Beyond the mechanics

Experts say focus on technique can kill any passion students have for piano.

Qiu Chenyun, a 30-year-old marketing employee with a State-owned company in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, describes the days when she was learning to play the piano as "dark and miserable".

"I had to practice three hours each day. It was so painful that I often set the clock ahead. I remember when I was practicing playing the piano, other children were watching cartoons on TV," she says.