Featured Works

Songwriting

Raw Stories in Song

Explore Esther's storytelling of people's shared experiences and social topics in song.

Esther Ling Rain Won't You Please Stop_e

Choral Songs

The Power of Many Voices

Esther dives into choral songwriting, creating modern and inventive songs for choirs to sing

"Pink Walls... a very meaningful tune"

Tarik Robinson,

About Esther

Hi, I'm Esther, a Canadian pianist, composer and singer-songwriter currently living in Calgary with my husband and two children.

Born and raised in Malaysia, I’ve carried stories across oceans since I was 17. Music has always been my compass — from the piano keys of childhood to the songs I write today. Stories fascinate me. Through my music, I explore healing, belonging, and the quiet strength found in our shared human stories.

Having lived the life of an immigrant, writing music has allowed me to express deep wounds, paving the path of my own healing. As an artist, my passion is to share that same journey and connection with others.

Esther’s work is sincere and exploratory in all genres. without limiting to specific genres. It promises songs that sparkle with innocence and unshaken hope; heartfelt storytelling in song, and inventive, caring music that bring the stories of people and social topics to light.

Read Bio

Esther Ling Canadian Pianist Songwriter Alberta.jpg

ALL DONE! Day 10 of #kpic challenge by @thefearlessartistmastermind

As I’ve learnt from my mentors— always write down the wins, no matter how trivial it may seem.

It’s the last day of the challenge and I decided to share a collection of my wins.

Curating these videos has been a humbling reminder of how much I have achieved in the past 3 years on top of everything else going on in life, even though it’s been hard.

Yet I do it anyway. I do it scared. I do it with love. I do it to fail, and learn and get back up again 💕

What a journey it has been!

#musician #composer #songwriter #pianist

Get a FREE copy of the piano sheet music to this piece, “Cloud of Tears” - only for the month of October! Link in Bio ⬆️

Day 9 of #kpic challenge by @thefearlessartistmastermind

I wrote and release this piece last year, my first solo piano composition, and learnt lots aboutself recording, mixing and mastering, and publishing instrumental compositions.

It’s not perfect, but I released it anyway 😅 Made some mistakes in the registerstion process and that’s why it doesn’t appear on social media music options, but now I know for next time what to do!

#pianosolo #composer #pianomusic #musician #newmusic #relaxingpiano

Day 8 of #kpic challenge by @thefearlessartistmastermind

Nearing the end of the challenge and I’ve learnt that battling myself with imposter syndrome by posting a short reel everyday for the past 7 days has earned an increase of 2300 viewers, which is a +43% non-followers accounts reached. Like, what? 😮

Truly, thank you for being here and following my journey! I had a nice conversation with a piano tuner today, and wow, how he listened to my story. There’s few people these days who care to listen. We shared our own common challenges when it comes to learning music - time. Time is not on our side for folks like me and him.

I talked about some BTS of my jazz song practice. This is stage 2 for Moon River. I love Aimee Nolte’s rendition of this song, which I’m learning to play in that style and improvise it for self-accompanying.

And there’s a nasty bug going round my home. Hey, singers/vocalists… any good tips on how to recover well from a cold? 🤒

#pianist #jazzsong #musician #jazzstandard #jazzpiano

Day 7 of #kpic challenge by @thefearlessartistmastermind

This is how 2nd stage looks like in my practice of learning to self-accompany a jazz song.

It is slow and not so exciting when I have to put the singing and playing together, which I had learnt separately to start with.

In the next stage, the song develops with more confidence at a faster tempo where I can add a little more advanced rhythm coordination, and work on the piano solo improvisation part of the song.

There’s a lot of layers to it! I don’t know about others but for me I find singing and playing keys is way harder than guitar.

I admire Diana Krall’s artistic skills for this very reason 😍

#pianist #singingpianist #musician #jazzstandard #jazzsong

Day 6 of #kpic by @thefearlessartistmastermind

Just another one of my all-time favorite pop ballads 💕

#pianist #poppiano #eltonjohn #pianocover #pianomusic #killingperfectionisminclassical

Day 5 of #kpic challenge by @thefearlessartistmastermind

A student once asked me what’s the fastest way to learn a pop song on piano.

Well, there are no shorcuts really, but here are my tips from my own learning experience:

1. Listen lots to the song!
2. Know (and practice) your technique; chord positions, progressions and arppegios for LH confidence
3. Learn to read chord symbols— helpful for leadsheets!

I do like reading and learning to play from leadsheets. Takes the mental load off reading two clefs 😅

Practice makes progress!

That’s really it! Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians celebrating this weekend 🦃🦃🦃

#poppiano #pianopractice #pianotips #musician #pianolearning #dropsofjupiter

.pro-gallery-wix-wrapper {display: block !important;} .pro-gallery-wix-wrapper .gallery-item-container {opacity: 1 !important; display: block !important;}

Follow Me on Instagram

@estherlingpianist

Featured Works

About Esther

​

Follow Me on Instagram