The Advantages of Learning Piano from My Experience

          by Ching-Yi Lee Chien  簡靜儀   

Let me tell you my piano learning experiences before you know the advantages.

     I had learned piano since I was six years old. The reason for me to start my piano lesson is that I always follow my elder brother to his piano lesson. And after a while, the teacher had encouraged my mother to let me learn this instrument. Since then, I started my journey of piano learning and playing.

    The first piano teacher of mine who taught me how to concentrate when the time I practiced. The second one always encouraged me to memorize the script instead of looking at it. The third one was really a nice lady who tried so hard to let me understand the musculature of the hand and guided me to play the piano in a better way. The forth one was a genius by the time when she was a graduate school student. She always reminded her student that she had gotten her master diploma when she was only 22 years old. And because of this reason, she treated her student very strictly and tyrannically. For example, she would have woken you up for going to school and practicing piano at exactly 6:00 am by the telephone. And she would have waited you there at 6:30am. So, you really have to rush all the way to school. Then, you had to practice from the morning to the evening. This was what happened during my college’s summer vacation. And during the rehearsal hours if you stop playing over five minutes, she would have shouted very loud, far away from her studio. By that time, I began to hate playing the piano. I felt that I was coming to be like a machine. Fortunately, when I was in my third year of college, I had an extra piano teacher who came from China. He was a democratic supporter during the time of Ten-An-Men square event happened and is the professor of Beijing Central Musical College. And who had been graduated from Warsaw Music Academic School in Poland. He was the 13^th generation student of Chopin. I was very lucky to become one of his students.

He tried to over-shape my techniques and asked me to start from the very basic practices all over again. The method of using strength was so physically

natured. He told me if I want to play Chopin’s well, then I have to learn not only controlled my finger’s which included the whole upper part of the body and even the knuckles. Through the well controlling of the body and strength, we might produce the delicate sound of the Chopin’s composition. After two years of the strictly training from the teacher. I was able to play Liszt’s Concerto in e minor and it was really a big achievement. During my graduate’s piano recital, I play the whole 90 minutes, and no hard time of my hand at all.     

     Let me share with you the advantages of learning piano.

Examples:

1. You have to use the eyes, ears, fingers, feet and brain/mind on the same time.
2. A steady concentration may be cultivated.
3. You will have a competed sight-reading ability.
4. You will know your musculature well and use it correctly.
5. You will enjoy and experience the multi-culture through the different period compositions.
6. You never get bored, because the piano is your friend forever.   

And besides, I want to let you know how wonderful it was when you might use the strength on your own will, and producing the elegant sound of the piano by the same time. When you are playing the piano, you might feel you have the whole world and you are your own master.