shapes, which they do not do anymore. Then, lantern-making was considered an art....now cellophane plastic is used instead, which makes it much more durable. In addition, we find many factory-produced and machine-printed lanterns.......the "advancement" of technology versus art. Ah well. ;)

Have a beautiful celebration! :)

Teachers' Day! =)

2010-09-07T14:25:00.026+08:00

Thank you very much to all my sweet students for always making Teachers' Day a very happy one for me! :) Their thoughtfulness touches & lights up my heart a whole lot! :) Thank you for all the well-wishes and presents! :) Hugs! :)

Below are all from my dear students this Teachers' Day 2010. ;) Thank you! :)

The above are from Ling Kee, who has recently passed his Grade 8 ABRSM practical with Merit! Congratulations to Ling Kee! :) It makes me very happy to watch & guide Ling Kee as he grows....I have taught him since he was in Primary 3, starting from his Grade 3 examinations, when I started teaching in 2001, and now he is waaaaay taller than me. ;) Thank you too to Mr. & Mrs. Ang, who sms-ed on Teachers' Day saying, "You are the best teacher I have ever met." Awwwww.....Sherina's heart melts.... :)

This cute pink shirt is from Hilary Mah! :) Hilary was wearing a smaller grey version of it at one of her piano lessons, and I commented that I love her shirt because I love shirts with puffy princess sleeves as they tend to go well with skirts. I asked her where she got it, and she replied she didn't know, but I guess she must have asked her mum after her piano lesson! ;) How sweet! :) Thank you Hilary! :)

This pretty Korean dress is from Mrs. Viena, Ray's & Russell's mum! :) Mrs. Viena is very fashionable and trendy. I find it difficult to find dresses which fits me, due to my petite size, and Mrs. Viena thoughtfully got this cute dress for me! Thank you Mrs. Viena! :)

This cute thermometer is from Grace Ng! :) It is currently hanging in my kitchen...heehee! ;) Thank you Grace! :)

Thank you Rui Yee for this nice tea mug! :) Congratulations to Rui Yee for recently passing her Grade 7 ABRSM practical! :)

Thank you Natalie and Nadya for this thoughtful bookmark! :) Congratulations to Nadya for recently passing her Grade 3 ABRSM practical with Merit! :)

Thank you Kelly and Mrs. Michelle for the sweet hand-made sticker-filled card & bookmark, and delicious healthy honey! :)

Thank you Jarryl for this adorable care bear, which is currently sitting on my piano! ;) Congratulations to Jarryl for recently passing his Grade 1 ABRSM practical with Merit! :)

Thank you Angela for this humorous hand-soap, which I am currently using! :) All my students have been commenting how cute and funny it is! ;)

Thank you Isabel for the thoughtful card and yummy chocolates! :) Congratulations too to Isabel for recently passing her Grade 1 ABRSM practical with Distinction! :)

Thank you Weijie for this yummy box of chocolate and for his always being considerate! ;) Congratulations to Weijie for recently passing his Grade 6 ABRSM practical with Distinction! :)

Thank you Jia Shan for this adorable lucky cat/horse! ;) I am born in the Year of the Horse....Jiashan is very thoughtful! ;) It is currently sitting on my piano looking cute! :)

Thank you very much again to all my wonderful students!!! :) Your thoughtfulness means a lot to me!!! :) I appreciate it lots!!! :) Thank you lotsy!!! :))) Hugsssssss!!! :)))

Ramayana Under the Stars Pictures :)

2010-07-08T11:23:00.013+08:00

I just realized I forgot to post pictures from Ramayana Under the Stars! :) Somehow, June just kinda flew by without my noticing and we are in July! ;) Here are some pictures! :)

The Dance Family!

(From Left) Jan, Helena, Nunuk, Mazlan (behind), Ferninda (in front), Me, Xinwei. Jan is our amazing gamelan director! Nunuk is our amazing dance director, as well as the mastermind and choreographer and teacher behind all the dances, and a fine dancer herself! :)

Prince Rama and Princess Sita

Princess Sita flicking her sampur

Demon Rahwana in preparation

Demon Rahwana tempting Princess Sita

"The tourist shot": Prince Rama, Princess Sita and the Golden Deer

Wayang Kulit by Pak Midiyanto

(From Left) Me, Heni [the pesindhen], and Gloria [my godmother :), also a pesindhen]

Musical Gathering; May 30, 2010

2010-07-08T10:45:00.010+08:00

On May 30, 2010, we had a mini-musical gathering at Helena's place. Helena is a piano student of mine, and I am sad because I will be missing her for a year when she goes to Prague soon, as her parents will be having their sabbatical there. However, it must be a fun adventure for Helena, so I am excited for her too! :) I hope to visit her in Prague sometime, when she is there for the year.

The musical gathering was fun! :) I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was all thanks to Helena's parents and Helena, who kindly and generously provided their home for the event! :) Numerous pieces were played by students, some in preparation for their upcoming piano exams, while others simply for the love of performing. Helena and I ended the event with Slavonic Dance piano duet by Dvorak. Below are some pictures! Thank you to Weijie too for the pictures! :)

My students and I, :) waiting for Hilary, who is therefore not in the picture

Helena and I, playing our duet

The snacks at the end! :)

Ramayana Under the Stars

2010-05-12T10:34:00.005+08:00

Do come for "Ramayana Under the Stars", on Saturday May 22, 2010, which is held in conjunction with the Peranakan Museum exhibition! There will be gamelan performances, wayang kulit, and dance performances that day, amidst other workshops, booths etc! The museum would also be free admission that day...a good family outing trip! :)

I will be dancing as Sita in the Ramayana dance drama, "Sita's Entrapment". In this interpretation of Rama and Sita, I look forward to portraying Sita as a materialistic, spoiled brat....heehee ;) I believe I wasn't ever a spoiled brat as a child, and certainly don't think I am one now, nor do I think I am materialistic, so it would be super-fun for me to have this opportunity to be all these in this dance drama! ;) Whine whine whine....haha ;)

For those who know the typical ending to the Ramayana, Sita is made to undergo a test of fire by Rama, after Rama saves her from Rahwana, in order to prove her "purity", since she did stay at Rahwana's palace during her abduction. Sita survives the sacrificial fire, being raised from it by the Lord of Fire, attesting to her purity. Whenever I think about this part it makes me sad. First of all, trust between Rama and Sita seems to be absent, and yet, he claims that he loves her. If he did, how could he possibly bear to see her jump into the fire?! And obviously the concept of forgiveness and understanding went straight out the window as well. Did Rama save Sita to prove his ego, and just to compete and prove that he can win? Well, I certainly hope the concept of "purity" has changed in the society today. I hope that purity in the heart & mind can transcend the physical, and forgiveness prevails.

So the story continues that after many years of blissful marriage and togetherness as king and queen, the rumors among the people concerning Sita's "purity", causes Rama to yield to public opinion, and banish Sita to the forests, whereby she gives birth to Rama's twins. -_-" Sad. I guess to be "fair", it's difficult when your relationship is in the view of and being judged by the public, especially when you are king. But I still think one's love relationship is one's "business" with one's partner and no others, just like one's relationship with God/gods/goddesses etc is ultimately one's "business" with God/gods/goddesses etc and no others. Eh....in any case, to end on a more pleasant note, on love, I vehemently agree :) with William Shakespeare, quoting Sonnet 116:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose Worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

How to Train Your Dragon :)

2010-04-28T00:31:00.003+08:00

I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3D last Thursday! I highly recommend it to all out there. :) I got my ticket one minute before the show started, out of inspiration, and I am glad I did. I came out walking in an absolute straight line too...not dizzified at all by the cool 3D effects. :) Toothless is so adorable, both physically, and in character! ;) I love the disappearing teeth, button-round face, intelligent eyes, etc. The intelligent, wise, childlike, yet kind character of Toothless enhances it's cuteness all the more. Loved the movie!!! :) Do go watch it if you haven't already! ;)

March 22, 2010 Concert at YST

2010-03-30T13:33:00.021+08:00

The gamelan concert at YST went well........it was sooooo fun!!! :) Here are just some pictures. :)

The Audience :)

Me on the bonang; Javanese gamelan

Javanese gamelan; Last piece

Blocking for Tari Karonsih (Javanese) before the concert

With our dance teacher Nunuk (right) and dancer Ferninda (center)

Me stressing out on the wayang gender Bali with Jan

Rehearsing the Balinese gamelan before the concert
Our amazing guru for Balinese gamelan, Pak I Dewa Ketut Alit, is on the right in green

Helena and I "messing around" with the Steinway grand, which was in a corner of the hall, at the end of the concert :)

Name in Arabic :)

2010-03-30T13:18:00.005+08:00

Benjamin, a piano student of mine, went to Egypt recently, and he very thoughtfully brought back this key-chain for me. :) It has my name in Arabic. I thought it's pretty cool, so I thought I would share it. :) i wonder if it sounds the same in Arabic. It is very sweet of Benjamin to remember to get me a meaningful oleh-oleh. I appreciate it lots! I am now hanging the key-chain on my bag. Thank you Benjamin. :)

Gamelan Concert March 22, 2010 :)

2010-03-22T10:10:00.001+08:00

Nodame Cantabile :)

2010-03-19T11:52:00.005+08:00

Since it is my week of break this week, I went to watch the Nodame Cantabile movie yesterday. This was my first time watching Nodame Cantabile, in that I haven't watched the popular series before. It was cute! I found it amazing how the movie was so true to its manga feel.........I felt that I was totally absorbed "reading" a manga, but in a movie format! ;) Of course I love the music in there too.....so many beautiful masterpieces from the classical western music repertoire! The piano music in there is performed by Lang Lang.

I must admit I do identify with the vivid imagination of Nodame character, though hopefully, I am not as nutsy because life is not an anime after all. ;) At the end of Nodame's playing of Alla Turca by Mozart, pearls were coming out of the piano and happy cartoon characters were dancing/marching in time together in exuberance.....I could sooo totally see that as I was teaching that piece to a student recently, though not in those exact pictorial forms. I must admit I naturally do translate things, not limited to music, pictorially in my mind, and tend to go off at tangents/be "distracted" in my own world......or as a friend of mine say, I have a vivid imagination. After seeing Nodame, it makes me wonder if other musicians do that too. Or is it just a made-up anime characteristic after all.....but art emulates life ya? ;) Ha! So I am not alone in my "nuttiness". ;) I love the curry incident in there......so funny!!! ;) Maybe I find that especially most amusing because, unlike Nodame, I am a super-neat person. Plus, the words, germs, death, etc, put in by the animator, makes the situation super-cute.....Haha ;)

I love how the movie gives a little informative historic background background/introduction to the music being performed, which I imagine, makes the music all the more interesting for those not into classical western music. So to all classical western music fans out there, it's a must-watch movie!!! :)

Happy Lunar New Year! :)

2010-02-23T13:43:00.002+08:00

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! :) 新年快乐！ :) May the year of the Tiger bring prosperity, happiness, good health, peace, and roaring success to all! :)

Happy New Year! :)

2010-01-11T14:32:00.008+08:00

Happy New Year 2010!!! :) Yup, it's been a long time since I last wrote on my blog....sorry O:) I had been busy because my dear sister, Esther, came back to Singapore for her holidays, for two whole weeks! :) So there were many family outings & gatherings, and extended family gatherings etc. to attend, especially since it was the festive season too! :) Esther is currently doing her MBA at Sloan MIT.....way cool, isn't it?!? :)))))))

I would like to thank all my students who gave me Christmas presents this Christmas 2009!!! :) Also, thank you too to all my students who came back from their vacations with various souvenirs for me!!! :) I deeply appreciate the sweet thoughts, and being remembered!!!.....awwwwwww :) I am too a little child at heart, who love little surprises ;) Thank you!!! :) I apologize for not putting up the photos of those beautiful pressies this year....The holiday season 2009 was really fun, but super-duper-busy! :) However, the sweet thoughts and pressies are definitely very much appreciated and well remembered in my heart. Thank you very much again!!! :)))))))

Some of my students did a one-hour performance at Orchard Central during this Christmas 2009 season. We were invited by Charmaine, the organizer of such events at Orchard Central. Charmaine is sweet, friendly, and easy to work with....it was way fun!!! :) Below are some photos of the performance. I was so busy emceeing that I had forgotten to take pictures. ;) Thank you to Helena for sharing her photos. :) However, we have been invited back for the upcoming 2010 Lunar New Year season....I must remember a group photo the next time....hee hee ;)

Dearie Helena in deep concentration :)

Me emceeing ;)

The audience at Orchard Central :)

In addition, here's a photo my sister took, with her camera, of me & one of my adorable students, Jarryl, during one of his lessons.....heehee ;)
That's all for now. Thank you again to all my sweet students, and Happy New Year 2010 to all! :) May happiness find you always! :)

October Birthday :) and Panji :)

2009-10-28T20:23:00.020+08:00

This year's birthday was nice and fun, despite spending the day itself being ultra-busy. ;) It was a busy week, occupied by the usual piano teaching, as well as extra rehearsals, due to the Panji performance. The gamelan group I am in, SingaNglaras, celebrated my birthday with & for me with a thoughtful card, as well as a yummy green pandan cake with a froggy chocolate on it! Thank you to my dance partner, Xinwei, for organizing it! Xinwei is a very sweet, thoughtful person. :) I am lucky to have him as my friend and dance partner. :) Here's a picture of the celebration! :)

From left to right: Pak Sidik, Nunuk, Helena, Didik Nini Thowok, Jan....
In addition, my dear student Nicole got me a card, which she thoughtfully chosen to match the musical theme of my piano studio. ;) Thank you Nicole! :)My sweet students Natalie and Nadya made a lovely card for me, as well as gave me some home-fried ikan bilis & dried mango, which I love to snack on! Natalie's and Nadya's handwriting are beautiful! My mum was especially amazed at their handwriting, since both of them are only in primary school, and yet their handwriting is so neat, mature & pretty! ;) Thank you Natalie and Nadya! :)Thank you all!!!!!! :)

Below are some pictures from the Panji performance:

The group picture after the performance....
Didik Nini Thowok, Sherina, Pak Slamet.... Thank you to Xinwei for the picture :)
Sherina, Nunuk (Sherina's Javanese dance teacher), Cisy....
Xinwei and Sherina....Panji was a fun performance! :) The Head of Cultural Department of the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, who attended Panji with his family, thought that Panji "was indeed a spectacular event that helped promote Indonesian culture in a language which was close to the heart of young spectators." Yippee!!! ;)

What a happy & fun month October 2009 is for Sherina! ;)

Panji: A Javanese Mask Dance Drama

2009-10-15T14:05:00.001+08:00

Happy Children's Day & 中秋节快乐！ :)

2009-09-28T21:02:00.006+08:00

First of all, I missed including this Ponyo DVD from Wende for Teachers' Day.....Sorry. O:) Thank you Wende! :) The cartoon is way cute! I loved it! ;) Wende is a hardworking and intelligent Grade 2 piano student, who is full of character. ;) Thank you Wende! I appreciate your thoughts and present lotsy! :)
Next, I want to wish all children a very HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!! Have lots of fun!! :) I hope that my students like the Children's Day goody bag this year.....quality candy and snacks, NOT from China.....I was so shocked/sad at the China milk scandal last year. I always make an effort to check the goodies thoroughly, before I buy them for my students. :) HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!! :9

中秋节快乐!! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!! :) I love the festive feel of this festival, and I love playing with paper lanterns every year!....heehee....there's definitely a little child in Sherina I guess ;) I do hope the skies will be clear, and the moon round and bright this year!! 中秋节快乐!! :)

Teachers' Day :)

2009-09-04T19:03:00.022+08:00

The ABRSM examinations have finally ended for my studio, and the results & certificates are all out. :) All students passed well, with 2 Merits and 3 Distinctions. :) Congratulations!!! :) I am very happy for my students, who put in a lot of effort and hard work practicing & improving! :)

Thank you to my sweet students who thought of me this Teachers' Day! I am very touched. :) Aawww..... ;) Below are the presents from my students for Teachers' Day 2009! Thank you very much! :) I appreciate the thought & care & pressies lots! :)

This pretty box of yummy English orange & lemon cookies are from Ling Kee, a student I have taught since he was in primary school. ;) Now, he is way tall!! ;) The beautiful box makes a nice sewing box, after the cookies are finished. It was beautiful wrapped by Ling Kee's parents, who has always been very thoughtful. :) Thank you Ling Kee! :)

This beautiful and thoughtfully-chosen Japanese pencil case is from Hilary Mah. :) Hilary and her mother chose it out together for me. What touches me most is the fact that later, I found out from Hilary's mother, that Hilary actually bought it for me using her own pocket money, but Hilary's mother (probably upon seeing the cost of the pencil case relative to the child's savings) volunteered to sponsor half the cost. Hilary is a kind and sweet girl. Makes my heart melt. :) Hilary is rather shy, but I remember her face was beaming the whole lesson when she gave me the present, and I didn't understand why till later when I knew the story from her mother and opened the present. Now, I carry this pencil case, which holds my handcream, lipbalm & perfume, whenever I go out. I feel the kindness whenever I look at the pencil case. :) Thank you Hilary! :) Congratulations too to Hilary for her hard work/practicing and her obtaining a Merit on her first ABRSM practical examination at Grade 4! :) Continue practicing lots ya? ;)

This card is from Jia Shan, a LRSM diploma student. :) It's very adorable! It must be that I use the word "good" a lot during lessons.....I love encouraging my students. :) Jia Shan is a very diligent student, who learns very seriously, and has a mature, responsible, yet relaxed attitude. She is currently learning Chopin's Ballade in G minor at an admirable pace. Thank you Jia Shan! :)

This box, which I termed "Happy Box" is from Sze Wing, a diploma student. ;) It was stuffed with cute, adorable stuff....very cute....hee hee ;) Sze Wing has a natural feeling for rubato, and is now learning a Liszt's Liebestraum. Thank you Sze Wing! :)

This box of yummy bean cakes and bookmark is from Candy, a diploma student too. :) These are my mother's favorite pastry, so her eyes lit up when she saw them....hee hee :) Candy is currently awaiting her diploma results, and is learning Ravel's Sonatine and Rachmaninov's Prelude in g minor. Candy is a very enthusiastic and responsible student, with high note accuracy in her playing. Thank you Candy! :)

In addition, Candy gave me this pretty straw bag as an early birthday present. :) I love it and carry it around lots. :) I am nuts about the summer-straw look! Thank you Candy! :)

These are more yummy sugar cookies from Ee Meng! :) Ee Meng is an adult student, who has improved lots with her persistence and hard work and lots of practicing. :) Thank you Ee Meng! :)

These pretty flowers are from Jarryl, who is a beginner going into grade 1. :) Jarryl is a very intelligent and sweet boy. Teaching him is always fun. :) Jarryl if you are reading this though, practice more practice more! ;) I very much wish Jarryl will fulfill his potential in music and piano, and do justice to his gift and intelligence. ;) Thank you Jarryl! :)

These two bottles of delicious honey are from Kelly. :) Kelly is also a beginner, and she lives just right upstairs...haha ;) So I get to know if Kelly has been practicing patiently & correctly, or not. Kelly practices a lot. ;) Thank you Kelly! :)

This yummy bar of chocolate is from Isabel, who is going into grade 1. :) She is too my neighbor, and actually started her piano lessons with me on Teacher's Day! Isabel is an intelligent girl, who learns/corrects very quickly, and I believe that she will be doing her grade 1 exam sometime soon. :) Thank you Isabel! :)

This card and pretty blue pen are from Natalie and Nadya, who recently passed their ABRSM practicals grade 4 and grade 2 with distinctions. Congratulations! :) Thank you Natalie and Nadya! :)

Last, but definitely not least, are well-wishes from Ruiyee, Grade 7, who is currently taking a two-month break to concentrate on her upcoming PSLE in October. I wish her the best of luck too! ;) I hope she'll get into the secondary school she wishes to attend! :) Miss you Ruiyee, and see you soon in October again! ;) Thank you Ruiyee! :)

Thank you very much again to all my students!! :) It makes my heart all warm and happy. ;) I appreciate all your thoughtfulness lotsy!! :) Thank you!! :) Smile ;)

Sad :'(

2009-07-01T11:47:00.006+08:00

Mr. & Mrs. Lin & Connie have just left to return to the United States after being in Singapore for two years. It was very enjoyable teaching Connie, who was always very attentive during class and ready with relevant questions. Although admittedly, like most teenagers, Connie did not practice a whole lot, especially for her advanced level, her attitude in class was always very positive and responsible. It was very enjoyable to talk to Connie about musical history and details because she would actually listen and think about what I have said, and try to perform to the best of her ability, despite her lack of time to practice. Connie is very sensible, intelligent, and always enthusiastic. :)

In addition, Mr. & Mrs. Lin are wonderful employers. They understand that the teacher's time and schedule are just as important and precious as theirs, and that the teacher is human too, and not a servant at their beck & call just because they are paying. True relationships are cultivated and not bought with money. I always look forward to teaching Connie at their place in Cuscaden every Monday afternoon. Sometimes I would pop by earlier, or stay a little later to chat with Mrs. Lin and Connie. The lesson was always happy and relaxed, yet very productive! Mrs. Lin would always give me something to drink and snack on when I was there probably because I teach Connie at the time of the day when people normally snack during their work. Mrs. Lin is very thoughtful. Kind people always make me want to try harder and give more of myself.

So I am sad that Mr. & Mrs. Lin & Connie has left. I am so happy that they valued piano lessons/education so much that Connie had lessons till the week before they left. They sold their piano one day after Connie had her last piano lesson with me. I gave Connie a personalized pink leather crystal handphone strap and earrings, and Mrs. Lin a handprinted batik scarf. Connie made me a sweet card, and Mrs. Lin made me a pair of silver/pearl earrings.....so sweet!! ;) That day we had lunch at the American Club, and they brought me around the club after lunch....it's a very nice place :) ....I heard membership is pricey though. ;) It was a very memorable and happy/sad day.

I will miss being in constant close contact with such a kind and thoughtful family. I called them to say best of luck and bye a day before they left. Sad. :'( However, on the bright side, Mr. & Mrs. Lin & Connie say that they will visit Singapore again sometime though! :) And I hope to visit them sometime in the future too! :) Best of luck to Mr. & Mrs. Lin & Connie, and best of luck for Connie's last two years of high school & university application! :) Well, these are one of the times when I feel glad that I live in the age of the Internet, which makes keeping in touch a lot easier. ;)

Congratulations :)

2009-06-17T11:28:00.003+08:00

The ABRSM theory certificates finally arrived! Congratulations again to my four students who all passed, and three of them with merit, with 2-3 marks towards distinction! :) They looked really happy when I handed them their certificates, which made me really happy. :) Granted yes, I chided them for being careless in certain areas, but I know they tried their best, and it makes me happy. :) Congratulations :)

The schedule for July ABRSM practical exams are out. Interestingly, all my students who have July ABRSM practical exams are all scheduled on the exact same day, even though my July diploma student signed up on an independent account with my help. Plus, they are consecutive in time, though different in venues. Therefore, I will be receiving a row of consecutive calls that exam morning day after their exams. It will be an exciting morning for me that day! ;) I am glad the schedule worked out so magically. I do hope the exam schedule for August comes out soon too. :) Practice hard students! ;)

I am looking forward to the Piano Festival coming up! :) The last piano concert I went to, Boris Berezovsky playing Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, was simply breathtaking and beautiful!! :) He played my favourite Rachmaninoff prelude in D, Op. 23 No.4, as his first encore. :) He even had stamina to replay part of the concerto's third movement, as well as the famous Rachmaninoff prelude in g minor as his two other encores. Simply AMAZING!!! :) I got my tickets for the upcoming Vladimir Feltsman concert way early. I am so looking forward to that! :) I have also gotten my Li Yundi concert ticket too ;) I heard from one of my students that the tickets for Li Yundi's concert sold out completely five days after it is opened to the public. I got early tickets to Mozart's Requiem too....I love that piece a lot.....I love Mozart ;) For my students reading this, if you would like me to get any concert tickets, please feel free to ask me. :) I have received my Friends of SSO card, and I am always happy to help get tickets. :) I am always happy if students go to more concerts and have more exposure. It's a good thing. :)

On the last minor note....I think I am FINALLY slowly recovering from my pimples.......very happy about that one ;)

Father's Birthday :)

2009-05-26T14:23:00.008+08:00

Today is my father's birthday! :) Here is the cake and present I got him. :) The idea for the present was suggested by my mum. ;) The cake is from Rive Gauche, Takashimaya. I am not a huge fan of pastry/cakes/sweets, but I absolutely love that patisserie store! Their flavors are subtle, interesting, refined and yummy! This cake flavor is bitter chocolate, tinged with Jasmine flowers, complemented by raspberries...amazing combination of flavors in just the right proportions! OOOoooooo......... ;)
Okay, I couldn't resist getting the additional cute buttons on the Crocs for my dad to add a sense of fun...I think presents are stuffs that you don't absolutely need, but would be nice to receive/have. ;) Guys usually are not picky about such stuffs anyway....haha ;) Nice color ya?...Electric blue! ;) I know guys probably prefer electronic gadgets for presents anytime, but I am far from a gadget expert, and it's sometimes difficult to get an affordable present for someone who can get those gadgets himself in the first place anyway. ;) In any case, my dad love the shoes and he is wearing them now! :)

If you can't beat them, join them! ;)

2009-05-25T23:59:00.003+08:00

Friends of SSO is in effect a monopoly (deleted post) because the only choice of obtaining decent tickets to their most popular concerts, without subscribing and thus buying a whole bunch of tickets, is by joining the Friends of SSO. By the time the public has a go at buying the tickets, the more desirable tickets are basically sold out, or the concert is almost sold out. I made a phone complain feedback to that effect, and in the end, I was told by the representative of the Friends of SSO that I could get tickets at the Victoria Concert Hall if I went down personally, since I was buying a total of 6 tickets. However, when I got there, I was told that actually I had to buy 5 different SSO concerts, which are not inclusive of the Piano Festival, in order to buy my tickets early, since tickets sales to the public has not yet commenced. I was helping my friend & her boyfriend to get tickets too, and we are going to 3 different concerts in all, of which 1 is a Piano Festival event. Therefore, I was actually not eligible to get tickets, although the concerts I wanted are almost all sold out! I was certainly upset.

However, the person at the box office, Rose, was really nice, and said that since I didn't know earlier and did made a call, and made a trip all the way down already for the purpose of getting tickets, she would just let me get tickets early this once. After her helping me to choose the seats and all, before I paid, the weirdest thing is that I suddenly decided to join Friends of SSO because Rose seems really nice (I respond to kindness), and I felt that it isn't really fair that I get to get my tickets early because I am not a member of Friends of SSO (fairness is very important to me....might seem silly to care about fairness at this point huh?). So in the end, I paid my S$75 membership fee, and the representative said that Friends of SSO is a non-profit organization, and that the membership fee is basically a donation, thus tax deductable. Rose patiently redid all my ticket order and seating since, surprisingly, Friends of SSO also obtain more advantageous seats for the same price category and a discount....I did not read the rules beforehand -_-". I still feel that Friends of SSO is a monopoly and it is not fair, but I guess, if you cannot beat them, join them! ;) On the bright side, I will be more than happy to help my friends and students get tickets when I get my membership card, which lasts a year.....perhaps we can all go to concerts together!!.....Yippee!! :)

My friends and students know that I have been recently plagued by a current outbreak of acne/pimples....It's been 1.5 months now. I finally decided to go to the doctor's! :) (I do not like going to the doctor's....like a little child, so it took some effort.) But, I am glad I went to the doctor's. :) Because the outbreak is actually bad....(and yes, if you were wondering, I have been feeling really butt-ugly and embarrassed)....the doctor prescribed me two weeks of antibiotics. I still do not really know the cause of the outbreak....maybe it's the make-up remover or the conditioner.....but the doctor said that perhaps it's because my immune system is low and suppressed recently. He said to take it easy and not stress out too much. I certainly am not going through hormonal changes: puberty/menopause. Haha ;) However, I do not consciously feel stressed out more than usual these past 1.5 months. But perhaps sub-consciously I do?!? I find it difficult to decode how I feel a lot of the time....it takes time for me....perhaps it will dawn on me sometime much later ;) Haha ;) Anyway, hope the antibiotics work. :) I hope to feel prettier and happier soon ;) Sigh.....however, it's nice that friends accept you for who you are, butt-ugly or not butt-ugly...... ;) Thanks :)

Teaching Break May 9 - May 14

2009-05-06T13:23:00.009+08:00

There will be a piano teaching break from May 9, 2009 to May 14, 2009. I will be relaxing, practicing the piano, and listening to music, reading etc during the break! I am looking forward to the relaxing days coming up! :)

My students did well for the February/March ABRSM Practical Exams. :) However, the ABRSM theory results are not out yet....that is taking quite a while isn't it? ;) Thank you to Mr.&Mrs. Ang, Ling Kee & Kar Leong for the beautiful presents below:

Ling Kee passed his Grade 7 ABRSM piano exam after much hard work. Congratulations!! :) I am very happy to know that he will continue with his music/piano education, undertaking the challenges of Grade 8! :) Thank you very much to the Ang family for their sweet thoughts, kindness and presents! I appreciate them lots. :) Thank you! :)

Mother's Day is coming up! I do not know what exactly to get for my mum, but I got her some Japanese sweet potatoes, which she loves, from Isetan. :) I also attempted a little card for her:
To all the mothers and mothers-to-be out there: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! :) Have a beautiful day! ;) Smile lots! :)

Indonesian Music & Dance Evening; March 21, 2009

2009-03-24T15:13:00.007+08:00

Pictures.... :)

Funny Teaching Habits ;)

2009-03-10T14:36:00.003+08:00

ABRSM Theory Exams are coming up on March 14, 2009. And recently students were busy with their school exams, which had just ended, so last Saturday, many of them have not yet fully finished revising for their upcoming theory exams . Therefore, as a responsible teacher, I chided/scolded a few of my students for not being better prepared for their upcoming theory exam, as evidenced in their sample test papers, emphasizing that they have to be more thorough and careful in their revision and during their exams. And although it is clear that my students realize the seriousness of the situation, and I have no doubt that they will do wonderfully in their exams that day in the end, they could not help but giggle embarrassingly when I scolded them. I found that amusing. ;) It's good that none of them cried, which could have been an alternative reaction. I supposed that I perfected the art of scolding effectively with a smile....ha ha ;) It's also wonderful that I have such mature-thinking, understanding and responsible students. :)

Another funny habit that I seem to have is calling my students "dear" in a very strict edgy tone of voice, when they are not perhaps fully paying attention during their lessons, and I want their full attention. It usually works, and because they sense something is amiss, they start to pay attention....The term "dear" is certainly more polite than "heeey" etc to me, and when I am absorbed in teaching/explaining something, "dear" just comes more fluently than names. Besides, I really do love my students! :)

Talking about love. Somedays, I simply cannot keep my hands off my piano keys. I play and demonstrate to students of all levels how musically amazing I think their pieces are. By sharing with them my sound world, it really helps the students a lot in their playing and understanding of their pieces. Words like "crescendo", "sweetly", "peacefully" etc, though useful, just cannot fully describe the intention and beauty of music. Last Sunday was one of these days. I must have been really enthusiastic in elucidating the beauty of a Mozart sonata to the student because she suddenly asks me if music were my greatest love. I gave a simple enthusiastic answer "YES!" The question that followed was most adorable....She asks if I love music more than my parents. I was surprised and amused, and answered that there are different types of love that can be at equivalent levels. I said that love for music is different from love for my parents, is different from love for my future boyfriend/husband, is different from love for my friends etc. This student has a most sweet view of the world. I find it really relaxing and touching a lot of the time conversing with children because they are so uncomplicated, sweet, honest, kind, and without hidden intentions.

What a nice teaching weekend! :)

An Evening of Indonesian Music & Dance

2009-03-10T14:33:00.001+08:00

Ubud; February 2009

2009-03-04T12:17:00.007+08:00

I enjoyed tremendously the trip to Ubud, Bali. :) I went with the NUS gamelan group which I participate in. Basically, we had group practices learning Balinese gamelan every morning, and in the afternoon I had gender wayang lessons, and in the evening we would go watch performances. I wish I had time to take Balinese dance lessons too, but perhaps another time. :)

Balinese gamelan music is faster in general than Solonese gamelan music. It has kotekan/interlocking. I was at the reyong for one of the Gilak pieces we learnt, and it was really fun! However, I hope that the teachers we had, Mas Kadek and Mas Wayan, were not too exasperated with my not-so-quick speed of learning the polos part for the interlocking. They were really patient, and never gave up on me. :) I finally got my polos part in the end by heart. Somehow, my musical brain fixes itself automatically with time and patience. However, it wasn't actually that musically difficult nor fast....blush blush....haha ;) Thomas, who was playing the sangsih part, got it so much quicker, and he is great at rhythmic notation! My rhythmic reading/notation is as wonderful as my number conceptualization. ;) The gender wayang lessons were interesting too, except that my brain shut down completely on the third day of intensive lessons....haha....I do not remember a thing now, and I only had to learn the polos part.....Yikes I hope Jan, who learnt both the polos and sangsih parts much faster than I did, is not reading this....we are suppose to play one of the pieces for the upcoming March performance....hopefully my brain will fix itself before then ;) I wish I had time to learn dance. ;)

It was all rather sad when it was all over, and it was the last day of lessons. The teachers gave us each a CD of rebab and suling playing as a souvenir. How sweet ya? I must remember to obtain their e-mails from Precious, my wonderful roommate, and e-mail them to say thank you. :) They are really friendly. :) I notice that in Bali, circular breathing is used to play the suling.

Besides all the amazing music, culture, dance, musical learning etc, we had some time to do some sight-seeing. I loved the Monkey Forest and Pura Ulun Danu. The monkeys in the Monkey Forest are really adorable and very gentle. They seem to be posing for the cameras at times. :) Most sweet! Pura Ulun Danu is beautiful! Except that I had car sickness getting there...thank goodness I had only eaten a little for lunch. When we were at Pura Ulun Danu, it was raining, and due to the elevation, it was cold. Since it was raining, it was muddy and a little flooded, so all of us were walking around bare-footed in mud......that was rather fun.....haha ;) We went to Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul too ;) I am not too great with the car-travelling thing....haha....although it wasn't so bad after discovering that sitting in the front seat makes it better.......but it was fun!! :) We also took a walk in the sawah. That was nice, not difficult, but it was a little tiring for me....and I walk very slowly......eeks I sound a little old.....haha.....We stopped at an organic shop on the way, and the salad and drinks there were amazing and very fresh! Yummy!! :)

As for the babi guling and bebek, which is the famous food in Bali, they were yummy too. I do not drink coffee, but my friends say that Bali coffee is delicious too. I also did some shopping....got wooden cats for my piano students etc. ;) Bali is famous for celuk/silver too. I got a pair of earrings because mine dropped and lost itself as I was walking one day, but I think I am slightly allergic to silver. I love ceramics and pottery.....got a bowl or two.....they sell many green leaf-coloured ones there :) Got a piece of green batik........haha I guess I do like the colour green, don't I? ;) etc etc Anyway, shopping is fun as always, and shopping with Helena, friend/student, was fun. ;) Helena gave me a cat with bells which I now hang on my phone. ;) How sweet ya? :)

Nice memories...........I do want to go back to Bali again sometime! :) However, it is a very romantic place I feel, and I cannot help feeling that it would be perfect to be there with someone special and the memories created would be magical and lasting....just a thought ;) For now, I miss Sala/Solo.....I want to go back there to learn more gamelan, singing and dance....... ;)

Water Lilies by Sara Teasdale

2009-03-04T12:14:00.000+08:00

If you have forgotten water lilies floating
On a dark lake among mountains in the afternoon shade,
If you have forgotten their wet, sleepy fragrance,
Then you can return and not be afraid.

But if you remember, then turn away forever
To the plains and the prairies where pools are far apart,
There you will not come at dusk on closing water lilies,
And the shadow of mountains will not fall on your heart.

Sara Teasdale

Bali; Feb 21 to Feb 27

2009-02-17T12:15:00.003+08:00

Dear Students, :)

I will be going to Bali from February 21, 2009 to February 27, 2009! :) Therefore, there will be no piano lessons during that time. I will not be checking my e-mail etc during that time either, but I will definitely reply everything progressively after I come back from the trip. Imagine the pile of laundry too.....haha ;) Thank you! :)

I will be going to Bali to learn some Balinese gamelan music and dance! :) I am really excited because it will be my first trip to Bali. Personally, I love the relaxed, stratified sound, and aesthetics of Central Javanese gamelan. The music deeply resonates with my soul. Balinese music just currently feels to me super-fast, winding, and never-ending, which can make me feel frustrated, although the skilful, accurate & fast kotekan playing never fails to amaze me. However, perhaps I feel this way partly because I do not yet understand Balinese gamelan music/aesthetics, so this trip will be really interesting, relaxed and fun. A good learning experience which I am looking forward to! Hmm......I would love to go visit Solo again sometime soon though...I loved it there, except for the no hot water bit, which is minor to me anyway due to my wonderfully organized girl-friend/roommate who brought a small water heater......hopefully the group will go there again soon....hee hee :)

Okay....don't miss me too much now ya? ;) Smile always :)

Love, Sherina :)

Happiness Is... :)

2009-01-20T13:36:00.011+08:00

Here's my short bit on happiness, inspired by a little piano student's poem on the same subject... :)

Happiness Is......

Happiness is the golden sun shimmering on rustling leaves being teased by the playful wind.

It is an iridescent rainbow of colours.

Happiness smells like jasmine wafting sensuously in the peaceful evening air.

It feels like a crisp cool night filled with twinkling sparkling stars accompanied by a full bright moon.

Happiness tastes like an unforgettable delightful surprise lingering on....

Happiness is simple hugs, thoughtful gestures, caring concern -- unconditional kindness.

It is a circle of friends. Fuzzy warmth.

Happiness is a myriad kaleidoscope of sounds.
It is the orchestral music of nature, of past/present/future civilizations & traditions, of eternity, of silence.

The trickling & gushing of rivers, the cries of birds, the chirping of crickets...
It is harmony.

Happiness is indescribable illuminating joy radiating forth.

Happiness is a generous sprinkling of mysterious magic........ ;)

Funny ;)

2008-12-26T10:09:00.004+08:00

Here's an e-mail full of jokes forwarded to me by one of my piano students. It is soooo funny that I thought I would share it. ;)

The Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, 'Please wake me at 5:00 AM ' He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM .. Wake up.' Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?'
'Yep,' the wife replied , 'in-laws'

WOMEN'S REVENGE
'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.
'No,' she replied, ' but my husband refused to come shopping with me,
and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN
(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root,
and still be afraid of a spider.

W O R D S
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, 'The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, 'What?'

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, 'I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. ' The wife responded, 'Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;
God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

WHO DOES WHAT
A christian man and his wife were having an argument about who
should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, 'You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.'
The husband said, ' You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.'
Wife replies, 'No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee.'
Husband replies, 'I can't believe that, show me.'
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says..........'HEBREWS'

God may have created man before woman,
but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! :)

2008-12-24T00:03:00.001+08:00

Just want to wish all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! :) I hope everyone's having a good and relaxing holiday season! :) I intend to practice lots, read, simply relax, and hang out with friends this holiday. I look forward to having a week of schedule-less days, doing anything and everything that inspires me at the moment! ;) I feel the festivity, although I am currently not in crowded Orchard Road. I was teaching in the Orchard area on Monday, and got home as soon as I could after a quick dinner, and it was simply too crowded and crazy....everywhere. There was also a traffic jam, and getting home was rather slow and stressful. A friend invited me to go feel the festive atmosphere at the Esplanade today, and I declined. Somehow, it might be weird, but I simply cannot feel the festivity when it is very crowded; it just makes me feel very stressed out. Perhaps I am not very tall [though not short ;)], but I simply cannot see what's in front of me, most of the time, in a crowd....nor breathe....haha ;) Yes, I agree that the lights and activities must be very attractive and fun though. ;) In any case, I thought Christmas is about family and home anyway, but then again, I am not Christian, so I do not know the correct answer. Perhaps it's anything you want it to be. ;) Any reason to celebrate is always very good!! ;) So, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all! :) May the new year bring lots of beautiful surprises and lots of happiness for all!! ;)

More Christmas Presents from Students

2008-12-23T22:52:00.015+08:00

Today, Tuesday 23 December, is my last piano teaching day for the year 2008. :) Below are more Christmas presents from my dear students. Thank you very much!! :)

Yummy cookies carefully baked and wrapped by Ee Meng herself. This looks so professional. ;) Thank you Ee Meng! :)

Belgian chocolates and card from Connie. The card is very sweet & thoughtful, and I love good chocolates anytime. ;) Thank you Connie! :)

This beautiful Jim Thompson hot-pink photo-frame is from William and Samuel. Yup, they are the most adorable pair of twins I have met! I would love to have twins, someday, if it happens, hopefully? ;) I love the card they drew. It's so sweet!! That's our piano space that they drew. They even drew the two photo frames on the wall, the door details, and yes, I usually sit on the left. Children are simply amazing! ;) According to Mrs. Jolene, they chose the present for me....children are very perceptive & naturally intuitive, ya? I love the colour, design and all....perfect photo-frame in Sherina's world. Perhaps the elephants will help my memory somewhat too. ;) hee hee ;) Thank you William and Samuel! :)

Thank you lots&lots all of you again! :) I feel so warm, fuzzy, and loved. ;) I appreciate it a whole lot! :) Hugzzz ;)

Ending 2008

2008-12-21T23:38:00.022+08:00

The year of 2008 is coming to an end! :) I will be having a one-week year-end teaching break starting next Wednesday, 24 December,2008 to Thursday, 1 January, 2009. I will be seeing all my dear piano students again starting Friday, 2 January, 2009. Time does fly when you are having fun. It's always very rewarding for me to see my piano students improving with time and effort, and to see the smiles on their faces and feel the enthusiasm, despite the hard work they have to put into consistent practicing! Yes, yes I might be demanding musically and in discipline, but I believe not unkindly so. ;) A little break from teaching is always good for the soul. ;) However, I do look forward very much to 2009! :)

Below are pictures of Christmas presents and travel souvenirs from my students & their parents, in order of appearance. Thank you very much! :) I truly appreciate and feel the sweet thoughts and efforts! :) Thank you too to all my students & their parents who have been showing kind, warm concern and understanding over my recent heart issues ;) I feel so very lucky to have such warm relationships with my students&parents, as well as such wonderful, caring students&parents. I am sure the upcoming little mending break will make it all better. Yes, yes I am very much human and very feeling. And actually I believe that my playing and interpretations of pieces reflect that aspect of me as well. Thank you to all my students & their parents!!

This Chinese fan is from Ruiyee, who got it for me in her recent school trip to Suzhou/Hangzhou. I miss Shanghai/Suzhou. Thank you Ruiyee! :)

This box of chocolates is from Michelle and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Hong Kong. Michelle looked so very happy and refreshed after her trip. :) Hong Kong seems to be a very popular destination for my students this year. Thank you Michelle! :)

This cuttlefish snack is from Yue Xin and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Taiwan. It's a specialty snack from the place they visited in Taiwan. Thank you Yue Xin! :)

This beautiful embroidered silk bag is from Connie and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Myanmar. Connie's mum has elegant taste, and she says that this bag will be useful for me during Christmas and Chinese New Year. Mrs. Lin is very thoughtful. I would love to visit Myanmar someday! Thank you Connie! :)

This perfume is from Helena and her parents. They are currently having a family holiday in India, and Helena says in her e-mail today that she has ridden a camel, and it's, quote, "FREAKY-FUN"! That's an interesting way to describe the experience, with alliteration device thrown in as well. ;) I would love to visit India someday too. Thank you Helena! :)

These calming incense are from Kelly and her parents. Calmness is always a virtue. ;) Thank you Kelly! :)

These dainty, quaver, Moshi Moshi earrings are from Wende and my friend, Yee Jiun. These must be every piano teacher's dream earrings, with all the blink-blink included. ;) Thank you Wende and Yee Jiun! :)

These soft towels and cute cupid are from Ling Kee and his parents. The cupid reminds me of one of my friends, Thomas Manhart and his recent post on Facebook...hee hee ;) Thank you Ling Kee! :)

Thank you very much once again to all my wonderful students & their parents! :) I very much appreciate all the sweet thoughts, love and concern. :) I love you all! :) Thanks lotsy ;)

Monday & Memories

2008-12-03T00:15:00.003+08:00

Yesterday Monday, 1 December 2008, was such a beautiful warm day! :) Bright and sunny! :) I woke up to crickets chirping, and I teach a old colonial house at Nassim on Mondays where there are a lot of trees and fresh air (no air-conditioning :)) , and the crickets were chirping there too that day. ;)

I like the sound so much because it reminds me of my childhood in Beijing, where my father was sent to work. So I spent a good part of my childhood in Beijing. We used to live outside the city, in the countryside, where it was more peaceful, and the air was cleaner....although at that time the air in Beijing was pretty polluted too, but mainly because of coal-burning, industry, and sand-winds from the North. One of my favourite memories of Beijing were the tall trees that had leaves shimmering and rustling in the winds during summer, accompanied by the crickets chirping, under the glorious golden warm sun. The leaves really do shimmer....I do not know what species of trees they are, but I haven't seen them in Singapore. The rustling sounds they make were really beautiful too. Throughout Monday I kept thinking how I miss those childhood days.....

Back Teaching

2008-11-21T17:59:00.002+08:00

Yup! I am back in Singapore after my one week break in Solo, Indonesia. Time passes too fast ;) There were so many e-mails to catch up on etc. :) I tuned my YUS5 piano last Thursday too, so it is more in tuned now. :) I hear that pianos start to go right out-of-tune immediately after it's tuned....it's just less out-of-tune.....Reminds me of what I learnt as a child about Brownian motion and how order tends towards disorder, and energy must be put into the system to reverse disorder into some order etc....haha ;) Funny, I have a image memory of that particular page still......the weird things that I remember, and all the things that I wish I can remember but I cannot seem to, and all the things that I wish I do not remember........ ;) Memory/life works in magical ways which no one can fully understand perhaps..... ;)

Surakarta, Indonesia

2008-10-24T15:25:00.004+08:00

I will be in Surakarta, Indonesia from 25 October 2008 to 1 November 2008 for a one-week gamelan study/performance trip! I am very excited! :) It will be a nice short break from my cyclical, full teaching schedule, and I am sure I will come back refreshed.....and hopefully so will my students after a one-week break!...hee hee ;) Since Singapore is rather small, I believe that it is always refreshing to travel out of Singapore once in a while to "see the world" ;) Yippee~~

Thank you to Sze Wing, my student, for the hairpin....I still haven't figured out how to bun my hair yet.....I always love Sze Wing's beautiful and fashionable hairbuns.....Also, Congratulations Sze Wing on passing your ABRSM Grade 8!! :) Continue practicing hard for your Diploma! ;) Hee hee ;)

Tonight I will be attending Murray Perahia's piano concert after my piano teaching!! I am soooooo very excited!! :) However, I am a little stressed because I will have to wake up in the wee hours the next morning to catch my flight to Surakarta. I have finally finished packing though! :) Yes, a very stressful schedule, but I simply haaaavvveee to attend Murray Perahia's piano concert!! ;) Sooo excited! :)

The Meaning of Education???

2008-10-02T17:27:00.006+08:00

A university student who has recently happily completed her ABRSM Grade 8 examinations was very excited to start on new repertoire to work towards her DipABRSM in two years. However, a week into her new start, she came to her piano lesson, saying to the effect that her university friends questioned the value of her practicing and attempting to progress towards her DipABRSM, stating that she will be graduating from NUS with a BA in a year, and thus they see not much of a point to investing so much time, effort, and money into getting a DipABRSM. The word used was that it is a "waste". I was simply absolutely shocked! Perhaps not having had the bulk of my education since young via the Singapore education system, I am not quite attuned to the meaning of education here. Moreover, this is not the only incident whereby the meaning of education in Singapore has surprised me and left me very puzzled.

Basically, in the incident mentioned above, education is equated specifically only to monetary value/opportunity/gain. My reply to the university student was that she has to make choices for herself, in that it is not compulsory at all to do DipABRSM. It is fair that different people have different goals, and some do obtain a Diploma for the sake of certification, which might have positive monetary consequences. For others, it is an opportunity that not everyone has in life to discover music and discover oneself/happiness through music, for the sake of knowledge/music, curiosity and to live a full, varied, enriching life that just does not focus solely on money or the obtaining of money.

I went on to say further that the value of any good education in any field is priceless. The value of a good education is not only to be a huge storage for a vast amount of information in the field that one chooses, or only to be an expert in a particular field (two-dimensional human being), but very importantly, a good education will bring out universal useful/positive life skills and hone critical/analytical thinking skills, which are universally applicable and transferable to whatever one may choose to pursue in life (three-dimensional human being). Life is a colorful, interesting journey, filled with potential discoveries. I believe that education is suppose to help the student understand/see the colors and potential. Sometimes in life, one might not end up specializing in what one studied, but with a good education, one should be empowered with positive life-skills to deal with the choices one has made in life.

I have piano students and parents that tell me that piano education is positive factor in their lives. Piano performance requires, thus cultivates patience, discipline, systematic/logical working-through of pieces, focus for long periods of time, calmness, confidence, among many other positive traits. Certainly, it takes commitment and treating piano lessons/practice seriously in order to bring out these positive traits in any individual. For example, an advanced adult student who has been with me for about two years now, keeps telling me that piano has helped her tremendously with her nervousness and anxiety, which affected her job, and basically her life. However, she is currently in her dream job with good prospects, coupled with greater confidence and much happiness. She has also long since graduated from ABRSM Grade 8, and is concurrently pursuing DipABRSM with her full-time job, which is not related to music. I am deeply very happy to see her very much transformed from since I met her two years ago. This brings me yet to another point.

I believe that the role of a teacher is not only to teach about the subject, but also to educate/mold the student as an individual, unique human being. For example, I currently have a student who has been stressed out about the upcoming "O" Levels for months. As a teacher, I truly care for my students, and I want the students to do well in whatever they pursue. This student has been regularly coming for piano lessons, even with his exams coming round the corner.

Firstly, it's great that he and his parents understand that life does not stop because of examinations. I cannot imagine a poor child doing nothing everyday, but sleep, eat, go to school, mug for months on end with the examination as the goal, with occasional time to play and explore. I seriously question its educational effectiveness and the psychological impact it has on a child.

Now going back to the main issue...During his piano lessons, I sometimes spend part of the lesson discussing with him about his "O" Level Examinations/goals in life, giving him advice about the psychology of taking exams in general so as to perform better in the future, and to help him understand that yes, he has to study hard for his examinations, but one is not an absolute failure if one is not the brightest in every single subject in school, which seems to be the general perception/trend here. Different people are experts at different things in life. Everyone is unique. For example, if a child is not great at mathematics/science, but excellent in the humanities, the child should be considered as intelligent as one who is not great at humanities, but excellent in mathematics/science. (However, I am often told that the "science stream" is a privilege and only open to those considered capable, not necessarily to those who are simply interested/willing to seriously learn. If the child is excellent in and loves the humanities, and mediocre in mathematics/science, but "privileged" enough to enter the "science stream", then what happens?) If the child is excellent in all subjects, success in life or living a fulfilling life is not necessarily guaranteed either. Life is always filled with exam-like situations and discouraging moments, and one must have the courage to do what thinks is correct and very importantly persevere towards one's goals/beliefs. There will always be someone out there brighter/smarter than you, but what does it matter?

Some who has read this far might start to think that spending part of piano lesson talking about anything other than piano/music during piano lesson is a total waste of time! I strongly disagree, going back to the meaning of education and what it means to educate. I feel that the student feels more encouraged and more positive about his future and intelligence, after our discussions. He leaves with a lighter heart and a greater fighting spirit to do outdo himself in whatever he endeavors. I truly believe in this student's intelligence. It is evident in his attitude towards life & people and personality, something that an exam cannot evaluate. Certainly, he is not a straight A student, but he tries his best, and has strengths in many subjects. He always treats piano lessons seriously, tries his best at piano, and is talented at it as well. As a teacher, I care for the student as a whole, and I have tried to give what I believe to be truly meant by an education, in addition to musical knowledge.

Certainly it takes a lot of trust and effort between the student, student's parents and teacher to develop a student-teacher relationship as evidenced above. It takes years. However, I believe that the relationship and education that result are priceless.

During examination periods, I certainly would like the student to learn, but not be stressed out by their piano lessons. Also, because the above student and his parents are not after certification solely for the sake of certification, it is great that I have the opportunity to introduce, discuss, and listen to numerous piano pieces with the student during lessons, so that he better understands/comprehends the huge exciting, varied piano repertoire out there, waiting to be explored, as well as the various pianists & their styles. This activity is certainly not required by ABRSM examinations and it is a minute percentage of the aural component in ABRSM examinations, but I believe it to be a necessarily component of a music/piano education. It is what I call the "see the world tour" in piano music. ;)

Having said all these, I have also met parents who think that piano teachers can fix any child lacking in discipline during piano lessons. I believe this view to be erroneous. I believe that only the parents can truly instill discipline & respect for teachers in the child. Logically, if the child does not listen to his/her parents, it is highly unlikely that the child will listen to the teacher. If the child chooses not to do his/her homework or practice due to lack of discipline or respect for the teachers, piano teachers cannot, and should not, be expected to perform miracles either during the usual once-a-week lessons. However, the teacher can definitely successfully support the parents and work together with the parents in educating the child, by reinforcing the concept of discipline in a child during piano lessons.

Okay I better stop myself from writing a thesis about piano education........I have too much to say, but I think that's enough for now. ;)

Thank you! :)

2008-10-01T23:06:00.006+08:00

I have been meaning to post this for a long time! ;) Thank you to Mrs. Wong and my student, Nicole for these yummy and pretty mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival! :) The flavours including sesame, durian and raspberry cheese are very interesting and innovative. ;) Nicole is very persistent when it comes to the piano. However, I am constantly amaze at how fast she can devour a story book! I hear that Nicole is an avid reader, and can stay up all night to read non-stop, finishing a thick story book in one weekend! ;) Wow! ;) Thank you Mrs. Wong and Nicole!! :) For this Mid-Autumn Festival I went with my parents to the Chinese Garden to watch the lighted-lantern-display. The entire garden was basically filled with Hello Kitty & Friends characters. I enjoyed the atmosphere...ramai sekali. :) However, I wished that the lanterns were more varied in design and more traditional. But the children out there must have loved it, especially the Hello Kitty fans! :)

This bouquet of pretty roses are from Jarryl for Belated Teachers' Day! :) I love the colour combination and the presentation...it is very sweet. The roses are not real, but a student who saw it displayed at the table beside the piano thought that they were and went to have a closer look, commenting on how pretty they were. Jarryl is a very intelligent child. Although he is only 6 years old, he understands concepts and ideas very quickly and has an instinctive approach at the piano. Recently, Jarryl has taken to practicing the piano everyday, with the wonderful support of his mother, and thus has become more patient/focused, improving a lot. I hope that this positive trend will continue. :) Jarryl is very sweet and enthusiastic. It is fun teaching him. :) Unfortunately, nowadays many children are distracted by computer games. The computer is certainly useful and fun, but as a piano teacher, I find that children who play a lot of computer games tend to have shorter attention spans and have less ability to focus for long periods of time. Perhaps it is because computer games provide a high level of stimulation and engagement regardless of the situation. Playing the piano requires accuracy, a high level of focus and long attention spans. It is like a sport in some ways. ;) However, understandably, computer games for children are unavoidable and are a sign of the times. ;) Thank you Mrs. Cheryl and Jarryl!! :)

This pretty can of Japanese tea is from Grace Ng. Grace is a working adult who is taking ABRSMDip piano lessons. She was sent by her company for a short overseas trip to Japan, and she got me this with other snacks, which I so quickly consumed that I didn't have the opportunity to take pictures of them....hee hee ;) Japanese snacks/foods tend to be delicious and really pretty ;) I love Sencha! :) I wonder how Grace knew ;) I even named my Fluff Friend Frog on Facebook "Sencha". ;) I wish I could be sent overseas in my job. It must be really exciting and fun. :) I love to travel. I find Grace amazing in that she is very disciplined, balancing work and piano. She is not at all anxious to just play through/learn the notes as quickly as possible. She is very patient, systematic and logical in her learning. She would patiently repeat sections several times with me correcting, in order to fully understand my corrections and suggestions, so that by the end of the lesson, although she had only worked on a section of the piece, she fully understands/remembers what she needs to do during her own practices. Grace would work through all her pieces that way, accumulating section by section of music, and although it might seem slow, it is actually a most fast and most effective, thorough way of learning. It is most enjoyable teaching Grace, and I believe that she has improved a lot in her understanding of her pieces. She practices seriously, takes her lessons seriously, and she is very musical, and she asks logical questions during lessons. It's great to work with a student who is concerned about the details in music. Details in music are highly important...music is not just a collection of notes. It is also great that Grace is unfazed by how difficult a piece might seem, choosing the pieces in the exam repertoire list that are not only technically achievable for her after much hard work, but also appeals to her. It always amazes me whenever I teach such a motivated and musical student, and further more a non-music major! It makes me happy to know that there are students out there who learn music for the sake of music, with the certificate as an added bonus, but not the only main focus. ;) If Grace is so disciplined and serious at the piano, I imagine she must be most excellent and wonderful in her job!! ;) Amazing....Thank you again Grace!! :)

Feb/March 2009 ABRSM Practical Exams

2008-10-01T12:20:00.003+08:00

The ABRSM sign-up for Feb/March 2009 practical exams are currently ongoing. I have already signed up for the students in my studio. :)

Technically, parents can sign their children up for exams. However, as a responsible teacher, I strongly prefer to personally sign my students up for exams, personally handle the dates, issues if any etc, so that I fully understand/know/keep track of the timeline/situation for each student, and therefore I can easily plan appropriately for each student, working together with the student towards the exam goal. Usually, a group of students would sit for exams at the same place, on the same date, and at about the same time because the teacher will sign them up as a group. After the exam, a student will usually tell me that he/she saw this other student(s) from my studio who was also there to take his/her exam. I believe that it is comforting for the students when they see other students from my studio also taking exams. Perhaps it's a feeling of positive comradirie, which is nice. :) In addition, the teacher can easily remember and keep track of the student's progress through the years. :)

I take immense pride in, and I believe that I am very responsible in presenting my students for their exams. I will always notify/call the parents/students on the day when I get notices/results for exams because I believe that it is very important to do so. Also, I am always super-excited when I receive the results/certificates in my mail. I would read the exam comments several times to prepare in order to help my students understand them the next lesson, so that the comments and exams are helpful for them. :) In the July-September 2008 exam season, students did very well, and all of them passed. :) Good job to my students! :) Happy Sherina :)

Selamat Hari Raya & Happy Children's Day!

2008-10-01T12:02:00.002+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya & Happy Children's Day! :) Today must be super-happy because the two celebrations fall on the same day in Singapore: October 1, 2008. It was difficult getting the candy for Children's Day this year for the children in my piano studio, due to the China milk scandal, which I find very, very sad and unscrupulous. :( One of my students told me that even the baby animals in China have kidney stones because they were fed the milk. :( Very sad.

I have been told that children in general love squishy, chewy, bouncy candies. White Rabbit, which children loved though it was traditional, would have been the obvious choice previously, but not anymore. Definitely NO candies/foods from China from me! So this year, it's bouncy Yupi gummies manufactured in Indonesia, and the much-loved Chupa Chups Lollipops manufactured in Mexico. :)

Selamat Hari Raya & Happy Children's Day! :)

Fee Adjustment November 2008

2008-10-01T11:02:00.004+08:00

I feel that it's been quite a while since my last post. Sorry about that. :) I was busy recently with the fee adjustment issue, which was difficult for me. If inflation did not exist, Sherina would not have had to deal with fee adjustment and money, which would have been great! But electricity and water is increasing by 20 to 21 percent, while transportation fees have basically doubled recently, not to mention the increase in the price of food, commodities etc....! Therefore, not surprisingly, some schools such as Yamaha decided to increase their fees by 10 to 15 percent starting October 2008. With all that, Sherina has decided that she cannot hold out any longer, and she has to increase her fees by 10 to 15 percent starting November 2008. It wasn't an easy decision, and I tried to be as fair as possible. I believe that the piano lesson fees are actually still very low and competitive, taking into account the high quality of education given.

The response to the fee adjustment has been positive so far. :) Parents and students expected the fee adjustment as a normal reaction to the recent steep price hike of everything in Singapore. Several parents/students/friends even commented that there is too big a fee difference between grade 7 & grade 8 because there is no difference in fees between grades 5 & 6, and a $5 (per month) difference between grades 6 & 7. That was my weird effort to keep the fees low.... Therefore, the suggestions have been that I increase grade 6 by $5 (per month) and increase grade 7 by $5 (per month), which will make the fee chart more normal....such nice parents/students/friends right?!? Sherina loves her students & studio and feels very lucky. :) I guess nowadays, $5 is equivalent to one meal at the hawker centre....I feel that the inflation this year in Singapore is just too high.....In any case, I will take the suggestions into serious consideration. Right now, I am happy with my chart, and will decide later. However, to be fair, no matter what happens, the existing students will certainly not be affected by this suggested change till they next up the grade next year. :) So don't worry. :) My perpetual obsession with fairness, but I am very glad that the fee adjustment is all over and done with. :)

A huge sigh of relief :)))

Music Education?

2008-09-09T12:50:00.002+08:00

One of my university friends on Facebook asked me if I thought music education to be useful/good/educational, and why. I replied YES, most certainly! :) Here is a little of what I wrote her:

Education teaches you to think. It is supposed to be an experience, which you learn from. And music gives you a creative experience different from other learning experiences. Thus, it teaches you to think in a different ways, which can indirectly help you, even if you do not become a musician. Moreover, you can learn to appreciate music and culture, which are reflections of life, and thus learn to appreciate life.....

I certainly do not believe that any education is about how much information you can cram/store in your brain (especially for examination purposes), although I do agree that it is useful to have lots of information stored in your brain. Education is actually supposed to teach you how to intelligently use the information you have gathered. In other words it is supposed to teach you to think creatively for yourself!, and be a good, contributing member of society, while living life to the fullest. I guess I am an idealistic teacher/person, but I think it is better to work positively in that direction in life, then not try at all. ;)

Thank You for the Roses! Exams, Concerts

2008-09-09T11:31:00.008+08:00

These roses were from my piano student Connie and her parents yesterday. Aren't they so pretty?!? Thank you!!! :) They were for belated Teachers' Day. Mr.&Mrs. Lin and Connie are from the United States and Connie attends the American International School, so they did not know that it was Singapore's Teachers' Day last Monday, until they read about it in the newspaper. It is very sweet of them to think about me and get me such beautiful roses! I appreciate the thought and sincerity a lot! I always really enjoy chatting with Mrs. Lin whenever I go teach Connie. She is a very warm lady with a very cheerful personality. It is also highly enjoyable to teach Connie because she is very interactive and attentive during lessons, and often has intelligent opinions/ideas of her own to share with me. I will definitely miss the family when they return to the States....

Just to side-track, the beautiful colour of the roses and the roses themselves remind me of the pretty Paul Smith rose perfume commercial I saw on TV Mobile. I find the perfume nice for a rose perfume, but a of friend of mine says that rose perfume reminds him of the Bandung Rose drink. That thought never occurred to me. It must be a Southeast Asian cultural thing. I didn't grow up drinking Bandung Rose drink, so to me, rose perfume smells like perfect roses. ;) Funny? Thank you Mr.&Mrs. Lin and Connie for the roses!!! I love them, and so does my mum! ;)

During my short break from piano teaching, I went to the ABRSM office to get exam information for the upcoming Feb/March 2009 practical exams. The sign-up date for that starts 29 September 2008. I will be distributing the 2009 ABRSM exam schedule to my students this week.

In addition, during the break, I also attended a Violin and Piano Recital at the Esplanade. I really enjoyed especially the performance of Allegrissimo from Sergei Prokofiev's sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in Fminor, opus 80. I love the sonata itself. It is however very sad. The performance was really well-received and the entire recital studio was filled. The duo was really together too! :) However, unfortunately, I think the colour of the piano was a little too muffled, which contrasted too greatly with the violin which had a much sharper, more vivid sound colour....haha....maybe I am biased because I play the piano ;)......but anyway, it couldn't be helped because pianists don't usually get to choose their pianos for performances! Anyway, it was certainly an enjoyable concert and enjoyable evening! :) The next concert I look forward to attend is the Murray Perahia concert happening on 24 October 2008! Go get the tickets now, if you haven't already!!! The tickets are really expensive though because Murray Perahia is really good, and the program which he will perform is really enjoyable and exciting too! :) I heard from a friend in Shanghai that he is actually also visiting Shanghai, and the tickets there are expensive, but not as expensive as Singapore! I wish I were in Shanghai! I love the Shanghai Concert Hall as well. It's very nice. ;) The piano concert I attended this year that blew me away was the one whereby Emmanuel Ax played Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor, Ops. 21. Not only does Emmanuel Ax have a stable and reliable technique, he also has a really rich and varied sound colour palette on the piano. It was REALLY ABSOLUTELY magical how he coloured and phrased everything. And the most amazing part is that it sounded absolutely natural!! I so much do hope that I will get to attend another of his concerts! I hope he does come to Singapore again!

Fun Musical Fact I Just Learnt

2008-09-02T23:41:00.002+08:00

"If you put on headphones, and listen to one tone in the left ear (say, 440 Hz) and a slightly different tone in the right ear (say, 446 Hz), then you will hear beating between the two tones, at (of course) 6 Hz -- the difference -- even though there's no actual physical interaction between the frequencies. It's all done in the gray matter."

Quoted from Darthmouth's Gamelan Listserve I subscribe to. :)

Music Book Shopping!

2008-09-02T22:51:00.003+08:00

I went music book shopping for my students at Yamaha Plaza Singapura today, since I am having a short teaching break! New stocks just arrived, and I was grabbing the more popular ones that always run out of stock for my students. Somehow, Yamaha Plaza Singapura stock out their books every few months and one cannot pre-order the books. And everyone seems to know when Yamaha new book stock arrives too! For those higher grades and diploma students, go get your scores now when there is stock! :)

One laments the recent closure of Sweet Classics, which used to be run by my friend Joseph. It was sooooo conveniently located at Shaw Centre. It also had a huge selection of books, which is great especially for higher grades and diploma students. One could also pre-order books and know that they will arrive very soon.

Today, I finally got my two grade 7 students their aural practice books with CDs! :) I waited and waited for a few months for it to be in stock and kept checking and checking! There were only a few of those left on the shelf, although they had plenty of grade 8, and none of grade 6. Another popular and much loved book by children is Ng Ying Ying's colorful theory books....those are also usually out of stock. I think they complement the ABRSM theory books very well, especially for students who need extra practice on their theory. :) I also got Tuneful Studies and Leila Fletcher for some of my younger students, which are now in stock again. I am very happy! :) I do not enjoy lugging all the heavy books all the way home and sorting out the payment, which is way confusing for me, but by buying books for my students, I know exactly what books they have, and I can plan their musical progress exactly, and think about it carefully while selecting the books for them. And no, I do not stock books like some piano teachers do. I believe that each student is uniquely talented. :) But that means that I have to go music book shopping often and hunt the books down, which is a positive experience anyway. :)

Yippee! :) I feel so accomplished today! :)

Thank You to My Dear Students! Love you all! :)

2008-09-02T15:20:00.024+08:00

I want to thank all my dear piano students for their well-wishes, kind thoughts and lovely presents for this Teachers' Day. I appreciate it all a lot. You are all very sweet and thoughtful! Thank you very much! I will always try my best to be the best piano teacher/adviser/friend! :)

Below are the gifts I got this Teachers' Day, in addition to sweet well-wishes :), in order of appearance. :) Thank you So Very much for your thoughts and efforts! :)

This is from Mrs. Viena and her two boys, Ray and Russell. The two boys are fun, and Ray has recently developed an interesting sense of humour! Mrs. Viena too is a very understanding and fun mum to be around! :) Yummy! One of my favorite chocolates ever! And I love Mozart, the composer, not surprisingly! Thank you!! :)

Next, this is from Mrs. Michelle and her daughter Kelly, who are also my most wonderful neighbors! It's great to hear Kelly practice the piano so regularly! :) I simply love honey! (I am a little bear in disguise.) And this comes with a nice beautiful comb, which I find fun to eat! Plus, I love Eu Yan Sang. I even signed up for their free membership for teachers this Teachers' Day. Thank you!! :)

This cute mug is from my friend Yee Jiun and her son Mun Tat. Mun Tat is a most conscientious and fun student, with a highly supportive mother, who plays the piano really well herself! I adore the story "Guess How Much I Love You"! I once read it in a bookstore because it was one of the books highly-recommended by the bookstore, and I thought it is a really sweet story and it is very well-illustrated. Yee Jiun tells me that they now have the story in four new versions based on the four seasons! I have got to go check it out! I love you guys too! :) Thank you!! :)

This wonderful box of yellow custard kueh is from Mrs. Wong and her daughter Rui Yee, who recently passed her Grade 5 ABRSM Practical with a High Merit and encouraging comments. Rui Yee always has good ideas and questions, and it is really interesting working with her! Congratulations and Thank you!! :)

This miniature violin is from Celine, a most enthusiastic and hardworking adult piano student who recently passed her Grade 3 ABRSM Practical with Merit. She has been improving a lot and has come very far. For those lucky children who have the wonderful opportunity to learn the piano when young, do treasure it and practice!...The music, skills and memories will last a lifetime and will be appreciated later in life. The miniature violin is a beautiful accompaniment to my piano, and it will be permanently displayed on my piano. :) Congratulations Celine and Thank you!! :)

Lastly, the box of one of my favorite Japanese chocolates is from Mr.&Mrs. Ang and Ling Kee, who is one of my oldest student, a student who started with me since I started my teaching career in 2001. Ling Kee has a lot of potential, and can go very far in music with lots of practice. He is very musical, logical, calm and focused. However, I agree that "O" levels is very important, and I wish him the best of luck in that!! :) I look forward to Ling Kee learning Tchaikovsky's Dumka, when his "A" levels are done....hee hee :) It's a beautiful piece, and I am sure Ling Kee will play it very well with lots of practice. Mr.&Mrs. Ang are also one of the sweetest, nicest and most encouraging parents I have ever met, whom I believe truly appreciate the rewards of a good musical education. I appreciate their kindness, support and thoughtfulness always. Thank you!! :)

Thank you very, very much to all my wonderful students again! I truly appreciate all your thoughtfulness and kindness!! I am really touched and thus super-happy!! I love you all lots too!! :)

Testing and Thank you Mr.&Mrs.Lee&family :)

2008-09-02T14:26:00.003+08:00

A few friends of mine have suggested that I set up a blog since eons ago. I have finally decided to try it. I am not sure how conscientious I am at keeping it up, but it seems fun trying. :) So here goes........Have fun reading! :)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. & Mrs. Lee and family for their support, and for their generous help and time in making and setting up my piano website . As you all know, I am very far from a computer/internet expert. The piano website could not even have existed without Mr. & Mrs. Lee, who suggested/initiated the idea, and then took time and effort to help me realize it, as well as upkeep it. Their generosity and kindness are greatly appreciated. I am very thankful, and I feel very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!! I wish Yan Hui the best in his studies and his upcoming PSLE, and Jia Ying the best in her studies as well! :) I will go visit you guys after the busy PSLE season! Good luck! Miss you guys! Thank you lots and lots for your continuous support! :)