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!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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.
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♪♫
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♪♫
Monday, March 8, 2010
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.
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♪♫
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♪♫
Saturday, March 6, 2010
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♪♫
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♪♫
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, March 1, 2010
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.
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.
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