The Wu family lived across a narrow alleyway from our backdoor. The daughter was a few years older than me. She was lanky and of a demure elegance, perhaps inherited from her Japanese mother. I went to their house with mom occasionally.
On one of these occasions, I saw her playing the piano. I don’t have any recollection of how and what she was playing. Curiosity and envy, however, drove me to ask mom for piano lessons. Mom tried ignoring me first. Then, she tried telling me how difficult it would be. Eventually, we visited the neighborhood piano teacher Ms. Lee. She told me to wait till after I turned four. We waited.
The first thing she taught me was to find that note in the center of the keyboard. For several days, I went to her place, climbed up the bench and found that note near the key hole. I played “Middle C” repeatedly until it was time to go home.
Then I moved on with rudimentary instructions. In those days, the common (and the only) piano method book for children was a simplified version of Elementary Instructions by Ferdinand Beyer. Divided in two volumes, it might have been adapted from a Japanese edition. There were color drawings on every page. In comparisons to the modern method books, it progressed much faster.
Ms. Lee taught me to always count as I played. Even now, I can hear her counting next to me. She was also careful with my hands. Mom would observe my lessons and sit with me when I practiced at home. . . She continued doing that for many years.
I was very good at copying what I heard. My hands were tiny, but my fingers were agile. Reading and following what’s on the page was another matter altogether. If I learned something wrong the first time, it was almost impossible to erase my muscle memories. Within a few years, I began to fight with mom daily at the piano.
Was it my pride? Or, was it destiny? I refused to stop playing the piano. For whatever reason, mom also allowed me to continue with the lessons.
Who would have thought that I would one day study musicology, dedicating my time to revealing the truth on every page of score? Who would have thought that I would one day become a coach, guiding singers to reproduce composers ideas faithfully?
I give thanks to mom for indulging me and for her patience sitting through my practices. I give thanks to Ms. Lee for opening the door to music for me. And, a big salute to Middle C.