The Cheah family doesn't have any musical genes?

It was as if I had opened a Pandora box of secrets when I bought Yui-chan.

It was recently that I realised my family is not very artistically inclined. We love to sing, if that is what you mean. But that is as far as the music in us goes. Dad plays the harmonica a little, but I am sure his skills are now as rusty as the old harmonica in the kitchen drawer (don’t ask why it’s the kitchen of all places).

Being born in that sort of a family where no one plays an instrument and knows zilch about music, I had my qualms about picking up guitar. I was worried about the cost, paying for lessons, what others would think, what my family would think... etc. My worries were like a bottomless pit. Last year, I really wanted to get one here in Perth during the winter. And when I told Dad about it, he said: “Are you sure you could do this?” It was very off-putting. I was disappointed that he said something like that to me. In the end, I gave in into his perception of me. I let the intention slipped away but the thought of it just couldn’t leave me.

And this year comes along. I finally bought a guitar for myself for various reasons. Everyone in my family was surprised. I bet they thought I was only warming up to the idea but would never act on it. And I am glad I proved them wrong.

Then, everyone started telling me their near-brushes with getting an instrument themselves. My second sister told me she wanted to enrol for guitar lessons in GB. Instead of getting a guitar, Dad brought her to the Chung Seng Bookshop and got her a harmonica instead. I laughed when she related this story but it wasn’t a petty matter to her back then. She was only about 13 after all.

And my eldest sis wanted to take piano lessons back in primary school. When she told Dad, he insisted that he had asked her about it before and she had refused. My sis had no recollection of such an event happening. Why was Dad so discouraging about us taking music lessons? The only reason my sisters and I could come up with is that our family was barely scraping by on Dad’s paycheck. That could explain the lack of family vacations too.

The greatest revelation so far had to come from my old man himself. When Dad first came to TI, he actually enrolled in guitar lessons in Yamaha School but was put off by theoretical part of music. He quitted after only one lesson. Could this be the reason why he discouraged us (albeit subtly) from taking up music? I could only guess.

When I broke the news that I finally bought Yui-chan, I caught that element of surprise in his email. After relating his experience at Yamaha, he said, “I think the Cheah family hasn’t got any musical genes.” I was furious with this remark because it was as if he is looking down on me. But then, the next email came – “I wish you could prove me wrong.”

Yeah, Dad... I want to prove you wrong. More importantly, I want to make myself happy. If I don’t do what I like now, then when can I do it? If the right time is not now, then when will that be?

Being an adult (gasp!) beginner at something is never easy. I can’t read music and I plan to be self-taught. I don’t expect myself to start playing the guitar immediately and I want to learn things at my own pace. Even if I do give up in the future, I won’t regret this decision. This is something I really wanted after all.

About the ‘musical genes’ thing, I don’t take that crap. As long as we put our efforts into something, we can improve. Now, that’s what I believe in.