I asked around. "When was the last time you heard this piano being played?" No one remembered. Such a sad answer. I thought through for several months on how it could be restored. To take it out to a shop to repair it would already cost a bomb in transportation without even considering restoration costs. "Why don't you just buy a new piano? It will be cheaper you know. More practical" a friend suggested.
I didn't understand why exactly but my heart preferred the old piano restored rather than a brand new piano sitting in the hall. Maybe the idea of restoring and salvaging what was no longer useful struck me as being more noble and romantic. So I continued to ask around to see if anyone could help.
One day Mr Lee Geok Ai, the chairman of the board of governors connected me with Mrs Tang, Jer Fang's mum. She in turn connected me with Mr Lim, a piano master. When the piano master came at about 11 am, he informed me that what we had was, indeed a very old piano of some 65 years. I asked if it could be restored. He hmmed for a while and thought about transporting the heavy piano back to the shop. He said after a long while " If you can get a carpenter here - maybe,maybe I can do something but no guarantees."
Miraculously on that day of all days, I happened to have a visiting carpenter who was there with his aide to repair the school chairs and tables. ( Most schools do not have visiting carpenters even and for me to have a carpenter on the same day the piano master needed one was really a miracle and God's prearranged coincidence. ) So I called the carpenter and his aide to the school hall and they conferred together with Mr Lim. When the carpenter first stepped foot in the hall and I ushered him to the piano - he protested loudly in Cantonese - " I don't know how to do pianos. I only know how to repair chairs and tables."
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| Carpenter and aide repairing tables |
Mr Lim calmed him down. "First you and your aide help me shift the piano out into the middle of the hall and then we all turn the piano upside down together. Then you level the bottom of the piano so it won't wobble. Later we turn it upright again so I can work on the inside of the piano." They took about an hour before the piano was upright and steady on her legs again. Now Mr Lim dismantled the entire piano and displayed all her innards. He painstakingly worked on each key. The carpenter was instructed to prepare new side panelling while Mr Lim worked with the piano innards.
The operation was performed in full view of the afternoon girls who had begun gathering in the hall for the assembly.However we could not carry out the assembly in the hall as operation piano took a good 4 hours plus plus. When Mr Lim came to give me the bill, he said Mrs Tang reminded him not to charge a lot. Guess the price he charged me for that 4 hours plus plus of real hard work? Only RM400/-. As he gave me the bill,he said cheekily, " Oh, I didn't charge you anything for the free show the afternoon girls had today, watching the piano being restored."
The piano was further improved by frequent tuning and also by varnishing it with dark shellac. Each morning, the girls would play on it before assembly. It brought so much joy and pleasure to hear the sweet melodies. The girls also played it like for about 30 minutes before major school events like speech day or PIBG AGM. Another source of joy was to play it before examinations started . Joyce Tan played it during the PMR exam. It calmed the girls' nerves. Visitors also played on it when they came to the hall.
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| Joyce at the piano |
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| Michelle Tan playing the piano |
Another source of joy the piano gave was the cross cultural informal learning that took place outside class and school times. Often in the afternoon, I would chance upon girls crowding round the old piano. Someone would play and others would just enjoy the music while others learnt. A few days later I would find the learner had been able to tinkle out a similar melody from the piano.
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| Cross cultural learning around the piano |
The piano was also occasionally accompanied by the violin played by Rabiah. Joyce rallied the girls to form a team where the piano was played each morning by someone from the team.
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| Rabiah and Tay. The violinist and the pianist |
Sometime this year, a friend Connie asked me to recommend her a piano master to improve a piano for her children. Of course I recommended Mr Lim, our piano master. When Mr Lim went to tune her piano, he realized the keys were a bit stiff for her young children and he told her so forthrightly. Connie then asked Mr Lim if he would consider buying the piano for studio use since it was not suitable for her children. He was hesitant since the stiff keys would make it difficult for young children to play on. So he asked her, "Ma'am, would you like to do something charitable?" Connie asked. "What charitable deeds are you thinking of? " Mr Lim - you know you can donate this piano to SMK Convent Sentul. The girls there are much older and your piano despite its stiffness, is really much better than the piano they currently have."
Ha! So Connie called me and asked if I wanted another piano. Of course my answer was a big YES!!! Actually I and the pianists had wanted another piano for some time. Our grand old dame did have many limitations despite the joy she brought us. In fact the pianists had asked several times if I could buy another better piano for them since they played so very often in school.Connie got Mr Lim to restore the piano beautifully and also had the piano repainted and she got piano movers to send it to our school. The new piano came to us totally FOC!!! Thank you Connie and James Poh and Mr Lim for thinking about our school !!
My girls thought I had spent money buying another piano for them and were very appreciative of it. When I finally tested the keys, I found it not at all stiff so I was a bit surprised and asked Tay - one of our pianists. She laughed and said, " We played so much until it lost its stiffness. Haha!"
Hearing the sweet music each morning reminds me of God's providence and miracles through kind and charitable people. His blessings are ever new!
