(below is a short text which explains why I am offering pay-as-you-wish lessons; scroll down to bolded text for TLDR)

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Hello, I am Jellal Koay, a composer and musician who came from a small town called Seri Kembangan in Malaysia.

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I would say that, aside from some experiences that I had to go through in my earlier years, I had a pretty normal upbringing for the average kid from Seri Kembangan: my family wasn’t wealthy but we always have food on the table, I attended neighborhood schools for my primary and secondary education, I didn’t go for additional tuition classes as they were too high of a financial commitment, I’ve never boarded a flight nor travelled overseas, and I frequently had to use public transport to commute to school. I didn’t have much thoughts about what could be, and I was unknowingly following the truth which was prescribed to me.

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But 8 years ago, I was inspired to give composition a try because I wanted to understand emotions and understand myself better. By chance, I found out that the Malaysian Institute of Art offered scholarships for high school students who performed well academically, and under that scheme, I was given the opportunity to study a Diploma in music without having to worry about finances. The composition training in my diploma then gave me the opportunity to study composition in Singapore at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with full financial support.

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And with the generous support of the Conservatory, I was able to travel to see the world while learning more about composition. I visited Bali, Tokyo, Kiel, Darmstadt, Salzburg, Prague etc. and I lived for a couple of months in Cologne and Vienna. This weekend, I will be flying to Boston and visiting New Hampshire for Composers Conference. To think that 8 years ago, all of this wasn’t even imaginable for the young boy from Seri Kembangan, and that boy would’ve never thought that learning composition would eventually entail learning about so many other things beyond composition.

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With these opportunities and the experiences that come with them, I met different people, experienced different cultures and societies. I learnt how to think critically, to learn, to collaborate, to nuance, to be resilient and independent, to understand the emotions of other people and my own. And most importantly, I was gradually exposed to perspectives that I’ve never seen before. It taught me to consider different perspectives and empathize with realities different from my own. It made me reevaluate my own beliefs and values.

 

But learning to see different perspectives and growing my awareness also meant that an increased awareness to the unjust, and at times, cruel realities in this world. Looking at the current state of the world with this increased awareness, I cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and impending doom that I am sure that some people definitely feel as well. As mere individuals, we are constantly being convinced that we don’t matter, that we cannot make a difference, that it is futile to fight against the system that teaches us to forsake our humanity.

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I witnessed, in real time, how this hopelessness turned people who were once kind to become extremely bitter, how it made people spiteful and angry, unwilling to listen, let alone consider perspectives which may be different from their beliefs. Eventually, they who once healed others have become the same people who ended up hurting others.

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I don't want to end up being bitter and hurtful. As critical of a person as I am, I don't want to add more hatred into this world that's already filled with so much hate. In retrospect, I feel that some of the bad experiences that I've had have turned me into someone who can sometimes be bitter, and as a result, I know that I have hurt people as I was growing up. But with a little more awareness now, I really want to not be a bitter person.

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But at the same time, I think about the support of people made a difference for me, no matter how insignificant it may have seemed—a classmate lending me his digital piano for me to record my first ever composition, friends who travelled with me to Genting to film a music video for the fun of it, a coffee treat from a composer coming home from USA that mentally prepared me for my studies, social workers who showed me how much they believed in making life better for people who could use some support, a 2-day camera loan from a coursemate for me to shoot for an event that funded my flights, the hair stylist who understood the feeling of trying to make something happen in a foreign land, the English teacher who taught me to hone my reason over reacting instinctively, artists who contrastingly taught me to not totally disregard my humanly instincts etc. And on top of that, there was always support from friends and family. Together, it made it possible for me to see beyond the small world I was in, and to see that, if I hold on to hope for humanity, and hold on to my own humanity... maybe, just maybe, we can still make a difference after all.

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I am but an aspiring artist from the global south, standing in front of the daunting reality facing the world. What can someone like me even do about it anyway? I thought about it for a year or so, and I finally came to the conclusion as to what I could do:

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I can teach composition.

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Sounds pretty naïve right? How can that change the world? I thought so too.

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But 8 years ago, the boy from Seri Kembangan was inspired to try pursuing composition, all just because a friend was being the best version of her growing self. With that as the starting point, along with all the experiences and support that came after it, his world started to change for the better. And so he thought, even if he cannot change the world, he would be happy enough if what he offers could become the one spark needed to change someone's world. If that would help another kid from another Seri Kembangan somewhere on this world to kickstart their journey towards growing into a person who carries hope, maybe that would make this world a better place, even if just by a little more.

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As such, I would like to offer pay-as-you-wish music composition lessons to anyone who may be interested in composition or studying composition. If you are financially capable and value my work, I appreciate your support; but if you have limited financial capacity, I am also totally happy receiving a cheap cup of coffee combined with your dedication towards learning as payment.

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I especially wish to extend this offer to anyone from Malaysia, Singapore, Southeast Asia and anyone from a background with limited resources – so as long as you have a functional device with internet connection (which unfortunately is still a privilege for some), I would be able to offer you composition lessons. I also unfortunately have limited capacity as well, but I would try my very best to help anyone who would really gain a lot from this possibility.

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If you are interested, please write me a message via my social media or via my email jellykuihmusic@gmail.com, and if you have scores and questions etc., I would be happy to feedback them as well. I will caveat by mentioning that my specialization is in Western-tradition contemporary classical music, but if you believe that I may be able to provide some good insights for you, I am definitely open to discussing beyond that subject matter.

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If you are interested to see examples of my work, you can view them on my Music page.

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If you happen to know someone who may benefit from this, I would be very happy if you could share this to them as well.

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Thank you for reading and take care!

 

 

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-- Jellal Koay

14 July 2026