I am convinced that great teaching should provide not only excellent musical and scholarly guidance, but should also demonstrate a compassionate willingness to understand each student’s goals, needs, and aspirations. A truly great teacher extends continual support to each student, going beyond skill and talent to reach out as mentor, role model, and friend. It has been said that one can give to others only that which one has first received. I am so grateful for the deep devotion and limitless care that was shown to me by my former piano teachers and mentors.
As a teacher, I believe it is my special priority and calling to connect my expertise in music with my distinct cultural background. Taiwan, which I am proud to call home, is where I built my early technical and musical foundations through rigorous training in the most prestigious music schools there. Coming from the other side of the world to the United States as an international student opened my vision to new musical as well as interpersonal possibilities. It develops my creative thinking skills in performance and scholarly work while at the same time, deepening my awareness of what it truly means to be considerate of others.
In my teaching, I aim to nurture and develop the uniqueness of each student’s strengths. While giving lessons, I envision myself as a musical ‘doctor’. Students come to their lessons with unresolved problems, including practice difficulties, misunderstandings of musical style, a lack of imagination, or perhaps lacking knowledge of the historical background. My responsibility is to enable the student to resolve the problem with the right choice of teaching approach. Providing a range of resources, which include historical background, style, and significant compositional features, is a way to introduce influential elements in guiding students to interpret and appreciate the music that they study. Teaching specific technical skills and ways to practice these in application provides practical guidance to help them implement their interpretations. In addition to these, my own enthusiasm, patience, and supportive encouragement provide a learning environment that empowers students to persevere in reaching the standards that I set for them.
I am continually delighted to see my students’ growth. I believe I am able to influence them positively, challenging them to grow not only in their musical abilities but also to deepen their integrity as human beings. In my view, knowing how to enable students from diverse backgrounds to resolve musical problems while maintaining a positive, nurturing learning environment, is the art of teaching at all levels.
As a teacher, I believe it is my special priority and calling to connect my expertise in music with my distinct cultural background. Taiwan, which I am proud to call home, is where I built my early technical and musical foundations through rigorous training in the most prestigious music schools there. Coming from the other side of the world to the United States as an international student opened my vision to new musical as well as interpersonal possibilities. It develops my creative thinking skills in performance and scholarly work while at the same time, deepening my awareness of what it truly means to be considerate of others.
In my teaching, I aim to nurture and develop the uniqueness of each student’s strengths. While giving lessons, I envision myself as a musical ‘doctor’. Students come to their lessons with unresolved problems, including practice difficulties, misunderstandings of musical style, a lack of imagination, or perhaps lacking knowledge of the historical background. My responsibility is to enable the student to resolve the problem with the right choice of teaching approach. Providing a range of resources, which include historical background, style, and significant compositional features, is a way to introduce influential elements in guiding students to interpret and appreciate the music that they study. Teaching specific technical skills and ways to practice these in application provides practical guidance to help them implement their interpretations. In addition to these, my own enthusiasm, patience, and supportive encouragement provide a learning environment that empowers students to persevere in reaching the standards that I set for them.
I am continually delighted to see my students’ growth. I believe I am able to influence them positively, challenging them to grow not only in their musical abilities but also to deepen their integrity as human beings. In my view, knowing how to enable students from diverse backgrounds to resolve musical problems while maintaining a positive, nurturing learning environment, is the art of teaching at all levels.