My First Job

It was 3pm.

My fingers were in position. I took a deep breath, exerted a downward force on the contrasting black and white keys of the piano on a first inversion of the C major. The strings of the piano vibrated instantly, breaking the silence of the entire hall. The frequencies resonated in every corner. I continued, resolving the earlier introduction to a perfect musical cadence, which I then instigate the enrapturing melody of the song “Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered”, like how I’ve always played.

Except…

This time, I was playing on a 5-feet Yamaha grand piano and dressed in an equally contrasting black and white suit plus a little black bow, just like the piano. The venue?

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur’s Lounge On The Park.

Mandarin Oriental Lounge on The Park

My first contribution to the national economy, or my first )albeit futile) attempt to make the country’s unemployment figure looked better, might not be getting a job as an advertising executive or someone who has more significant earnings, but really, the very notion of being a lounge pianist at Mandarin Oriental KL excites me.

It is no doubt every pianist’s dream to be a lounge pianist (I think. At least I felt this way). What more, playing in the main lounge of Mandarin Oriental KL.

Mandarin Oriental is, of course, the hotel in KL. Probably the best hotel in KL, Mandarin Oriental KL had also won international recognitions and accolades, with the Travel + Leisure magazine South Asia Edition ranking it No.10 in Top Business Hotels in Asia in 2007. The very same magazine also ranked Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur No.2 in terms of Best Value in Asia in the Under USD 250 a night category.

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur – The grey building with the fan.

Suffice to say, the name “Mandarin Oriental” speaks volume of its distinctive interior design (it gives me an “oriental” feel), its prestige, and its luxury. The Mandarin Oriental group has hotels all over Asia, the Americas and Europe. Its hotel in San Francisco overlooks the Trans America Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge, while its flagship hotel in Hong Kong is said to be the most luxurious hotel in Asia, with regular guests like Michelle Yeoh and other celebrities.

Mandarin Oriental San Francisco – Overlooking the Trans America Tower and the beautiful San Francisco Bay

The legendary Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong Gosh, does such a place even exist on earth?
Man Wah restaurant in Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong with its “oriental” feel, with the Hong Kong skyline in the background The view of New York Central Park from the equally luxurious Mandarin Oriental New York

It was sheer excitement when the entertainment company that I am “loosely” attached to called me and asked if I was free to play at “Mandarin Oriental”. The mere mention of the word “Mandarin Oriental” immediately got my agreement without taking into account of other commitments that I might have to commit to on the days that I am required to work. That’s basically one of my many bad habits of letting myself be overwhelmed by passion, and is the reason why I am always busy with plenty of stuffs.

Mandarin Oriental is located in KLCC, adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers. A tagline on its website reads: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur – where nothing but the world’s tallest towers overshadow you.

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers

On the first day of my first job, I however, lo and behold, arrived late (a testimony of my increasing lack of professionalism :-/ ). Blame the traffic. My immediate supervisor was already waiting for me, so I felt really bad. The worst thing is that I arrived in casual wear and messy hair, an appearance deemed unsuitable to be seen in a place as luxurious as this.

I then dressed myself in my pianist suit in the washroom, which is probably 10 times more luxurious than my entire home. Thanks goodness I made in on time for my performance. My supervisor briefed me on the “rules and regulation”. I have to start playing at 3pm, stop at 3.45 pm and take a break for 15 minutes, then start the whole process again at 4pm. So basically I played from 3pm-3.45, 4pm-4.45, 5pm-5.45, 6pm-6.45, 7pm-7.45. That is a 3 hour and 45 minutes per day. And I have to do this for 3 days.

The entrance to Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

I was shown around in this place called the Lounge on The Park. It is a hotel lounge with fine dining services. The website described this place as “a tranquil lounge setting with live music and scenic views of city park, ideal for afternoon tea, light snacks and cocktails”. The “city park” refers to the KLCC park. There is a huge glass window overlooking the park and the Petronas Twin Towers. The “live music” is what I am responsible for.

At a brightly-lid corner just right after the entrance the 5 feet grand piano stood majestically. At 3pm sharp, I started playing, playing all the songs that I’ve previously played throughout my life as a pianist. There is a moment of fulfillment, I must say. I have been dreaming about this all my life, and there I was playing in the lounge of a five-star hotel full of business travelers and tourists.

I played mainly songs that belonged to the blues genre, mainly evergreen oldies, like Moon River, etc. The main reason I liked this job is that I find freedom in it, virtually absolute freedom. I can play whatever I want, improvising and playing my own rendition of famous songs. Playing a song in my own rendition, to the best of my recollection, is what I would regard as one of my only TWO natural talents. Unlike playing classical music in an orchestra, where I have to follow rigid laws and rules of music, my current job requires me to follow only ONE law -the music must, in whatever circumstances, sound nice to the guests in the lounge.

My job, however, is not “playing the piano”, but is somewhat more challenging – shaping the relaxing ambience of a lounge. I first realize this went I was having my first break. I left the lounge to the storeroom where I kept my belongings. A waitress told me to turn on the franchise radio (where they broadcast recorded lounge music) when I was not playing, adding that it sounded “noisy” in the lounge if there were no music.

Then came the moment of realization. It was then that I see the purpose of my job. The difference between a hotel lounge and a random coffee house is actually the ambience, which can be shaped with live music or background music. So whenever I am not playing, I have to turn the background music on.

Now, the problem – I get bored easily with things that I do repeatedly. Going into the next hour, I found myself playing the same thing, over and over again. That is when another natural talent of mine, which is the ability to compose music on the spot, comes in handy. So the next few hours has become my test bed for new melodies and new ideas. A waitress come to me and apparently expressed amazement because I do not have to refer to any scores when playing. I was, of course flattered and motivated, although I would like to think that I still have lots to learn.

Speaking about motivation, very few guests of the lounge stopped by or even looked at me. Which, come to think of it, is something that I should be grateful for. If I get lots of starings, that might be an indication that I am a pretty bad pianist and do not deserve to be there. I am the “behind-the-scene” person, responsible for shaping the ambience, so no one will even notice me, unless I make pretty glaring mistakes.

But some starings are good to boost my confidence and motivate me further. A white man walked past and smile while nodding his head. That was the first gesture that I received in recognition of my ability to play well. Moments later, there was an Asian guy whom I think is a Malaysian, walking past while doing a hand gesture that resembles an applause. I was even motivated by such an approval.

That was basically DAY1. I reached home feeling tired. It was then that I let the cat out of the bag, telling my parents what I really did (because I did not do so previously). My dad, being inherently pessimistic, was doubtful, and claimed that a prestigious institution like Mandarin Oriental will only hire professional pianist in lieu of a Grade 12 student like me.

DAY 2 was pretty much the same, but with more unexpected approvals. I started playing at 3pm when a waitress came up to me and gave me a hand in lifting the top cover of the grand piano so that the music can resonate throughout the hall. She thought I played well and that it should be heard by everyone. I was pretty excited at that time.

Then, something happened. The chef of the lounge, who was standing nearby, asked a waitress to pass me a note, written “Yesterday Once More”. It occurred to me that it was a song request from the chef. I was, of course, having heard of the song, able to play it [Yeah, right..]. I thought I was playing the right song, until I went home and download the song “Yesterday Once More” and was dumbfounded to discover that I played the wrong song. A sense of embarassment still exist as I am typing this.

It made me realize that I have to expand my repertoire and be familiar with all the famous oldies. A random song request is common, from what I gathered from TV shows which has the character of lounge pianist in it, and it is important that I am familiar with all the famous tunes.

Later that afternoon, a few young kids came to the area where I was playing, like they have never seen a piano. A waitress, in an attempt to bring these small kids to somewhere else, for some unknown reason addressed me as “Uncle” in front of these small kids. I felt a little ambivalent. At one point, I want to grow up faster, but at another point I want to stay young forever.

Trivia aside, I have made it a habit to learn something new in every new experience of mine. I spoke to the lounge manager to get feedbacks on my piano playing and was told that I should play a little softer, because many people came to discuss business issues and transactions. I also managed to talked to another pianist who took over me after 7.45 pm on Saturday night (the night shift). He was with the jazz band which played throughout the very same night. I initiated a conversation about song writing after getting to know that he lectures in composition in UiTM in Shah Alam.

As I left the hotel that night, I was slightly (read: extremely) intimidated and envious after getting a taste of how ear-soothing (in a way that I grew fond of) the music of the afore-mentioned jazz band was on Saturday night. It is my dream to play in a jazz band too. But right now, I have yet to perfect the art of jazz piano playing and am still limited to single piano solo piano playing. That further adds to my realization that I indeed have a lot more to learn. This experience is not only filled with extra knowledge, but also with plenty of external motivation and stimulus.

DAY 3 is my last day for the weekend. When I reached at around 2.30pm, I was again intimidated and feeling inferior, because there was another jazz band playing in another adjacent restaurant – the Pacifica Grill and Bar. My dis-ease began to ease when the saxophone player from that exact same jazz band came to me and mused that I “can really play”. He was impressed that I am still a student, even impressed that I am not a music student at my present school.

On my last day, more people smiled on their way out of the restaurant. Someone whistled along when I was playing the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Being in a fine dining lounge, I certainly do not want to lose the chance of discovering how fine dining restaurant works. Most of the time of my break was spent checking out stuffs at the back kitchen. One of the most interesting thing that I do not know before was that fine dining restaurants have a very interesting customer’s relation “protocols”. I spotted a long list of regular customers and their preferences on the wall. Every regular customer’s preferences, from preferred table to preferred food, from habits to attitudes, are listed comprehensively.

An even more interesting thing to mention is that the regular customer’s list include some of the most famous people in the country, like Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, the founder of LimKokWing University of Creative Technology, Mr. Morten Lundal, CEO of Digi.com, singer Ferhad, and plenty of others with honorific titles like Datuk-s and Tan Sri-s.

But then again, that does not come as a surprise. After all, Mandarin Oriental is not Mandarin Oriental for no reason.

On a final note, my experience here as a lounge pianist has been extremely rewarding. No doubt, this journey is truly unforgettable. For RM 120 per day, this job boosted my confidence, motivated me to learn more, enhanced my existing knowledge and put my skills to good use of bringing enjoyment to others.

What other jobs could be better, I wonder.