Pipa

- Tim Chen

- Madeline Lin

- Jinhong

Pipa is an instrument that I have longed for since I was a teenager, but I was not able to learn it at that time. Only did I have the opportunity to start pipa lessons after coming to the United States when my life was stable. Before having online lessons with Mr. Gordon Lee, I learned from 4 professional teachers but didn’t find any feeling of playing it. Also I got some bad habits. I would feel nervous when playing the Pipa, and my fingers even hurt for a while. Now, I have been learning the Pipa online with Mr. Lee for a year and half. He first helped me relax my arms and fingers. Only then did I begin to appreciate the musicality of Pipa with relatively pleasant sound since my body, arms, hands, and fingers relaxed.

Compared with other instruments, the pipa is extremely technical, and requires very precise guidance in playing finger-rolling, etc. Otherwise, it is very easy to encounter bottlenecks and be unable to improve. First of all, Gordon is proficient in traditional Chinese music. His pipa teaching also incorporates the aesthetic traditional music. I teach Chinese language and culture courses at a university in the southern United States, and this has been very helpful. Secondly, under Lee’s teaching tenet of “taking the tone quality as the foundation”, while my pipa playing skills are slowly improving, the beauty of the sounds I play is also slowly improving, which is commendable. More importantly, Teacher Lee’s teaching methods are flexible and changeable, and he can adjust the teaching methods according to the needs of students at different stages, including music selection, the focus of each class, etc. In addition, Gordon is not only scientific but also has a sense of life when teaching skills. For example: when explaining the wheel technique, he would use the design principles of Zhaozhou Bridge to explain why the hand shape helps fingertip motions; when explaining arm weight, he would use the method of holding a hammer to help me find an easy manner to achieve a more beautiful sound. All the techniques he teaches always serve the music. Each technique will be arranged and practiced in the music in time, and he will draw inferences from one example, giving me a constant sense of accomplishment.

Comparing with other instruments, I think the pipa is more difficult to learn. If it weren’t for Mr. Lee’s constant encouragement, patience and care in teaching, and the visible and constant small progress under his guidance, I would have given up. It is rare to find a good teacher, so I am grateful for the good relationship between teacher and student.

Jane P.

Gordon Lee has been my Pipa instructor for two years. I have been studying from another instructor previously and had developed some very bad habits on the Pipa. When I came to Gordon I was already over 60 years old and was losing hope in the instrument.

Gordon was immediately encouraging, never feeling like age could hinder learning. He wanted to know what my goals were and tailored the class to meet me. Gordon has a very sharp eye and has very sharp ears. If my timing is off or if I played too harshly, he picks it up at once. He could tell when my fingerings were incorrect to the most minute detail even though our lessons were all virtual. He corrected my bad habits a little at a time and was very patient in repeating it over and over again until I could grasp it.

He is good at coming up with similes to get his points across. When I fall backwards and am discouraged, he is always encouraging and uplifting. He watches out for my posture, body, fingers, hands and elbows, and make sure I’m not doing anything that could harm my muscles.

With my years of learning Pipa from other instructors, this was the first time I felt that I’ve improved and is getting to where I want to go. I really recommend Gordon as a Pipa instructor.

––James Wong

When I saw a real Pipa for the first time at a Chinese traditional music concert, I was still a graduate student. It sounded just like music from heaven and amazingly impressed me. After finishing my graduate school study I came to the SF Bay Area and became a software engineer. The passion for this beautiful music instrument never failed and I planed to start a journey to formally learn it based on professional standards. I have been taking private lessons with my Pipa teacher Xie Tan for more than 3 years at Aimusic School. My teacher guided me with detailed explanations. His methods of instruction are unique and creative which helped me a lot to stay on track. We become good friends outside of class time and always talk about all types of music. I enjoy the time when I play my favorite songs on Pipa and it’s so calming to myself after a long day of work. I do believe music instruments have souls and playing melodies is not the only purpose of their existence.

––Wenting Tan
Software Engineer @ Edelman Financial Engines
The College of William and Mary, M.S. in Computer Science.

When I first started learning the Pipa, I just wanted to find a hobby. Because the Pipa is portable and its music is beautiful, I decided to learn it. And then I came upon Aimusic. I did not expect that this randomly chosen hobby would have a profound and positive impact on my life and work.

Gordon’s teaching philosophy and methods are very different from the instrumental music teachers I have seen in the past. He pays more attention to grinding inner skills like control of fingers and body sensitivity to relaxation when playing the Pipa. This method was boring at first, but after gradually getting started, it opens a new world. For me, practicing the Pipa is no longer a task to complete a solo piece, but a relaxing solution after a day of work. Occasionally, I can enter a super relaxed condition. It is a wonderful state to simply experience the resonance of the instrument when finger touching the string. After that, all the fatigue and worries from my daily work are wiped out. I think this is a great meditation for decompression although it’s different from those popular in Silicon Valley now.

Also, in the process of playing the Pipa, I need to be very focused to perceive and master the techniques. This is a process of enlightenment. Sometimes, there is a spark of eureka. Linking the spark with my life and work, I can deal with more difficulties with a peaceful heart and relaxed attitude. I have been greatly benefited from learning the Pipa.

Life is not easy and the best state is to go all out while relaxing. But no one can say clearly how that can be done. Many pursue it by reading, joining book clubs, or doing sports. Yet some may come from their nature. I’m pleasantly surprised to find practicing my Pipa brings me a glimpse to that state even though my current self-cultivation is far from enough.

––Yu Gong

LinkedIn staff software engineer, master’s degree on computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (2011-13), and bachelor from University of Science and Technology of China (2007-11).

As we all know, COVID-19 is raging all over the world, so is in the Bay Area. For everyone’s safety, we need to follow the shelter in place order. My son Rex takes online Pipa lessons since March 20. I believe it is the best way currently.

Many thanks to Gordon for the quick adjustment and arrangement. In this way, Rex doesn’t give up and continues his efforts. He changed his learning style through online courses, which is also a new experience. From these last a few weeks, I can see that Gordon spends a lot of time to think of teaching effectively. He showed correct right hand positions by showing the contact point of the fingernail and the string from different angles through the camera. He explained how to coordinate the hand, forearm, elbow, and shoulder. He also demonstrated the left hand posture by pressing the string down and making marks on his own fingers. In order for the students to clearly understand what is the scientific manner, Gordon elaborates on the theory. These are undoubtedly the most effective and clear interpretation of skills for a new student like Rex. Every class Gordon has new perspectives to teach and explain the skills that the student has not yet practiced and integrated well. Carefully interpret the application of each new technique, especially finger movement decompositions, the explanation is very easy to understand. To make a smooth tremolo, he showed how to use the first joint of the index finger. Also he broke down the “wheel” to three steps: first, pop up from the index finger to the little finger; secondly, lift the thumb; thirdly, retract the four fingers. Is it very easy? Of course when my son started to follow, he scrambled and made a mess. However, through the online training of the essential plucking, rolling, and wheeling, Rex’s Pipa skill has undergone a qualitative change. His sound is no longer sharp and noisy, but becomes thick and nicely. Rex’s progress is obvious even though he faces a great challenge of changing bad habits. I’m thankful for the Pipa teacher. My simple words express deeply grateful of mine. I hope this virus crisis will pass quickly and everything will return to normal. My son still likes learning face-to-face. He said it was more vivid and interesting.

Pay tribute again!

February 29, 2020

Dear Teacher Gordon:

It was beyond my expectation. You are so kind and caring so that we have no restraint. When coming to your home, we got lost and the mobile phone signal was bad. You patiently called us over and over to guide us. When I was completely panic-stricken, I was really touched at that time your wife came down from the hill, holding a flashlight to pick us up. My anxiety calmed down instantly. It was very magical that there was no distance between us even though we met in the first time. We all like your teaching methods, and I am particularly impressed by your thorough Pipa skill demonstrations and explanations. Every finger movement is easily understood even for me knowing nothing about it! Rex Ouyang once again showed his desire to learn the Pipa well. In his own words: he is not nervous at all, and hopes that one day, under your instruction, he can be a friend with the instrument and eventually become a good player. I was surprised. Once he was very passive on the Pipa, and even avoided practicing it. I didnt want to force him and asked him what was his real thoughts. Perhaps he didn’t want to continue. In fact he was contradictory. On one hand, he wanted to continue, but was very confused on the other hand. In the last year or so he felt the burden of practice and the stagnation of skills (his skills would deteriorate), so he was very depressed. Before coming to your lesson, he was in a state of remorse. Afterwards, he was happily telling me that he wanted to continue learning the Pipa. After these three lessons, he showed his great interest and confidence again, which is very rare. I really appreciate your guidance.

Rex’s interest in the Pipa was from “Kung Fu Panda.” A rabbit in the movie playing the Pipa repelled the enemy. He felt very magical and powerful, hoping to know what it was. I told him that it was a traditional Chinese instrument with a mythical story of the four great kings. Also I found the Pipa music Ambush from Ten Sides for him. After listening to it, he wanted to learn. At that time, he was just 5, and his willingness persisted until he was 7. We inquired a teacher during that period, and were told that the child was too young to hold the instrument. He had been waiting for his hands growing larger and then began to be a Pipa boy. Now he is 13 and I really thank you!

-- Xiuran

So far, I have started learning the Pipa three times.

The first time was the end of the third year of high school. The remaining little leisure began to ferment, and I found a local teacher to start learning pipa. Soon after the first year of school, heavy work shattered the brain-filled maple daisy, and the Pipa that went north with me was idle in the corner. The second time was my senior year. I followed a Pipa student from the school folk band and continued to practice from basic fingering. Soon after he went to study in the United States, Pipa stayed at home, so he couldn’t do it again.

Two years ago, I found Aimusic.us online and immediately emailed the school. Soon I received a call from Mr. Lee and became a new student.

After just a few lessons, the teacher’s unique teaching method was very refreshing. Before, I always thought that my plucking tone was dull, due to lack of practice. As for how to practice, it is actually unconscious. Every time Mr. Lee takes classes, he must explain how he feels the joints of his fingers, the relationship between the fingertips and the chords, and how to judge the sound quality. In fact, these sensitive feelings come from years of experience and discovery. It is difficult to describe in words. Beginners, like me, are monkeys who have just popped out of rocks, and it is even harder to understand these explanations. However, the teacher continued to talk about this each class, and I continued to listen. In this way, I continued the picking practice for the first six months.

Taking the tension of the second joint when looking for a string, this process lasted for several months. I kept searching for this feeling of tension during the practice, and presented my teacher’s method during the class. If the teacher corrects, I know that the feeling I found is wrong, go back and continue to explore. Finally, one day, in the last pick-up class of “Golden Snake Dance“, the teacher said that I had a few good sounds. Interestingly, I didn’t quite hear the sound quality at that time. From this moment on, every time I popped a good tone, the teacher immediately gave feedback. Over time, my ears have been trained to be sensitive, and the efficiency of my practice has greatly improved. Looking back now, this is a substantial progress. The process of learning the Pipa made me really feel that the learning principles of technology and art are the same. From the continuous trial and error when the understanding and execution are both chaotic and unopened, to accumulate success samples, observe, reflect, refine, and continue to explore in the direction of success. Teachers often emphasize detailed concepts, such as “relaxation” to increase the sensitivity of the senses, such as “saving effort” to increase the stability and flexibility of the hand. Think about it.

For me now, Pipa practice has become a relaxation and an expectation. More than two years have passed and benefited greatly. The road ahead is still long, I am full of expectations.

— Apple engineer, graduated from Tsinghua University, and Ph.D. from University of California, Irvine

In a Sunday morning, my daughter Clemence was playing a new ensemble song. She tried and tried her new G key on the numeral notation but still no luck to get it right. When she went to her Pipa class, her teacher taught her to combine the upper rack "Do Ri Me" with a lower rack’s on the D key she’s already mastered. The combination on an extended position made G scales out. Clemence understood instantly and learned the whole music quickly, which had never happened before. My daughter likes this way of Pipa teaching. She feels very fulfilling.

-- Kaimun Wong

Joining Aimusic / Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra is one of the best learning decisions I have ever made. My daughter Megan Banh has been taking the Pipa lessons with Gordon laoshi for over 7 years. Gordon laoshi is very gentle and patient when teaching and listens to students feedback and preferences. Megan learned not only how to play the instrument Pipa but more importantly, she learned how to play with her heart. We are very lucky to have Gordon laoshi as our teacher and would highly recommend to our friends and families.

— Emily