My Experiences at Performances in Restaurants

By Regina Ngo
November 25, 2007

Just last week and today, our group, the Six Golden Flowers, have been extremely busy, rushing from one performance to another. It just so happened that our group had two restaurant performances – one on November 17th, 2007 and one today – November 25th, 2007. From these two days, I learned an important lesson that a musician is required to know.

At these two performances, the environment was very noisy. People were talking, walking back and forth. Cell phones were ringing, babies were crying. It certainly seemed like everyone had something else to do except listen to us perform. At first, our group was extremely upset. At today’s concert, our last piece, It’s a Small World, got cancelled because the atmosphere was inappropriate for music. We were all tremendously distressed.

Right after the performance, we had class at Ms. Liu (by the nickname of “Teacher”)’s house. We told her of our experience, describing the audience as “awful.” However, Teacher simply laughed and taught us a simple lesson:

“It doesn’t matter if people aren’t listening. Just play!
Pretend that you are practicing.
Restaurants are the perfect places to see whether your piece is ready or not.
It doesn’t matter if people are walking around, talking, or even not listening to you. Just practice!”

After hearing this from Teacher, I felt so much better because what she said made me feel that our performance was not worthless. I was even happier that I learned something from it! This is a lesson that I will never forget.

My Experience at the CCTV Competition

By Regina Ngo
October 13, 2007

On October 7, 2007, I went to Santa Clara, California to compete in the CCTV Competition Semi-Finals and Finals along with the rest of the Six Golden Flowers. Little did I know that it would be a wonderful day with many joyous events.

Upon arriving to the site where the competition was hosted, I saw the rest of the Six Golden Flowers tuning up. It was easy finding them because almost all of us were wearing our red uniform, since we were competing as a group. After giving hugs and greeting them, I went to take out my instrument and tuned it. All of the contestants drew numbers and we picked number 16 for the Semi-finals. Among our group, Virginia picked number 15 and Belinda picked number 1 for their solo pieces.

At first, I thought that I would only be competing as part of the group. However, at last minute, I signed up and picked number 6. I hurried and began to get my piece ready in the short amount of time that I had. I was so glad that I listened to Ms. Liu (by the nickname of “Teacher”) and Mom’s advice:

“Always practice all of your pieces—you never know when something special will occur and you need to play something.”

Finally, the competition started! I was excited for my friends as well as for myself. I knew we would play with all of our emotion. We were going to play Colors of the Wind and Battling the Typhoon for the Semi-Finals. After wishing everyone good luck, I sat down to listen to Belinda play Celebrating the Lantern Festival. All of her bends were perfect and taking into account that she had only had the piece for a short period of time, she did extremely well. When they announced her score, we all applauded loudly because she got a very high score. I think that she had to have a lot of courage to go first.

Later on, Virginia played Jing Gang Mountain. She also played very well; it sounded even better than when she played at the CPAA Competition. Her technique greatly improved and I was amazed at how fast she could play. When the judges announced her score, we knew she had also done very well.

I was nervous when it was finally my turn to play. However, to calm myself down, I thought, “You have played this piece many times. You can do this. Just play your best.” I finally got onstage and played Embroidering the Golden Banner. I bent the strings with all of the emotion I could send through my fingertips and I enjoyed my piece because I knew that if I enjoyed it, the audience would enjoy it. I knew that I owned this piece. It belonged to me. I think that I played better at this competition than I did at the CPAA Competition because I practiced for many hours, even though I did not know that I was even going to compete. When the judges announced my score, I could cry tears of joy. I received the highest score at that time.

Since all of these pleasant events occurred, I competed in the group competition with more confidence than I had the entire day. Colors of the Wind and Battling the Typhoon were superb – I was so glad that we all played with a great deal of feeling! When our score was announced, we found out that we got a 94.5% which was the highest score for groups in the entire competition.

Finally, the judges announced who made the Semi-Finals. I could feel the tension in the room growing. I knew that everyone was wondering, “Did I make it?” The judges went through all of the names and I found out that Belinda, Virginia, and I made it into the Finals for the solo category and that the entire group made it into the group category. I was laughing and hugging all of the other Golden Flowers, congratulating everyone.

We all went to draw numbers again, only this time, it was for the Finals. Out of pure coincidence, I drew number 6 again. Belinda drew number 8, and Virginia drew number 1. Our group drew number 2.

Virginia got an even better score than she did the first time! I was so happy for her and as soon as she exited the stage, I bear-hugged her.

Immediately following, the Six Golden Flowers entered the stage. This time, we played By the Butterfly Spring. This was my favorite piece and I was happy that we were playing it. Finally, the judges announced our score and we found out that we placed at the top. I was relieved and excited. Did we win first place for the group competition?

It was my turn again. I played with even more emotion this time because I was more confident. My group really made me laugh when I stepped onto stage because I saw them in the audience making funny faces to get me to smile. When I received my score, I found out that I got a 94.48%! I improved from the Semi-Finals. Now all I had to do was wait for the final results.

Belinda played after me. Overall, she played even better than the first time and also received higher scores. I was very thrilled for her.

The results came! We were all on the edge of our seats. Did we win? Finally, the results were out. The Six Golden Flowers won First Place! We jumped up and down, excited for each other. We are going to China for the International Finals! For the solo competition, Belinda and Virginia both received Third Place while I took home Second Place. I was pleased but I knew that I could do better next time. It was all a matter of working to it!

I feel so lucky to be able to have so many great events to write about. Without the Six Golden Flowers, I would not be able to write so many journals. Also, without the inspiration and knowledge from Teacher and Mom, I would not be able to be where I am today. Therefore, I would like to take this time out and thank everyone who brought me to the highest peak in a range of mountains and the places that the World of Music will take me!

Sunset Chinese Autumn Moon Festival

By Regina Ngo
September 18, 2007

On September 15, 2007, the Six Golden Flowers played at the Sunset Chinese Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco. It was a busy Saturday there but we still drew a large crowd with our music at the stage.

There, we started off by playing Battling the Typhoon, Ye Lai Xiang, and Horse Carts. We played Battling the Typhoon very well. Our music was extremely powerful and many people were intrigued and sat down. The children even ran to the front of the stage to sit and watch. Next, we played Ye Lai Xiang. It had a very melodious tone and many people were amazed on how we could play it on the guzheng. I was a little nervous when we had to play this piece because one from the group could not make it and so I had to play my part by myself. However, I think I did fine and I’m glad because the rest of the crowd applauded loudly. Finally, Horse Carts was very powerful. It had an upbeat bounce to it and I felt like I was really riding on a horse cart! I’m sure that the group felt that way too because we all smiled at each other.

It was time for a break! The other group played Golden Snake Dance while we all calmed down. However, our break was very short. It was already time to go back onstage!

The last two pieces that we played were It’s a Small World and our newest piece, Colors of the Wind. It’s a Small World, needless to say, was superb. Of course, we had been playing it for a long time, so we have had a lot of practice. Finally, we played Colors of the Wind. I was nervous because: 1) it was a relatively new piece; 2) it was the ending piece and would determine how good we were; and 3) I was on my own part because my partner was not here.

We played it and it was over! I was not as satisfied with Colors of the Wind because it had many details to be worked on but was not bad for a new piece. However, I did not make any mistakes on my own part, so I think we did a good job overall. I am so glad that I have my friends and my teacher as my group because we all work together so well.

Vertical Chords: How the Six Golden Flowers Use Teamwork

By Regina Ngo
September 8, 2007

One Saturday afternoon, as the sun was setting, our group, the Six Golden Flowers, was sitting in class, shaping guzheng group pieces. As the class ended, Ms. Liu (by the nickname of “Teacher”) called us together. She asked us a question that made me think for a long time: “How is it that you all are such a close group?”

As we walked into the kitchen, I kept thinking about this question. It never occurred to me why we were so close; why we were all like sisters. In the kitchen, we began playing rhythm games and we were laughing and having fun so much that I completely forgot about the question. Then, after we took a break from laughing, I finally realized: We were so close because of teamwork. When one of us falls, another of us helps her up. We have sleepovers and we have so many fun events. During performances, we help each other out by supporting another part with our own to make our music sound right. Even playing simple rhythm games could make us laugh so much and draw us closer as sisters.

My entire conclusion? We are so close because we are like sisters and use teamwork. Without teamwork, there would be no group because groups are all about teamwork. We all have to synchronize and move at the same time, otherwise we fall apart. I think of it as vertical chords on a piano. When you press down a chord, they all have to go down together; otherwise you get a messy, unclear sound. If your fingers work together and they go down at the same time, you get a beautiful chord that does not sound like it is falling apart. This was a truly long thought process and I thank Teacher for striking up my curiosity by simply asking a question on a regular Saturday afternoon class.

My Experience at the Jackie Chan Senior Center

By Regina Ngo
August 19, 2007

On August 17th, 2007, our group went to the Jackie Chan Senior Center in San Francisco. This was not any other regular performance for me mainly because I would not only play the gu-zheng, but also the violin. I do not take private lessons but I do play in my school orchestra, so I gave it my best and practiced for four hours the night before, not including gu-zheng time. I was determined to give my best, as always.

The program started off with Gan Da Che (Horse Carts). We, of course, played brilliantly since this piece was in our muscle memory. We bounced with the rhythm and enjoyed ourselves. This was our goal. The next piece we played was Ye Lai Xiang. We also did very well on this piece because it was one of our favorites and we liked it very much.

It was time for us to take a break. Eric, Belinda and Virginia´s brother, played an erhu piece. All of us relaxed and listened to his playing.

After the erhu piece, it was my turn to be the emcee. I practiced my speech more this time and was able to memorize it, so I said my part a lot better. I announced confidently that we would play Hu Die Quan Bien (By the Butterfly Spring) and San Nien (Three Years). Then, we all sat down and began to play.

The audience greatly enjoyed By the Butterfly Spring. I could tell because they smiled and were awed when we finished the piece. Three Years was very good as well, mainly because we practiced this piece for a tremendous amount of time and put a lot of feelings into our music.

We then took another break and listened to Eric play another piece. This time, instead of playing the erhu, he played the violin. His piece was Concerto No. 5, First Movement by Seitz. He takes private lessons so his playing was very accurate.

Finally, break time was over and we went back onstage. This time, we played Colors of the Wind from the Disney movie Pocahontas with our own variations. I really loved playing this piece because I thought that it was absolutely wonderful that we were able to play a Disney piece on the gu-zheng.

After we finished playing Colors of the Wind, it was finally my turn to play the violin. The piece that I played was Concerto in A Minor for Violin Op. 3 No. 6 by Vivaldi. I learnt this piece by myself and made all of the shaping and phrasing that I played. I could tell that the audience was astounded by the way that they applauded for me. I felt so relieved as well as proud after I finished playing, mainly because I correctly played the parts that were so difficult. The four hours of practice worked! I also remembered to put all of my feelings in this piece and not to rush, just as I planned not to.

The last piece we played was The Magnificent Bronze Gorge. We were all so proud of playing this piece because Ms. Liu (by the nickname of "Teacher") wrote it and won 1st place with it in China. To play this piece was a great honor. We all tried our very best and ended with the audience laughing, smiling, and talking.

When the manager of the Senior Center asked whether they wanted us back, they all exclaimed, "Yes!" in Chinese. I felt wonderful because I knew that all of our hard work paid off. Many seniors approached me and said that I played very well on the gu-zheng as well as the violin.

Our group has performed at many senior centers, and I am glad that we always get the same thing each time: seniors smiling, talking, and of course, being cheerful. It feels superb giving back to the community and putting a smile on a senior´s face. This is why I love performing at senior centers.

My Performance at the Blind Children's Foundation

By Regina Ngo
August 7, 2007

On August 6th, 2007, I performed in Santa Clara at a fundraising event to benefit blind children. I was the only guzheng player that time so I practiced harder than I did before to make sure I would not stumble upon any problems.

The stage was fantastic. It was a regular-sized portable stage in a church in front of many tables where the people would sit and bid while they watched or listened to entertainment. I noticed that they did not really pay attention to any of the talking going onstage but when I started to perform, they all sat down and listened.

There, I was going to play Dance of the Yao Tribe and Embroidering the Golden Banner. As I heard the emcee announce my name, I stood up proudly and walked onto the stage. I was not nervous because I was sure that I practiced more than enough for this event, so I sat down, tuned quietly, and played.

Dance of the Yao Tribe was a success in my opinion. I started off by making the sound that the left hand was playing sound like a drum. During the quicker part of the piece, I made all of the notes in the right hand sound very clear. When the music was supposed to sway, I made it dance. Whatever the sound was supposed to be, I tried emphasizing it even more. I made no mistakes in Dance of the Yao Tribe and was extremely pleased with my performance. The crowd, as a result, felt the same way I did as well. They showed this by applauding loudly and calling for more.

Embroidering the Golden Banner was the next piece I played. I believe that I played this just as well as Dance of the Yao Tribe. I practiced tremendously hard on the fast part near the end because Ms. Liu (with the nickname of "Teacher") told me to work on it. The part came out clearer than it had ever been. The slow, crying sound in the middle was let out to make people very emotional. I had put all of my feeling into this piece because I loved it very much. At the end, they all commended my performance, wanting me to play more. After the performance, the Father said that he would invite me back for next year. This spelled out two things. The first is that the performance was a huge accomplishment. The second is that if I take Teacher´s advice and work on what she tells me to work on, it will come out sounding just right. This performance was a great completion and I will always remember it as an immense accomplishment.

My Performance at the Lady Shaw Senior Center

By Regina Ngo
August 4, 2007

On July 30th, 2007, our Youth Group had a performance at the Lady Shaw Senior Center in San Francisco. It was a very rewarding experience because we played very well. The one thing that inspired me to do so well was a lesson that Ms. Liu (with the nickname of “Teacher”) taught our Group:

“To play music, you must stop it from sounding repetitive and dull.
To play music, you must practice until you own every note,
and only then will the piece belong to you.”

With Teacher’s advice in mind, I practiced day and night until I was sure that I owned every single note.  I knew that I had to know my part solidly because Wanda, one of my friends in our Group that played my part, could not be there.  I would be the only one playing our part.

On the day of the performance, I was sure that I was ready.  I had all my music memorized.  I knew that I was able to sing the music in my heart.

We started off by playing Picking Mushroom, Ye Lai Xiang, and Horse Carts.  We were very pleased with our performance for Picking Mushroom. We bounced with the beat of the music, occasionally looking at each other while we were playing. We played with plenty of feeling. For Ye Lai Xiang, we were also very pleased with our playing.  I was a bit nervous for this piece because this was one of the two pieces that I played my part by myself, but I did just fine because I let the music flow around me and played with my heart. I also imagined that Wanda was playing with me.  Elsie did her tremolo very well for this piece.  Horse Carts was the best that we had done at performances!  We were all very happy when we played.  Virginia was the one playing the second part but she did a really good job. We could hear every single part and knew that that was a good sign.

For the next three Gu-Zheng pieces, I was the emcee. They were Butterfly Lake, Three Years, and Dance of Yao.  Butterfly Lake was very good. Belinda was the one playing the base the entire time and she was very good at it.  Butterfly Lake has four parts so it is not always easy to hear them all but at the performance, we heard every part. Our Group did very well with that piece.  Three Years was excellent as well. This was the second piece that I had to play with only myself playing a part. I am so relieved that I practiced my part! Dance of Yao was the best we had performed for some time. Celina did very well since it was her solo piece, so she led us.  We were very happy that she was there.

Our final Gu-Zheng pieces were Battling the Typhoon and Small World.  I was not worried about either of these pieces. However, I was amazed at how we played Battling the Typhoon! We did even better than we played at the CPAA Competition.  Our arms and movement were all the same so it sounded like one person playing. Small World, of course, was our piece. It has been our piece for six years, and we all know that we own it.

This was one of our very best performances, and I am glad that we had the opportunity to perform at the Lady Shaw Senior Center. All of the seniors there were very happy with our performance and even asked for an encore. I thank Teacher for helping us achieve our goals for our pieces.

What I Learned from Teacher

By Regina Ngo
July 31, 2007

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, my friends and I were at my Teacher´s house having our usual class. However, there was something unique about what we learnt that day.

Ms. Liu (by the nickname of "Teacher") was preparing us for the performance we were going to have at the Lady Shaw Senior Center in San Francisco that coming Monday. We were rehearsing Gan Da Che, or Horse Carts. The group was having a bit of difficulty shaping the music to make the melodies stop sounding repetitive. However, Teacher taught us something that day that inspired me to write this.

Teacher said, "To play the music, you must stop it from sounding repetitive and dull. To play the music, you must practice until you own every note, and only then the piece will belong to you."

I believe that this is a very important and valuable lesson. Our Group succeeded in playing Gan Da Che. I saw that Teacher´s words held true; I believe we made the melodies sound different each time.

I was sure that my friends and I made the people at the Lady Shaw Senior Center say, "We have never heard this melody before," even if the same notes were played two minutes ago. Why would they say that? Because our Youth Group made the melodies sound differently with our heart. The same notes were not played with the same shaping or dynamics. I am glad that Teacher taught our Group this valuable lesson.

How I Chose my New Solo Piece

By Regina Ngo
July 17, 2007

Choosing my new solo piece was not an easy task. I knew that I had to pick one because my Golden Banner was near completion with all the work Ms. Liu (whom we call "Teacher") and I put into it. Also, after class on the night before our group competition, Teacher told us that we had to start thinking about a new one. However, she said that we had to get home early and rest.

I knew that I would not rest easily that night, knowing that I had to choose a new piece. It was very difficult to pick a new piece, simply because there were so many beautiful pieces that I could choose. However, Teacher recommended three pieces: Ying Zhong Fu (Praising the City of Ying Zhong), Huan Xiang Qu (Imagination), and Qiu Yea Shi (Autumn Night).

As soon as I arrived home, I turned on the VCD to watch and listen to these three pieces. As I predicted, it was extremely difficult to pick! I loved all three of them. I listened and listened, not able to choose. Ying Zhong Fu and Huan Xiang Qu had a special sound because it required the Gu-Zheng to be tuned differently. Qiu Yea Shi had very difficult left hand technique. "Which piece? Which piece?" That was the question. I listened to these three pieces until 1:00 in the morning, replaying it over and over again, only to repeat the process after our group competition the next day.

On the third day, I listened to the entire VCD. That was a big mistake. I discovered I also liked another piece called Gang Shui Ben Liu (The Joy of Making Steel). Now, I had four pieces to choose from! I thought, "Oh no! How will I ever choose?"

It took me four days and three nights to finally decide on Huan Xiang Qu. I knew the piece the best out of all of them. This is because at the 2006 Competition where I won the Gold Medal, I heard this piece being played. I was immediately drawn to it and declared to Teacher, "I like this piece a lot. I hope I can play it someday." In a way, I believe that Teacher also wanted me to choose this piece. By the end of the second night, I was able to sing Huan Xiang Qu by heart. I also think that it matches my personality the best.

Upon choosing Huan Xiang Qu, it was finally the end of choosing pieces, pulling the Gu-Zheng up in front of the television, wearing out the remote control, asking my family members which piece they liked, and having virtually sleepless nights. Of course, it is not the end of listening to the VCD. I still listen to it on replay every single day. However, I am never bored of listening to the piece, simply because I know that eventually, it will be mine.

My Experience at the 3rd CPAA Competition

By Regina Ngo
June 19, 2007

On June 16th, 2007, San Francisco Gu-Zheng Music Society´s 3rd Youth Group competed in the Civic Auditorium of San Jose for the 3rd CPAA Competition. I was part of that group.

We were going to play a piece that we worked very hard on: Battling the Typhoon. This piece required a lot of stamina because of all of the difficult techniques it included. Our group met a lot more than we normally did to practice. The Typhoon included a lot of preparation; we had some difficulty staying together at times. We worked until we were sure that we´d stay together. Then, we mastered the techniques it included. Ms. Liu (by the nickname of "Teacher") helped us a lot here. She had us play one at a time and decide whether it was ready or not. If it was, we moved on. If it was not, she would assign us all a part to practice. After much preparation, we thought that we were ready. We had a "trial run" at the Koret Auditorium on June 10th and we were spectacular thanks to the superb training we received.

Our group met three more times after that performance. We worked harder than we ever had before. Even three days before the competition, I called up my classmates and did a three-way call. Then we practiced over the phone. We had a lot of fun during that process but we also practiced very hard.

On the day of the competition, I woke up thinking, "Today is the day. Today is the day that our group is going to compete and do the best that we can." Once I got to the Civic Auditorium of San Jose, I saw that we were competing against one of the groups we knew from before. I was astonished. Later on, when the group had finally arrived, without anyone telling us to do so, we unpacked our Gu-Zhengs and began tuning and practicing. To warm up, we began to practice different pieces such as Picking Mushroom and Butterfly Lake. Finally, we did Battling the Typhoon very quietly by ourselves, since we did not want anyone to know what we were playing.

Finally, it was our turn to go up to the stage! I was pretty nervous but I knew that I was prepared. I was sure that everyone else was too. Therefore, I walked on stage with my head up and looked straight at my Gu-Zheng. When we bowed, I looked at every single one of the judges and smiled. With that, I relaxed tremendously.

We started out together perfectly, but later on, we rushed just a little bit. Our dynamics were just right, however. We knew where to crescendo, decrescendo, and we kept an even pace right where we rushed. After the performance, we all fretted about rushing, but I knew inside that we would not get many points deducted because we stopped rushing when we realized that we did and kept an even pace. Also, our slow melody part of the piece was beautiful. We made the waterfalls, dewdrops, and rain show in our music. Finally, we ended it together. I felt great. We had done it!

After waiting another three hours, fretting a little more, and calming ourselves down, we finally reached the judging. The group that we knew received 2nd place. I was very happy for them and planned on congratulating them after the competition was over. But where would we place? Finally, the person reading out the awards, Ann Woo, announced in Mandarin, "And the first place winner of the CPAA Group Competition is [Ms. Liu´s] San Francisco Gu-Zheng Music Society!" Yes! The Six Golden Flowers had done it again! We walked up proudly to receive our gigantic trophy. We knew that our hard work had finally paid off.

When the presentation of awards was over, we walked over to the other group and said, "Congratulations!" They, in return, congratulated us as well. Then, our entire group said in unison to each other, "Let´s call Teacher!" So, we take out our cell phone and call Teacher. We shouted, "TEACHER, WE WON! WE GOT FIRST PLACE!" and we jumped up and down though we were wearing high heels. We all felt great. It was a fantastic experience that I will never forget.

What I Learned from the 2nd Youth Group

By Regina Ngo
June 10, 2007

On June 2nd, I was having my usual lesson for the Gu-Zheng. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" I thought to myself. All of my classmates were already there; it could only be a parent. Or could it? It turned out to be Grace and Athena from the 2nd Youth Group! I was astounded; I thought that they were in China!

That turned out to be a very fun class. Grace and Athena listened to our group play and gave us a lot of feedback, especially Grace. Also, it was the same day that Teacher Liu came back from France. It was great to see her again after three weeks of class without her.

However, it was not all "fun and games." We got critiqued to the extreme, since we had a performance on June 10th at the Koret Auditorium. All the same, Grace and Teacher gave us a load of advice.

First off, Teacher told us how the 2nd Youth Group never got stage fright. We all wanted to know how, so Grace told us that it depended on how much we practiced; how ready we were for it. Well, that certainly made sense. The more ready we were for a performance, the less worried we were, the more comfortable we became, and the better we played. It applied to every performance, good as well as bad.

Besides that, Grace kept pushing and did just about every single thing to get things right for our piece. She pointed out where we had to crescendo, where we had to slow down, where certain things went, what we were playing wrong. I knew that Grace really wanted to make us sound like professionals and I will never forget that.

It was a great lesson because of all the events that happened that day: Grace and Athena visiting and learning so much in one class. I will always remember the experience!

San Francisco Guzheng Music Society´s
25th Annual Concert Experience

By Regina Ngo
April 11, 2007

The Rhythm of Spring, the last concert that I have participated in so far, was by far a success in my opinion. At this concert, I played Picking Mushroom, Battling the Typhoon, It´s a Small World, Riding the Horse Cart, and Embroidering the Golden Banner. I also did the percussion for Purple Bamboo Melody and was one of the vocalists for Da Chang Jin. I believe that this was one of the most rewarding concerts because a portion of the concert´s earnings were donated to The Zigen Fund for schools in the rural areas of Guizhou, China. Therefore, not only was the concert successful, but the money made with the concert went to a good cause and that is what matters most. Besides that, this was also one of the best experiences as far as concerts go because in this concert, I played many pieces, more than I had ever before.

I thought that I did very well in this concert. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but judging by how much our teacher worked to make time for extra rehearsals and classes and how hard the groups worked, it was superb. The Picking Mushroom was very together with a great beat; I felt comfortable enough to move my body with the music and I believe that the audience enjoyed it as well. For the next piece, Purple Bamboo Melody, though I was doing the percussion, I still took delight in the way the group played it. Battling the Typhoon was so strong and together; I did not believe that I had ever heard it that powerful with six guzhengs! It´s a Small World was so melodious and sounded spectacular. Riding the Horse Cart took every one of the listeners as well as the musicians on a bumpy road riding in a cart pulled by the horses. In the Da Chang Jin, I could tell that everyone was awed by the singing as well as the guzheng since we made such beautiful music. Finally, I found out that during my solo Embroidering the Golden Banner, I made some of the audience cry because it was so moving, even though I played with some technical difficulties (i.e: microphone was too close to the guzheng and consequently kept banging into the instrument.) However, I have played this piece a number of times and I aim for one goal: to play it as phenomenal as my teacher.

So though there were a couple of minor errors, I thought overall, it was a very memorable experience that I was not likely to forget.

My Experience at the Street-Fair and Lecture

By Regina Ngo

First off, I must say that the experience at the street fair and lecture were very helpful. I can point out a couple of things that went wrong and need more work, but other than that, I believe it was a fine first attempt.

At the street fair, I played in the afternoon. I performed three songs: Market Day, Dance of Yao, and Jin Gan Mountain. Before we went to perform on stage, Elsie, Karina, and I were shaking, not because of the nerves, but because of the wind! It was freezing. When we walked on stage, it got even colder, but my fellow performers and I went on anyway. We started off with the song "Market Day." We began together on the same beat at the same time, which was good. Altogether, we had two melodies and one base. I think because of the unbearable cold, we were too stiff for the tremolo, but Elsie's tremolo was very good, so that helped us a lot. Finally, ending together, Elsie got off stage, and Karina and I started Dance of Yao. We were together most of the way and played with dynamics almost all the time, but we made one HUGE mistake: When we were supposed to repeat to the beginning, one of us probably thought too much and skipped the repeat! Quickly catching on, we just acted as if nothing happened and it was supposed to be that way. After ending, Karina got off stage. It was time for Jin Gan Mountain. Just then, I realized how cold and nervous I was, but I took a deep breath and started. I then realized: I couldn't hear myself playing! I was just going to hope it sounded good, because the speakers were about three yards away from me. I couldn't hear the beginning at all, and I was shaking uncontrollably from the coldness. A little more relief came to me in the middle, where there was tremolo. The wind lightened, and then I actually began to enjoy myself, exactly what I was aiming for. Since it was so cold, I decided not to take the repeat. The ending was loud and clear. I'm satisfied for a first time performance of this difficult solo. How happy I felt as soon as I got into my car! I wasn't freezing anymore. And I liked that a lot.

At the lecture, I had a short demonstration of the eight finger exercise by playing Jin Gan Mountain. Before the demonstration, I felt not nervous this time, but utterly clueless, because I didn't know where I was going to play up to. But during the time I demonstrated, it wasn't that clear, but I'm glad I had that experience. Why? Because I can tell myself this: "You've got to practice" and "Don't EVER do that again." The result? Playing better.

Because of all the experiences I've had, I have concluded that Jin Gan Mountain is quite a piece. It may be hard to play, but I am sure that when it is done and worked at properly, it will sound like magic. So therefore, my goal is to work on Jin Gan Mountain. When finished, I would like to pursue the song The Magnificent Bronze Gorge by Weishan Liu. After, if completed, I would like to play the song Galloping over the Grassland, also by Weishan Liu. And that's my goal!

My Experience at the CMC Music Center

February 19, 2006

My experience at the CMC Music Center was fun, and it gave me an opportunity to give myself a progress report. It also gave me the chance to listen to other musicians presenting their own hard work. Not only was the Gu-Zheng there, but also there was the yang qin, gu-qin, yuerh qin, gem shorn, and ocarina. There, I got the chance to hear the variety of Chinese and Japanese music, as well as view a costumed dancer dance to a beautiful melody played by the Gu-Zheng, Recorder, Yang qin, and Yuerh qin.

That day, I played a solo called "Dance of Yao." It was a piece I was working on for a long time with my teacher. She gave me a lot of support and helped me gain self confidence as well as teach me to practice the right way. Therefore, I felt not the least bit nervous before. I was telling myself, "You can do this," just as I should've.

So I've already mentioned that I wasn't nervous before the performance. You must be pondering the question, "Now what about during the performance? How did you feel then?" I can tell you that I was repeating, "I can do this," over and over again alright, but as soon as I got on stage, I started, yes, unbelievably shaking! It makes me laugh a bit right now just to think about it. As I got on stage, it probably seemed as if there was a vibration going through my entire body.

In the beginning of my piece, I was still shaking like an earthquake vibration. Luckily, my "chi's", or my 7's with the bending of the 6^th string, were very accurate. True, not all of them were perfect, but I still think that they were only a little off. :) Later on in the piece, I began to relax, exactly what I was aiming for. All of a sudden, I messed up, and I did the worst thing ever: I stopped. I only stopped for half a second though, and I went on. I acted as if nothing happened, and to tell you the truth, I think everyone bought it.

Finally, it ended! I was feeling great at the end because it ended as I thought it would, and I got a very big applause from the audience, plus a lot of comments from the people out there. To tell the truth, it sort of scared me how they kept on saying, "Great job!" I think it was unnatural. The funny thing is, I was still shaking when I got off stage for the next five minutes, and it wasn't because I was nervous. It was because I was freezing. Overall, I believe it was a great performance. I really like the piece "Dance of Yao," and I hope to play it even better the next time I get to perform. Thank you.

- Regina Ngo, 13