Kids Songs in 2021 - introducing WowoSpot Kids

In May 2021, after I compiled and published The Bagels on the Table, a piano book with nursery rhymes and folk songs for kids, I wrote more than twenty new children songs in three weeks. Most of the songs were created on a piece of paper while I was having breakfast. The ideas kept coming to head. What inspired me initially was that the beginners' piano sheet music "Itsy Bitsy Spider" I published in sheet music plus had received a popular response. It struck me that young minds are looking for songs to learn to play, sing and have fun with.

In my very remote memories, my earliest musical experiences were about songs. We react to music and language most naturally through songs. Before I was made to sit on the piano bench at the age of five to learn to play the gigantic instrument, I had known music by singing and dancing along my favorite songs from the radio.

Songs are not as serious as instruments. They are directly connected to our emotions and they are done by our most natural instrument - our voice. Did you know that voice is the earliest form of music?

In the process of my research while arranging children's folk songs, I realized that traditional folk songs, as great and culturally rich as they are, and although they are still very much loved by today's children, the stories and lyrics associated with them are lacking freshness and new elements to reflect the current times. There is a reason why Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Muffin Man are so popular. They are just wonderful. But other than these songs, what new songs will kids in the 21st century sing in the future? A good song not only nurtures, educates, and relates to life experiences, it also provides comforting melodies and inspires creativity.

WowoSpot Kids was created to produce and deliver new children songs and music for fun, entertainment and education. I intend to make these new songs I have written known to the children of the world. I am excited to produce each of the songs with care and dedication. Little Puppy Lily's Magic Bone was published in my new Youtube channel WowoSpot Kids today. When little puppy Lily falls asleep in the night what will her chewing bone turn into? Kids and families can expect to experience puppy Lily's world by watching the 2D animation video while listening to the song with lyrics shown at the bottom of the screen.

The channel art, the visual design ideas, and the production steps were done with the help of talent that I work with. I appreciate all who have helped me to make the launch of the channel a reality. As we explore the possibilities to deliver quality kids content, we have learned a lot and will continue to learn to make it better.

Digital piano vs. acoustic piano

#selectingapiano

I remember I was six years old when my dad got me a Yamaha upright piano. It was the piano I knew, played and loved. Until one day I came across an electrical piano in my school gym when I was twelve, I did not know there were different types of pianos. I was fascinated by the different sound, touch and the mechanical features like buttons, pedals and strange look of it. I dreamed about having one of that kind of pianos to let my imagination go wild on it. The electrical pianos I refer to here are the early models — those you can see on the TV or movies in the 80s.

After many years, the thought about having an electrical piano faded away. I don't know why; in fact, any dreams that did not fit into the intense, and examination-driven education system died away. Sadly, music was completely eliminated from my life after I started junior high school.

It was almost 15 years ago when the idea of practicing piano again crossed my mind. I'd been married with two young kids. I'd moved to a new country, finished my MBA degree and started an accounting job. Everything looked right in my life. But I missed piano. To pick up the pieces of my broken dream, I approached a teacher requesting for Jazz piano lessons, and was rejected. Only classical piano lessons were available. The reason why I asked for jazz was because I thought I could not handle demanding practice from classical repertoire. Afterall, I had a full time job and two youngsters to look after.

It turned out that once I started practicing classical repertoire, I got hooked. It was classical repertoire I was most familiar with as a child. The connection was ingrained in my soul.

I have never owned an electrical piano. In fact, I never considered an electrical piano a "piano". It is more of an equipment that can do a variety of special effect. It is more of something that is fast, exciting, and useful. But when it comes to learning piano as an art, it is absolutely not an alternative to a real piano!

Today digital pianos are so popular that even remote piano exams accept digital pianos. The economic reason behind the the popularity is clear: consumers want them because they are much cheaper, much smaller, and much mobile. Young kids love them. They sound cool.

I'd like to point out that digital pianos are made for digital music, not classical music. If you are learning classical piano, you do need an acoustic piano. A Chopin Nocturne, or a Beethoven piano sonata, or a Bach Toccata can not be practiced and learned on a digital piano. Why? Because these pieces were not written for electrical pianos. Well sure you could play the scores in a digital way, but you will lose the authenticity.

That being said, if you just want to play or create digital music, digital pianos are great. Serious music producers do need a fine electrical keyboard to "produce" audio tracks that can be connected to computers for editing and commercialization.

Do you have young kids who are musical and wish to learn piano? Getting a proper intstrument from day one is the best decision and insvestment you can make. A solid foundation goes a long way. Learning classical repertoire, a lot of it, when they are young gives them all embracing skills that will enable them to play or create any kind of music later. Famous Canadian Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson played a lot of Bach when he was young!

What my piano lessons were like when I was young

For every adult pianist, there are certainly some stories to tell about their piano lesson experiences when they were young. I rememeber my first piano lesson took place in a small piano school near our home. It was my grandmother who took me. I was traumatized being confined in a little room with a stranger. I did not remember what I did on the piano. I only remember I was crying quietly while following the instructions and I kept looking back through the small window on the door to make sure my grandmother was there. I was five.

Things got better after my parents got me a teacher who came to our home to teach me. My dad just got me a brand new upright Yamaha piano. She was patient and professional, teaching me from John Thompson's beginner book. She was a professional teacher who went to the most prestigious music college in Taiwan. Because she got married, I switched to learn from my elementary school music teacher, my second piano teacher. I was about grade two or grade three. I took lessons from her home.

My second teacher was outgoing, and animated. She rarely sat down with me. Most of the time I played and she listened but I did not know where she was. She would come back to me to mark on my books and say a few things then went away. I vividly remember that my father would put cash in an envelope for me to hand it to her, reminding me to give it to her before the lessons, not after. She had two pianos, one brown color, Yamaha upright and one Kawai grand piano. I would stare at the grand piano with envy because I was only allowed to play the grand when preparing for a performance. She taught my brother and my sister as well. She was a very encouraging teacher, often giving us notebooks to praise our good performances, urging us to do well in school.

In Taiwan there were no grading systems for piano learning. We just kept playing assigned exercises and repertoire. We would hold onto one book for one or two years, learning pieces from the first page to the last. After finishing one book we moved to the next. Students either liked playing and continued, or did not like playing and discontinued. It turned out I was the only kid in my family who wished to continue.

For the very talented ones, if their parents could afford it, they would be sent to Vienna to pursue music careers.

I played a lot of classical repertoire when I was young, including Mozart, Chopin, Bach, Czerny Etudes 100 and 40, Hanon Virtuoso exercises. John Thompson's and Beyer beginners books were among my favorite! Nothing modern. I think our teachers just taught us what they learned from their teachers.

I found that in Canada, although we have well structured, graded system, i.e. The Royal Conservatory of Music, or Conservatory Canada, the grades driven learning is confining in a way that the quantity of pieces learned are limited. The education here emphasizes more on the balance among different styles while the learning I had when I was young emphasizes the classical, fundemental training. For example, I learned every single two-parts invention of Bach, one after another, same as Hanon scale books, Beyer, Czerny. Because of the thoroughness and strong focus on the classical elements, as well as the frequency of lessons, before I turned eleven, I could handle Mozart's major piano sonatas and some Chopin's Waltz and Nocturnes. I never took any exams in Taiwan.

I remember seeing my teacher two times a week. Usually every Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday. The frequency of lessons make a lot of difference. In Canada students see their teachers only once a week hence the progress won't be as fast. In general kids in Canada learn in a more relaxed, balanced way; in Taiwan kids learned faster and focused more on the classical training. Either has pros and cons.

It is not my intention to say the Asian style of learning is better. Afterall the way of learning piano has a lot to do with the cultural, social contexts and time, and will be constantly renewed. The world now in 2021 is a very different place than forty years ago! However, I would like to point out that piano learning is in essence a classical art. If we want to master the instrument, we will need to cultivate fundemental skills. I can't say enough how critical it is to expose young learners to classical repertoire. A solid foundation established when young will greatly support all kinds of creative pursuit later.