学生作品
Greeting Card——赵人锦（ Veronica Zhao）
2013-03-01
1996
With a forte cry, I came into the world in Luoyang, Henan Province.
2004
Our family moved to Beijing after I gave up my first instrument: accordion. I chose piano without hesitation, because my gorgeous primary school music teacher played piano, and my beautiful accordion teacher also played a piano-like instrument. Piano makes people graceful and pretty, I thought.
2005
My neighbor recommended his teacher for me when he knew that I was planning to study it. He said the teacher was excellent.
I joined his class in order to have a look at my future teacher. As I was told, the teacher was extremely strict. I felt nervous, but I saw an old woman who was almost seventy years old, embracing a yellow, fat cat, smiling amicably. She was podgy and robust. She looked really kind, I thought. She must have been beautiful when she was young.
Next week came my first piano class. I stuck with my parents and went into the room without speaking a word. After the self- introduction, I could not believe what the first thing she taught me:
“You should always remember that you need to say hello to teachers when you meet them. Go to the door and do it.”
What?! Wasn’t she a piano teacher?
I went back to the door. “Hello teacher,” I said timidly.
“Louder! And call me Mrs. Liu.”
“Hello, Mrs. Liu!”
This teacher was incredible. I got this conclusion after the first class, for the sake of her mutable mood.
“Ok, now you know these keys’ letter names. Then most basic thing for every instrument player is the scale. Everyone started from it. I show you first.”
Mrs. Liu played C Major Scale quickly and fluently, made every note sound strong and be full of energy. She made a quiet river started to flow, and made every droplet touched each other. I enjoyed high pitches especially. They sounded like water dripping on little bells.
When I was allowed to try to play music scale, I put my hand onto the piano keys. This was the first time I touched piano keys. They were so white, so smooth. I put my hand onto them.
“Don’t be rush. Use one hand to practice first… Oh DO NOT RUSH! Don’t make so many mistakes! Play slowly with less mistakes OK?!... Right, righ- No! Don’t you feel uncomfortable using this finger? This way… No! Oh you are so stupid! Play again!...Yes! That’s right. Good girl!”
Her facial expressions changed from smiling amicable, to serious, then became sulky, and suddenly changed to laughing. Also, I was demanded at the end of the class to say thank you and goodbye in order to be polite.
However, I was wrong. The teacher was not incredible, but dreadful. I saw her true face during the second class when she began to teach me some basic songs.
“No, this is not right,” said Mrs. Liu. She asked me to be careful about my hand structure. “The music won’t be graceful without it.” She showed me how to play. So I imitated her.
“No! How did I tell you? You should do it like this! And…” She put her thick and big right hand onto the piano key, and made an egg-like hand structure. That made her hand seem much chubbier, I thought. But then I heard a thunder.
“Did you hear what I just said? Repeat it!”
“Um, I should have a good hand structure like this?” I put my little hand onto the key and imitated her action. My hand was shaped like an elliptical cage.
“That is what I said before! I want to tell you that you should always try to lift your finger and knock the key. Do not push the key like this.” She played “DO” using the two different ways. “Can you hear anything different?”
“Um, no?”
“No? Listen again.” She played again and looked at me. Her sight scared me, like I should have the ability to distinguish them. However I only heard two “Do” with the same water-dropping-like sound.
But I said “Ah, yes.”
“Good. The second Do is unpleasant to hear, isn’t it? It sounds really stiff. Remember NEVER push the key!” she asked me to play again.
I would definitely get it right this time. I thought happily, and then she would praise me.
“Oh you are so foolish!” she shouted, and then I felt something soft stroke on my right arm with a strong kinetic energy. I felt hurt, and I felt wronged. Why did she beat me?! My hand structure was good! I didn’t play the wrong key! I tried to lift up my fingers and knock the key! Why did she beat me? Some sticky liquid came out of my nose.
“Use that napkin.” Mrs. Liu pointed to the top of the piano. I looked up, and found them next beside a pyramid- shaped black machine. There was a stack of piano books located on the left side of it, which was almost as high as I was. That’s huge, why does she have so many books? I thought. Then I noticed a white cat slept on the piano. How many cats are there in this room? I bet there are at least three, because I saw another old white cat sitting in the bathroom. That’s why this room is full of cat smells.
“Sit down, you woodenhead!”
I sat down immediately and tried to avoid her eye- sight, like I would have been pierced with two holes if I dared to look at her. Fortunately, her alarm clock ran. Class was finally over! I closed the book with light speed and stood up.
“Why are you hurrying? Sit down! You cannot leave until you play it correctly.”
That was definitely horrible. But fortunately, desiring the world out of this cattery, I finally satisfied her.
“Thank you and goodbye.” I said with a low voice.
She smiled at me. Her face was completely different compared to several minutes ago. “Remember to practice at least one hour per day and pay attention to your hand structure!”
Without replying, I rushed out of the door.
After several months, the Teachers’ Day came. My father told me I should write a greeting card for Mrs. Liu. “She really helps you a lot. You would never improve so much without her.” So I wrote:
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亲爱的刘老师，
(Dear Mrs. Liu,)
教师节快乐。非常感谢您的帮助。
(Happy Teachers’ Day. Thanks a lot for your help.)
赵人锦
(Renjin)
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My father told me to add the second sentence. I wrote it reluctantly. Thanks for her help? Thanks for her rebuking and beating? Oh come on, I have no mental disease.
2007
“You stupid pig! Silly donkey! How many times did I tell you THIS IS NOT RIGHT?! Look at your terrible hand structure!”
My right hand was already red, with tree deeper red stripes on the back of the hand which looked ridiculous. Something slashed on it again. I felt my hand is hot and red enough for people who want to eat barbecue. Then it turned numb.
“Play again!”
My fingers were trembling so much that I couldn’t control them. Keys felt rough and ice- cold. Music sounded like the Moaning Myrtle. There was a bomb inside on key, I thought, I have to knock it by lifting my finger instead of pushing it…
“Bomb!”
Suddenly everything became blurry, twisting and mixing up in front of my wet eyes. I could see nothing but a monster wearing Mrs. Liu’s glasses sitting beside me. The monster was flamed.
“Go away! Go away from the piano you idiot!” said the monster, and at the same time I felt my leg was smashed. I knew this was the punishment for playing the score wrong the fifth time. But this was her fault! She shouldn’t beat me this way! I cannot see my score clearly with tears. I cannot feel the key using a numb hand! I cannot control my hand to make a nice hand structure!
I stood beside the piano and wept. It was so embarrassing, I thought. I’m already eleven years old but I was still crying, especially in front of this ugly and fat monster. But I just couldn’t control my tears. They went into my mouth by themselves, tasted like sea water.
After a hundred years she said: “Go wash your face.”
I teleported into the bathroom. With shivering fingers, I practiced again and again until she was satisfied. I went out of her room directly when I was allowed to leave without saying a word to her.
Next Sunday morning before the piano class in afternoon, my mother was showing me Vault. I tried vaulting by imitating her actions, but I bent my left- hand fingers. Despite the pain, I realized that I don’t need to see that ugly monster this week because I cannot play the piano! I heard my father was calling Mrs. Liu. His cell- phone always had a loud volume that is clearly enough for me to hear their conversation.
- Hello Mrs. Liu, this is Renjin’s father. I’m so sorry that Renjin cannot go to your class today. She hurt her fingers.
- What? Is she OK now?
- Well, yes, I think. (My father looked at me, who was jumping around and making noises.)
- I’m so sorry about that! Tell her to take care of herself!
- Yes, thank you! I will.
- Oh, if her fingers aren’t cured next week she doesn’t need to come either.
- Ok, ok. Thank you very much.
- You are always welcome. Goodbye.
I felt much better now, although I was sure I would change my mind when she beat me like that again,
2010
My piano class ended after I reached the highest level of piano examination for non- professional degree. She really expected me to continue for higher level, however she was too old to continue teach me. She had no might to play those long and big movements such as the sonata “Pathetique,” or the third movement of “Moonlight.”
I didn’t give up the piano although I swore a thousand times that I would never go to piano class after she beat me like that. Maybe it is because I promised my mother that I wouldn’t give up any instrument after accordion, or maybe I was jus caught my piano. I considered the piano’s sound as water since I first heard it. Compared to accordion, which always has an enthusiastic and cadent feeling just like a trumpet, piano is more variable. It could be soft like a flowing creek, or could be strong like a shouting tsunami. I gradually knew that I learned how to play these different sounds from Mrs. Liu, by using fingers, arms, or the whole body. Yes, she is super strict, but I recalled my neighbor’s words: the teacher is excellent.
“Play this again, foolish child!”
“Go home and practice these bars. I’ll check you next class.”
“Right, here ‘Cresc.’ means to be louder, and ‘dim.’ means lower. You should remember those marks. Take this music symbol book and try to recite them.”
“Here! The sharp key! Can’t you see the sharp key you idiot?!”
“Chords should be play like this, using your wrist… Hey don’t loosen your hand structure!”
“…Go on, play like this…Right, sounds beautiful.”
“Congratulations! A lot of people stuck on the 8th level, but you did it! In only four years! You passed the exam! Good job!”
“I’m really proud of you dear. You are one of my best students.”
…
I cannot remember when I started to appreciate her. I found that it was her beating and rebuking let me improve so quickly. From the first day she taught me how to be polite, till now we discussed about Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven’s styles. I knew that the black, pyramid machine is metronome. I knew that she played the entire stack of piano books. I could hear the differences between knocking the key and pushing the key. I could play the streamy music like she did. And I knew she was getting older.
I wrote her another greeting card on Teachers’ Day:
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亲爱的刘老师，
(Dear Mrs. Liu,)
祝您教师节快乐！非常感谢您的教导。我衷心的感谢您，爱您！请一定照顾好自己的身体！
(Happy Teachers’ Day! Thank you very much for your teaching. I appreciate you sincerely and I love you very much! Please take care of yourself!)
爱您的人锦
(Yours sincerely,
Renjin.)
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