Transcript of interview with Patricia Cheow (conducted by Amanda Lee), 26 January 2017, 7 pm, Serangoon Library.
Patricia is a 38-year old female Chinese Singaporean who is a piano teacher and intercultural trainer. Patricia does not listen much to English pop rock music. She does not think that the music is very attractive as it promotes violence and other very narrow-minded ideals. Patricia thinks that it expresses a cultural connection as Singaporeans import their music from UK, US, and Australia. She thinks this is why young Singaporeans are more Western-thinking than Asian-thinking. Patricia likes listening to Western classical music, and likes Chopin, Liszt and Mozart’s piano sonatas. She finds that this music is different as it makes the brains work harder as it has a lot more musical details compared to pop music. Patricia thinks that Western classical music is a global culture as it has spread all over the world. She thinks that although it is part of Singapore’s culture, it is limited only to the few Singaporeans who practice and appreciate the music. She thinks that it should be preserved as it still has great influence over the operas throughout the world. Patricia likes listening to Thai pop, Kpop, and Jpop music as well. She thinks that the music runs the same way as Chinese pop music. Patricia likes and listens to a lot of Chinese pop rock music. She finds that the music is very uplifting as a whole and has gained a great audience in China. Patricia thinks that it expresses a cultural connection of Singapore through the Chinese artiste’s or band’s country of origin. Patricia listens to traditional Chinese music and likes that it has instruments that the Western orchestra does not have. She thinks that it should be preserved and can be done so through teacher to student. She thinks that there is a cultural connection as people will associate the instruments with mainland China. Patricia liked Chinese crossover music and hopes to see more crossovers like these in Singapore. She thinks that it is a combination of both Chinese and Western influence. Patricia appreciated experimental Chinese music but did not like it very much. She thought that the piece would be a good introduction to Chinese instruments for the layperson. She does not know if experimental Chinese music expresses contemporary culture as she has not heard enough of this music yet. Patricia likes music by Dick Lee and enjoys the musicals by Wild Rice. She thinks that the Singaporean musical style consists of National Day songs. She thinks that these songs create an authentic feeling of group belonging as her expatriate students have remarked that they do not have similar songs for their country. Patricia does not think that Singlish comedy songs can represent Singapore as foreigners will not understand it and it is akin to a musical joke. She thinks that Singapore needs to select something that is on par with the other countries’ musical standards. Patricia thinks that xinyao was well-established in the older community in Singapore and thinks that it can gain an international reputation. She does not think that there is a musical genre that represents Singapore.
Patricia started learning the portable keyboard at four years old before switching to the piano when she was eight years old. She started learning the church organ in secondary school and played for weddings and masses. Patricia picked up the cello and double bass in her school’s Chinese orchestra at that time as well. However, she does not have the opportunity to play the Chinese instruments anymore. Patricia developed a greater interest in Western classical music in junior college when she had access to the music in her school library and could listen to composers that she initially did not know of. Patricia found that she had a love-hate relationship with the piano in her growing years. She had great ambition to learn difficult pieces but never got around to learning them. Patricia still uses these pieces as a motivation to keep moving forward. Patricia decided to teach the piano as she had a strong foundation of it. Patricia is motivated to keep on teaching the piano as she wants to show her students a great repertoire. Her approach to teaching is to have her students enjoy music and for them to be in the music. Patricia thinks that more students should learn the piano if given the opportunity as it develops the ten-finger coordination and helps with the brain’s processing skills. Patricia thinks that it is important for students to have an appetite for challenges and a willingness to expand their knowledge of music. She thinks that it is important that students have support from their classmates and religious community as they continue their music education, since she will not be there for them as their teacher forever.
“[I did not listen to English pop] – not in my teenage years and after, because I listen to more Chinese pop after that. Yes, and then it became Thai pop, Kpop, Jpop.”
“Maybe [English pop music is] with the influence of my children then I do the English pop. Ya, when they listen to something – but usually – I think it’s not very attractive.”
“And if [English pop music is] written, um, well, it attracts listeners. If it’s written about violence, about depression, it goes round and round a same theme, it does not attract me to want to listen to it more. And I think a lot of pop music, um, promotes that idea of what – a very narrow – narrow-mindedness.”
“That’s why we import all the English pop music. And that’s how we import the English language into our culture. And hence, our young people are more Western-thinking than Asian-thinking. Because how many people can sing the Asian pop in our country? Yes.”
“I like Mozart sonatas – piano sonatas. I listen to Bach’s baroque. Ya, whether through cello, or through harpsichord, through organ works – ya. I fancy that a lot. Some Liszt, some Chopin, and some Tchaikovsky. Ya. And because I play the piano, and I play the church organ for many years, I play for weddings and all. Ya, so the influence is there.”
“Western classical music is ... definitely a global cultural thing. Looking at ... looking at, er, European classics, that’s where all the classical music came from; from Russia, from France, from Italy. And it has spread all over the world. Even like in China, people sing classical works.”
“[Western classical music] has a strong influence as a global culture. In Singapore, we have a lot of children taking piano exams, taking violin exams. And only this group of Singaporeans has come into this culture. So children who do not take private music lessons are actually not in that culture.”
“If every adult has been educated with classical music, whether you have listened to it, whether you have attended, er, a Russian ballet work, you’ve exposed to all of Tchaikovsky’s, um, Nutcracker Suite (1892). And then you can show it to the children. And there – there is a direct connection without a – without another teacher involved.”
“Because pop music actually is very thin. It has just melody and harmony. And most have the same shape. If I have a melody, I can use any harmony – I can fit it in. But if we talk about classical works, oh, they’re all so different. And it makes – it makes the brains works harder.”
“[Chinese pop] is very uplifting. It has gained a great audience in China. And also, er, in countries where there’s overseas Chinese, like in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, er, Indonesia. You know, the overseas Chinese. But in China it has the greatest effect because it is their language and they have done so well.”
“Oh, I’ve recently listened to TFBoys with my sons. Very lively, very catchy. And the lyrics are very well-written, er, for boys. And it – when I listen to all their songs, it reminds me how boys grow up. And it’s definitely girl-girl song, so we tap into the – the psyche of the – the boyhood.”
“Okay. Chinese pop music – if it’s a China singer, it connects between Singapore and China. If it’s Hong Kong singer, it connects. Er, I ... okay. Say for example, er, Jay Chou, he’s Taiwanese right? So we connect more on Taiwan. The nationality has a great influence. Ya. It’s like if you say Jay Chou then we won’t think, “Oh, he is Canto pop.” We won’t think of that.”
“I always kept my Chinese proficiency, er, to a decent level. To the stage that where I can converse with mainland Chinese, and where I can type emails. So Chinese pop music appealed through its use of language. And then going into Canto pop – all that – it’s because it’s a shared linguistic skill with Chinese characters. As for Thai pop, er, Jpop, and Kpop, it’s because of the, er, music contours. It runs the same way.”
“I do [listen to traditional Chinese music]. Because when I was in secondary school, I was from the Chinese orchestra. And I was conducting it. I set it up. Er, I play the cello, I play the double bass. But I did have my hands into the erhu and the ran – the zhongruan as well, just to have a try.”
“Chinese orchestra music? Um, it has instruments that the Western orchestra does not have. Like for example the flute, the dizi sounds totally different from the Western flute.”
“We should preserve [traditional Chinese music], yes. Ya. Um, the only way to get people to like is only to have good music written for these instruments. And then when there are teachers to transmit these music, people will be interested. You can’t preserve it hoping that people will like it without the – without the mediums. Mm. First of all good music has been written for these instruments.”
“There is a cultural connection [of traditional Chinese music] by the sight of the instrument. But to take it step further, let the music flow in the communities. If people are able to find their way through YouTube, and if somebody recommends to them, and people like the music, they will listen to it again, and again. Because it – it fills the heart. Chinese music is unique because it uses the pentatonic scale which, er, something like Western music cannot replace.”
“I like [Chinese crossover music] very much. It is very ... er, okay – the music is definitely Western pop, but the delivery – it is done Chinese-style through the instruments. Even the cello sounded – was shaped like the erhu. And the hand-held sheng was very expressive with the crescendos and with the contours. And that’s something that the Chinese instruments can deliver.”
“[Chinese crossover music is] a combination of both. Ya. Because basically the music is not ... the music is not oriental, we can tell. But the instruments are. So it’s a fifty percent on each side. And – and then with the guzheng, the guitar and the guzheng, um, matched very well. Ya. So the timbre was very nice for all instruments.”
“I appreciate [experimental Chinese music] but I don’t like it very much. In my ... how I feel about that whole, er, extract ... it is very descriptive. I noticed the title was the silkworm. And then the instruments were actually playing solo from one to the next. So it actually features each solo instrument. So that is a good introductory actually for a layperson who has never seen an orchestra.”
“But the [experimental Chinese] music, er, is not something that is catchy. That kind of music is not sing-able. So definitely more difficult for the ears to catch. And harmony are quite, um, dissonant. And that creates tension for the listener.”
“I haven’t heard a lot of pieces like that for traditional Chinese instruments, so I can’t comment fairly on [it expressing contemporary culture]. Ya. Most of the Chinese orchestra pieces I listen are like – they’re written for the whole orchestra. They all play at the same time. Ya.”
“We like have the English, we have the Chinese, we have the Malay. Because I remember we had the Singapore Idols – the winners were Malay. So – I know special music was written for them. So that to connect to Malaysia and Indonesia. And actually I listen to that.”
“[Singlish comedy songs is] a musical joke. For private entertainment, private laughter, and private humor. Because that is something only the Singaporeans understand. It’s a mix – it’s a fusion of all the languages we ever speak, English, Chinese – okay, English, Mandarin, Malay, and some Hokkien. Ya. A non-Singaporean wouldn’t understand what it is.”
“[Singlish comedy songs] does not meet the world’s, um, it’s not going to gain a good reputation if you put yourself as a joke out there. And then where the other countries are not putting a joke out there, then we’ll just be making a fool of ourselves. So we need to put on par something, er, that – that comes with pride, ya.”
“In fact I have show our community – our National Day songs – songs like Home (1998), er, Where I Belong (2001). I think stars and crescent, Shine on Me (2000). I show all these to my expat kids when they do trainings with me. Because when they come to Singapore – and they are very taken aback. “Wow, you’ve got such nice music here. We don’t even have that for our countries.””
“[Xinyao is] very well-established in the older communities. Er, those in the 40s and 60s – 50s, they love it. Because it is like – it’s like – it runs in the blood. “We’ve got to have it.” It’s in the – in the Chinese community here. And the Chinese community already makes up seventy-five percent. Ya. So it takes root, ya.”
“I actually started at four years old with a portersound. So it’s like a portable keyboard by Yamaha. And then moved on to electone. So that is actually my first instrument. And when I was eight then my mom switched to piano because my younger sister was learning piano. So she made it easier – just go with the same teacher.”
“And then when I was in secondary school, I wanted to play the church organ. And that’s how I got started playing for weddings and masses and all. And that’s also the same time where I picked up the cello and double bass in the Chinese orchestra. Ya, so it was like different phases of my life I picked up and I developed different musical skills.”
“It’s a love-hate relationship [learning the piano], lah. I mean, primary school you get love-hate relationship. I don’t practice ah, it’s so difficult. But I had great dreams in the past because when I was a little girl I wanted to play big pieces like the Butterfly Étude (1836) or La Campanella (1851). You know you just go, “Wow, wow, wow.” But I – I never got onto learning that. Even until now as an adult, I will still listen to it but I wouldn’t purposely go and practice it. Because I still need that “Wow, wow, wow” factor to be my target. If not I’ll never move forward.”
“I went to [Junior College]. Ya, I went to Serangoon JC, I did my A Levels. Er, I did economics, business management, and math. Ya, but it was in Serangoon JC that I had the opportunity to listen to more classical music. Because it was a new JC, they had a new library and they had the Naxos collection of all the classical – and no one was there.”
“Then I went to organ music, it’s like “Oh, I realize a lot more. Oh I can change one piece. And then I can vary it, I can improvise it.” For example, a church hymn. I can make it more fanciful. And it enriches the whole experience for other people. So it’s like step after step. I got better.”
“There is only one piano syllabus for all exams. It’s really which student plays what. So I teach according to the student, and I’m happy that they are able to ... to master something and get their certification. Ya, because it shows them their worth as well. It’s not just like, “Okay, I have a – I have a job that earns me money.””
“What’s my [teaching] philosophy? They ... I want them to enjoy it. I want them to be in the music. And also for the music to be in them. It has to work both ways. Ya.”
“Basically we get the whole music lesson going first. And then – you know – as long as they can play and get things going ... they are young, give them reward – stickers. You know, it helps build little children up because they see it.”
“Most children don’t remember that they slough for it. They forgot – they know that they slough for it and so they remember the hardship. So they don’t – they don’t hear the goodness. So sometimes I’ll do recordings of them.”
“I did organize student recitals so they can perform for each other. But I think that freaked them out totally. They make so many mistakes. And then I take them out for concerts. Once in a while, like we go for band concerts, or we go watch other stuff, we go choir concerts. Ya, concert outings are fun for them. Ya. It’s just exposure.”
“[Singaporeans associate piano lessons with a] normal music culture that has existed for many years here. It is the good finger-work. It’s good for the brains. And it gives you certificates. That’s what parents think, ya.”
“Most children don’t come with music background. I – I mean I have transfer students, and then of course children who have no music background. And then some whose parents have no music background. It is a little bit difficult to get started. Um, there are more struggles.”
“I don’t give [the students] increasingly difficult pieces, like one after another. Because for piano students, every new piece is a difficult piece. The learning curve is always a very steep one. Up and down, up and down. Sometimes – and I know children don’t like that. They’re – they’re always proud of something they can play again and again and again.”
“If given the opportunity [to play the piano], yes. Develop the ten-finger coordination from young. Because it’s something that other instruments cannot do. You’re talking about – let’s say right hand, finger two and five. Left hand finger one and four. And you keep changing the combination, your brain has to be able to cope with it. The processing skills. Ya. Is much better – I mean, piano is better than playing the recorder.”
“There are many important things [for students learning the piano]. So – so hard to list them down. Er, appetite for challenges is one. Er, the willingness to go and listen to other players. Okay, what else is important the, um, having a circle of friends who also play the piano is important. Because that’s support. I always send them out. “Please go and play for wedding, please go and play for church. Please join a musical CCA.” So that they have extension, they have their own group of support. I won’t be there forever as the teacher.”
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