A Blessing In Disguise

Who would have known that it would end up being a blessing in disguise! Indeed, every dark cloud has a silver lining. When I lost my job during the Covid19 pandemic, I thought to myself; “Perfect opportunity to go back and learn music”. “But how?!” I wondered. The covid restrictions and of course the tough period financially made it seem impossible. I thought of many different ways of going about it and none seemed feasible. After some time, an opportunity emerged. I got to know Amazing Talker(AT)!

Initially I thought it was only a platform for teaching and learning languages until one day in the ‘popular new teachers’ section, I saw a Math teacher. I realized it was more than just a language platform. With time I saw other subject teachers in the section but the most exciting day was when I saw a Music teacher. I instantly saw an opportunity to go back to learning Music right in the safety and comfort of my house. This mode of learning was a huge relief in the face of my financial constraints, limited time and the COVID19 restrictions.

Despite the seemingly golden opportunity, I did not take it up immediately. I still had many questions. I thought:- “how am I going to pay for it?” “‘I need to invest in some equipment, microphone, camera… where will I get the money to buy all that?!”’ So, I kept postponing it.
Early 2022 came with good tidings. It was AT’s 5th anniversary and there were free trial lessons and discounts for a limited period. The trial lessons were very exciting to say the least. Towards the end I said to myself, “no harm giving it a try. I stand to lose nothing after all!”

I browsed through the Music teachers profiles and, after some consideration, I settled on Tr. Joyce. I contacted her to let her know that I was interested in starting lessons with her. She reached out to me to get to know my level and specific needs. She asked me a number of questions which gradually and systematically led to my areas of interest and needs in the course. By the end of my first session with her, I was convinced that I was making the right decision.The more she engaged with me, the more convinced I felt that I was on the right track. I was quite relieved when she told me my laptop and earphones were sufficient to start me off. That was a huge load off my chest! Well, at the end of it, I had pieces to practise and a trial lesson scheduled for early morning the following day. I tried to squeeze in time to practise before the lesson. After the long “lull”, the journey back to my childhood dream had begun! Not too bad given the short time I had to practise.

I was quite tense as I played my pieces during the trial lesson but she encouraged me and I was able to relax. It was a good first session and I looked forward to the next one. I realised I could learn so much from her: piano, composition, theory, …Excellent, it felt like a one stop shop for me.

Out of fear that I might fall back to my previous lull, I made a resolution to not find any excuse to cancel any of my lessons however unprepared I felt. I have, as a result, acquired better time keeping skills making me better therefore being best prepared during the lessons. My teacher on her part is always ready for me. As I write this, I can confidently confirm that my lessons have not only been productive but fun!

Teacher Joyce has been very patient with me, encouraging me all along. At first I thought it was too late to continue pursuing my dream any further. When I shared this thought with her she told me it was not. I thought she was just being polite and did not want to hurt my feelings.
Before re-embarking on my music lessons I rarely practised and when I did, it did not go past 20 minutes as I would get bored and tired. Being so busy made it no better for me. My childhood dream was fast fading but the void and the constant nudge in my subconscious gave me no peace. AT, through my new teacher, reawakened my dream and strengthened my resolve to follow the ‘better late than never’ option. 5 months down the line, I’m convinced that she really did mean what she said. It was not too late after all!

As I move forward from one lesson to the next, I clearly see my progress. It feels like walking up the stairs one step at a time. When I play a passage/ phrase in a piece or a similar one without struggling (where I initially did) I realise that I have overcome one more hurdle.

I graduated from practising for 20 min to one hour and I started to feel frustrated because 1 hr was not sufficient. I wanted to keep on playing but I barely had any extra time! Guess what, when I shared with her my frustration, she told me not to worry and gave me a number of suggestions to go round the time limitations. Surprisingly they worked! Teacher Joyce has been exceptionally supportive and encouraged me throughout my learning journey.Now, I can practise for 2 hours running and still have fun. For a long time, I was convinced that the pieces sounded better when she played because her piano was superior to mine, until one day she demonstrated by playing a piece exactly as I did; quite differently from the way she had played it the first time. Hmm! It was not the piano, it was the performer! I needed to up my game!

Learning a new piece is not as laborious as it seemed any more because of regular practice and the new ‘tricks’ she has taught me to apply during my practice sessions. Infact, I now enjoy learning new pieces more. I do not have to wait till the last minute to practise, after every lesson I am ready to start putting into practise what I have learnt. The most important thing is I get to enjoy myself even as I learn the piece!

I look forward to every lesson, and listening to her demonstrations. It’s so much fun to listen to her play. Looking back,I am not only happy but proud of myself. I am happy to have started this journey. It would have been such a waste to have ended my dream prematurely. I am grateful that AT provided the platform and this opportunity. Thank you so much to my teacher for the progress I have made. My learning journey continues…

我從沒想到我會因為疫情而因禍得福！
這就像是～每一朵烏雲的背後總有一線希望。當我在 Covid19 大流行期間失去工作時，我心想 『也許這正是我能重新學習音樂的絕佳機會』。『 可是我該怎麼做呢？！』我問我自己。
新冠病毒的限制，讓我的經濟狀況處於艱難時期，要重新學習似乎是不可能的。我曾想了很多不同的方法，但似乎沒有一個可行。一段時間後，機會出現了！我找到了Amazing Talker(AT)！

起初我以為它只是一個教學和學習語言的平台，直到有一天在“受歡迎的新教師”頁面上，我看到了一位數學老師。我意識到了ＡＴ它不僅僅是一個語言平台。之後沒多久，我又看到了平台出現了其他學科老師，但最激動人心的是某天我看到有音樂老師出現。從我的經濟問題、有限的時間和疫情的限制，我能在家以安全舒適重新學習音樂的機會終於出現了！

儘管看似千載難逢的機會，我並沒有立即行動，因為我還有很多問題。我想的是：『我哪來的學費呢？我是否需要投資一些設備像麥克風、相機等等，我哪來多餘的錢買這些呢？！』所以，我一直遲遲沒有行動。
2022 年初是 AT 成立 5 週年，好消息是學員們能有免費體驗課和限時折扣的機會。當我知道有這活動時我非常興奮！我對自己說：『免費體驗課耶！試試看也沒壞處呀！重點是免費體驗！』

我瀏覽了平台上每個音樂教師的資料，經過一番考慮，我選擇了 喬伊斯老師。我聯繫了她，讓她知道我有興趣上她的課。她聯繫了我！她透過問我一些問題與討論，讓我從問題中有系統地找出我在課程中感興趣和我真正需要的領域。在與她的第一次交流時，我就確信我自己做出了正確的決定。她與我接觸的次數越多，我就越相信自己走在正確的軌道上。當她告訴我我的筆電和耳機足以讓我開始時，我鬆了一口氣～我不用付出額外負擔就可以上課！在我們約好體驗課前，我需要練習我那荒廢已久的鋼琴，在漫長的“平靜”之後，回到童年夢想的旅程開始了！雖然我可以練習的時間很短，但我自認效果還不錯。

在體驗課上彈奏時，我超級緊張，但她鼓勵我，讓我得以放鬆。我們有了很好的第一次體驗課，我也期待著下一次課程。我意識到我可以從她身上學到很多東西：鋼琴、作曲、樂理等等！這對我來說就像是一站到底的課程，真的是太棒了！

我很擔心我可能會回到以前頹廢的狀態，我決定不給自己任何藉口，無論我有沒有準備好，我都不取消我每週的固定課程。也因此我獲得了更好的時間規劃，讓我在學習過程中學習到很多。我的老師總是為我做好準備。在我寫這篇文章時，我可以自信地說我的課程不僅富有成效而且很有趣！

喬伊斯老師對我非常有耐心，一直鼓勵我。起初，我認為繼續追求我的夢想為時已晚。當我與她分享這個想法時，她告訴我她並不這麼認為。我以為她會這麼說只是出於禮貌，不想打擊我。

在重新開始我的音樂課之前，我很少練習，以往我的練習從沒有超過 20 分鐘，因為我常會在練習中感到無聊和疲倦。也由於我忙碌的工作及無效率的練習並沒有讓我變得更好。我對兒時夢想似乎正快速的崩塌，但我潛意識中的空虛和不斷的輕推讓我無法擁有平靜的心態。 透過我在ＡＴ遇到的新老師重新喚醒了我的夢想，並堅定了我遵循『遲到總比沒有好』的決心。 5 個月後，我確信她確實是認真的。畢竟還為時不晚！

我從每堂課的過程裡，我清楚地感受到我自己的進步，那種感覺就像一步步走上雲端。當我彈奏一段樂曲或樂曲中的某一段樂句時（我最初是這樣練習的），我意識到我已經克服了我心中很大的障礙。

從原本只能練習 20 分鐘到目前隨便練習都很容易超過一小時，我開始感到沮喪～因為 1 小時的練習時間還不夠。我想繼續練習，但我幾乎沒有多餘的時間！當我與老師提到我練習的挫敗感時，她告訴我不要擔心，並給了我一些建議以維持練習效率。令人驚訝的是老師的方法真的超有效率！喬伊斯老師在我的整個學習過程中一直給予我極大的支持和鼓勵。現在，我可以連續的開心練習 2 個小時。我本來一直覺得老師能彈出好聽的曲子是因為她的鋼琴比我的好，直到有一天她示範了我的彈法跟她的彈法給我比較～啊！不是鋼琴好壞而是演奏者！我需要提高我的水平！

自從我有了固定練習和老師教我在練習上可以應用的新“技巧”，我學習新曲子不再像以前那麼費力。事實上，我現在更喜歡學習新作品。我也不必等到最後一刻才練習，每節課後我都很享受實踐我所學的。最重要的是，即使我在學習這首曲子，我也能享受到自己彈琴的樂趣！

我期待每一堂課聽老師的示範演奏。聽她的演奏真是太享受了！回首往事，我不僅為自己感到高興，而且為自己感到驕傲！我很高興重新開始了這段旅程。太早放棄我的夢想真是太浪費了！
我很感激 AT 提供了這個平台和這個機會。非常感謝我的老師，讓我進步很多！我也很開心的持續我的學習之旅……