T E S T I M O N I A L S
T E S T I M O N I A L S
T E S T I M O N I A L S
“Every student is groomed as into a musician.” | Chung Seojun Justine
“Every student is groomed as into a musician.” As Ms. Dorothy Chia explains in her teaching philosophy, I have this great feeling of becoming a musician throughout the learning journey with Ms. Chia. Although I started learning to play the piano at the early age of 4, I never had such guidance as Ms. Chia’s that I am a musician who creates music beyond what is written in the note. Regardless of the piece, whether it is just a scale practice or Beethoven’s piano sonata, Ms. Chia supported me to first think about how the piece should sound, and then apply the appropriate touch and motion so that the notes on the sheet becomes music with flavor and life. At first, it was a vague concept for me to “think” in advance of playing because I was used to just playing the notes. However, as I followed Ms. Chia’s holistic approach to music it made a whole lot of sense that music performance is organic and multi-dimensional, rather than a mere physical task. How I think makes me listen to the sound more carefully and ultimately produce different sounds than before. With regards to the touch and motion, developing the technical aspect in the playing also has been an important role in becoming a musician. To make better sound, overcoming the technical barriers allows me to play more freely and at ease.
I am thankful for the opportunity to continue my learning journey and also take the exam in the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Above all, I am grateful that Ms. Chia gave me the utmost guidance to well prepare for the new online exam format. Despite the flexibility and accessibility of the new remotely-assessed exam, initially, I was not comfortable with the video recording setting lacking previous experience. However, I managed to fulfill the requirements and even acquired the desired result all for Ms. Chia’s professional guidance and her moral support. She not only advised on the quality of the music, but also led me to effectively project that music beyond the technical aspects to the audience in a digital setting. I believe that the latter is becoming more and more important in the post-pandemic world and I thank Ms. Chia for helping me become a prepared musician for the future.
“Every student is groomed as into a musician.” | Chung Seojun Justine
“Every student is groomed as into a musician.” As Ms. Dorothy Chia explains in her teaching philosophy, I have this great feeling of becoming a musician throughout the learning journey with Ms. Chia. Although I started learning to play the piano at the early age of 4, I never had such guidance as Ms. Chia’s that I am a musician who creates music beyond what is written in the note. Regardless of the piece, whether it is just a scale practice or Beethoven’s piano sonata, Ms. Chia supported me to first think about how the piece should sound, and then apply the appropriate touch and motion so that the notes on the sheet becomes music with flavor and life. At first, it was a vague concept for me to “think” in advance of playing because I was used to just playing the notes. However, as I followed Ms. Chia’s holistic approach to music it made a whole lot of sense that music performance is organic and multi-dimensional, rather than a mere physical task. How I think makes me listen to the sound more carefully and ultimately produce different sounds than before. With regards to the touch and motion, developing the technical aspect in the playing also has been an important role in becoming a musician. To make better sound, overcoming the technical barriers allows me to play more freely and at ease.
I am thankful for the opportunity to continue my learning journey and also take the exam in the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Above all, I am grateful that Ms. Chia gave me the utmost guidance to well prepare for the new online exam format. Despite the flexibility and accessibility of the new remotely-assessed exam, initially, I was not comfortable with the video recording setting lacking previous experience. However, I managed to fulfill the requirements and even acquired the desired result all for Ms. Chia’s professional guidance and her moral support. She not only advised on the quality of the music, but also led me to effectively project that music beyond the technical aspects to the audience in a digital setting. I believe that the latter is becoming more and more important in the post-pandemic world and I thank Ms. Chia for helping me become a prepared musician for the future.
Inspiring teacher who motivated me | Ms. Lim Ci Hui, ATCL
Ms Dorothy Chia has been my piano teacher for 5 years, and I have certainly benefited tremendously from her guidance. She is an inspiring teacher who motivated me to work and practice harder, to constantly strive to improve my playing, to demand higher standards of myself. She has broadened by range of technical abilities, allowing me to incorporate more sonorities and colours into my piano playing, and helping me to get rid of my bad habits, such as tensing my arms and shoulders while playing.
Ms Chia believes in actively understanding and engaging in the music one is playing. Under her teaching, I learnt how an analysis of the structure of a piece can be translated into performance by creating different moods for different sections through the use of pedaling, finger and arm movements and other different piano techniques. At the diploma level, her focus is often on how to turn an ordinary play-through of a piece into a performance, and how to bring out one’s own interpretation and personal voice through one’s playing. Under her guidance, I have transformed into a more confident and effective performer.
I also attended Ms Chia’s piano pedagogy classes, and they opened my mind to the different facets of piano teaching. As I am planning on becoming a music educator in the future, I found the sessions on child psychology and on the different strategies to impart musical concepts particularly useful. The classes were conducted in an engaging way, and the small group setting was effective for demonstrations and discussions. I will definitely recommend the classes to anyone who wants an introduction to piano and music teaching.
Finally, I want to thank Ms Chia for being an approachable and caring teacher. She is always open to having friendly discussions or giving advice – she shared some of her university and life experiences with me when I was undecided about whether to pursue music in university, for instance. She is also very receptive to feedback, and is committed to providing the best learning experience for her students, often tailoring her mode of delivery and teaching to better suit the different personalities and learning methods of her students. I have really grown tremendously under her guidance.
Inspiring teacher who motivated me
Ms. Lim Ci Hui, ATCL
Ms Dorothy Chia has been my piano teacher for 5 years, and I have certainly benefited tremendously from her guidance. She is an inspiring teacher who motivated me to work and practice harder, to constantly strive to improve my playing, to demand higher standards of myself. She has broadened by range of technical abilities, allowing me to incorporate more sonorities and colours into my piano playing, and helping me to get rid of my bad habits, such as tensing my arms and shoulders while playing.
Ms Chia believes in actively understanding and engaging in the music one is playing. Under her teaching, I learnt how an analysis of the structure of a piece can be translated into performance by creating different moods for different sections through the use of pedaling, finger and arm movements and other different piano techniques. At the diploma level, her focus is often on how to turn an ordinary play-through of a piece into a performance, and how to bring out one’s own interpretation and personal voice through one’s playing. Under her guidance, I have transformed into a more confident and effective performer.
I also attended Ms Chia’s piano pedagogy classes, and they opened my mind to the different facets of piano teaching. As I am planning on becoming a music educator in the future, I found the sessions on child psychology and on the different strategies to impart musical concepts particularly useful. The classes were conducted in an engaging way, and the small group setting was effective for demonstrations and discussions. I will definitely recommend the classes to anyone who wants an introduction to piano and music teaching.
Finally, I want to thank Ms Chia for being an approachable and caring teacher. She is always open to having friendly discussions or giving advice – she shared some of her university and life experiences with me when I was undecided about whether to pursue music in university, for instance. She is also very receptive to feedback, and is committed to providing the best learning experience for her students, often tailoring her mode of delivery and teaching to better suit the different personalities and learning methods of her students. I have really grown tremendously under her guidance.
Distinction for Grade 8 piano exam | Justin Wong, grade 8 (distinction)
Miss Dorothy Chia has been teaching me for almost a decade. She has been an excellent teacher to me during this time, providing me with a very broad performance repertoire, a fun learning experiences and multiple performance opportunities.
During the time I spent under her guidance, she has given me an extremely extensive repertoire by exposing me to pieces of various genres and time periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and many more. This allowed me to further hone my skills and improve myself, especially through the technical pieces, such as various studies composed by famous pianists like Czerny and Etudes composed by world-renowned composers like Liszt and Chopin. This has made my skills better, compared to the average student in my grade, while making it easier for me to learn new pieces.
Moreover, unlike many modern teachers, Miss Chia does not merely focus on the exam requirements, but rather on developing students’ skills, interest and passion in playing the piano. Besides the technical pieces listed above, she exposes students to modern pieces that are more relatable and fun to learn, such as the latest pop songs or theme songs from movies and television series. This not only further broadens students’ performance repertoire, exposing students to a wider variety of pieces, it also makes the learning experience more fun for them, igniting a passion for music within them. This is definitely the case for me, as I now arrange pop songs by ear in my free time, crafting medleys and mashups, and writing scores occasionally. Under Miss Chia’s wing,music has become a passion and an outlet of stress for me.
Lastly, Miss Chia provides students with numerous opportunities to perform in public, in front of an audience, allowing students to develop self-confidence and stage presence, both of which are of utmost importance in performances. She does this by organising concerts biannually, whereby all students, regardless of age, are required to prepare pieces to perform, with their parents and friends invited as the audience. This has definitely benefited me greatly, because over the years, the anxiety and nervousness I experienced originally before any performance has reduced significantly, and I am now much more comfortable performing in front of an audience. This self-confidence that I have developed under her guidance has also driven me to perform in my own pop bands in school concerts.
In conclusion, Miss Chia’s way of teaching is unique and much better than most teachers, with lessons that are specially crafted to hone students’ skills to the best of their ability, fulfilling their full potential, while developing an interest and passion for the piano and music in general. As such, I would surely recommend her to all who are keen on learning to play the piano.
Distinction for Grade 8 piano exam
Justin Wong, grade 8 (distinction)
Miss Dorothy Chia has been teaching me for almost a decade. She has been an excellent teacher to me during this time, providing me with a very broad performance repertoire, a fun learning experiences and multiple performance opportunities.
During the time I spent under her guidance, she has given me an extremely extensive repertoire by exposing me to pieces of various genres and time periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and many more. This allowed me to further hone my skills and improve myself, especially through the technical pieces, such as various studies composed by famous pianists like Czerny and Etudes composed by world-renowned composers like Liszt and Chopin. This has made my skills better, compared to the average student in my grade, while making it easier for me to learn new pieces.
Moreover, unlike many modern teachers, Miss Chia does not merely focus on the exam requirements, but rather on developing students’ skills, interest and passion in playing the piano. Besides the technical pieces listed above, she exposes students to modern pieces that are more relatable and fun to learn, such as the latest pop songs or theme songs from movies and television series. This not only further broadens students’ performance repertoire, exposing students to a wider variety of pieces, it also makes the learning experience more fun for them, igniting a passion for music within them. This is definitely the case for me, as I now arrange pop songs by ear in my free time, crafting medleys and mashups, and writing scores occasionally. Under Miss Chia’s wing,music has become a passion and an outlet of stress for me.
Lastly, Miss Chia provides students with numerous opportunities to perform in public, in front of an audience, allowing students to develop self-confidence and stage presence, both of which are of utmost importance in performances. She does this by organising concerts biannually, whereby all students, regardless of age, are required to prepare pieces to perform, with their parents and friends invited as the audience. This has definitely benefited me greatly, because over the years, the anxiety and nervousness I experienced originally before any performance has reduced significantly, and I am now much more comfortable performing in front of an audience. This self-confidence that I have developed under her guidance has also driven me to perform in my own pop bands in school concerts.
In conclusion, Miss Chia’s way of teaching is unique and much better than most teachers, with lessons that are specially crafted to hone students’ skills to the best of their ability, fulfilling their full potential, while developing an interest and passion for the piano and music in general. As such, I would surely recommend her to all who are keen on learning to play the piano.
Extremely dedicated to her teaching | Popply Julpongsathorn, grade 8
Dorothy Chia is a fantastic piano teacher who is extremely dedicated to her work and her teaching.
She challenges me to try different pieces that increase my ability as I discover that I am capable of more than I initially realized. She is also extremely focused on developing technical skills and making sure that her students are polished. Encouraging, committed and serious, she teaches piano with energy and enthusiasm that cannot be found anywhere else and I would definitely recommend her to anyone who wants to be professionally trained.
Extremely dedicated to her teaching
Popply Julpongsathorn, Grade 8
Dorothy Chia is a fantastic piano teacher who is extremely dedicated to her work and her teaching.
She challenges me to try different pieces that increase my ability as I discover that I am capable of more than I initially realized. She is also extremely focused on developing technical skills and making sure that her students are polished. Encouraging, committed and serious, she teaches piano with energy and enthusiasm that cannot be found anywhere else and I would definitely recommend her to anyone who wants to be professionally trained.
Great learning journey with Ms Chia |Ms. Deng Rufen, DipABRSM (2011)
Learning under the tutelage of Ms Chia since my grade 8 theory to DipABRSM and lately my LRSM in piano teaching, I found my learning journey a fortunate one. Ms Chia not only impart the knowledge for piano pedagogy. She also shared her goal as a piano teacher which enlightened me in bringing the same values to my students. It's a great learning journey with Ms Chia. I strongly recommend serious students who wants to excel and Teachers who wants to improve in teaching to learn with Ms Chia.
Great learning journey with Ms Chia
Ms. Deng Rufen, DipABRSM (2011)
Learning under the tutelage of Ms Chia since my grade 8 theory to DipABRSM and lately my LRSM in piano teaching, I found my learning journey a fortunate one. Ms Chia not only impart the knowledge for piano pedagogy. She also shared her goal as a piano teacher which enlightened me in bringing the same values to my students. It's a great learning journey with Ms Chia. I strongly recommend serious students who wants to excel and Teachers who wants to improve in teaching to learn with Ms Chia.
My teaching knowledge was broadened |Ms. Grace Soon, DipABRSM (distinction 2017)
It has been a wonderful experience learning under Ms Dorothy Chia. My teaching knowledge was broadened under her tutelage. Her piano pedagogy books used during the lessons were very helpful and I have benefitted much from the lessons with Ms Chia. Thank you for helping me and giving me constructive advices throughout my preparation for the DipABRSM teaching.
My teaching knowledge was broadened
Ms. Grace Soon, DipABRSM (distinction 2017)
It has been a wonderful experience learning under Ms Dorothy Chia. My teaching knowledge was broadened under her tutelage. Her piano pedagogy books used during the lessons were very helpful and I have benefitted much from the lessons with Ms Chia. Thank you for helping me and giving me constructive advices throughout my preparation for the DipABRSM teaching.
Very experienced piano teacher and mentor |Pengjia, parent of Junlu, grade 8 (distinction)
Dorothy is a very experienced piano teacher and mentor for my girl. She always encouraged her to do the utmost best with every pieces, pay attention not only to technical details but also to the emotion and story she needs to express. Under her professional guidance, my girl achieved distinction in her ABRSM grade 8 practical exam! Highly recommend.
Expose you to a wide range of repertoire |Gwyneth, grade 8
Ms. Chia is a teacher who will expose you to a wide range of repertoire by teaching you 2-3 new pieces every week. This also helps to improve my sight reading skills as we are made to sight read a piece hands together after hearing Ms. Chia play the piece once. She does not really put her focus on the notes itself as we are expected to be able to play and read the notes, hence her focus is on how we play a piece and how we are able to tell a story or express the mood of the piece to the audience. Technique such as lifting, using your whole arm whole playing big chords and dropping your fingers onto the keys are just a few of the techniques that I have learnt. Scales are done once every 2 weeks to ensure that we are able to play the running notes evenly and smoothly in our pieces and I had learnt the importance of practising my scales as without practising them, my brains are not there, causing many other problems afterwards.
Ms. Chia had also helped me in preparation for the MEP exam, giving me advise and tips and drilling me until I could play my pieces well. She also frequently tells us how we should strive a balance over our lives and teaches us other valuable lessons.All in all, I would like to thank Ms. Chia for her few year of guidance.
Very experienced piano teacher and mentor
Pengjia, parent of Junlu, Grade 8 (distinction)
Dorothy is a very experienced piano teacher and mentor for my girl. She always encouraged her to do the utmost best with every pieces, pay attention not only to technical details but also to the emotion and story she needs to express. Under her professional guidance, my girl achieved distinction in her ABRSM grade 8 practical exam! Highly recommend.
Expose you to a wide range of repertoire
Gwyneth, Grade 8
Ms. Chia is a teacher who will expose you to a wide range of repertoire by teaching you 2-3 new pieces every week. This also helps to improve my sight reading skills as we are made to sight read a piece hands together after hearing Ms. Chia play the piece once. She does not really put her focus on the notes itself as we are expected to be able to play and read the notes, hence her focus is on how we play a piece and how we are able to tell a story or express the mood of the piece to the audience. Technique such as lifting, using your whole arm whole playing big chords and dropping your fingers onto the keys are just a few of the techniques that I have learnt. Scales are done once every 2 weeks to ensure that we are able to play the running notes evenly and smoothly in our pieces and I had learnt the importance of practising my scales as without practising them, my brains are not there, causing many other problems afterwards.
Ms. Chia had also helped me in preparation for the MEP exam, giving me advise and tips and drilling me until I could play my pieces well. She also frequently tells us how we should strive a balance over our lives and teaches us other valuable lessons.All in all, I would like to thank Ms. Chia for her few year of guidance.
