My Students and I Put On a Show | The Other Side of Facing the Sun

A Special Collaborative Performance

Hey everyone! Things have been pretty hectic these past few months, so my Talking videos have been a bit delayed. But I did release a new arrangement last month—a fingerstyle version of Stefanie Sun's "It's Getting Dark"—so feel free to check that out if you haven't heard it yet.

Today I'd like to invite you all to a special live performance. At the end of this month, on November 29th (Saturday) at 7 PM, I'm performing with some of my current guitar students in a collaborative show called "The Other Side of Facing the Sun." Later in this video, I've also invited them to perform their fingerstyle pieces—both original compositions and arrangements. I hope you'll stick around to hear them all.

Why "The Other Side of Facing the Sun"?

This is actually the second time I've used this title for a performance; the first was back in 2023. The original idea came from noticing that several of my students wanted to go beyond just improving their playing technique—they also wanted to learn how to arrange music.

I think arrangement is a great way to express your musical ideas, especially with solo arrangements. Solo work comes with constraints, and constraints force you to make choices—which notes do I keep in my arrangement, and which ones do I leave out?

What's fascinating is that even though everyone studies guitar with me, even if we're all arranging the same song, our choices about what to keep and what to remove are different. So each person's arrangement ends up with its own unique feel. Seeing everyone's work express different musical styles and interpretations genuinely moves me. I really believe music reflects the true personality of the performer, especially in solo work.

Growth and Learning Through Teaching

I've been teaching guitar since 2016. Through teaching and interacting with my students, I've actually learned quite a lot myself. For instance, I see how each person faces their own challenges—everyone has their own learning pace, their own obstacles, and their own breakthroughs. I often see reflections of myself at different stages of my own journey.

That's why I organize these performances. Rather than a typical music school recital, it's more about me wanting to share the work of these students who have grown alongside me.

The Unique Value of Personal Engagement

After listening to their performances, I want to share some thoughts. Several of these students have been studying with me for quite a while now. I have special admiration for people who work full-time jobs and then use their spare time to refine and practice something like playing an instrument—something that requires effort, attention, and isn't easy.

Moreover, music creation might actually be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future. But when we use our own minds and bodies to engage with a skill, the confusion and sense of achievement that emerges from that process becomes our unique connection with the world. That psychological activity, I think, is very hard to replace. That's probably why I'm so moved when I see everyone's work.

For Those Who Are Learning

Finally, I want to say that I'm sure there's a significant portion of viewers on this channel who are also learning guitar. Maybe you're facing some challenges right now, feeling like you're not practicing fast enough, not efficiently enough, or maybe even not talented enough.

Well, most of the performers in this show are working professionals. I think you should come listen to our performance and hear us talk about what music means in our lives. I'm confident you'll get something out of it.

Here's the performance info: November 29th at "他在旅行展演空間" (He's Traveling Exhibition Space), starting at 6:30 PM. I'll put the ticket link in the description. Hope to see you there to hear our music!