At a recent charity dinner to raise funds for the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer's disease, my son, Phoebus, and his wife, Danielle, performed an improvised version of the theme to the Japanese movie Departures on piano and flute. The music was synchronised to a video on Professor Kao's achievements, and included a mention of his visit to my home to appraise the music that Phoebus composed for Nancy Koh's Buddhist-themed verse musical, The First Leaf of Dream Song.
All that reminded me of the endeavours that my wife Helena and I went to as young parents two decades ago to initiate our children into the world of music.
Our daughter and son, Phoebe and Phoebus, were enrolled in music classes at the age of four, when their ears could develop best. They both eventually achieved perfect pitch. They learned to play the piano, as well as the rudiments of aural, theory, composition and improvisation.
But to get small children to sit still and practise, there had to be some incentives. These included appealing to their vanity. They got merit and distinction grades in the Royal Schools of Music exams, for instance, and shone in the annual spring competitions organised by the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. Then there was dangling the carrot, when we take them to the playground or movies as reward for doing well, and the stick was punishment for poor performance.
Phoebe won her first competition in Grade 1 and, after enrolling in the junior music programme at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), went on to win in Grade 5. It was an especially hard-won victory for Phoebe because she had small hands and short fingers.
She practiced zealously, fuelled by a competitive spirit from past victories, asking every teacher at the academy to listen to her playing and tell her shortcomings. That was a rare initiative for a nine-year-old.
