June 22, 2010 | Posted in Personality, Features & Real Stories | Post a comment | Share Article |
Imagine – being able to master the art of making music the natural way and learning up to 12 times faster than what the conventional route allows. No more memorising music notes but tapping into your inborn senses to play your favourite songs spontaneously. Founder of Play By Ear Sdn Bhd, Alex Leow, tells Barbara Skadiang Tey of My Child Malaysia how he did it decades ago, and how you and your children today can be musically endowed.
You don’t have to be a Mozart to play the piano or violin (yes, Mozart was an accomplished violinist too). Unless you have a congenital or medical condition, you possess inherent musical abilities which can be developed to varying degrees of competence. And who says you must undergo mainstream music education to gain recognition as an accomplished performing musician? That was the premise upon which the Play By Ear system was founded.
From “conman” to innovator
Alex reminisces, “I was selling insurance and had been involved in the time resort industry until 1985 when the recession hit. Left jobless with only about RM300 in my pocket, I turned to teaching music from house to house, mostly to adults who didn’t wish to learn how to read notes.”
Over the next 10 years, Alex was labelled a conman for spurning the traditional method of teaching music and promoting an unheard-of approach instead. Nevertheless, he persevered and meticulously innovated a system which he kept fine-tuning till it culminated into the Play By Ear (PBE) system in 1996. Then thanks to a write-up in The Star that year, Alex and his business partner, the late Dr Vincent Lee, received overwhelming response from intrigued readers, including Tun Dr Siti Hasmah who signed up. What Play By Ear offered was music to the public’s ears, especially the “far-sighted wannabes”, as Alex affectionately refers to them. To ride on the wave of interest, Alex placed advertisements in the newspaper featuring testimonials about being able to play the piano in two weeks. The pitch of the ads resonated well with the general public. I remember them well because I was one among the enquiring masses – some whose childhood dreams of playing the piano had been quashed through poverty, others with children who would benefit from such lessons.
“Many parents do not have formal music training, so they find it hard to coach their children after the second grade. As a result, many children slack and drop out,” Alex observes. “Instead, we at PBE teach them to enjoy music using their inborn senses. We found that 95 percent of people have such abilities even if they don’t know they have it.”
Alex is living proof of the system he created. At nine years of age, Alex discovered he could play music without formal training.
“I figured that there was a system to find any melody you want. By 16, I had found out how to fit in the harmony or chords, and my hand could instinctively go to the right places without referring to a book,” recalls the self-taught musician who plays the accordion, harmonica, flute, guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer, trumpet and violin.
Though Alex started off with a predominantly adult market, children make up 70 percent of his clientele today.
“It’s simply because they pick up faster. Even those with no musical background are still able to perform well. In fact, the cleaner the slate, the better it is!” Alex enthuses.
Licence to play
In 2007, after developing the business quite significantly, Alex decided to appoint three licensees to operate PBE centres in Kepong Baru, Kelana Jaya and USJ Taipan. That year also marked a turning point for the school as they expanded their curriculum to include the electric guitar, bass guitar, electronic keyboard, drums and vocals. Lessons are available to children from 6 to 18 and adults who want to play for pleasure. Many of PBE’s teachers are former professional musicians who have excelled despite not being conventionally trained.
The school has tied up with the Thames Valley University (TVU), UK and the London College of Music (LCM) to offer graded and diploma qualifications. Students who are not able to read music notes are given the opportunity to be tested solely on their public performance.
“This is a breakthrough! Now blind students have the chance to attain formal qualifications in music,” Alex enthuses.
Even though Braille notes are available, they are tedious to learn and tend to slow down the musician, so he or she ends up playing by ear anyway.
Alex has been working with the Malaysian Association of the Blind (MAB) since 2005 to identify promising candidates whom PBE would train on a subsidy or scholarship. Among their success stories are Tan Mike Foong, 14, a prodigy from Kuala Kubu Baru, and Cheah Min Enn, 13, who has very limited vision. Another successful PBE graduate is Nicholas Laudersamy, now 28, who is partially blind with hearing problems in one ear. Nicholas is training to be a PBE teacher.
Where to from here?
“Don’t judge your child’s musical ability so quickly!” Alex exhorts parents who are appalled at their children’s disinterest and lack-lustre performance. “Get a reliable professional opinion before you make any conclusion. Go for effective methods that bring out rather than stifle your child’s ability. Be very clear about the purpose you send your child for music lessons. There are no bad students, only ineffective teachers.”
The words ring true – why do you want your child to go through the traditional route just because everyone else seems to be going that way? After all, isn’t learning music more about self-expression, creativity, fun and relaxation?
“When children are asked to play songs they don’t know and probably don’t like, they won’t feel inspired. Why not let them learn the principles of making music first, and then let them use these principles to figure out how they want to express or de-stress themselves through music?” asks Alex.
Under his close supervision, Alex’s ten-year-old daughter is also a product of the system he devised. I myself recall how the PBE system seven years ago taught me Ode to Joy, among other tunes, which I tried to teach my then five-year-old who, to my surprise, could play it. Today, she is a promising pianist with a good ear for music. Me? Well, I’m like you, too – all ears for something that’s going to benefit our children! – MCM
Photos courtesy of Alex Leow.
Photo captions:
1st photo - Students posing with their awards after a successful performance
2nd photo - Tun Dr Siti Hasmah (centre) flanked by the late Dr Vincent Lee (left) and Alex Leow (right)
3rd photo - Blind student Tan Mike Foong, 14, gets a little guidance before starting his performance
For more information about PBE’s courses and their money-back-guarantee policy, contact 03-5632 3397 or visit http://tinyurl.com/yk3nvvt. You may also get a preview at www.youtube.com/user/12playbyear#p/u/18/zNJIYkxBmdA; and
www.youtube.com/user/12playbyear#p/u/19/Nz91h2cr9EM. Alternatively, you may call PBE's 24-hour hotline number: 03-2055 3106.
