"Famous" sayings/mottos in cat high

"D.W.I.T: Do Whatever It Takes"
"We aim to Impress" by Mr Lee HB our Principal.

"Impossible is nothing"
"Touch your heart" by Mr Goh YH.

From these, i would like everyone to reflect. Take a moment to ponder upon such question like:
1) Have I done enough for myself in band?
2) Is this the standard I want?
3) Why do I play music in band for, what is my Aim/Goal/Arrival point?
4) What do I want to leave behind at the end of my years in band?

and finally,

"ONE BAND, ONE SOUND, ONE BROTHERHOOD"

cheers, people =)

The Magic Of A Good Band Rehearsal

Okay first and foremost, hello. It's my first time blogging.

I'm here just to touch on a very perplexing problem CHSSB is having now --- unfruitful rehearsals that make band practices seem like a total waste of time. What's even worse is that we have a prestigious concert for us not very distant, and this problem here is seriously getting in the way. It's time we did something.

I'm sure every, if not most of you CHSSB musicians are listening to professional recordings of classical music from time to time. Sure the music from your MP3/MP4/ipod whatever sounds extremely pleasing to the ears, they ARE professionals musicians after all. However something is always not understood. How do they produce such beautiful music? Apart from the individual techniques that each and every player has, something else fills that gap, something that we sorely lack.

And now I make my point about having efficient band rehearsals. Even if a band has star players with unparalleled skills, should they fail to work out efficient rehearsals they would meet their own demise. Period. Good band rehersals do work wonders, and is probably the only solution we have now since we're all not professional players, with Sec 1s still learning on their instrument and stuff.

Okay first you would ask yourself if band is or is allowed to be a slack CCA. Then you would look at the sports CCA members, panting their way home after an entire day's training. They're tired..... but what about CHSSB members? The truth is, each and every musician is always dead-tired after a rehearsal, professionals not excluded. So if the sports CCA and even professionals are drained of their energy after training / rehersal, why aren't we? Don't tell me it's because band is not a career to you or is a pathetic CCA. Musicians who give their full best during rehearsals will be tired after that. The Sec 3s have first hand experience.

If we reflect back on the past rehearsals we had, nobody is going to say that they were fruitful. We see some of you slouching totally while playing your instrument. This is not our idea of Professionalism --- and this is not the way to put up an extraordinary concert at the esplanade. In fact, all this imperfections during rehearsals only serve to degrade the reputation of CHSSB. I surely do not want my friends to condemn CHSSB as "a slack CCA".

So basically I'm appealing to those of you who are still lurking in your own fantasies. Band rehearsals are important. The least thing you could do during these rehearsals is to give your fullest attention and focus towards the conductor and the music. You should also have all scores being rehearsed taken OUT of their slides so that you may pen down what the conductor says. It is important to remember what is being said so that we don't rehearse the same thing over and over again to no avail. And finally SIT ---- UP ---- STRAIGHT while playing. I'm assuming you all understood, so any violations will be dealt with seriously. (not by me of course)

So those of you who are still taking band as a casual CCA I hope you snap yourself back into reality. We have a concert not far away waiting for us to give our best at. I'm sure every one of you would want to have a great time and bask in the warm applause and adulation of our fans / audience. So think about it, the professional recording behind your MP3 screen doesn't come for granted, rather, the results of the musician's undivided focus. One day we'll record ourselves with a decent recorder and compare it with the the professional. You'll see what I mean.

Work hard and don't let each other down... For the common good that is Music.

Belated Entry for the New Term

Hi everyone. As the title suggests, this post shall be my personal Term 3 Resolution for the band (a belated one, of course). Hope everyone enjoyed their term 2 June holidays (I don't think the sec3s really enjoyed their holidays. Haha), learnt a lot through the band concerts we had, and also caught up with fun and work.

The next project we will be having is the upcoming CHS Homecoming Day 2007, 30th June. We'll be setting up our own CHSSB stall, selling unwanted merchandise (but in good quality) and also tickets of our concert. Hope everyone will give their best in publicising our stall (especially for the tickets), although this event isn't really that major, compared to our concerts. And of course, earn as much money as possible :)

Now for the real resolution for term 3: In general, I hope to see the band improve (that goes without saying) in terms of attitude, tone and technique, discipline and inter-relationship (relationship among one another).

Personally, I wish to instil passion for music to each and everyone of us. Instead of coming for band rehearsals because of the fact that it is compulsory or because you're scared that your senior would come hunting for you, I hope that every member comes to band because you want to make music, and to enjoy music. Of course, facing the facts, harsh (or sadistic) disciplining works sometimes, but is there really a need to undergo such discipline in order to come to band (which is like... so basic), or to pay attention to Ms Tan? Well, I don't think so... So please, understand what I'm talking about (since I can't force you to have the passion overnight). LOVE MUSIC.

Needless to say, for tone and technique, which the seniors had been harping on for years, is the most crucial point to a better band. Basically, just PRACTISE! You can always approach your senior or tutor for advice on practising smart and help in improving on your personal technique. Hopefully we'll be able to at least attain a band that plays in-tune and be balanced.

Last but not least, we hope to see the motto of our band ONE BAND ONE SOUND ONE BROTHERHOOD, being realised. One brotherhood: Help one another out, know one another better, know your section well, know your band well. The sec3s might organise a band camp soon?

So I suppose that's all for my part. Hope to see more people blog (see? "One Brotherhood". Share your feelings and thoughts, just don't make any controversial comments).

WORK HARD EVERYONE!

And PLEASE. Use your real name...

The Homecuming Event

Hi, this my first time blogging here. I'm sure u all know who i am so i do not need to introduce myself. The annual homecuming day is coming again, and we can use this day to earn some money for the band. We really need to be more enthu on that day so more people will come to buy our stuff. So please all of u bring down all ur usable stuff and contribute to the band and work together to make this sale a success. Moreover, this is a time of bonding where we will be able to see different people cooperating with each other doing things. So, all the Sec1s please use this day to get along with the other members of the band and strengthen ur bonds between each and every member. I also experienced this before when i was in Sec1 and2, my class was involved in the homecuming activities and for both years we got the drinks stall. I saw many heart-warming scenes happening among my classmates eg. people trying all ways to maintain the supply of drinks when the stock almost runs out. And others carrying drinks around to sell in order to increase our profits to help our class. So if we could make a lot of money on Saturday, we could be able to use it for oversea tours or band outings etc. So let's do our every way to contribute to the band. I hope to see this teamwork and cooperativeness in the band not only for the Sec3s but for every level.

Today's De-Brief [June 25th]

Hi again! I m sure u noe hu i m by now...
Erm, i feel like toking bout today's de-brief. As u all noe, today, Springsfield told us bout the day wen we took the swedish ppl out. He feels that its not our fault that we made the sweden wait for so long at RELC ( its spelled correctly rite?), and its b cos of the lack of planning. He oso said that our movement was very slow.
Well, actually, i AGREE wif everything that springsfield had said. Er...except for the part wen he said its the sec 3s fault.

For one thing, its true that our movement is slow, no matter if its sec 1s or 2s (in general i mean).We were late when we meet at the bishan MRT station. mayb its b cos of the insufficient time for lunch, but i still think we can at least show up 2-4 mins late, and not 10-15 mins LATE!!! Thats really slopy...

Another thing is that we let the swedish ppl wait for half an hour. Like what MR tey had said, the swedish had already waited a lot wen they arrive in S'pore. So, we shudnt let them wait again. How wuld YOU feel, if YOU fly 12 hrs to sweden and was held up so many times? U will oso feel "buay song" rite? Fortunatelym the swedish were nice ppl, they didnt even complain wen we took them out.

Again, it was b cos of us. Our slow movement, and mayb the lack of planning.

Lastly, Springsfield said that its not out fault, its the lack of planning by the Sec 3s. Well, i dunno bout u, but i dun feel that way. Every1 has a part to play in this. Just b cos it didnt went quite smoothly, that doesnt mean that we shud push everything to the sec3s! The sec 3s did almost all the admin stuff! They r the ones who planned all the barbeque, the trip, and even the concert! However smoothly or badly everything goes, the sec 3s still put in A LOT OF EFFORT to make all these happen!

So y not we giv the sec 3s a round of applause??? *WOOTS* *CHEERS* !!!!
Ok nvm tat was lame...

Ok this look quite long, but nvr mind. I m not sure whether the sec 1s not bout this, but during the SYF period, our movement was like, ten times faster than the our movement speed now! We can set up everything in the hall in a short time!

So What happen to all the energy and the enthusiam?
Like i hav said, We hav done it b4 and we can do it again!

Hi people,

(i'll promise i'll make this short, not like the blog entries in my own blog, haha)

indeed, we all had a great time during the exchange with the sweden people. we learnt alot, too. well, we learned to be better hosts, better people, and more gracious ones too(for the ones that got their family fortune all dug out). and i've conquered my fear of going out with a huge group of females! yay.

i've heard from many fellow band members that they are all starting to miss our swedish friends already. compared to the first day when we saw them, i'm sure we've developed some sort of friendship with them throughout the three days, ya? yet another lesson learnt by all of us - to cherish. Things will not be there forever, People will not wait for you, and opportunities don't always come knocking on our door.

Speaking of opportunities, our very own esplanade concert is coming right up, after a few weeks' time. To me, it came at a great time, really. We can make use of this opportunity to show the world (or at least, singaporeans) what CHSSB is made of. we might not be the best band in the world, but i'm sure our passion for music does not lose out to other musicians in the world. So let's prove that we love music, and by giving it the best we can in this performance, we give full respect to our almighty MUSIC. So start your countdowns and start practising smart.

Yeah, short and sweet, i hope you guys understand what i'm talking about. =)

Good luck for term 3.

Kristianstad Big Band + Caprice String Ensemble exchange program pictures

hey guys,
i know you all want me to post the pics up but....i personally have 81 pictures already!

thus, i've uploaded all of it to my photobucket account, you can check them out from there.

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p237/ongyrs/Kristianstad%20Big%20Band%20n%20Caprice%20Strings%20exchange/

those who've taken pictures too please send all of it to me, thanks.

regarding their contacts, i admit i asked every single one of them (the sweden band members and russian strings) and gotten every single possible contact....but! jun wei has got all of their handwritings figured out from my list and you can just contact him for it.

note: they are currently in phuket and perhaps wont be online for the next 2 weeks, as i've been told. So be patient if you have started mailing them and waiting for their replies already.

work hard guys, for if we do we might have a chance to go over to Sweden next year =), home-stay.

word of the day:
"Hey-doh"
i'm not sure of the spelling but thats how you can pronounce it, its GoodBye in Swedish.

Next Up: Esplanade's LimeLight!

Now that the Sweden band exchange is officially over, we can fully concentrate on our next upcoming concert. (Wait for it...)*drumroll*, the Esplanade's LimeLight!!!

For this concert, we, as a Band, have to work extra hard! Becos this concert features us, and ONLY us!!! That's y its called limelight. According to the leaflet, only a few bands and choirs, that are the cream of the crop in Singapore, are invited to perform!!! Many ppl from other bands will b there.

Now is the time for us to really to practice hard for this performance.

Forget about the "tragedy*" in April, let it all go away.

Now we must focus and play our best.

The last two concert have been great!!! And i think that we seriously can do better.

So why not we show everyone that CHSSB can "kick ass"!!? We have done it b4, n we can do it again

Let's show them what we r made of!!

*=SYF silver <<<(highlight to see it)

Sweden Exchange: Officially over

YES! Finally one person blogged, keep it up...

And I've just witnessed the end of our exchange with the Swedish - Their departure from S'pore Changi Airport. Springsfield, Jun Wei, Benjamin, Mr Tey and I were all there. Here are the photos that Benjamin took:

Yep. And I suppose that's about it, and Springsfield collected many contacts from the Swedish and the Russian, ask from him if you intend to keep in touch with the Swedish.

Hey Guys!!!

Hi!! Now that Band Web is OFFICIALLY up, please try to post as many things as u wan! For example, ur reflections, ur thoughts, or even shout outs!!!
Well, i feel that the concert yesterday was a successful one.
Its the FIRST time the band has ever performed without the sec 4s, and we managed to (quote from MR heng) " stand on our feet! I think tats the first step we shud take to reach our goal of being a good band, and we achieved it! *woots!*
We also had a smooth exchange with the swedish band, which is goodm considering that there is a lot of miscommunication.
Lastly, i like to thank the sec 3s and the teachers-in-charge, and also ms tan fer making all of these happen. the sec 3s have went thru a lot for this exchange with the sweden band, not to mention the TICS and ms tan.
Also, for those who helped, a big thank you to all!
The next concert is at the esplanade, so i hope it will b another enriching and successful concerT!

The Band Web is up

Hi everyone.

Great concert last night. Many people turned up, we had many photos with the Swedish and had a 1/11 standing ovation. I hope that this concert can allow our new sec1s to be more confident during concerts and also be a memorable one for all of us. I think that the trumpets improved quite a bit, to think that they can finally play the trumpet parts for "At the end of the day" for the previous few rehearsals. Good job people! And... Also a great effort by Springsfield for being the emcee.

Oh, and if any of you didn't read the notice I wrote on the whiteboard in band room, if you intend to be one of the contributors (i.e have a "share" in writing), please email to me, here. Thanks.

And, hope everyone works hard and looks forward to the Esplanade concert. I really really hope it's a successful one... Like what Ms Tan suggests, we can have a piece "choreographed" with light sticks. Please, if anyone out there has any idea on such "choreography", inform the sec3s, we would LOVE to hear some ideas from the lower sec.

Anyway, as the title suggests, the band web's sort of up. Some links are still broken, so bear with me for a while...

Bye...

Outing with Swedish band: reflections

Alright. So I guessed everyone enjoyed their time at Kovan Melody yesterday, playing basketball, playing tennis and badminton, swimming and splashing water on innocent people and making them wet...

Ultimately, the aim of this BBQ and outing is to let the CHSSB have a day allocated to interact with the Swedish and to know more about their culture. As for me, Il Shan, Benjamin, Poh HS and Shoki, we joined Quintus's group at a later time (for some reason). I realised that after the outing with the Swedish, I got to know the sec1s in the group better.

In general, we made friends with the Swedish, knew more about their lifestyle, and made them feel hospitable. Yay! I've got to express gratitude to the following people:

- Guo Zhi, for being such a good guide, spending much effort, introducing many aspects of our culture to the Swedish and also spending so much money on the trip itself.

- Shoki, for also being a good tour guide, running around and calling on his phone for umpteen times to make sure the trip goes smoothly.

- And last of all, Poh HS, for making the trip such a funny one. Haha.

So... And that's it, for the first post.