Raymond is one of the most cheerful people we know – always coming to work with a big smile for everyone! We were thankful he took the time to answer our questions!
- When did you first start playing your instrument?
I started much later than most people, around the age of 10 years old.
- Who was your favorite piano teacher and why?
My piano teacher – Sophia Shen.
She was quite strict, especially during the preparation period for the examinations. However, it forced me to realize what I can do, and one of those things was to allow me to sing in front of people.=
- What made you decide to pursue teaching as a job?
At the beginning, I was thinking of earning some extra money during univsersity, and since I like to teach others, I decided to look for a part time piano teaching job.
After I graduated, I had a full time job but continue to teach piano as a part-time job. Throughout the years, my enjoyment of teaching has increased more and more with every year passing by. Especially after seeing how some of the students are finally enlightened with certain knowledge and skill.
As luck has it (good or bad), I had a car accident about 5 years ago which prevented me from finding a full time job. But, an opportunity opened up for me at The Piano Studio and now I have even more fun teaching.
- Do you play in a band/orchestra?
No.
- What is one of your favorite songs/artists/styles of music, and why?
I don’t have one favorite because I try to keep an open mind to all sorts of music, in order to expand my mind and explore other possible interests.
- What other interests do you have, unrelated to music?
I used to play lots and lots of computer games, from real time strategy games to RPG games. I also like to read novels, especially the ‘Fantasy’ category like David Eddings’ series.
- Did you ever think about wanting to stop music? If so, what made you continue?
I actually wanted to stop piano lessons after obtaining RCM 4 and at that time I was in Grade 7 in school, but my parents told me ‘Just continue with the lessons and you don’t have to worry about examinations or even practicing.’ By the time I was in Grade 8, my piano teacher told me about earning high school credits through RCM levels. The idea of earning extra high school credits peaked my interest and I started to pursue it.
- What is your advice to parents whose children are having difficulty finding or making the time to practice at home?
With everyone so busy these days, it is hard to find the time to practice. My suggestion would be, even if the student cannot physically practice on the piano, do a visual practice.
What I mean by visual practice is to take the music, and while looking at it:
- Imagine the beginning hand position and pretend there is a piano in front of you and put your hands on it
- Look at the key signature and figure out which sharps or flats need to be played
- Take a quick look to check where those sharps or flats are located
- Also, take a quick look at the notes with the fingerings written on the music because it usually means that you need to watch out for them (from stretching your finger to moving the whole hand)
- Finally, pretend you are playing the music with the proper fingers, rhythm, and any finger stretching or hand moving
- If you could learn to play another instrument, what would it be?
Violin. I did learn it for 3 years after obtaining my Piano RCM 9 but had to stop because of university. If possible, I would like to slowly get back into it.
