I, Guitarist

I, GUITARIST

Johnson Liu, 11

The Dream Of Turning Pro

TEXT BY IVAN LIM
Nov 27 2023

It is now my dream to become a professional guitarist. I like playing the guitar because it is fun and relaxing and I love the sound of it. I practise every day – for around 15 to 20 minutes.

I started learning to play the guitar when I was 7 years old. I was living in Australia then, before my family moved to Singapore. Why did I choose to play the guitar? I saw a guy playing the guitar and looked very cool – and I wanted to be like him!

My favourite composer is M Carcassi and my favourite piece is Leyenda by Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz. The piece is in Book 9 of the Suzuki method. My favourite guitar player is my teacher, Andrew Wee – because I don’t know anybody else. I like his playing of Capricho Arabe by Francisco Tarrega.

Matteo Carcassi. Apr 8 1792 – Jan 16 1853

Carcassi was an Italian guitarist and composer. He first studied the piano, but learned guitar when still a child. He quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso concert guitarist. In 1823, he performed an extremely successful series of concerts in London that earned him great fame, both as a performing artist and as a teacher. Carcassi wrote a method for guitar (Op. 59), first published with Schott in Mainz, in 1836. It is still valuable, relevant and interesting. His most famous works are collected in his 25 Études, Op. 60. In these, he managed to blend technical skills and brilliant Romantic music. This is the reason his music is still played by so many classical guitarists today.

My first teacher in Australia was Nadia Satori and she taught me all the basics of the classical guitar (using the Suzuki method). Then, I moved to Singapore and was taught by teacher Di Hang for a long time. And recently, I became a student of teacher Andrew Wee. I enjoy my guitar lessons very much because they are fun and I like learning new things.

Notes from the author: Johnson plays a fractional Bartolex guitar and uses Savarez Prodige strings. I met him at his home recital during which he performed seven pieces from the Suzuki Method Book 2 and 11 from Book 3. Such performances give the student invaluable experience while helping them to develop confidence in playing.