While everyone's mugging for EOY, you stay put here and start blogging. Life can sometimes be a bitch, really. I shall start with the most emo sentence you can ever ever start a blogpost with.
Today is a bad day. When has a day never been today? Tomorrow? The day after the next? They will all become todays. More bad days ahead. :) Which doesn't prove anything about my mood currently. It is become, er, sort of non-chalant.
I'm currently depending on Jean Hsieh's notes to survive in physics, still mugging those same worksheets. I can't stand it though. Why can't I be practising piano, doing music now...I need to practise my Beethoven Op. 10 No. 3, but to be honest I know I can't make it in time for tomorrow. Ravel's Sonatine is a definite though. I know I can get that done, because I've been practising that. Wonder whether Dr. Hecht will mind.
Let's do a slight description of my desk, as I had done a few months ago if you readers can still remember: On my right, a calender. At my elbow, my mugging book.
Couple of pencils. A mechanical one I accidently borrowed/took/never returned/don't-call-it-steal from Paul/JonLim. Sorry. It's white in colour.
Above me on the protruded ledge a huge speaker that weights around 10kg at most, a stack of CDs in one box cover that says: Ultimate Piano Concertos, the essential masterpieces - 5CDs. For the record, I'm listening to Tchaikovsky's First Concerto now. On the most left on the ledge, a defunct scanner which I found was defunct after attempting to scan my air tickets and stubs to Jenny, an officer at the Conservatory.
Stuck on pieces of paper at the edge of the ledge that hangs down reads - "Jonathan - practise maths, physics, and chemistry" My pop.
Directly on my left, an entire stack of pure music. Ok maybe not, on top of the stack lies by 10-years-old pencil box that's all about Tweety Bird. Yes, Tweety Bird. Got it in kindergarten. Below it, the empty jewel case of the Tchaikovsky No. 1 and Rachmaninov No. 2. (Heavyweights)
Oh, shit. Ok below it is another library book I borrowed, which isn't related to music at all. But here's a section of it that does relate to music.
"What you are about to hear, comrade, is a Mozart sonata,' Luo announced, as coolly as before.
I was dumbfounded. Had he gone mad? All music by Mozart or indeed by any other Western composer had been banned years ago. In my sodden shoes my feet turned to ice. I shivered as the cold tightened its grip on me.
'What's a sonata?' the headman asked warily.
'I don't know,' I faltered. 'It's Western.'
'Is it a song?'
'More or less,' I replied evasively.
At that instant the glint of the vigilant Communist reappeared in the headman's eyes, and his voice turned hostile.
'What's the name of this song of yours?'
'Well,it's like a song, but actually it's a sonata.'
'I'm asking you what it's called!' he snapped, fixing me with his gaze.
Again I was alarmed by the three spots of blood in his left eye.
'Mozart...' I muttered.
'Mozart what?'
'Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao,' Luo broke in.
The audacity! But it worked: as if he had heard something miraculous, the headman's menacing look softened. He crinkled up his eyes in a wide, beatific smile.
'Mozart thinks of Mao all the time,' he said.
'Indeed, all the time,' agreed Luo.
As soon as I had tightened my bow there was a burst of applause, but I was still nervous. However, as I ran my swollen fingers over the strings, Mozart's phrases came flooding back to me like so many faithful friends. The peasants' faces, so grim a moment before, softened under the influence of Mozart's limpid music like parched earth under a shower, and then in the dancing light of the oil lamp, they blurred into one.
I played for some time. Luo lit a cigarette and smoked quietly, like a man.
This was our first taste of re-education. Luo was eight years old, I was seventeen.
Alrighty guys. There's the section - see, something about China and music. Below is a book sent to me as a gift by billionaire Eric Lim (seriously, you heard it, billionaire - he opened a South African factory with S.R Nathan last year)
It's called The Rest is Noise, and Uncle Eric if you're reading this, I'm not done reading the book yet. But it's really great. Which has really drawn me into the world of Mahler, Prokofiev, Strauss, Bartok, Copland. Yeah, it's all about 20th Century music, and it's really cleverly written. Super witty. Isn't really about the history though. Don't know how to describe it.
By the way, I think I typed the entire passage from the story in less than 3 minutes. Or maybe even 2. I'm fast. :)
Alright below the book is the manuscript paper I got from Germany - it's really super precious to me, simply because it is engineered differently. Manuscript paper that works like foolscalp? Forget finding it in Singapore. Come on, import it to Singapore please...we already have F1...
Underneath the manuscript pile is another manuscript book that I got in 2002, and in fact all my knowledge of music can be found inside these book - what I've written there can seriously be what I've been taught in Sec 4 MEP. Yeah, check it out, transposing instruments, chords and blah blah blah, thank you.
The later pages contain my sketches for the piano concerto I was mentioning about of creating, and it's still going pretty strong, except I realised yesterday in the library that one of my passages came DIRECTLY DIRECTLY from Tchaikovsky No. 1's Second Movement - the first motive.
Akkra, if you're reading this, you'll know what I mean. I played it for him once, and he said, "Hey! That part sounds like, Rachmaninov or Tchaikovsky, it's, rreeeally familiar?"
Yeap. That's the part.
What. Stop staring! I didn't mean for it to come out this way!
I'll take out the part soon enough.
The freaking scanner can't scan a sketch I had of my sonatina, because, yeap, it's dead.
Below it is Britten's Orchestral Anthology, published by Boosey and Hawkes. I got it from the Music Teachers' library last year in order to write a transcript for simply bass and piano in order for us to practise the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
Never got around to doing it. Sorry Mr Sze.
After that is the Schumann score that I accompanied Jinghui with - his Violin Sonata in A minor. Really fun, except I screwed up the last movement. I should go stick my head in some mud.
Below that is the famous yellow book that contains my Shostakovich and last year's music assignments, including the C major sonata by Mozart, Faure, Liszt, Debussy.
Below that, my original Mozart score, now torn and tattered, with freaking tonnes of detail in it. Don't touch it.
Ok underneath it is my Griffes score, yellow-covered Schirmer one. And finally, at the bottom-most of the stack, is my trusty ringed-manuscript book, which has been reduced to a couple of pages because of all the pages I've torn out of it in my entire life. Let's put it to 6 years of tearing.
In front of me on the green-painted wall sticks the EOY schedule, and the contact list of 3L'07. Oh, you asking me for the difference? The difference is that Ben Liu isn't on the 4L' 08 list. Ben, you reading this? Please do CLE poster.
On the left of the freaking stack, is a container that contains another container. Yeah, trust me on that. Nothing much in it, except a metronome, and a Sistic packet that contains 6 Sistic tickets - including this Saturday's one, and at the end of the year, an ENTIRE FEATURE OF YELLOW RIVER WITH THE ORIGINAL COMPOSER PERFORMING.
Yes, you heard that babes, the objective word being ORIGINAL COMPOSER PERFORMING. Hardly believable.
On the left of the container, a new printer me dad just bought. And on the left, the entire speaker that weighs 10kg, as mentioned. And the book about Ibiza that Dr Hecht sent me. Reading it really gives me a huge sense of nostalgia.
Wait. Nostalgia? Isn't Singapore my home? Oops.
Check it out.
My entire desk. And if you refer back to paragraph 1, I'm sorry about the 'slight description' part. Really my mistake.
Cya.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Onwards!
Here I am, half an hour before Studio Class in the Keyboard Lab watching Tarin and Clarence practise together. I've been at the Conservatory since 10am, started out at the library and then to lunch, and then finally to practise. I swear I didn't do any composition today, simply because I didn't feel like and that I was mugging at the same time.
Believe it or not, I have started mugging physics. Amazing - something that is really unheard of me. Ok right in front of me now we have two amazing pianists practising in front of me Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto.
Let's not talk about music for the time being. It has started boring out my readers. Let's talk about my visit to Bukit Panjang Plaza.
I figured out that some salespeople have started using those metal bells to get customers attention already. But I realised the pitch of those metal bells were B-flat (specifically those bells that I heard) and then I found out, quite some years ago, that G-sharp was the best frequecy to be comfortable with because it vibrates at nearly the same frequency as the liquid in our inner ears, which makes it feel pleasing. Something for the salesmen to think about - to get customers by tinkling these G-sharp bells.
Ok, I already said, nothing about music please.
Anyway on my way out of BP I saw this 2 year toddler sitting in a pram, with his legs placed exactly the Ah-beng way, one leg in the pram, and the other relaxed, feet placed near the ground. Which really made me start thinking - one more Ah-Beng in our society. Lol. Which is really kinda stupid.
Ok to be honest I'm super uncomfortable with MacBook, because of its sharp edges that make my wrist hurt. Really un-ergonomic. Sucks. No wonder I always stick to Microsoft.
The sound of Rachmaninov run thicks and thin in my ears and goes through my blood and veins and my arteries, only to strike pangs of agony and pleasure in my heart. It is powerful. Everlasting.
If only I could write music like that. I will someday. Someday I'll look back at this blogpost, and see that I've succeeded.
Get a collection, a portfolio of works, and show them to a teacher. I'm teaching myself along the way, experimenting. I'm currently into Prokofiev.
Ok thinking about end of this year, I honestly think I'll miss all my friends in RI. But let us look forward to the future. Onwards!
Believe it or not, I have started mugging physics. Amazing - something that is really unheard of me. Ok right in front of me now we have two amazing pianists practising in front of me Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto.
Let's not talk about music for the time being. It has started boring out my readers. Let's talk about my visit to Bukit Panjang Plaza.
I figured out that some salespeople have started using those metal bells to get customers attention already. But I realised the pitch of those metal bells were B-flat (specifically those bells that I heard) and then I found out, quite some years ago, that G-sharp was the best frequecy to be comfortable with because it vibrates at nearly the same frequency as the liquid in our inner ears, which makes it feel pleasing. Something for the salesmen to think about - to get customers by tinkling these G-sharp bells.
Ok, I already said, nothing about music please.
Anyway on my way out of BP I saw this 2 year toddler sitting in a pram, with his legs placed exactly the Ah-beng way, one leg in the pram, and the other relaxed, feet placed near the ground. Which really made me start thinking - one more Ah-Beng in our society. Lol. Which is really kinda stupid.
Ok to be honest I'm super uncomfortable with MacBook, because of its sharp edges that make my wrist hurt. Really un-ergonomic. Sucks. No wonder I always stick to Microsoft.
The sound of Rachmaninov run thicks and thin in my ears and goes through my blood and veins and my arteries, only to strike pangs of agony and pleasure in my heart. It is powerful. Everlasting.
If only I could write music like that. I will someday. Someday I'll look back at this blogpost, and see that I've succeeded.
Get a collection, a portfolio of works, and show them to a teacher. I'm teaching myself along the way, experimenting. I'm currently into Prokofiev.
Ok thinking about end of this year, I honestly think I'll miss all my friends in RI. But let us look forward to the future. Onwards!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Alright kids here's Bach Chorale Modified (after hearing it a thousand times) on Finale. Created, edited, printed, and blogged. As in, blogged, not blogg-ed.
I'll be putting up the recording of it after next Saturday. And I think there will be a Strait Times interview in Life! next Saturday too with me in it.
Do catch it!
I'll be putting up the recording of it after next Saturday. And I think there will be a Strait Times interview in Life! next Saturday too with me in it.
Do catch it!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bach Chorale Modified Full Score
Alright. Here's what's been going on with me for the past few days. Including all the snacking and stuff. Bach Chorale Modified has been so much fun!
The whole thing is scored for 4 violins, 1 cello, and 1 piano. If you can see clearly, there are four sections, each with a different rhythm, and probably in dance styles that stretch centuries. And if you look closely, you can see lyrics and some percussion too!
The whole thing is scored for 4 violins, 1 cello, and 1 piano. If you can see clearly, there are four sections, each with a different rhythm, and probably in dance styles that stretch centuries. And if you look closely, you can see lyrics and some percussion too!
Monday, September 22, 2008
What a week.
Such a loser at blogging, after not posting for a week and leaving my readers bitterly disappointed. Ok here were the day's events.
The day started at 5pm on Saturday, where we were supposed to meet at Little India. Liyoung, Kakiong, Zhongren were there to greet me cos I was the last to arrive (came from my cousin's house at Serangoon after spending time with Finale). Our objective? To buy props for the up-coming Literature play that would be on Tuesday.
Pardon my English if you do spot any grammar mistakes, because I've not slept a wink for approximately 22 hours.
Ok here is the prop list:
Watches
Hourglasses
Calender
Fake Arm
Fake Blood
.
.
.
.
Just realised there are other groups reading. But heck. Well we managed to get 4 of the items we needed from Little India, then after that we went to Dhoby Ghaut to buy some cloth from Spotlight, and some more prop materials.
We only need one item now, and that is Fake Blood. Any ideas?
We headed for Dhoby Ghaut station and we met up with Clinton, and 5/7 of the group was finally together. Headed off for Serangoon, where we were going to meet up with Shide (6/7 of the group) at his house. Reached his house at around 8pm and started work.
We did a reading of the script, then KFC delivery came and we ate for half an hour, locked some people in the basement, switched off the lights and had a huge laugh all about. Oh, in case I forget to type it here, Shide's house is a gazillion storeys high. Well, what do you expect, a Shide-ish house for someone like Shide. huge.
After the dinner, we went up to his room and rehearsed from 9-12am, and then we were planning on how to leave. Unfortunately taxis were at their peak hour, and MRTs and buses were all like, gone?
So everyone decided we should stay over, and decided to play with the Wii for probably an hour before sleeping. Which didn't really happened because everyone spammed the Wii for an hour and a half, and someone then discovered that Shide actually had Grand Theft Auto IV, which was based super-heavily on New York City.
Ok here are the facts: GTA IV has a rating of 10/10 from almost every game magazine, and it is wholly reserved, because we got a freaking shock at the graphics and how freaking realistic everything was. Sparkling waters, wispy clouds, things that actually immediately move when we hit them.
Anyway memorable moments included the part where Zhongren revved the helicopter all the way over Brooklin Bridge and landed on one of the suspension columns, before disembarking. He then proceeds to fire at everything below him, flinging grenades, firing bazookas, and continuously sniping.
It's really addictive, and no one got a sleep that night, but all memorised our scripts anyway :)
But it was so inspiring that Clinton Zhongren and I, on our way back home, had to imitate a bank-robbery escape. Imagine three people in the drizzle running, shoes pounding hard on the cold pavements, and shouting, "How much have you got there?!"
"Seven...seven hundred!" "Great, I've six fifty here, let's find a place to divide them later!"
Ok whatever we looked like a bunch of madmen. I think we were.
THe rest of the week? Well basically Thursday was the day I allocated to finish up my Bach Chorale Modified, which means no more dragging. I finished 1/6 of it that day, so I decided to spend the whole of Friday doing it, and I finally finished the whole thing at around 2.30am in the morning.
My diet's really terrible I realised.
Mcdonalds, instant noodles, KFC. Everything needs to be fast, to be quick, to be handed it on time. No delays, quick quick quick and more quick.
I'm thinking whether I should join the singing contest for my church. Actually maybe no, because I've NO TIME.
Ok now, on to engraving.
Will post my entire Bach Chorale Modified here tomorrow or some other day.
Love you girls.
The day started at 5pm on Saturday, where we were supposed to meet at Little India. Liyoung, Kakiong, Zhongren were there to greet me cos I was the last to arrive (came from my cousin's house at Serangoon after spending time with Finale). Our objective? To buy props for the up-coming Literature play that would be on Tuesday.
Pardon my English if you do spot any grammar mistakes, because I've not slept a wink for approximately 22 hours.
Ok here is the prop list:
Watches
Hourglasses
Calender
Fake Arm
Fake Blood
.
.
.
.
Just realised there are other groups reading. But heck. Well we managed to get 4 of the items we needed from Little India, then after that we went to Dhoby Ghaut to buy some cloth from Spotlight, and some more prop materials.
We only need one item now, and that is Fake Blood. Any ideas?
We headed for Dhoby Ghaut station and we met up with Clinton, and 5/7 of the group was finally together. Headed off for Serangoon, where we were going to meet up with Shide (6/7 of the group) at his house. Reached his house at around 8pm and started work.
We did a reading of the script, then KFC delivery came and we ate for half an hour, locked some people in the basement, switched off the lights and had a huge laugh all about. Oh, in case I forget to type it here, Shide's house is a gazillion storeys high. Well, what do you expect, a Shide-ish house for someone like Shide. huge.
After the dinner, we went up to his room and rehearsed from 9-12am, and then we were planning on how to leave. Unfortunately taxis were at their peak hour, and MRTs and buses were all like, gone?
So everyone decided we should stay over, and decided to play with the Wii for probably an hour before sleeping. Which didn't really happened because everyone spammed the Wii for an hour and a half, and someone then discovered that Shide actually had Grand Theft Auto IV, which was based super-heavily on New York City.
Ok here are the facts: GTA IV has a rating of 10/10 from almost every game magazine, and it is wholly reserved, because we got a freaking shock at the graphics and how freaking realistic everything was. Sparkling waters, wispy clouds, things that actually immediately move when we hit them.
Anyway memorable moments included the part where Zhongren revved the helicopter all the way over Brooklin Bridge and landed on one of the suspension columns, before disembarking. He then proceeds to fire at everything below him, flinging grenades, firing bazookas, and continuously sniping.
It's really addictive, and no one got a sleep that night, but all memorised our scripts anyway :)
But it was so inspiring that Clinton Zhongren and I, on our way back home, had to imitate a bank-robbery escape. Imagine three people in the drizzle running, shoes pounding hard on the cold pavements, and shouting, "How much have you got there?!"
"Seven...seven hundred!" "Great, I've six fifty here, let's find a place to divide them later!"
Ok whatever we looked like a bunch of madmen. I think we were.
THe rest of the week? Well basically Thursday was the day I allocated to finish up my Bach Chorale Modified, which means no more dragging. I finished 1/6 of it that day, so I decided to spend the whole of Friday doing it, and I finally finished the whole thing at around 2.30am in the morning.
My diet's really terrible I realised.
Mcdonalds, instant noodles, KFC. Everything needs to be fast, to be quick, to be handed it on time. No delays, quick quick quick and more quick.
I'm thinking whether I should join the singing contest for my church. Actually maybe no, because I've NO TIME.
Ok now, on to engraving.
Will post my entire Bach Chorale Modified here tomorrow or some other day.
Love you girls.
Monday, September 15, 2008
This Week in this post
Instead of talking about EOYs, I will be talking about some assignments (really fun ones) I have for this week.
1) Dr Edwards's Bach Chorale MODIFIED: Ok what we're supposed to do here is we are given a Bach Chorale written on piano. And we're writing it for 4 violins, 1 cello, and 1 piano!
We're allowed to change the rhythm, the register, the note value, the articulation, the dynamics and anything but the pitch.
Great. (something evil up my mind)
2) No other assignments except I've been creating them my own. Well of course ever on-going is my work on a piano concerto in a late Romantic form. Hopefully by the time I finish JC 1 I'm done with it. And it would by then have been revised over and over.
3) Yesterday in the shower I thought how easy it would be to write a string quartet but then I decided to put it in the recesses of my mind because I got too many things.
4) BUT IT'll be much easier to write a violin sonata why not? Because I have no good lack of melodies in my head and with thematic organization, NP!
And then now EOYs.
I'll be honest with all of you.
Ever since I started working on moles in Chemistry, I've never understood a SINGLE THING AFTER THAT. I've never understood anything at all after we started moles. I've been lost in oblivion.
Just like, poof, ok now I'm at a blank. So everytime I'm at Chemistry lesson I would just sit at my chair and look at what's happening around me - all the symbols and shit passing by while everyone seems to be getting it and writing it all down.
Don't blame me for not studying - no matter how many times I've studied it's all hopeless. In Secondary 3 everytime I mugged Chemistry I just can't link anything together.
It's this, you know...
like...indescribable phenomenom.
I know I can study Mathematics, but yes, that I'm too plain lazy. But I'll study them (luckily) during the break before the EOYs.
I think everyone takes it too heavily. Like, "EOYs EOYs".
To which all my classmates will say, "Johnny you piece of s---" Haha, love you guys.
Ok anyway I really have to talk about the day that we had a winning streak. Or at least I had a winning streak. It all started when we were having an English lesson after school ended.
And I was supposed to present my English Oral Defence, together with Bryan Choong and Benjamin Low. (who were coincedentally my RE group in my class - Hongrui was in another). Maybe we were too busy hm. Anyway yeah, in the Oral Defence you're supposed to defend the Raffles Programme and how good it is.
The thing was, I haven't done anything on the Powerpoint at all, I've not started, not put any thoughts to it. All I had was my thumbdrive.
So I was like, "Ok Mdm, I need to set up first. " Alright, so I get to "set up" but apparently I took too long, so she decided to get out of the class for a while to go show her face in some Literature seminar.
And that was when I started doing my presentation. As in like, seriously doing it, creating new slides blah blah blah. Ok not something to be proud of but the problem was that there was no problem! Which really reminds me of a song I would like to put here to thank all my friends who were there along the long long way of ten minutes.
Thank you guys! I managed to complete the whole thing and with the thumbdrive I got the pictures!
The thing was, it was a successful presentation if you were asking.
Second one of the same day was the Dick Lee Biography Presentation/ Trailer that we did the day before until around 8.30pm.
Ms Chew kept asking questions and we all defended them really well, plus she went on with our RE project, the one on the National Day song.
And the last item of the day was Nigel, Joseph and me. We decided to walk in for Rafflesian Spotlight, which we did at around 4.30pm. Our little act was to let the audience select any body of text, and we would sing it.
And we did. Harmonized so perfectly, Nigel's melody was great, and Joseph's guitar instincts were at their best. Judges laughed till they literally hit the ground. "Other groups spend so many years trying to harmonize, but you guys...you guys just did it perfectly in less than, what?"
Well, we've got the class to thank!
Oh and before I go, I have to announce a Primarily Piano concert I'll be performing in tomorrow at 7.30 at YST Concert Hall! I'll be playing the Griffes Scherzo so do come down and support me if you guys want to.
1) Dr Edwards's Bach Chorale MODIFIED: Ok what we're supposed to do here is we are given a Bach Chorale written on piano. And we're writing it for 4 violins, 1 cello, and 1 piano!
We're allowed to change the rhythm, the register, the note value, the articulation, the dynamics and anything but the pitch.
Great. (something evil up my mind)
2) No other assignments except I've been creating them my own. Well of course ever on-going is my work on a piano concerto in a late Romantic form. Hopefully by the time I finish JC 1 I'm done with it. And it would by then have been revised over and over.
3) Yesterday in the shower I thought how easy it would be to write a string quartet but then I decided to put it in the recesses of my mind because I got too many things.
4) BUT IT'll be much easier to write a violin sonata why not? Because I have no good lack of melodies in my head and with thematic organization, NP!
And then now EOYs.
I'll be honest with all of you.
Ever since I started working on moles in Chemistry, I've never understood a SINGLE THING AFTER THAT. I've never understood anything at all after we started moles. I've been lost in oblivion.
Just like, poof, ok now I'm at a blank. So everytime I'm at Chemistry lesson I would just sit at my chair and look at what's happening around me - all the symbols and shit passing by while everyone seems to be getting it and writing it all down.
Don't blame me for not studying - no matter how many times I've studied it's all hopeless. In Secondary 3 everytime I mugged Chemistry I just can't link anything together.
It's this, you know...
like...indescribable phenomenom.
I know I can study Mathematics, but yes, that I'm too plain lazy. But I'll study them (luckily) during the break before the EOYs.
I think everyone takes it too heavily. Like, "EOYs EOYs".
To which all my classmates will say, "Johnny you piece of s---" Haha, love you guys.
Ok anyway I really have to talk about the day that we had a winning streak. Or at least I had a winning streak. It all started when we were having an English lesson after school ended.
And I was supposed to present my English Oral Defence, together with Bryan Choong and Benjamin Low. (who were coincedentally my RE group in my class - Hongrui was in another). Maybe we were too busy hm. Anyway yeah, in the Oral Defence you're supposed to defend the Raffles Programme and how good it is.
The thing was, I haven't done anything on the Powerpoint at all, I've not started, not put any thoughts to it. All I had was my thumbdrive.
So I was like, "Ok Mdm, I need to set up first. " Alright, so I get to "set up" but apparently I took too long, so she decided to get out of the class for a while to go show her face in some Literature seminar.
And that was when I started doing my presentation. As in like, seriously doing it, creating new slides blah blah blah. Ok not something to be proud of but the problem was that there was no problem! Which really reminds me of a song I would like to put here to thank all my friends who were there along the long long way of ten minutes.
Thank you guys! I managed to complete the whole thing and with the thumbdrive I got the pictures!
The thing was, it was a successful presentation if you were asking.
Second one of the same day was the Dick Lee Biography Presentation/ Trailer that we did the day before until around 8.30pm.
Ms Chew kept asking questions and we all defended them really well, plus she went on with our RE project, the one on the National Day song.
And the last item of the day was Nigel, Joseph and me. We decided to walk in for Rafflesian Spotlight, which we did at around 4.30pm. Our little act was to let the audience select any body of text, and we would sing it.
And we did. Harmonized so perfectly, Nigel's melody was great, and Joseph's guitar instincts were at their best. Judges laughed till they literally hit the ground. "Other groups spend so many years trying to harmonize, but you guys...you guys just did it perfectly in less than, what?"
Well, we've got the class to thank!
Oh and before I go, I have to announce a Primarily Piano concert I'll be performing in tomorrow at 7.30 at YST Concert Hall! I'll be playing the Griffes Scherzo so do come down and support me if you guys want to.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
settled in ibiza after coming from frankfurt
I just realised my posts are rather sparse. They don't give any actual detail, any actual meat, any thing. Let me give you real detail about the Spain trip.
Alright I'm very accustomed to traveling actually, and if I'm going to have to pack things for a trip myself and go travelling myself, I'm pretty sure I can do it.
3-collared T-shirts (should have gotten 4), three white plain collarless shirts to be worn for sleeping or the most casual wear, three boxers, three packets of underwear (disposables are freaking useful on a overseas trip - don't have to wash just throw away) and 4 Levi jeans, 2 performance clothings, one performance pants, and finally 2 pairs of shoes (performance shoes and outside shoes)
For girls it definitely will be more difficult, with all the neccesities and whatsoever - makeup, performance gowns, blah blah blah.
So I didn't have to check in any luggage at all, just having a hand-carry luggage and a slingbag with me. One pair of shoes amazingly stuffed inside the luggage, snuggled nicely.
Alright here's what to watch out for when travelling - don't bring any liquids, just drink from the airport. But for domestic flights it's really easy to smuggle water bottles through because they don't screen you at all. Otherwise, big airports like Frankfurt, Singapore, New York, yeah just don't even buy water bottles before you get in.
And when you do buy from the duty-free shops after passing the check-point, remember you have to drink it all up before you can board the plane.
While on the plane, act coy with the stewardess and get favour from them. Just kidding. Be polite and add-in some wit in your words, and when you do have to go for toilet breaks do strike up some conversation with them while waiting outside the toilet. They will be super friendly, and I'm serious most of them are quite genuine and kind and willing to help, lah.
There's definitely no need to press for the 'steward help' button if you can just wait for them (I never did since I turned 12.) ...but when you do press it they come immediately.
I took lots of peanuts and bread on the plane, and washed them all down with water. Really great stuff. Watched two different set of movies already, because I left on SIA on 29th August, which means they showed a set of movies and shows (more than a hundred), and I came back on the 8th September (an entirely new set of movies). And great, no pictures of the planes.
I've recently been talking to my classmates about the turbulence, and about the mini-orgasms that possibly could have occured for some of my friends. I've told Dr Hecht that I rather wait to perform than sit through a turbulence. I'm wrong, I think. Sitting here in the comfort of my chair I think I rather sit through a turbulence than perform.
But I guess when you survive more turbulence and realised you were never going to go unconscious or explode into pieces, you get less worried. But sometimes I do have an image that God is holding the plane in his hands, and once when I travelled from Majorca to Ibiza I thought of that, and surprisingly I slept through the turbulence and all the way till landing.
Nice, huh?
Ok my flight plan was this - First to Frankfurt (3rd time in a month, after Ettlingen competition), then after that to Majorca (where Chopin took his break to write his Preludes, he went there with George Sand - it looks really dusty and windy to have a nice, cosy winter there.) And then finally to Ibiza - of course, buses will be provided when you travel between the terminal to the aeroplanes in the smaller airports, because there's not enough space for all the planes to be beside the terminal itself so we can walk via a duct.
If you realised most times when you do go out travelling probably the only way of getting into the aeroplane was through a huge duct which we would walk through, this long cuboid tube that twists and turns and leads to the plane itself. And has a distinctively nice smell.
Well in domestic travelling you'll have to take a bus to the plane itself, and then board up a staircase. Watch out for your luggages then! Everyone will be climbing up the staircase then so yeah just don't bowl over, because the winds from the turbines can get really strong. But you feel great once you're at the top of the staircase beside the plane, 'cos the wind is blowing in thy hair and thy hand is on thy luggage, proud and standeth tall.
No major food will be provided on the domestic flights, as I had from Majorca to Ibiza. Just had a piece of bread, and watched Mr Bean from well, a shared TV-screen by 6 people.
Skip the major boring parts.
Reached Ibiza, and we were received by one of the organizer's mum, and another guy who was part of the organization team. But first, a map of Ibiza.
Ok, three important places to note. Click on the map - San Antonio, where the contestants' hotel is, Santa Eulalia, where the judges' hotel is, and finally San Carlos, which is located in small print. If you draw a straight line from San Juan to Santa Eulalia, and look right of it, where you see a crossroad, you can see San Carlos exactly there.
For the first two days in Ibiza I stayed with Dr Hecht at Santa Eulalia, before we went to San Carlos (the competition venue itself) and then I joined up with the contestants.
Of course, some pictures of San Carlos and the places I have dwelled around in San Carlos.
Lots more pictures to blog - including the places I blog, the benches at sit at to compose outside the concert hall, and wonderful beaches.
Alright I'm very accustomed to traveling actually, and if I'm going to have to pack things for a trip myself and go travelling myself, I'm pretty sure I can do it.
3-collared T-shirts (should have gotten 4), three white plain collarless shirts to be worn for sleeping or the most casual wear, three boxers, three packets of underwear (disposables are freaking useful on a overseas trip - don't have to wash just throw away) and 4 Levi jeans, 2 performance clothings, one performance pants, and finally 2 pairs of shoes (performance shoes and outside shoes)
For girls it definitely will be more difficult, with all the neccesities and whatsoever - makeup, performance gowns, blah blah blah.
So I didn't have to check in any luggage at all, just having a hand-carry luggage and a slingbag with me. One pair of shoes amazingly stuffed inside the luggage, snuggled nicely.
Alright here's what to watch out for when travelling - don't bring any liquids, just drink from the airport. But for domestic flights it's really easy to smuggle water bottles through because they don't screen you at all. Otherwise, big airports like Frankfurt, Singapore, New York, yeah just don't even buy water bottles before you get in.
And when you do buy from the duty-free shops after passing the check-point, remember you have to drink it all up before you can board the plane.
While on the plane, act coy with the stewardess and get favour from them. Just kidding. Be polite and add-in some wit in your words, and when you do have to go for toilet breaks do strike up some conversation with them while waiting outside the toilet. They will be super friendly, and I'm serious most of them are quite genuine and kind and willing to help, lah.
There's definitely no need to press for the 'steward help' button if you can just wait for them (I never did since I turned 12.) ...but when you do press it they come immediately.
I took lots of peanuts and bread on the plane, and washed them all down with water. Really great stuff. Watched two different set of movies already, because I left on SIA on 29th August, which means they showed a set of movies and shows (more than a hundred), and I came back on the 8th September (an entirely new set of movies). And great, no pictures of the planes.
I've recently been talking to my classmates about the turbulence, and about the mini-orgasms that possibly could have occured for some of my friends. I've told Dr Hecht that I rather wait to perform than sit through a turbulence. I'm wrong, I think. Sitting here in the comfort of my chair I think I rather sit through a turbulence than perform.
But I guess when you survive more turbulence and realised you were never going to go unconscious or explode into pieces, you get less worried. But sometimes I do have an image that God is holding the plane in his hands, and once when I travelled from Majorca to Ibiza I thought of that, and surprisingly I slept through the turbulence and all the way till landing.
Nice, huh?
Ok my flight plan was this - First to Frankfurt (3rd time in a month, after Ettlingen competition), then after that to Majorca (where Chopin took his break to write his Preludes, he went there with George Sand - it looks really dusty and windy to have a nice, cosy winter there.) And then finally to Ibiza - of course, buses will be provided when you travel between the terminal to the aeroplanes in the smaller airports, because there's not enough space for all the planes to be beside the terminal itself so we can walk via a duct.
If you realised most times when you do go out travelling probably the only way of getting into the aeroplane was through a huge duct which we would walk through, this long cuboid tube that twists and turns and leads to the plane itself. And has a distinctively nice smell.
Well in domestic travelling you'll have to take a bus to the plane itself, and then board up a staircase. Watch out for your luggages then! Everyone will be climbing up the staircase then so yeah just don't bowl over, because the winds from the turbines can get really strong. But you feel great once you're at the top of the staircase beside the plane, 'cos the wind is blowing in thy hair and thy hand is on thy luggage, proud and standeth tall.
No major food will be provided on the domestic flights, as I had from Majorca to Ibiza. Just had a piece of bread, and watched Mr Bean from well, a shared TV-screen by 6 people.
Skip the major boring parts.
Reached Ibiza, and we were received by one of the organizer's mum, and another guy who was part of the organization team. But first, a map of Ibiza.
Ok, three important places to note. Click on the map - San Antonio, where the contestants' hotel is, Santa Eulalia, where the judges' hotel is, and finally San Carlos, which is located in small print. If you draw a straight line from San Juan to Santa Eulalia, and look right of it, where you see a crossroad, you can see San Carlos exactly there.
For the first two days in Ibiza I stayed with Dr Hecht at Santa Eulalia, before we went to San Carlos (the competition venue itself) and then I joined up with the contestants.
Of course, some pictures of San Carlos and the places I have dwelled around in San Carlos.
Lots more pictures to blog - including the places I blog, the benches at sit at to compose outside the concert hall, and wonderful beaches.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
First days again
Ok I owe you guys a freaking update on everything. EVERYTHING.
So we started off on Friday, the day after I attended MEP and the concert featuring the young talents of Singapore. Great. Fantastic hit to my ego, ego points currently at 0.
Ok pardon me if I get typo errors, but I would just like to say I'm having a little problem trying to negotiate this keyboard because I still feel a little woozy from the 12-hour flight from Frankfurt all the way to Singapore.
For all the hype and stuff, there were only 5 contestants in my category. A visually-handicapped girl who was 10 years old beat me to second, and a reasonable good guy got first.
Well, welcome to the crazy world of music.
And Spain was really freaking memorable. On the first few days I was staying in the judges hotel.
Ok update you later.
So we started off on Friday, the day after I attended MEP and the concert featuring the young talents of Singapore. Great. Fantastic hit to my ego, ego points currently at 0.
Ok pardon me if I get typo errors, but I would just like to say I'm having a little problem trying to negotiate this keyboard because I still feel a little woozy from the 12-hour flight from Frankfurt all the way to Singapore.
For all the hype and stuff, there were only 5 contestants in my category. A visually-handicapped girl who was 10 years old beat me to second, and a reasonable good guy got first.
Well, welcome to the crazy world of music.
And Spain was really freaking memorable. On the first few days I was staying in the judges hotel.
Ok update you later.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
SPAIN SPAIN
Fine. SOmeone asked for an update so I will update you guys a little about Spain. Firstly, I would like to announce that I didn´t bring a camera there so I don´t get to share the sights with you! THE FREAKING SIGHTS ARE WONDERFUL!!! Ok, so half of you should have already clicked and left this blog. (reverse psychology)
Secondly I need to explain how I got this computer - it´s eight Euros for one hour, so that means altogether 20 dollars for one hour. That´s how I got it.
Ok some updates on the Competition - for my category there are only five people competing. So if I don´t win something (the results are tomorrow), I will really really quit performing and spend the rest of my years in recluse.
Actually I felt I did EVERYTHING that I was supposed to do, all the nuances and all the pedalling. And I listened to the acoustics around me, and it worked fine. But the only problem was I made some stupid slips that were totally unnessecary. Like, you know, the left hand working fine and the right hand suddenly slipping.
I hate my composure sometimes. On the performance stage.
I have the hotel room to myself, entirely, so I spend most of my days journeying to the competition centre itself by a free bus that takes everyone along. On somedays though I stay in the hotel room composing, and on that side I do have good news.
Unfortunately (Fortunately) you guys wouldn´t get to be hearing another improvisation from me because there are only 5 pianos around this whole city and everyone really takes turns to go to them.
The environment here is freaking nice also because everyone has breakfast together, and I have made some really good friends from my category already. One from Porto, and the other from Mallorca. :)
I came here with Dr Hecht (as already mentioned previously) but he´s staying in the judge hotel, which of course we can´t access because we are contestants.
To be honest I haven´t even touched any beaches or swam yet because I simply don´t feel like exposing my body to the freaking sun. Í´m tanned enough thank you, if I want to get more tanned no one can see me anymore.
Tomorrow is results day, and I can hard-hard-hardly wait lah...my first international break. No, seriously, if I´m not going to get anything I´ll be feeling depressed. Like seriously depressed. Capital D Depressed...The beaches are beautiful, there´s a wonderful Sun here, and a really cool breeze that floats across the island.
The only thing I´m not looking forward to are the flights. They really are turbulence-attractors. Nearly shit in my pants the last time I was on the plane.
I´m looking forward to Singapore too - Rafflesian Spotlight! Of course I´ll be hoping to come back with my first international break. Wouldn´t disappoint you guys!!!
Off to play Grand Theft Auto now, originally was supposed to be, but saw Fiona´s tag on blogging. Just had to.
Love you girls.
Secondly I need to explain how I got this computer - it´s eight Euros for one hour, so that means altogether 20 dollars for one hour. That´s how I got it.
Ok some updates on the Competition - for my category there are only five people competing. So if I don´t win something (the results are tomorrow), I will really really quit performing and spend the rest of my years in recluse.
Actually I felt I did EVERYTHING that I was supposed to do, all the nuances and all the pedalling. And I listened to the acoustics around me, and it worked fine. But the only problem was I made some stupid slips that were totally unnessecary. Like, you know, the left hand working fine and the right hand suddenly slipping.
I hate my composure sometimes. On the performance stage.
I have the hotel room to myself, entirely, so I spend most of my days journeying to the competition centre itself by a free bus that takes everyone along. On somedays though I stay in the hotel room composing, and on that side I do have good news.
Unfortunately (Fortunately) you guys wouldn´t get to be hearing another improvisation from me because there are only 5 pianos around this whole city and everyone really takes turns to go to them.
The environment here is freaking nice also because everyone has breakfast together, and I have made some really good friends from my category already. One from Porto, and the other from Mallorca. :)
I came here with Dr Hecht (as already mentioned previously) but he´s staying in the judge hotel, which of course we can´t access because we are contestants.
To be honest I haven´t even touched any beaches or swam yet because I simply don´t feel like exposing my body to the freaking sun. Í´m tanned enough thank you, if I want to get more tanned no one can see me anymore.
Tomorrow is results day, and I can hard-hard-hardly wait lah...my first international break. No, seriously, if I´m not going to get anything I´ll be feeling depressed. Like seriously depressed. Capital D Depressed...The beaches are beautiful, there´s a wonderful Sun here, and a really cool breeze that floats across the island.
The only thing I´m not looking forward to are the flights. They really are turbulence-attractors. Nearly shit in my pants the last time I was on the plane.
I´m looking forward to Singapore too - Rafflesian Spotlight! Of course I´ll be hoping to come back with my first international break. Wouldn´t disappoint you guys!!!
Off to play Grand Theft Auto now, originally was supposed to be, but saw Fiona´s tag on blogging. Just had to.
Love you girls.
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