"When I was a child, in order to cultivate my 'artistic temperament', my mother spent a lot of money to buy a piano and invited a teacher, but I really couldn't sit still, and finally said that I was born with short fingers, and I had to avoid practicing the piano, and now the piano at home is dusty..."
The above is the story of an intern friend in the "Guangshen Mother Circle", and I believe it is also the real experience of many piano children. However, the protagonist of our article today, Zhang Jiyuan Grace, has the experience of learning the piano is comparable to the network "Shuangwen":
The same is that no one at home understands music, her mother reported a bunch of interest classes for her, but she was out of control on the piano, every day at 6 o'clock thunder can not get up to practice, every day to practice for 8 hours;
At the age of 8, he won the favor of American pianists, came to Shanghai to learn the piano, and was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated Primary School with the first place, and after three years, he was exempted from the examination and went straight to the Upper Music Secondary School;
The piano is played well, but she obeys her mother's advice that "only by learning well in culture class can she go far", and has been admitted to michigan, Rice and other famous American universities with full prizes, and is now studying for a doctorate at Michigan State University!
△ Grace was admitted to the Sheffield Conservatory of Music at Rice University with a full prize
How did such a "pianist" become? Is it really by talent? What is the benefit of studying in the United States for her "artistic career"? What did her mother do right on her path of learning the piano? In addition, Grace will also share more of her own path to piano learning and the details of her application to study in the United States in the lecture.
*For ease of reading, the following is self-described in the first person
#01
I was not born in a piano family, purely because my mother likes art and music, I think girls should have temperament, and she attaches great importance to the cultivation of interest, so when I was very young, I was sent to participate in various interest classes, such as calligraphy, painting, ballet, of course, piano is the earliest start, but also from interest to my current career.
If you really want to say why you are passionate about the piano, you should be influenced by the videotapes of those celebrities playing the piano. At that time, when I was young, I thought it was cool to watch the pianists playing in the center of the stage in the video, so I also hoped that I would be able to wear beautiful dresses in the future, have my own audience, and become the focus of everyone's attention.
△ Grace took a group photo with Mr. Fu Cong after the master class when she was a child
I think that learning piano is actually quite compatible with my own personality, and it has also shaped me.
My mother hopes to use the piano to enhance my "temperament", in fact, it really has an effect, but I did not expect that while improving my temperament, I also gained confidence and generosity. As long as I was a child, I was particularly excited whenever I encountered performances, and the more the audience, the more energetic I became, and the enlightenment teachers at that time said that I was "crazy people". Seeing more, I have formed a personality that is not afraid of the stage, and I will be generous in doing things, such as meeting a master I admire, compared to twisting and not daring to move forward, I will communicate more naturally and generously.
In addition, probably because of studying art, most of the time I am a more detailed person, and I will pay more attention to my own dress, including some small things in life.
Grace poses with her mentors Logan Skelton, Robert Roux, and piano legend Peter Frankl
#02
I began to learn the piano at the age of 3, moved to Shanghai with my family at the age of 8, and studied abroad at the age of 16. For me, every time I change the environment, I am elevating and improving on the road of learning.
I remember when I was 8 years old, the enlightenment teacher had a very good couple, they were a Chinese pianist couple who returned from the United States, and the enlightenment teacher felt that at that time I needed to go to a higher platform to improve myself, so he introduced me to the couple. Going to Shanghai was also a coincidence, when the pianist couple was hired back by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, three days before leaving, they persuaded my mother to say that they thought I was a good material for learning piano, and it was a pity to give up and wanted to take me to Shanghai with them.
△ Grace began learning piano from an early age
What impressed me most was that my mother didn't close her eyes for three days in a row and began to pack up her things and prepare to take me over.
For her, she also paid a lot on the road to accompany me to learn the piano, but her concept is: how it will develop in the future, in fact, everything is unknown, but at the moment, if I make a decision to go this way, it will do everything to support me to learn the piano.
#03
In fact, during the time when I was studying the piano in Shanghai, I still admire myself in retrospect.
Basically, from the time I entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of 10 until I went abroad, I got up at six o'clock every day to practice. At that time, my mother would get up earlier to prepare breakfast and send me to school. Basically, it is two points and one line between the school and the family practice room.
In addition to the piano, my cultural class was also particularly good, and my mother said to me at the time, "If you can only play the piano, it is far from enough for the growth path." When the piano is practiced to a certain point, the more you go up, you need to understand the deeper content behind the art. If there is no culture class, do not understand the history after the repertoire, do not know the story behind the music, that kind of performance is also empty. ”
Many people will feel that on this path of growth, will I bear a lot of mental pressure from my parents. In fact, my family will never say something like "Mom and Dad have paid so much for you, you have to work harder", they will let me know that I am paying for myself.
Maybe I was also psychologically mature at that time, and I could see my parents' support for me on the way to learning the piano, so I made up my mind to practice well, with such a mentality, in fact, I would not feel that eight hours a day was a very painful thing.
△ In life, Grace is a girl who loves to laugh
Six years in the upper music attached small appendix, but also let me see more people who pursue art together, sometimes you feel that you have been very hard, but there are always people who work harder than you, never do comparison, as long as you work hard to your maximum.
#04
Wong Kar-wai's film "A Generation of Grandmasters" has a very good saying: "See yourself, see the heavens and the earth, see all sentient beings." I think that studying abroad is an opportunity to see all sentient beings and see the world. From the age of 16 to the Interlaucan Art High School in the United States, and then to the full-prize PhD, studying abroad brought me a broader vision.
Interlaucan Art High School, USA
Founded in 1928, the veteran College of the Arts is one of the best art high schools in the Nation, and more than 90 percent of its faculty have master's or doctoral degrees. Every year, nearly 500 talented and passionate artists from all over the world study music, theatre, dance, visual arts and more. There is a close-knit community of artists with more than 250 student art performances each year. Graduates travel to world-renowned institutions of higher learning such as Yale University, Rice University, Berkeley College of Music, Rhode Island College of the Arts, etc.
Whenever I reach a stage, I force myself to go up. Learning the piano is also the case, if you stand still, it is equivalent to regressing.
Many people have also asked me: Have you ever thought of giving up the piano?
Including after going abroad, when facing many uncertainties, I really feel physically and mentally exhausted. But the piano thing, after the original accumulation of the early stage, has become a habit of mine. Despite the many interesting things around me, I never thought about giving up the piano.
For me, what I feel most deeply about going abroad is the state when I play. Because I have accumulated a certain amount of repertoire in China, I have opened many solo and concerto concerts after going abroad, so I have accumulated a lot of performance experience abroad.
What touched me the most was the audience abroad, and when I played, I felt that they could all enter the state with me. The audience creates a better environment, and after the performance, they will sincerely express their ideas and exchange music with me.
For every art practitioner, I think the most precious thing is the "sense of resonance" with the audience, which is my encouragement, recognition, and belief in my insistence on learning the piano.
△ The University of Michigan Conservatory magazine documented the moment: Grace discussed his work with pulitzer prize and Grammy Award winner and renowned composer John Luther Adams
In Western countries, people's recognition and popularity of art will also be higher. Most American families have a piano, and art may have become a part of their lives.
#写在后面
Grace also has many experiences with the exploration, cultivation, and how to find love in art.
It is said that the twisted melon is not sweet, and parents should encourage their children to explore on their own, participate in the cultivation of children's interests, and guide their children correctly. In Grace's growth path, there is not only art, but also sports, history, food, tourism and so on.
As she puts it: "The piano is my career, but not the whole of my life." Cultivating diverse interests and hobbies allows me to better understand music and enjoy life. ”
△ Grace used the camera to record the bits and pieces of life
Not every child can become an artist, but art can certainly make us better and more comprehensive people. Quality education pays attention to the comprehensive development of "morality, intelligence, physical fitness and labor", so how to help children explore the "beauty of art" and cultivate personal interests?