What? Math and music??

I have heard and seen (from some websites) that music actually can improve your ability to solve math problems. Is it really true?? I myself is learning music, so i guess this interesting topic will help me identify shortcuts to good grades....

After some research I found out that this is more than a rumor...

Experiment 1:
Study shows that pupils who trained on the piano keyboard and played with a specially designed computer math game during the four-month study scored 27% higher on math problems than did a control group that took English classes and played the same game.
The researchers say that learning the piano and how to read music helps children understand note values, such as an eighth note being half of a quarter note.

Experiment 2:
Another group of high-schoolers volunteered to have the experiment tested on them. When the high-schoolers listened to pop music or another classical composer, the music didn’t affect them on a test, but when they listened to Mozart, they got higher test scores.
Then the testers had a different group sit in 10 minutes silence they also thought that sitting in silence helped your brain. The group that listened to Mozart also sat and listened to Mozart for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes were up, both groups took the same test. The Mozart group scored higher. <- Mozart effect??

Music targets one specific area of the brain to stimulate the use of spatial-temporal reasoning, which is useful in mathematical thinking. ST reasoning would be utilized in activities like chess when one needs to think ahead several moves.

However, Whether or not music improves math skill, it has no relevance to many musicians. Most musicians practice music because of the wonders and joy they feel and earn by playing music even if they are not aware of the math that is in music. So in any case, do try to pick up music as a hobby.

(references:http://library.thinkquest.org/4116/Music/music.htm, http://jackhdavid.thehouseofdavid.com/papers/math.html- http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52305.html- http://members.cox.net/mathmistakes/music.htm)

Music & Plants

Have you ever heard that music can affect plant growth?
Many scientists have done experiments regarding this. Dorothy Retallack used 3 laboratories containing the same species of plants. She used different types of music for each lab. The plants in the laboratory where music was played daily for 3 hours a day grew twice as large and became twice as healthy as those in a music-free environment. On the other hand, plants in the laboratory where music was played for eight hours a day died within two weeks.

Dorothy Retallack also tried experimenting with different types of music. She played rock music to one group of plants and soothing music to another. The group that heard rock turned out to be sickly and small whereas the other group grew large and healthy. What's more surprising is that the group of plants listening to the soothing music grew bending towards the radio just as they bend towards the sunlight!

Although music is not an absolutely proven factor in plant development, several studies have aided the musical development theory. Some relates this to how music (eg. classical music) affects the human brain positively. So basically, the effect on music on plants can be drastic; noisy music will only make the plants grow feeble and sick. Play classical music (Bach, beethoven, chopin) to make your plant grow better. Even if it isn't classical music, I believe, just soothing music will have the same effect.
Reference ( http://www.ukpianos.co.uk/plants-respond-to-music.html ; http://www.miniscience.com/projects/plantmusic/index.html ; http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_effects_of_music_on_plants)

If you want to try this experiment yourself, follow the steps here: http://www.freesciencefairproject.com/projects/plants_music.html
So basically, just expose plants to 2 different type of music : rock and classical.
See the difference for yourself.

NBC

2010 is a very special year for our band, as this year, the 3rd NBC(national band concert) will be held at around 1oth July. In this competition, about 35 schools from Singapore will be participating, and definitely not excluding the Hwa Chong Institution band. Apart from all these, Aichi Meidan High School, an Award Winning Band from Japan, will be also performing. All bands have to play a required march piece, and another choice piece.

Our band is very excited about this upcoming event. We had only about 3 months to practise, and therefore, we practised almost every week in our own sections. However, with our current standard, we might not be able to achieve the top award-Gold with Distinctions, the award we have been aiming for. In the last NBC our school band participated in 2006, we attained a Gold award, behind our target by a mere 0.84%! Our seniors were devastated knowing the results, and have been encouraging us to work extra hard, so that we would not regret like how they did. This gave us a lot of pressure...

Anyway, the pieces we are playing are March Together, and Warabe Uta fantasy.
Warabe Uta Fantasy is a very traditional song, with solos from various instruments including the clarinet and the saxaphone. This is an especially tough piece as there are many places where the time signature changes.
Try listening to it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4FIAwEbF0A ( played by another band)
March Together is a simple and easy piece with a nice melody. It is, however, a piece that stills requires great co-ordination from all instrument parts. Coincidentally, the composer for this piece is one of the judege for the competition!


The HCI band has came a long way building its reputation. We hope that this competition will allow us to prove our strength once again, and at the same time, be an unforgettable experience for all of us. Good luck to us

The Piano

Ordinary as it might seem, the piano is actually a very unique instrument, and is also one of the most popular instruments.

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Apart from being widely used in Classical music for solo performances, and accompaniment, the piano is also very useful as an aid to compose music pieces. The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which derives from the original Italian name for the instrument

History

The piano was invented by Italian court instrument-keeper Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698. The piano was essentially a solution to a long-running problem - namely that of producing a keyboard instrument that could be modulated to be loud or. Cristofori's development of a "hammer action" assembly allowed hammers to strike the strings. Cristofori's piano action served as a model for the many different approaches to piano actions that followed.

How it works

When a key of the piano is pressed, the mechanisms in the piano will move a hammer, causing it to hit a string. Cristofori's made the piano such that the hammer must strike the string, but not remain in contact with it because this would damp the sound. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position without bouncing violently, and it must be possible to repeat a note rapidly. Cristofori's piano action served as a model for the many different approaches to piano actions that followed.

Pedals

Pianos have had pedals since the earliest days. Most grand pianos have three pedals: the soft pedal (una corda), sostenuto, and sustain pedal (from left to right, respectively), while in Europe, the standard is two pedals: the soft pedal and the sustain pedal. Most modern upright pianos also have three pedals: soft pedal, practice pedal and sustain pedal, though older or cheaper models may lack the practice pedal.

The sustain pedal (or, damper pedal) is often simply called "the pedal", since it is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. It lifts the dampers from all keys, sustaining all played notes.

The soft pedal or una corda pedal is placed leftmost in the row of pedals. In grand pianos, it shifts the entire action, including the keyboard, to the right, so that the hammers hit only one of the three strings for each note.

On grand pianos, the middle pedal is a sostenuto pedal. This pedal keeps raised any damper that was already raised at the moment the pedal is depressed. This makes it possible to sustain some notes.

Types

Modern pianos come in two basic configurations: the grand piano and the upright piano.

In grand pianos, the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. There are several sizes of grand piano.
The longer strings on a concert grand can vibrate more accurately than the shorter, thicker strings on a baby grand, which means that a concert grand's strings will have truer overtones.A grand piano action has a repetition lever for each key. If the key is pressed repeatedly and fairly quickly this repetition lever catches the hammer close to the strings, which assists the speed and control of repeated notes and trills.



Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. The hammers move horizontally, and are returned to their resting position by springs, which are prone to wear and tear. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings are sometimes called upright grand pianos.

(sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#History, http://www.pianoinfo.co.uk/history.htm, http://www.pianorestoring.com/History_Education/Education.htm)

The piano is a relatively easy instrument to learn. Despite being expensive, you can actually learn the piano by yourself through the internet. If you are interested, you might want to visit this website: http://www.learningtoplaypiano.net/

LA Task 2 T2W10

1. Point of View
--> “…children in the darknessWho someone will teach to fight”

- The poet is trying to say that the children will be “led into the darkness”, learning something sinister which is fighting.

--> “Chalk and blackboards will not be, To this door there is no key”; “Could we give them half a chance,Could we teach them how to read,Could we teach them how to dance”

- Children are supposed to be educated academically. However, in this case, the poet is trying to say that they do not even have the freedom to choose what they want to do. Nobody is able to give them the chance to learn how to read. Their only way is to fight in a war

--> “Will their life and blood be pouredDown some endless thirsty hole”

-The poet is trying to say that, in a war the children will lose their lives easily, when they could have spent their lives picking up new skills instead.


2. Situation and setting

--> “endless thirsty hole”

- The use of the word “thirsty” shows that people fighting in a war are all desperate for survival, and in order to survive, they have to “quench their thirst” by killing others, if not they may get killed. The use of the word “endless” shows that it’s everyone who has this thought. Everyone wants to live on, and will thus fight with all theirs might, and therefore the competition on a battlefield is very tough. If children were to join in, it would be quite apparent that they will die.-

--> “Or will a war consume them,Their body and their soul”

- The poet portrays war as a cruel and merciless environment that will “consume them (the children), their body and soul”, showing that the enemy will not only simply kill them, but totally destroy them physically.


3. Language/ Diction


--> “Could we simply light a candle, Could we give them half a chance, Could we teach them how to read, Could we teach them how to dance”

- “simply light a candle” is trying to say that could adults show them what is the right path in life that they should head. The poet also used “half a chance” instead of just saying “a chance”. He is trying to say that nobody could even give the children the most minute opportunity to learn to read or write, and their fate has been decided, that is, to go to war.
- The rhetorical question also emphasizes the helplessness of adults. They want to prevent the children from fighting in a war, risking their lives, but they can’t stop it.

--> “Back into the darkness,From which there is no flight,Back into the darkness,Into which there shines no light”

- In both the first and last stanza the poet used “darkness” and “light”, which are two contrasting terms. The repetition used is trying to emphasise that going into war will turn children evil, and they will not have any chance to be able to “see the light” to do what a normal child should learn, and also risking their lives. The poet used “Back into the darkness”. The use of the word “back” shows that after thinking through, the poet realises that the only way for children is to head “back into the darkness” and fight in a war.

4. Personal response

- I feel that children should not be involved in war in any ways, or exposed to the cruelty of it. Imagine yourself as a young kid in a battlefield, who has killed another innocent man for survival, and has inevitably turned into a murderer, a monster. This will be marred in the children’s mind forever. Even if a child doesn’t kill, he or she will inevitably witness death, or how cruel one can be when he or she is desperate.

LA Task 1 T2W10

Background info: Henry M Bechtold was in, sitting in his hotel room in Saigon, trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. He looked at news on TV. In the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle.

Poem:
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

Henry M Bechtold

In any war, the children will be pure as they will not be at the battlefield to kill nor witness death of others. However, in this poem, the poet says that “children (are) in the darkness, who someone will teach them how to fight”. He is trying to say that in a war, there is actually no one that is innocent, as everyone will witness death and even kill. Children are supposed to school and learn to read and dance, but they are only able to fight in a war, which will not only pollute their minds, it might also take their lives away. War is a cruel environment that innocent children should not try to get involved in it.

Noise or music?

How do you differentiate between noise and music? Scientifically speaking, both music and noise are created by vibration, and thus produce a sound. However similar they might seem, many always feel that these two things are actually very contrasting.


To me, the most obvious difference between these two is that music sounds more pleasing to the ear, more satisfying for the mind. When sounds that are created sound nice, they will be classified under music. If they do not, they will be classified under noise. It is all about our perception, I believe. If you perceive something as nice sounding, others might not necessarily feel the same way. While a piece of music may be literally music to some, it might be considered noise for others. However, I believe that with in-depth thought about any sound produced, it definitely can be defined as music.

Usually, noise is very high-pitch, or very nasal sounds. To me, these may be considered as music, even though not as nice as others... Nice music, to all of us, is a clean and smooth sound that seems to ring eternally in our mind. This is why music could allow us to focus more, and noise will just distract us inevitably.

Thus, to me, actually there is no such thing considered as noise. If you put in effort and try to understand these sounds produced, you would surely be able to enjoy that piece of music. This is exactly like analysing a poem: on the surface, it might be just plain words that talk about an incident, but actually, each and every phrase has a 'chord' to it. ♪♫

Chinese songs

I usually listen to chinese songs, but most of my friends listen to english songs, or even korean and japanese songs. We constantly argue which one is better.
Comparing English songs with Chinese songs, I feel that there are few differences, and yet these differences creates a big difference. To me, the words in chinese songs are usually more meaningful and yet rhyming, or sometimes even poetic. For English songs, I usually don't understand what the whole song is trying to say, especially in fast-rythm songs. To put it in simpler words, to me, english songs is like a beautiful beach, seemingly flawless. But chinese songs, on the other hand, is similar to a wonderful beach, with a vivid image of a setting sun, so romantic...
I feel that Chinese songs have a wider variety of music. In english songs, we usually hear the lyrics accompanied by a drumset and a few electic cuitars, ocassionally keyboards. However, in chinese songs, each and very one seem so unique and different. There are melodious sounds of the piano, sometimes the violin or cello in fast paced songs, and even flute sounds appearing constantly. This, to me, gives chinese songs a lot more style and originality.
My Favourite Singer
Actually, my favourite singer is jay chou. Many say that he can't pronounce words properly, and you totally cannot make out what he is mumbling, but actually all his songs have a very special style and are very meaningful. Anyway, his inability to pronounce properly can be considered "a special singing style" of his, I guess.
There are many of his songs that I really love. One is 珊瑚海(direct translation: coral sea). It is a duet. It is a love song about how 2 people that are in love are just not meant for each other. Try listening to it, you will definitely like it:"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpx1rNjlPI" . The MV (music video) also tells a very nice story.
This blog post has a very good translation of the song: http://bibitan.blogspot.com/2006/03/shan-hu-hai-coral-sea.html

Another song that i like is 千里之外（direct translation: Thousands of miles away）. This song has a music of the traditional china style, and yet, it is so beautiful. It is also about love and it is also a duet. If you watch the MV, you will know that the story is about how a guy is in love with a very good singer, but the singer has to leave overseas.
music( with translation): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIhLHMhIGGU

I hope you enjoyed my post. Please feel free to comment, as i believe that many of you would hape very different opinions.

Whistle

This post is very unique, because is about a very special topic, which is whistling.
I always thought that whistling was just blowing air through your lips. But, actually, after checking websites i found out that "whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing air out of the hole or sucking air into the hole."(www.wikipedia.org) The sound can also be altered by changing the positions of your tongue and lips, and even your teeth.
Whistling can actually be considered music. I guess not many of us actually realised that. The sound of whistling is actually the vibration of your lips. It creates different pitches when you control the size of the opening of your mouth. Thus, with experience and practice, i guess you can whistle many unique sounds.
Whistling can be musical. There are performers on who were professional whistlers, having some notable songs featuring whistling.
Whistling is definitely not merely a method of calling or gaining someone's attention. But, how do we actually whistle? (I can't whistle also...)

From: "http://www.ehow.com/how_4839_whistle.html"
Step 1) Purse your lips into a tiny O shape, leaving a small opening for air.

Step 2) Place the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth or against your inside bottom gums.

Step 3) Gently blow air through your mouth.

Step 4) Adjust your tongue position and the small O opening formed by your lips until you hear a pitch.

Step 5) Once you can sound one note, experiment with your tongue position and the strength of your breath to produce different notes. Isn't it interesting?

Step 6) Practice makes perfect, so, i guess we just have to keep on practising

Well having a better understanding of how to whistle, I hope that I can learn to whislte soon, so that I can finally find an insturument that is a part of me, like an organ:D Wish you all the best!

Jazz ♪

Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities. Jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music.

The word "jazz" began as a West Coast slang term and was first used to refer to music in Chicago in about 1915. In early accounts, jazz is sometimes spelled "jass," and is said to be a variation of the word "jism," because it was originally performed by horn players to entertain johns in the whorehouses of Storyville, the notorious red-light district of New Orleans.

Prohibition in the United States (from 1920 to 1933) banned the sale of alcoholic drinks, resulting in illicit speakeasies becoming lively venues of the "Jazz Age", an era when popular music included current dance songs, novelty songs, and show tunes. Jazz started to get a reputation as being immoral and many members of the older generations saw it as threatening the old values in culture and promoting the new decadent values of the Roaring 20s.

Even the media began to degrade jazz. For instance, villagers used pots and pans in Siberia to scare off bears, and the newspaper stated that it was Jazz that scared the bears away. Another story claims that Jazz caused the death of a celebrated conductor.There was also a larger market for jazzy dance music played by white orchestras.

When electric guitar first showed up in the jazz world, most fans treated it as a novelty effect. But after the impact of Chicago blues, rock-and-roll and other related styles, the plugged-in guitar has become the defining sound of contemporary music.

Swing

The 1930s belonged to popular swing big bands, in which some virtuoso soloists became as famous as the band leaders. Key figures in developing the "big" jazz band included bandleaders and arrangers Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Glenn Miller, and Artie Shaw.

Trumpeter, bandleader and singer Louis Armstrong was a much-imitated innovator of early jazz. Swing was also dance music. It was broadcast on the radio 'live' nightly across America for many years especially by Hines and his Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra broadcasting coast-to-coast from Chicago, well placed for 'live' time-zones.

• Louis Armstrong >

Beginnings of European jazz

Outside of the United States the beginnings of a distinct European style of jazz emerged in France with the Quintette du Hot Club de France which began in 1934. Belgian guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt popularized gypsy jazz, a mix of 1930s American swing, French dance hall "musette" and Eastern European folk with a languid, seductive feel. The main instruments are steel stringed guitar, violin, and double bass. Solos pass from one player to another as the guitar and bass play the role of the rhythm section.
*reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz; http://www.allaboutjazz.com/; http://www.jazz.com/

My favourite

My favourite would be the Soul jazz. Soul jazz was a development of hard bop which incorporated strong influences from blues, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often the organ trio, which partnered a Hammond organ player with a drummer and a tenor saxophonist. Soul jazz generally emphasized repetitive grooves and melodic hooks, and improvisations were often less complex than in other jazz styles. One nice composition, that I really like, is Cannonball Adderley's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (1966).
Try listening to it : http://www.google.com.sg/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DpRrFWp4DUho&ei=B_7kS82LDMyxrAeIqKSQAw&sa=X&oi=video_result&resnum=1&ct=thumbnail&cad=11897038358641332762&ved=0CBYQuAIwAA&usg=AFQjCNHiq8r_9nu9OutKEmIczn1RwnEnRA

The Guitar

The guitar is a stringed instrument. The guitar consists of a body with a neck to the strings, generally six in number. There are two primary families of guitars: acoustic and electric.

Acoustic guitars : Hollow bodies, have been in use for over a 1000 years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar:
1. The classical guitar (nylon-string guitar)
2. The steel-string acoustic guitar
3. The archtop guitar -->
The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber.

Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues,jazz etc. and many forms of pop.

History

Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". These instruments are descended from ones that existed in ancient central Asia and India. For this reason guitars are distantly related to modern instruments from these regions, including the tanbur, the setar, and the sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.

The modern word "guitar" and its predecessors applied to a wide variety of cordophones since ancient times and as such is a cause of confusion. The English word "guitar", the German "gitarre", and the French "guitare", were adopted from the Spanish word guitarra.

The guitar is brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD, and further adapted and developed with the arrival of the four-string oud, brought by the Moors after their conquest of Iberia in the 8th century. By 1200 AD, the four-string "guitar" had evolved into two types:
1) the guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar), which had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several soundholes and
2) the guitarra latina (Latin guitar), which resembled the modern guitar with one soundhole and a narrower neck.
(moorish guitar)

Accessories

Though a guitar may be played on its own, there are a variety of common accessories used for holding and playing the guitar.

Capotasto

A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fret board with the aid of spring tension, or in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fret board just below the first fret.

Slides

A slide, (neck of a bottle, knife blade or round metal bar) used in blues and rock to create a glissando or 'Hawaiian' effect. The necks of bottles were often used in blues and country music. Modern slides are constructed of glass, plastic, ceramic, chrome, brass or steel, depending on the weight and tone desired.
*reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar


Well, I personally do not play the guitar, but my sibling does(its her CCA). I ocssionally learn to play a bit of it from her, but will soon get irritated as it is way too hard for me to play it... However, I actually really want to play a guitar, because it makes such a melodious sound, and it will not, I guess, be difficult to play it after some practice. I hope that I will be able to learn how to play it soon...

If you are interested to learn it, it is not neccessary for you to go to music schools to learn it. Try learning it yourself!
These are some websites i found that might be useful:
- http://www.guitarlessonssingapore.com/
- http://www.guitar.com/

Hawaii part (IV)

Day 6:
After breakfast, we had the rest of the morning free to spend on our own! We further explored the rest of the area, digging out places we had never been before. After lunch, we were brought to an island of shopping outlets. We burned our pockets at the many outlets, especially in the Converse shop( I bought shoes for my siblings). We had much fun there, but this happiness was short-lived. All of us were moaning as we board the bus back to the hotel.
Before dinner, me and my section went shopping, again, at the nearby International Market. One thing that caught out eyes was a shirt that lights up when it detects sound: the louder the sound, the more it lights up. It was so cool, but when we realised that it cause about US$40, only a few of us managed to buy it. At the market, we also bought some souvenirs and snacks for our relatives and friends, and more importantly, ourselves :D.

Day 7:
Day 7 was the last day. We had so much fun the day before, that we woke up about 45 minutes late! We still had to pack our luggage, and clear the whole room, and therefore, we did not have sufficient time for breakfast... The whole trip to the airport, my tummy was moaning and groaning... Me and my other roommates bought ice-cream as our breakfast. We then board the plane, very disappointed.
Arriving at the Changi airport, I saw my parents waiting paitiently at the waiting area for me, so were other parents.
It was such a memorble experience i will never be able to forget. I am just hoping that there will be another chance for me to go there again... Worst of all, school was about to start in 2 days...
THE END ♪♫

Hawaii (III)

Day 4:All of us had butterflies in our stomach- we would be performing only moments later. We had out warm-up and we did some tuning in a small room located on the second level. However, nobody was really focusing on the warm-ups. We were just too nervous.
Before the concert began, me and some other flutist and clarinetist had to help the percussion section move their instruments on the stage. We had to move swiftly as we had limited time.
Then the performance began. The first song we played was 'Spring March' a lively and cheerful piece, followed by 'Machu Pichu' a piece about war, telling a wonderful story. Lastly, we played 'Shenandoah' a solemn piece, created in commeration of a deceased student. We were all very anxious and we were definitely unable to deliver our 100%. However, the encouragement and sheers from the crowd was more than sufficient to put our minds at ease. We certainly performed well.

Day 5: We went to the University of Hawaii for the festival luau(in hawaii, its a Hawaiin feast). All the schools that participated in the event were invited to join the celebration. There were many performances and dances, and there were also fun activities like dance competitions. We also had a fun time taking photos with people we didn't know. It was a nice experience.
Finally, before the day ended, we proceeded to the Hawaii Theatre. We were relaxed, listening to other performances, at the same time, nervous that our results would be announced. It seemed like almost an eternity before our results were announced. Worst of all, the emcee made a deliberate pause before saying our results. "Hwa Chong Band... GOLD!!" we stood up and clapped, roaring and cheering. It was a wonderful moment. Not every band had gotten gold. However, everyone were elated to have this golden oppotunity to participate in such a fun-filled events, and the process was really great.

Hawaii (II)

Day 2:
We headed for Pearl Harbour and the USS Arizona memorial. We took a lot of photos and bought lots of souvenirs too. It was a golden opportunity.
Some pictures :



We then proceeded for our rehearsal. We then had our own lunch in another fast food restaurant, I presume(I can't really remember). We then went to Ala Moana shopping centre for our performance. The crowd was really encouraging. Despite playing quite badly(for one of our pieces), one of the audience complimented us, saying that that song was really nice. Their cheers and claps were just so motivating.

Day 3:
We went to Pacific Beach Hotel for an hour of workshop. Afterwards, we had an exchange rehearsal with a band from California, Mountain View High School. Despite our age difference(I was 14, they were 17,18), they managed to break the ice and we became good friends in that short span of an hour. We exchanged contacts, and even added them to our facebook. We managed to try their playing their performance piece, "Hounds of spring". It was much fun, especially at the end, when they gave us some presents, and even gave us thei school badge. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to prepare for our dinner and dance at Pacific Beach hotel.
In that occasion, there were many people from all over the globe, gathering here for this joyious occasion, including people from Japan, USA, Australia etc. The meal was delectable. I enjoyed it. We also danced wildly to different music. Personally, i don't like dancing, so i was basically walking around the whole time...

Hawaii Trip (I)

Well the whole trip was generally real great. And i doubt i can squeeze the whole experience in 1 post. :D

Day 1:
We arrived at the Honolulu airport and then proceeded to the Ohana West Hotel. However, we only had 3 rooms at first(I am not sure why), and we had to squeeze all 55 luggages and instruments into that small area. Then we headed for lunch, as sections, on our own. For the first 30mins or so, we were wandering aimlessly in the vast city. In the end, we decided to fill our stomachs at Macdonalds...
We could finally have our own rooms! We then separated into our groups. Fortunately for me and my group, our's was the corner room, which was much bigger in size compared to the pthers. We were then allowed to spend some free time exploring the whole of the Waikiki area. My whole section ended up staying in one room playing cards and talking. Afterwards, we went for dinner at another fast food restaurant, which one I forgot(we went to too many places), and enjoyed our meal there. The portion is relatively bigger, so we went back to the hotel with round stomachs...
We enjoyed the rest of the time bathing, watching TV and playing cards before going to bed.

Band Fiesta

Tickets for sale! Tickets for sale! You guessed it. This sunday, there will be a Band Fiesta held at Singapore Conference Hall. It's $10 per ticket, and it's free seating.

Basically, Band Fiesta is a showcase of school bands all around the nation, especially those which are going to participate in the SYF competition. Even though it consists of mainly primary school bands, our school band would like to familiarise ourselves with the atmosphere in front of a sea of people, especially since we are having a competition soon.

Although Band Fiesta is not a competition, and it is not a big scale event, I am still anticipating for this day to come very much. I hope to show the whole of Singapore the capability of my school's band. After countless practises, I hope to impress the audiences with our magnificent music. However, I have a bit of stage fright. I hope to overcome it and treat this event as an opportunity to do so.

All the best for the upcoming Band Fiesta! Hope to recieve support from you!

Balance

I have been thinking, do I actually have sufficient time for my work? Can I balance my music commitments with my work? Apart from the usual CCA, remedial, I still have third language and piano lessons. Looking at my timetable, I realised that the only weekday I might be free is Monday. Compared to the past in primary school when i had 3 hours of playtime daily, this is really very little rest.

I considered to stop learning piano anymore. Although the lessons are not time consuming, the piano exams has forced me to practise regularly so that I can ace the exams. My teacher has to teach many students and her timing is very inflexible, hence up till now, I still do not have a fixed date for my piano lessons. However, I have been learning the piano for quite a while, won't it be a waste if I was to stop learning now? Perhaps maybe after I pass the grade 8 exams. I am in a dilemma.

The other commitment I can give up is my third language, Japanese. I have been learning this since secondary 1. Even though my grades were never good, I still learn Japanese as it is both fun and interesting. It's definitely a waste to stop learning it.

What should I do? It's really difficult to balance my time. Perhaps I should just wait a while longer before making any decisions.

Depressed

Today had been particularly disappointing. It is like seeing all your efforts go to drain, similar to wasting all your energy, identical to the fact that your countless attempts to perfect things is futile.

During band practice today, something very astonishing happened. As you might know, our school band is putting in much effort for the upcoming competition in Hawaii. As a secondary 2 student, a rookie, I had to put extra efforts to match up my standards to that of my seniors. For the competition, we are supposed to play 3 pieces, one of which is beyond the secondary 2s' capability, and therefore it has been long decided for us not to play this piece. It didn't seem that bad, because we(the secondary 2s) are at least, still contributing 2/3 of the whole thing. Unfortunately, after some weeks, it has again been decided for us not to play another piece, except for those exceptionally good secondary 2 students. One song left, well, I guess this meant that we could at the very least have 100% focus on this music piece...

Well, this is not all. We have been practising for 3-4 whole months, for 3 important music pieces, that will probably decide the reputation of our school's band. And the last piece of song was all we had left to contribute to the band. However, I was rudely shocked when the senior suddenly forbidded us, secondary twos, to play that piece, and this is only for our section. me and my friends were astounded. How is this possible? What were the previous practises for? It was so unfair : if the others can play it, why can't we?

But we had to face the reality. We were not the section leader, nor the Band Major. We were just powerless people. Apart from being unfair, this trip for an overseas competition is basically nothing... Perhaps things would improve when i become more senior? Well, I guess that not contributing might be the best contribution for the band♪♫

My punishment

Well, today was another unfortunate day. During sectional this afternoon, I met with an accident, a really accidental accident.



As you all might know, any instrument will cost a bomb, despite its qualities. This afternoon, I was suppose to leave the band room to practise outside. I was dragging my weary body, hardly moving an inch. Then later, my senior gave me a hard push and sent me flying forward. Being curious about who did that, I turned around and looked.

Yup, this is another part of my instrument, the bell, meant to amplify the sound made by the instrument(Ya, i drew it...). As my arms swung, the bellof my instrument hit the table beside me. And i was real unlucky to have my senior witness the accident. He then bellowed,"50 push-ups after band practise." I felt that it was quite unfair, because this is not entirely my fault. However, since it is still my fault, partially, i decided to obey him.

Sigh... I really should be more careful next time. Even though the instrument does not belong to me, I really should take good care of it, because i am very priviledged to be able to use such good instruments♪♫

Machu Picchu: music piece

Hi, today i will be introducing to everyone about a famous musical piece, Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is a fortress city situated in Peru. It is also the New Seven Wonders Of The World.

This beautiful piece is written by Satoshi Yagisawa. Like any other musical piece, Machu Pichuu is a music piece that tells a story. I think that Machu Pichuu depicts a scene during a very fierce war battle. Fighting soldiers, powerful military, all of these could be seen in the music. At the end of the piece, the grand musical phrase, similar to the starting one, concluded the whole song nicely, telling the audience that the war is finally over, and peace is finally here. The music is not only pleasing to the ear, but also satisfying to the mind.

This piece is the piece that my school band is going to play for the upcoming Pacific Basin Music Festival. Moreover, this piece has not only left a great impact in my mind, it is also the favourite piece of many other band members. I could practically hear them humming the tune everyday.

If you would like to hear this song, you might want to try visiting this website :
(http://www.ilike.com/artist/Satoshi+Yagisawa/track/Machu+Picchu )
I wish that you would enjoy this magnificent work and wish the school band all the best for the upcoming competition♪♫

Progressing

Well, its 13 days to Hawaii trip. And yes, this year, our school band is eligible to participate in the Pacific Basin Music Festival. This is a competition involving bands from many various parts of the globe. I have to agree, this event has gotten me excited and anxious, it seems like so much fun! However, we havent completed learning all the music pieces we are supposed to perform.

This made many of us in the band really stressful. Not only do we have 4 practises per week, we also have very minimal breaks. It's not that we do not enjoy playing music, but its just that it is very difficult for us to cope with our work, especially during the test period.
I also feel very hard to balance band and work. And unfortunately, I had kind of injured myself the last band practice. This is how it happened:

Yup, this is a picture of the mouthpiece of my clarinet (I know its ugly but hey, I drew it :D) When I was playing the last band practise, my mouth nearly died out of exhaustion, so in order to keep on practising, I placed my lower lip in a different position. Then, the reed which is quite rough, "frictioned" too much on somewhere around my lower lip. This resulted in the swelling of my skin just below my lower lip... I wonder if I can still play my clarinet as usual...

Anyway, the rest of the band have been improving tremendously compared to the start of the year. This is mostly thanks to the seniors' continuous encouragement. I hope that we will continue to improve in the following band practises and I hope that we will be able to clinch commendable results. Even if we don't, I still strongly feel that in any journey to any destination, the journey would be of the most significance♪♫

LA assignment (interpersonal)

For this assignment, I am supposed to interview my friend or family member. I chose to interview my father on the topic on Prejudice and Discrimination.


After giving him a brief description on prejudice and discrimination, my father paused and thought for a moment before he started replying. He said " People who are prejudice or discriminate others do not have a broad view over issues. They can't access a situation objectively because they have wrong judgements and therefore treat others in a different manner." He also stated that people who discriminate and are prejudice towards others tend to do so as they classify people of different religions, race etc. "Also, apart from the more common religion and racial discrimination, discrimination also happens all around us, this includes discriminating people who have a bad reputation, are weak in some ways and discrimination of other schools." He then further elaborated that these actions might cause great problems that includes wars, racial riots or terrorist attacks.

I then asked him how could things improve. He said that the government should educate the people, not only students, on the issue on prejudice and discrimination. The government has to create awareness and warn the people of the consequences if certain actions were to be carried out. "We should all learn to be more sensitive."

In the news, we also see similar problems occurring. One example in our society is where one pastor hurled negative comments at certain religions. "Well, apart from this, I feel that platforms like facebook have its negative side in terms of prejudice and discrimination. Occasionally, some might be unaware of their actions and write hurtful comments on similar platforms, misusing their freedom of speech." As these platforms have not much people to govern, people might accidentally wrongly use their authority and state negative comments about others.

BGFL

(BGFL stand for Birmingham Grid for Learning)

This is my results:



In my opinion, i feel that this test is a very good platform for me to identify the most and least suitable studying technique. I believe that each and everyone of us can never judge his own strengths the most accurately, and therefore, tests like this one are created to aid us to move the correct path. According to my results, my strongest point is interpersonal( people smart). I was expecting my highest to be musical but it turned out to be interpersonal. This certainly proves that what i thought was wrong, and it is corrected by the BGFL test. Also, with the test results, i would try to improve the methods of studying which i am weak at, that includes linguistic. Moreover, I will use my best studying method to study efficiently.

However, i feel that this test also has its minor flaws. As this is a MCQ(multiple choice question) test, the options given, for example, 'sometimes like me' and 'a bit like me', these two terms varies for different people. Some might feel that 'a bit' refers to not common, while others may think that it refers to occasional. This will result in a slightly unreliable result.

In a nutshell, even though the BGFL test, to me, has some minor flaws, it is a very adequate test for us to realise our strengths and weakesses.

Revamped

Hello. As you might have realised, i had revamped my blog! Apart from cool gadgets and a new tempelate, i have changed the focus on my blog- MUSIC. Yup, music. As you might have seen, the title of my blog is "Músically♪Músic". To me, music is an abstract term or subject, involved in our daily lives be it in communications or relaxation, work or study. I want to express how music have and will affect me and how interesting music can get.
For me, i am in my school band and i am playing the clarinet. I am also learning the piano. Through my various experiences, music can be created any where at any time. Even the most ear-piercing noise, or the worst sounding pitch can transform to form music. That's why music is interesting. Music is no longer my hobby, but a inseparable part of my life ♫♪