Concert pianist with 15 years of experience, provides personalised piano performance and theory lessons!

Find out more about Moonoo

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  Although I started learning from a very young age, I first developed a passion for music in high school! Being around other pianists and musicians allowed me to listen to varied genres of music, talk about music and allowed me to go outside my musical comfort zone, so to say. Also I had a great, passionate music teacher. It was fun! And after high school, the memories still remain with me to this day and motivates me to keep playing and learning.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  Mitski. I love Mitski's songs so much that I think I could happily pick one, and have it be the only song I could ever listen to. So indie rock I guess!

• Explain to us the most difficult or 'riveting' lesson you could personally give to one of your students.

  The most riveting lesson I could give to my students is, after having perfected the notes and the rhythm, exploring ways to make the notes on the page sound more like their own, with their own unique flair.
  
  I could teach them the usual pianissimo to fortissimo so that they can express dynamics, the usual rubato, the usual dolce. And I would teach them to play it as the composer wrote them on the page. But in the end I can always hear them play it differently than how I would play. Still correct, but different. Like at that stage, they're really playing for themselves, and exploring ways that they can make the music sound amazing all by themselves. And then, it is riveting for both of us, when we go back and forth and discuss how the music sounded.

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  I own a Qudi, which is a type of Chinese flute, and I believe it is the most complicated instrument to master. It is similar to a traditional western silver flute, although Qudi's are made of bamboo, have no moving parts, and require a thin tissue like membrane film to cover a hole in the bamboo.
  
  And I believe it is a complicated instrument as there are only 5 static holes, but the instrument itself can produce two octaves worth of notes and half notes. The ways to produce said notes would be with complicated lip and blowing techniques, and very precise, very delicate movements of the fingers to produce semi-tones. Ughh. So far I can barely play 6 notes.

• What are your keys to success?

  My keys to success are to be extremely stubborn. Keep moving forward, no matter what. We want something, we don't get it and we fall flat on the ground, but the important thing is to get back up and keep moving forward towards that goal. Besides, the further in we go, we might even realise in the process, we never even really wanted that goal in the first place. It sounds kinda cliche, but it's really the journey that matters. That's where all the learning and struggling and happiness comes from. Learn to love the journey.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  Mitski- so that I can ask her about her writing process and what she has to go through to make her songs.
  
  Chopin- so that I can complain to him about how difficult his pieces are to play. And so that I can hopefully hear him play at the bar piano.
  
  And Freddie Mercury- so that the other customers and I in the bar can sing along to some of his songs.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your musical journey, or your days at 'music school'.

  The first anecdote that comes to mind would be a student who would not listen to anything I had to say whilst sitting down in front of the piano. No matter what techniques I tried, what games or treats or communicating I tried to use, it was obvious that he simply didn't want to be there and had no reason to listen when I tried to teach him piano. The anecdote here would be don't try to teach people who don't want to be taught. It's their journey, not yours. And you are there to help them, not make them.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I enjoy watching my students play. Having been in their shoes, it feels like I'm the one practising and I'm the one learning when they play, and everything I teach them is what I would've told myself back then. It feels like it's second nature to me. I'm a Superprof in music as when my students take their hands off the piano with a 'I give up' look in their eyes, I always somehow find the right words to tell them so that they keep playing.