Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Aesthetique 2010 - Painting on Silence

Hello band members!

Below are some of the Secondary 3s' reflections regarding our recent concert on 4th March 2010 - Aesthetique 2010: Painting on Silence. All band members (especially the Secondary 3s) are strongly encouraged to post their reflections about the band's progress on our band blog.

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Zhe Wei:

Our concert was not a total success, neither was it a total failure. We have indeed given it our all in terms of our spirituality and tried out utmost best to communicate with the audience and perform to our utmost best which was of partial succcess, but with such high levels of “unpreparedness", our eyes tend to be glued to the score instead of the conductor leaving us to be unable to take signs from him and unable to feel and sense the same pulse. This caused the music to become very disorganized and messy, resulting in it to be a failure.

I have learnt from our concert that there is a serious problem with our techniques in music-playing. This was evident as we were struggling to try to finish the piece and decode the rhythms. This all underlies to our problems in the fundamentals of music playing. Clearly, our fundamentals are not well built and as a result, our playing is suffering due to our poor fundamentals and basics. Despite the fact that this point has been severly empahsised and repeated, not many people have taken heed of this advice and simply refuse to do anything on their own self-effort to improve.

Also, many people in the band simply refuse to come down to self-practice their score and simply come to combined sessions without practicing their score beforehand. This leads to a lot of them having not practiced the score and thus becoming unfamiliar with the score which as a result leads to them not playing their own parts well. With nearly everybody in our band having that kind of mentality, it is indeed hard to bring our music to further heights as we would be stuck at the same places and would be unable to get past it because some fellow members simply refuse to practice their parts and would be stuck at that part for long periods of time.

"The strength of a band is in its weakest player." This saying is indeed true. No matter how far some members may go to self practice their parts and aim for perfection, as long as we have some who refuse to practice, this slipshod attitude would not only cause their own downfall, but also ultimately lead to the band’s downfall.

In addition, many members of our band has the "skimming the surface" attitude and simply just wish to be able to play the notes and get the rough idea of the piece without caring about the minute details such as crescendos, de-crescendos and difficult parts. This leads to the music that we play to only be a rough, general idea and not a meticulous one. To quote a few examples from our concert, our piece “Seventh night of July“ was done without much expression in the dynamics. In addition, the 3rd and 4th page sounded very messy as these were the “difficult” parts of the section and we, adopting the “ skimming the surface “ attitude have only just played through the score very briefly without aiming for perfection, clarity and togetherness.

Also, our "unpreparedness", for the concert can be reflected in our musical playing. We have clearly just practiced the easy parts and left the difficult parts aside, adopting a "heck care" attitude. An example to showcase this would be the "Legend of the ancient hero" piece, our second page at the 7/8 bar was not done together as everybody felt different pulses with some lagging behind the actual tempo and some not knowing their notes and playing incorrectly. This confuses the members who have practiced and cause them to blunder which the different "noises" which they are hearing.

Lastly of all would be our attitude. Some of us hold an earnest attitude towards musical playing and practice conscientiously to aim for perfection. Some others on the hand as said hold a "heck care" attitude “ and do not spend any of their personal free time to practice which causes the band to be unable to progress further because of the mentality of these people. If we could all change our mentality and aim for one common goal, to strive for the best in what we do and do our personal part to help the band improve and soar to greater heights, our band would truly be a wonderful band.

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Shao Kai:

The main problem of the concert was the lack of preparation from each individuals of the band. Even the seniors (Secondary 4) were lacking of the preparation to confidently finish the pieces. I feel that the seniors have really helped us too much which can already be equated to spoon-feeding till they neglect almost everything including studies and practising their own part. Not sure about the other seniors but to me in my section, this occurrence is getting more and more obvious and the juniors, including me, took it for granted till they reminded me about this issue 2 days before a concert with a random remark and I finally realised that this is going on with me showing only the slightest appreciation. That got me thinking a lot till the concert.

This brings me back to the main topic for this reflection after the sidetrack. To me, everything that has passed has passed. I treat these past events as lessons that I have got to learn from, may it be a perfect event or an imperfect one. This time it was really the imperfect side. Although many feedbacks from people who are “not well exposed to music” were like ‘Great concert you have there I enjoyed it!’ and ‘Whao, quite nice leh’ etc. all having the positivity, I still felt that the concert was not that well done at all, maybe for majority of the pieces. Moreover, these people could even identify one out of the many mistakes made like the squeaking of one of the clarinet and not coming in tempo or not in tempo from the percussion. Then what about those who know music? The answer is straightforward. Worse.

Never have I gone for a full concert performed by me and my band throughout, this is the first time. An unforgettable first time… Doing analysis for each song about what is wrong and etc. is pointless in this reflection. There are lots and lots of things going through my mind after the concert. I have seen and heard lots of things that made me feel quite emotional the day after the concert. Some band people were saying just enjoy the concert. I feel that we should not enjoy but seriously be musical and expressive at the point in time, express all our feelings fitting to what should be in the piece. Enjoying is not enough if a good performance is aimed to be given although it is near impossibility.

Leadership during the whole process was good, quite good. Everything was planned out very nicely; maybe it’s because of Mr Glosz. Just that some people need to be motivated to feel sense of urgency for things to be done like transportation, packing, moving from place to place etc. This would need the band to work together. One issue that I seen during the concert was that everyone is downright un-united and un-bonded. Everyone was in their small groups. In my section it’s already happening, in my huge batch of Secondary 3 it is even more obvious, not sure about the Secondary 4s though. Conflicts are all around. However, even there is conflict there I still feeling that the band can try to be united with the slightest bonding and work together.

Playing for the first half of the repertoire was alright, better than expected. Not to mentioned the countless mistakes made by the intermediate band. I felt that my section and I did well for the soli in Jubilance. One of the best that I have played so far. I was thinking about my seniors’ efforts put on my section and I, that I have to support my section. It was the most enjoyable time in the first half as I had a lot of feelings mixed into this soli.

Till the second half, after breaks and all the mistakes, everyone was not focused at all. Everything played was not at even the normal standards. I really do hope that the band have much more perseverance. I did not enjoy the second part at all. Yes people were clapping this and that, here and there, the atmosphere was there but I really hope the band can play as well as the atmosphere. After the whole performance was over, it was really very messy. People are looking for this this this this, oh then this other person is looking that that that. Total mess. Being the last person to leave the dressing room, I felt quite sad that all the plastic bottles are left behind. With other litter here and there. It was like rush hour and in one small corner showing the little aftermath of this crowd here after leaving that particular area. There were also things that were left behind by my section mate and I brought everything down for them but end up forgetting to bring my own blazer and school uniform. Felt pretty anxious at that moment… No light at all. Luckily there was someone there using handphone light to look for something and I borrowed it from him.

Upon reaching school, it was really unknown why Jin Sheng was so angry and had a fiery tone. Luckily people did not flare or get offended by him. But I still feel that he should change the way he treats people especially not going with his mood.

Although we did not get a chance to talk about the concert that night, doing this reflection can help me express part of it. I hope that the band can really buck up; there were a few times where I tear as I had a flash of thought of the Secondary 4s leaving us, as I have built really strong bonds with them after all.

The concert was a lesson for everyone, of what you really cannot play and what damage you can incur to the band for your incompetence. Our next short aim would be Hawaii although the more far-sighted one is taking over of the current secondary 3s, POP video all that. The concert marks as a date for everyone to know and to remember and to learn. I hope that really, everyone learnt something. As for me, I have learnt many things through this period of time till the concert. I really had got to be more musical and expressive of what I play, I have also learnt the correct way of practising any pieces, importance of fundamentals like the majors and minors and the chromatics and many more. Although we have passed the concert, we still have got to strive and continue with the effort that we put in during the chionging period before this concert. With this consistency I am pretty sure that we can do well. I have confidence in everyone in the band.

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Alumni members who have attended our concert are more than welcome to post their feedback for the band here! :D Do tell the band what you think of our concert and our current band.

That's all :)

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Band Camp - Packing List

Hello! If you did not attend the previous band practice, or happen to lose your packing list for the camp, here it is:
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Packing List:
x1 Band Polo Tee
x2 Home Clothes
x1 Band PT Shirt (Orange)
x2 PE Attire (Shirt and Pants)
x5 Undergarments (Socks and Underwear)
x1 Track Shoes/School Shoes
x1 Slippers/Sandals
x2 School Green Shorts
x1 School uniform (for CIP Participants)
x1 Toiletries (Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, towel, toilet paper)
x1 Rags
x1 Poncho/Small umbrella
x1 Raffia String (Laundry Line)
x1 Plastic Mug
x1 Fork and Spoon
x1 Torchlight with batteries
x1 1.5 litre water bottle
x1 Sleeping bag
x1 Writing materials
Cash (at least $20)
EZ Link card (topped up with at least $10)

Optional:
Medication (e.g. Inhalers)
Jacket
Track pants
Plastic Bag (For Clothes)
Vitamin C Pills
Sun Block
Hair Wax/ Comb/ Gel

Do NOT bring:
Snacks
Electronic Devices/Handheld Devices (PSP, Nintendo, iPod, MP3, etc)
Cards, Mahjong, Boardgames
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Rest well and remember to prepare your solo pieces for band camp! You guys will definitely love the camp! :)

Thursday, 19 November 2009

MY thoughts. (~PHS)

Hey Guys!

It has been so long since I posted on this blog…I have so much to tell you!

Well, since I didn’t turn up for the chair session (because of some personal reason), I will give my speech here. On the blog. =)

Now I really understand the meaning of “time flies when you are having fun”. For the past 4 years, I have really enjoyed the experience of being in CHSSB and being beside my good friends while making good Music. It will be an unforgettable experience for me…and it will be deeply etched in my mind forever.

The day when I joined band still seems so familiar and so fresh in my mind…as though it was yesterday. For many of you, I guess you don’t know the reason for me joining the band. Well, my CCA in primary school was seasonal drums (for those who went to Malacca you would probably know what seasonal drums are), and I wanted to join a CCA which has similar experiences. I should probably have joined the Chinese Orchestra, because their percussion section is similar to what I had in primary school. But I wanted new experiences. I wanted to join something new. So I went to the band.

At that time, I was a timid secondary one student who didn’t dare to speak up. It was a nerve-racking experience for me to go and try on all the instruments and pick one. It was also a bit scary to listen to the seniors while they persuade to try this or try that. They were a bit…pushy. But nevertheless, I ended up in the Horn section.

Then came secondary two. Then came banding. Then came SYF 2007 as well. It was a turbulent year for me. To manage my studies, my relationships with my friends and to cope with band is tough and tiring, especially all those “motivational talk” (which was exciting at first but grew to be annoying soon after) and practices late into the night. Then came the blow. We got Silver. It wasn’t as hard of a blow to me as it was probably to others, and I didn’t really cry. This was partly because I sort of already knew we weren’t going to get it.

As I progress into secondary 3, I started to learn to become more initiative. I learnt to manage relations better. I learnt how to influence people, both my classmates and my juniors. I learnt how to organize things efficiently, from both positive and negative examples. I learnt how to do things the way I want while convincing others to follow me. You may say that all these are leadership qualities, but I really don’t think so. All these, I feel, are just things every tom, dick and harry will pick up through his course of life. It all matters on how you use it. Responsibilities are sometimes tedious and difficult to manage, but I was able to cope with it.

Finally, I became a secondary 4. SYF 2009. =D
The stress of O levels caught up with me in early April. Yes, close to the post SYF period. So you can imagine how nervous and stressed out I was. But I still manage to cope with it all the way. And in the end we got a Gold With Honours. Yeah!
Then after that, its all studies, studies, studies. Time and time again, obstacles and hurdles were thrown at, not just me, but all your secondary Fours. The secondary Fours in Band worked as a team and overcame them together. But sadly, after that, we were so focused on our studies that we rarely meet up. This relationship with ALL the secondary Four Band members is something I will treasure until I die. The “taupok”-ing, the fake Rugby after Band hours, the wrestling, the Light saber fights, the screaming of “YEAH GOLD WITH HONOURS! IN YOUR FACE!” after SYF 2009….….they will be in my memories forever. =)

Oh well. All well that ends well.

Sometimes, I feel as though life is really like a race. A race not to the finishing line, but to experience the wonders and beauty of the race of life itself. We meet people of different personalities and different faces, and they all add vibrant colours to your life. But still, we all have to part one day and that is for sure. So, there is no need to feel so sad.
That is something I have learnt after 4 years in Band and in CHS.

My final note to every CHSSB member out there: enjoy your time here. Society is a cruel and harsh place where reality sinks in and if you aren’t fast enough to get what you want or to show other people what you are capable of, you are dead. So enjoy your time here in CHSSB. Enjoy your time here in CHS. Enjoy your youth. For when you become older and older, you will see more and more of the cruel realities of life.

In CHSSB, all the opportunities are presented to you. All you have to do is grab it. So grab it! Use every chance you can get to shine.

Seniors, do look after your juniors and please ensure their well-being. I guess that not many know that how a junior behaves is influenced by his senior’s actions and speech as well. So seniors, please make sure your conduct is good at all times. Take good care of your juniors, for if you do, they will remember you not just as a senior, but as a friend and a mentor. They will remember you for life. Trust me, I know. (first-hand experience ;p)

And also, not system is perfect in the world. And not one person is perfect as well. I have said this once, and I will say it again. Even if you hate someone in Band, or you hate the Band system, don’t hate music. It is pointless, for hating music is like hating salt. Even if you resent music and keep missing Band just because of some stupid reason like you hate the system, it will come back and haunt you one day. Because there is not one person in this world that hates music. I can guarantee that, because its in our nature.

Remember, it is you who chose Band, not Band who chose you. You have no reason to dislike it. Even if your parents are unhappy with Band, all that matters is that you don’t. Joining Band is not just about having a good time and attaining exceptional results; there is element of sacrifice and hard work as well. Time is precious, so you sue it wisely. Everyone would have to learn how to juggle enjoyment, school work and Band. It’s the same for all other people. But the more you put in, the more results you will reap. These results are as outstanding to you as they are to other people. Before that, sacrifice is necessary. I still remembered in 2007, we practiced until 9 pm! And no parents complained, because we made them understand that its our choice that we want to stay until that late to practice.

If you love Music, you will do whatever it takes to make yourself a better musician. You have the choice.

Always remember that there always more than one option. Consider all of them, start to solve problems the direct way. If you don’t like the system, give suggestions to change it. If you don’t like the leaders, talk to them and make clear to them your unhappiness. If you don’t like someone, thrash it out with them and clarify your doubts. People ask me what is the best way to solve problems, and my answer is “the direct method”.

Just decide on something and go do it. For example, you decide that you want to improve. So, don’t hesitate. Go and self-practice immediately.

Well, I hope you survived until this paragraph. It’s a long post and I hope you get what I mean and what I am trying to say.

CHSSB, on behalf of the secondary Fours and Alumni, I wish you all the best and we all have faith that you will soar to even greater heights.

Most importantly, enjoy your time there and treasure it. Make every minute fruitful. Because only if you enjoy making Music, will you be able to produce Music that is so heavenly that it is enjoyable for the people you love. Never forget that.

Go for it! B)

Poh Hang Siang (~PHS)

Monday, 16 November 2009

CJC TUNE IN 2009!

Hey graduating batch of CHSSB!

CJCSB will be having a tune in on 5th december 2009! (it's a saturday)

Here's the poster for it


For more details you can click on this link sgbandfusion

Yup! It'll be fun! Anyway, all of you Yellow Badge people are invited to join us for TUNE IN, even if you may not be considering going to CJ

BUT! come and have an experience of what our band is like and who knows? we'll see you for the rest of the year and you might wanna join us next year too!

I know that CJC doesn't sound like a good school as always, but in my 1st year, it is quite fun and once you're in, you don't wanna go anywhere else. That's how it's like

SO! Contact Xing Hao @ 92251762,
including your details like :
1. Full Name
2. Which sec school are you from (obviously cat high)
3. Which section are you from

Thanks very much! :)

I hope the sec 4 still visits the band blog to see this. hahaha.

Monday, 26 October 2009

Updates

Hello band! :)

As the band website is currently under maintenance, I have uploaded the official leave form for download. Click here to download the leave form.

If you are going overseas this holiday, and you cannot find the hard-copy version of the leave form in the band room, you can now download the soft-copy version and fill in the leave form before you go for your holidays.

Yup, that's all :)

&, On behalf of everyone in the band, ALL THE BEST to Sec 4's for O'Levels! Jiayou :)

- Kit Chong

Saturday, 26 September 2009

hey band.

Yes, yes, yes. Would you believe it? It's me again.
I'm sure we all know that it's been a while since anyone posted anything.
In fact, the last time anyone posted anything was eons away.
Actually, I'm doing this not because I want to administer CPR to this blog.
Well, it's actually because I want to convey a message to you all.


otherwise, why would I want to post here? for fun?


One night, after having been knocked out from trying to study Geography, I had envisioned (to my sheer horror) that certain unimaginable things might become reality. A foreboding premonition, I would say.


As in, certain things may happen.

In fact, maybe they DO happen.


I took this into serious consideration, before I made the decision to post on our blog.
So I ended up taking time off my mugging regime to tell you guys this.




1. Do NOT consume any foods or sweet drinks in the band room.


This also applies for the band store.



This might be applicable from COMMON SENSE, but for fear that some of us don't have it, I shall say this once.



consuming any type of foods or sweet drinks is strictly prohibited
and punishable by the laws of the band room.


we don't want any cockroaches running around in our sacred band room, do we.

Yes, yes. We all know that foodies are yummy and have this fragrant, tempting aroma about them, and we all know that the band room/store is one of our favourite places in the world.

But we also need to take note of this - that foodies not only tempt us, attract us; it also attracts cockroaches, mice and other such creatures. Just like bees to honey.

Say, what would happen to an ignored crumb, grain, or whatever nice and flavored ends up on the ground?

I don't want to imagine.

Infested with pests and vermin...can we still call our band room a "sacred place"?

So, just take note of that. In case you can't remember not to break this time-honoured code of the band room, remember what your brain is for. Put it to good use.

Use it in the RIGHT way.



2. do NOT play BALL games in the BAND ROOM.

all right, we all heard it.

I believe we all know that many things in the band room are purchased with exorbitant prices that broke the bank.

Therefore, take the balls outside to play if you want to.

After all, avoiding such a vice is better than cure/caution/whatever you call it.


3. do NOT mess around with the vacuum cleaner.

As we all may have noticed it, there is a nice, shiny, nice, brand-new, nice, expensive, nice, multi-purpose, nice, functional, nice, portable, nice, clean, nice vacuum cleaner in the band store, stowed under the QM table (despite its inability to accomodate the thing completely, Wee Kiat has agreed to let me keep it there due to lack of space. Thanks Wee Kiat^^) which is, to put it succinctly, nice.

Hence, I don't want anyone to meddle with the vaccuum cleaner. As one of our taggers has said, "those things are expensive". I would like it if it is only put to use when the band room is particularly filthy and it needs a machine to help clean it out.



As an afterthought, please don't use the broom leaning in the corner to sweep up all the tiny little eyesores from the floor. It will only make the band room dirtier by adding all its hair onto the floor, ie. 越帮越忙, despite your efforts to help clean the band room since you can't use the band vacuum cleaner without the estate managers', or any of the leaders (ie.majors)' presence and consent (I know I didn't mention this before, so here it is). Thanks^^


So, study hard for your exams, don't let your teachers down. Study hard, you hear? Then when we come back for band, play HARDER! (without completely putting your studies aside, of course.)

I suppose that's all I have to say then.

Well in that case,


have a good evening and happy mugging!





=> Thanks, your friendly neighbourhood estate manager.

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Hey band.
This is your estate manager speaking.
Due to time constrain, I frankly doubt I would be able to get my point through in band practice.
Therefore, I will now tell you guys what I want you guys to know. (ie., say my piece.)

1. Do NOT put whatever you like all over the band room.
I believe most of you have noticed that there was a notice placed on the door of the band room not too long ago.
The BAND ROOM is a SACRED PLACE, it said.
I know that some of you see the band room as a second home.
But it's not an excuse to treat the room like your own house!
People who came down to practice last friday would have seen it.

Water bottle on the green shelf. (you people should know which green shelf I'm referring to.)
Hanger on the floor.
etc, etc.

PLEASE, if it's your stuff on the green shelf, take it back!
That should be all for part 1. Now on to part 2.

2. Instruments on the shelves.
Look, I don't think anybody would mind if you placed your beloved instrument there TEMPORARILY (ie. 5 minutes?) because you're afraid you'd damage it in any way. Remove it as soon as possible after that.

BUT.

When you people are told to keep your instruments, or when you're done with your personal practice, please do not place it in the band room. It should be kept in the band store, or to be more specific, your instrument's case. Do not put your instrument there, forget about it and go home.

As for instruments that can't fit in their cases, kindly put them in the band store, your section's shelf, where it wouldn't be too obvious to cause any hindrance. Thank you.

Now on to part 3.

3. The cleanliness of the band room.

This is the part where I'm most annoyed.
I think you guys know this already.
We all need a conducive environment for band practice.
The cleanliness of the band room, naturally, plays an orchestral role in this.
What I don't like is that you guys don't seem to take this seriously.
In fact, it might be to the point that people call it disrespect.
Now, listen up. I'm tired of saying this again and again, and I don't want to say it again.
When you guys are done keeping your instruments, you're supposed to sit quietly, in your distinct and neat rows, playing your part in keeping the band room clean (ie. picking up the white and red stuff on the carpet). Well, you guys are supposed to be bending over and picking up those tiny little eyesores until someone comes along to address you people. Then you straighten up and listen.

Instead, what do you guys do?

I see the majority of you ignoring little bits of stuff in the carpet, TALKING, SITTING AROUND DOING NOTHING, PLAYING.

I think I need to get this straight.

I am not here to clean up the band room for you.
Rather, what I do is to direct you guys in making the band room a cleaner, nicer, and a pleasant place to practice in.

As such, I would not tolerate that wrong idea. In fact, it might become what I see as utter disrespect if you even have the guts to tell me that.



I hope you guys will understand.



=>Your friendly neighborhood estate manager