Flora continues to teach piano at The Piano Studio on Saturdays, while attending Teacher’s College during the week. We are grateful for her commitment! Flora is also one of our trained and certified Yamaha instructors. Here are Flora’s answers to our questions.
- When did you first start playing your instrument?
I started playing piano when I was 4 years old and finished both RCM diplomas by the end of high school. I am currently learning the guitar.
- Who was your favorite piano teacher and why?
My favourite piano teacher was Ms Lin because she always makes her lessons fun. She gave stories to support the music pieces I played so I had a vivid picture in my head when I performed. As well, she helped and worked with me to prepare all my exams and competitions. She believed in me even when I doubted myself, and motivated me to strive for the best I can. I am very thankful to have had a wonderful and inspiring teacher like her.
- What made you decide to pursue teaching as a job?
Initially I never considered teaching as a job; I started because my neighbours heard me play the piano and asked me to teach their children. I realized I really like teaching, I was excited to see them each week. I am happy I can have a chance to inspire children to love piano as much as I do. Since then, my passion for teaching has continued to grow, leading me to pursue a Bachelor of Education at Trent University.
- What is your favorite piece to play?
My favourite piece is the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by Franz Liszt.
- Do you play in a band/orchestra?
I don’t play in any bands but I would love to if given the opportunity.
- What is one of your favorite songs/artists/styles of music, and why?
I listen to all types of music so it is very difficult to pick one song/style to call my favourite. My preference of music depends on my mood and what I am doing, so it changes from time to time.
- What other interests do you have, unrelated to music?
I enjoy spending time with my friends and exploring new thing; kayaking, rockclimbing, sports, the beach, camping, snowboarding, and board games to name a few.
- Did you ever think about wanting to stop music? If so, what made you continue?
I wanted to stop piano lessons around Grade 5 RCM because it started to get difficult and I felt unmotivated to practise. My teacher suggested that I sign up for some competitions to get me to listen to how others played and interpreted music, in the hopes that it would bring back my interest in music. It worked very well – apart from preparing for RCM exams I would also prepare for competitions in different cities. I really enjoyed being able to interact with other piano players and made friends with whom I still keep in contact. The competitions throughout the year gave me smaller goals to work towards and something to look forward to, rather than only working towards RCM exams year after year.
- What is your advice to parents whose children are having difficulty finding or making the time to practice at home?
My advice would be to hold mini concerts at home, where students can show off new pieces they have been working on. It doesn’t need to be a complete piece, but it could be something they are working on. When I was younger, my parents would ask me to perform one song after dinner and everyone sat around to listen. The catch is that I had to treat it as a performance, meaning there were no “re-dos”. It gave me a purpose to practising because I knew I would have an audience later on that night, and it helped me to make better use of my practising time. I would know exactly which part I was struggling with, and practise just that part instead of aimlessly repeating the song to occupy my practise time.
My second piece of advice is that practising does not have to be a set time, once. It could be playing 5 minutes, working on one song and then coming back to it later and working on another song for 10 minutes. It is more effective to do a little bit everyday versus doing 5 hours in one day. An average adult has an attention span of 45 minutes, so it doesn’t make sense that children are sitting at the piano practising for 5 hours and expect that time to be “meaningful, quality practise time”.
- If you could learn to play another instrument, what would it be?
I am currently learning to play the guitar, which has always been an instrument I wanted to learn. If I were to pick another, I would want to learn to play the drums.
