Band Camp '08 -- My Reflections

Hi Guys! It has been so long since I have posted. Hope everyone has enjoyed the Band Camp, because I know I sure did!

I am actually here to share with everyone my reflections for the camp. Though it was fun, tiring, and mind-boggling considering that it was somewhat hard to handle my Group (specifically Xian Zhe =P), there are so many learning points for me. So, I am here to share them with you, not as Media Head, not as French Horn section leader, not as a member of the leading batch of Secondary Three, but as a regular, normal Band member.

First of all, I like to clear some misunderstandings on an issue. The Band camp was not meant to be a vacation or a holiday. It never, ever was, and would never, ever be. We all are lucky to have Andrew Lai as our Welfare Head and Avan as our Enterprise Head, and our Council Members + Qin En to order good lunch and dinner, good facilities and classrooms, and fun games.

Believe me, Band camp was a hundred times more torturous when I was a Secondary Two.

So, we should never, ever complain. I know many did complain about the breakfast and all, but wasn't it good enough? I personally felt that the Kaya was great! NEVER TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED. Why should we complain? If we did, does it mean that we are pampered?

I think it does. And Band doesn't really need pampered members, does it?

Second thing, another important thing I learnt is that RESPECT AND TRUST IS EVER SO IMPORTANT in Band. To trust is believing in your team members that they can do it. To respect is to listen to others and work together as a team. I have attended SO MANY camps in my 15 years of life, and whenever there is a camp reflection, I would put down on the booklet :"I learnt that teamwork is very important" "I learnt that coordination is very important" "I feel that togetherness in our team is why we won"

Frankly, everyone, even me, gets tired of "Teamwork is very important" reflection. Without Respect, without trust, can there be teamwork? If we think long and hard, we would realise that the world works not because of money, fame or fortune, but because of trust, respect and love. Only then, do we have teamwork, friendships, and relationships. Have we respected and put in trust in our peers during the camp?

At some periods of time, I haven't. Honestly speaking, I don't think anyone has for the entire camp.

And then, I learnt that we should never belittle other people, or should we ever taunt other people just because they have lost to us. And I believe that many, if not all, are guilty of this, including me. Stop the sarcasm and insults.

Aren't we all not the gentlemen and bilingual scholars of Catholic High?

Every camp that you have attended aims to mould you into another person, one that is tougher, more robust, and more passionate. I have many, many other learning points, but I don't think I have the ability to squeeze everything in here.

So, I will summarise all my learning points: COMMON SENSE. Yes indeed, I learnt that whatever we do, be it in Band Camp or during practice, the first thing we need to have is common sense.

It is common sense that teaches us to put our trust into our friends and care for them when they fall. It is common sense that tells us to endure all the tribulations we have encountered and lift our heads high to show others how proud we are as a musician. And it is common sense (conscience) and that nags at us in the ear that we should never put down our friends.

So, these are mainly what I have learnt in the camp. You don't really have to remember all that I have said, but you have to remember this: Whatever you are doing now, are you going against your principles? Are you going against against your own conscience?

Are you hurting your own friends? Or are you just a selfish dummy who is doing it for the sake of fun?

Really, 人之初，性本善。Everyone is born to be a good person, and everyone WILL grow up into a better person.

Bottomline, I have learnt that whatever I do, I just have to ask myself this question to make sure that I am doing the right thing: Are you using your common sense?

Packing List for Camp (with $$ included)

Here's the packing list for the camp TOMORROW with the money you need in cash and ez link included:

EZ-link card (fully functional with at least $10 in it)
Plastic mug (cups not provided during meals)
Handphone (optional for members, compulsory for mentors/ helpers)
String/Laundry Line (dry clothes)
Poncho/Small Umbrella
Torchlight
Old Rag x1
Toiletries
Writing materials
Sleeping bag x1
Trash Bags
Home T-Shirt x2
Section T-Shirt x1
Polo T-Shirt x1
PE T-Shirt x1
Home Shorts x2
School Shorts x1
PE Shorts x2
Underwear x4
Towel x1
Shoes x1
Slippers x1
Socks x4
Money ($10 to $20)
DO NOT BRING:
· Snacks
· Entertainment devices (e.g. MP3, MP4, iPod, cards, PSP, Gameboy).

Hope to see you guys fresh and alert tomorrow! :D

Get ur Secion tee done!

Guys... I ma having some competition coming up and will be selling custom tees and badges.

So, for those sections,..in fact all except sax, who haven't make your section tee, come to me and I will make it for you; in any quantity, just for $18, dri fit. Compared to the normal price of $20 outside with a minimum of 10 pcs, why not just come to me and save...quality guaranteed. money back guarantee...

So for those who want, come to me asap so that I can make for u before band camp....thanks so much!

An upcoming concert by most beloved alumni

HEY BAND!

Luke here. Here's an advertisement for the concert "Not So Silent Night" by Victoria Junior College Symphony Band:

Not So Silent Night 08'
Victoria Junior College Symphonic Band
12th December 2007
7.00pm
Victoria Junior College Performance Theatre
$10
Repertoire: March Blue Sky, O Magnum Mysterium, Philip Sparke: Prelude to A Celebration, Percy Grainger: Children's March (conducted by Dr. Goh.), Skit (no, it's not a piece, it's a skit), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Two for Christmas - medley of Christmas tunes including Silent Night, Galaxy Express 999. The alumni band will be playing some stuff before the intermission.

Contact Ingmar at 97735600 for information or me at 92356756 to book orders for tickets.

Enjoy your holidays!

Evelyn Glennie Speaks

Evelyn Glennie, one of the world's most famous percussionists who is also profoundly deaf, gives a lecture on listening and performing music. Do watch when you have the time...it really challenges your common perceptions on how you hear and play music.



Have a good Band Camp!

Band Camp Packing List

Hello all. Here's the packing list in advance:

Items to bring (minimum number of each item you MUST bring, any other items you want to bring are optional):
· EZ-link card (fully functional with $$ in it)
· Plastic mug (cups not provided during meals)
· Handphone (optional for members, compulsory for mentors/ helpers)
· String/Laundry Line (dry clothes)
· Poncho/Small Umbrella
· Torchlight
· Old Rag x1
· Toiletries
· Writing materials
· Sleeping bag x1
· Trash Bags
· Home T-Shirt x2
· Section T-Shirt x1
· Polo T-Shirt x1
· PE T-Shirt x1
· Home Shorts x2
· School Shorts x1
· PE Shorts x2
· Underwear x4
· Towel x1
· Shoes x1
· Slippers x1
· Socks x4
· Money
DO NOT BRING:
· Snacks
· Entertainment devices (e.g. MP3, MP4, iPod, cards, PSP, Gameboy, X Box, portable telly, board games etc).

Happy Packing!

Recorded and Live Performances.

Often, many people do not make much of a distinction between listening/watching a recorded performance and experiencing a live performance. Many a time I have encountered people who have declined going for a performance because they ‘have heard the recordings of the pieces to be performed’. Allow me to explain some of the more apparent differences between recorded and live performances.

In a live performance, often what you see is what you get. The performance may seem less than perfect, but this is what it means to be human; making mistakes is part and parcel of everyday life. Also, the experience of a live performance means receiving the aura and energy of the performers first hand; you get to feel whether the performers were distant or warmed up towards the pieces performed, whether the players were confident or ill-prepared for the performance, whether they brought out the spirit of the pieces, and so on. These first-hand experiences can only be felt through a live performance, and is something that cannot be stored in a CD, DVD or a Youtube video. To further emphasise the statement ‘what you see is what you get’, it also means that if the hall’s acoustics are less than satisfactory, or if that particular horn gets out of tune in that section of the music, there is nothing that can be done about it at the moment of the performance and all that forms part of the experience.

On the other hand, recorded performances may be far from the adage of ‘what you see is what you get’. Acoustics may be beefed up or altered, out-of-tune notes may be tuned up to perfection and the performance might even be multi-tracked. The last point refers to recording different instruments or groups of instruments separately and then patching them up together after that. Yes, modern audio technology is that advanced and many movie sound tracks are done that way, even with full orchestras. Even I have done that for my composition exams (it’s perfectly normal to do this.); for my Tiny Island Nation for Baritone singer and string quintet, I recorded the string quintet one day and the voice another day. It so happened that the singer was off form that day and sang everything flat; but no problem, I could just tune everything up after the recording and voila! Everything sounded perfect anyway. Even the audience that you see screaming in certain video recordings of rock performances and even classical performances may be staged for dramatic effect. This may sound rather impossible but it has been done and is still regularly done. The ‘audience’ is paid a small sum as calefare and they act as a ‘real’ enthusiastic audience in the performances. Furthermore when multi-tracking is done the recording loses even more of the performance spirit as the musicians are not united in performance at all.

This is not to say that live performances or recorded performances are more superior than the other. Each has their merits; live performances are good to watch once in a while though they may be rather expensive, and recorded performances are good for learning scores, getting familiar with the pieces and perhaps just for the sake of musical enjoyment at home. One important point to note is that recordings are a recent invention and that our past masters like Beethoven, Bach and Brahms did not have the luxury of simply taking out a recording and playing it for relaxation and enjoyment. To create music one had to play it himself on the piano, his instruments or go to the concert hall to watch a performance, which was often rather expensive and far away from most towns.

However, the convenience of recordings in the modern day also means that many of us tend to take them as a substitute for a real and live performance, and thus we should also be wary of the recordings presented to us; we must not take them at face value all the time. Thus I would say…go for a concert once in a while! Listen to good or bad music live and you will realise that a recording can never compare to a live performance.

:D

SYF Important Details

Hi all. I know you may be wondering how I managed to get this info, but that’s not important. Some VERY important stuff you have to know for SYF 2009.

Set Piece: Two Overtures for Wind Band
Composer: Kelly Tang
Earliest date we can get the score: November 12 (if we order asap)

The set piece is two overtures (duh….) but we need to play only one out of the 2 overtures.

SYF dates: 30 March to 4 April and 6 April to 9 April
Venue: Singapore Conference Hall (we are back)

Before SYF 2009, we have to video our drills (yes …like last year). This time, the drills are as follows. All drills include instruments carried.

1. Sedia
2. Senang Diri
3. Kerkanan Pusing(turn right)
4. Kerkeri Pusing(turn left)
5. Hentak Kaki with Berhati(march on the spot)
6. March Past

The March Past is the whole band (FALLED IN, INCLUDING BAND MAJORS, EXCEPT DRUM MAJOR) play some music in the squad. We must take recommended 64-72 steps. Means we march in a squad for 64-72 steps then we play music while marching. Got it? This video has to be done before 6 FEBRUARY 2009.

For our choice piece, I don’t really know…but the recording I have is 7+ minutes. We are sort of in a dangerous state. The rule is that choice piece for Sec school band has to be LESS THAN 8 MINUTES. If we exceed 8 minutes, our marks will decrease by 10%. Means if we exceed the 8 minutes, the chance of getting Gold with Honors is very, VERY slim.

Finally, the awarding scheme are as follows:

Gold with Honors: 85%
Gold: 80%
Silver:70%-79%
(The rest… you don’t want to know)

Judging criteria: 50% Technique
50% Musicianship

Band Strength: At least 24 members, at most 80 MEMBERS.

Refer to the band room whiteboard for more details…and get started practicing man….WE CAN DO IT!

Practice begins again

Hey all. Hope you are hitting the sense out of your head on the wall cause exams are over.

Exams aside, please be informed that practice will resume on friday, 2.30 pm. If your SL told you 3 pm, well, he's wrong! It's 2.30. Now that exams are over, it's time to commit yourself to the SYF. Keep this goal in mind: a Gold sound by December. If you can get it by the end of November that'll be better, cause you'll be in time for the combined concert.

Please be punctual, keep a positive attitude, and don't give a bad impression on the very first practice after exams. Some alumni might be coming, so we won't want to let them (or Mr. Tan) down. Show them how well you can play even though you haven't touched your instrument for ages!

See you on friday.

Premiere!

Just a little advert..

FUSED String orchestra gives its debut concert!

Who: FUSED string orchestra, a newly formed string orchestra expanded from the string quartet CALYPSO
When: 9th October, Thursday, 7.30pm
Where: NAFA Campus Three, Lee Foundation Theatre, 131 Bencoolen Street
What: Performing works ranging from the Baroque era to Modern works! Includes Bach's Double Violin Concerto, Mozart's Divertimento, Tango by Albeniz, Air on G String by Bach, and Jamaican Rumba by Arthur Benjamin. Also premiering three local works!

Terrence Wong - Concertino for Trumpet and String Orchestra

Liew Kong Meng - Sandcastles and Dreams

Grace Chen - Temujin

How (much): $15, email wereldmuziekconcours@gmail.com for tix or contact me @ 90110995
Why: cos ur senior is premiering his work!! And the other local composer Liew Kong Meng is also a Cat High alumni. One of the best music students from CHS...The string orchestra is pretty good too. Its worth the cost!


:D

*Urgent* Immediate instrument recall

Hi guys, Zhenxi here.
The QM is recalling all borrowed instruments* for purposes that will be made known in the near future *coughauditorcough*.
All borrowed instruments must be brought back by this Friday,24th of September, with drastic consequences being reserved for those that fail to do so. I am not clear on when the instruments can be re-borrowed, but please help to spread the message to those who sneaked off with their instruments without signing the borrowing list (Despite my pleas -.-) and are barred from any contact with electronic devices due to the current period of hardship.Alternatively,you could do us a great favour by smsing every single band/non-band person on your contact list to increase the chances of the message reaching everyone in band. That said,I am giving a call to those who signed in the borrowing list.

We apologise for the short notice and the inconvenience caused, but please understand that this is completely necessary.

On a really very much lighter note, good luck with the EOYs.

Zhenxi

*"borrowed instruments" applies to only those borrowed from the band, please do not create confusion by chipping in your own personal guitars and whatnot.

Scores

Hi guys...please bring back the scores on the first practice after the exam break....everything should be clear by then

Tank!

Hey guys!

Found this piece on the Internet. It's called "Tank!", and well, though it has nothing to do with what we play, but it is quite an interesting piece.

So, I hope everybody enjoys it!

If there is any comments, you can look for me, or you can tag it at the tagboard.

=p

Tips for aspiring (and even professional) conductors!

Robert L. Ripley, a cellist from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has some tips for aspiring and even professional conductors! Read and digest at leisure...I found it very useful...

1. Know the Score!
Don’t just know the principal parts, but every last note of every instrument. Stravinsky said, “A good conductor is one who has the score in his head, and not his head in the score.”

2. Speak up!
The acoustics in wherever you rehearse are usually not as good as in the hall, so be sure you are reaching everybody. The ‘back stands’ of the string sections, starting with the third stand, are generally neglected. All too often, the back stands have no idea what is going on up front. (In the band this may mean the brasses and percussion at the back.) Look at them when you have something to say and reach out to them as you conduct the sections; remember too that the basses are far away. You may think that they are not watching you, but they are! If they feel you are engaged with them, and with the music, it will make all the difference in the sound that you get. Communicate with the entire orchestra! When a score would call for reduced strings, Stokowski would always have the very last stands play. It kept them on their toes, gave them a sense of belonging, and sounded wonderful.

3. Keep your remarks positive.
Avoid saying ‘Don’t.’ Instead of “Trumpet, don’t play so loud, you’re killing the oboe,” say “Trumpet, a little less,” or better, just indicate it with your hand; a little hand motion is fast, effective and unlikely to embarrass anyone.

4. Never be sarcastic and don’t lose your cool.
While it is hard to articulate what an orchestra likes, it is easy to say what they hate. When I was in Cleveland with Szell conducting, we played the Brahms Violin Concerto in Akron on a Tuesday night. Szell was ‘milking’ the oboist in his big solo at the beginning of the second movement for all he was worth. When he finished, the oboist made a ‘gimme a break’ gesture (like brushing a fly in front of you). The next day, there was a rehearsal with the chorus for the season finale of Beethoven’s Ninth. Szell became more and more impatient and finally blew his top in the scherzo, banging his music stand in tempo, and yelling, “I’ll teach you to play in rhythm****!” We never forgot the incident.

5. Don’t “conduct the mice.”
Keep your hands above your waist, so everybody can see them. This is often forgotten.

6. Give clear cues.
Cues are important for the confidence of the players, especially if they have had a long stretch of rests to count. Harpists, percussionists and the tuba will thank you. (These are instrumentalists who play very little in orchestras.)

7. Conducting from memory is dangerous.
Do not risk finding out your memory is faulty by painful experience. Use the score and TURN THE PAGES. Do not find yourself fumbling for your place; the orchestra is long gone ahead of you. Many conduct at least the standard repertoire from memory, but you must have every note mastered if you want to do that. Someone asked Steinberg how he memorised. He answered, in his gruff way, “I don’t memorise! I KNOW it!”

8. The baton is only a tool.
The choice to use a baton is completely up to you. When Leinsdorf came to Boston he was not using a baton. His motions were sometimes difficult to follow, so the Artistic Committee, upon direction of the players, asked him to use a baton. He was surprisingly nice about it, but it did not help much. We asked him to go back to the hands. The point is, your beat must be clear, baton or no.

9. Save your best for the concert!
Saving something for the concert can spark the orchestra and make for a better concert. Claudio Abbado was quite low-key in rehearsals. When he came to America, he knew almost no English, so he did not talk much. He used a miniature score, and when he would stop the orchestra, he would hold he score right up to his face. After what seemed to be a long study he would take the score down and say, almost inaudibly, “Is piano? Is pianissimo?” It was not terribly inspiring. But in the concerts, suddenly he was on fire! It was a tremendous boost to the orchestra, so unexpected the first time, and of course, it made concerts really exciting.
While every conductor has to develop an individual style of rehearsing, if you perceive restlessness in the orchestra, you are doing something wrong. Is your tempo too slow? Are you following, instead of leading? Are you communicating? Are you talking too much? Pay attention to the faces of those around you and react accordingly.

10. Don’t skip intonation.
Working on intonation is a bit wearing, too, but must be done. For multiple voices, always build a chord from the bottom note up. Do not just have everybody simply play the chord. Sometimes it is clear that one or another instrument is out of tune, but if not, then build from the lowest note.

11. Don’t conduct only the melody.
It has been said, “Don’t conduct the melody.” That is a bit of a misnomer; you are not going to conduct the bass line. What this means is, don’t conduct ONLY the melody. While you must communicate with whoever is carrying the ball at any given point, there are also elements of balance to adjust along the way, with the left hand, and whatever may come up at any moment. Szell said three things which have stuck in my mind: (1) Remember that the orchestra has played the piece many more times than you have conducted it (unless it is brand new), so do not waste their time with your needs. (2) Never stop the orchestra without telling them why. (3) Remember that you have a wrist. It can be very helpful.

12. Use a metronome.
A metronome is absolutely indispensable. You should not be a slave to it, but you need it for reference, and to set boundaries.

13. Don’t use every last second.
Even though you are entitled to use every bit of your rehearsal time, try to avoid doing it. Show your confidence in the players by trusting their professionalism to that extent. This is just a bit of psychology, but it may enhance your relationship between conductor and players. You won’t lose a thing by doing this and it is a gracious gesture that will be much appreciated.


=)

Golden Jubilee

Jus some random notes on our syf choice piece and Alfred Reed.

A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary of a monarch's reign.To put it simply,our choice piece is about a celebration and probably written for it.

Alfred Reed (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was one of America's most prolific and frequently performed composers, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a guest conductor, performing in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
He was born in New York and began his formal music training at the age of ten. During World War II he served in the 529th Army Air Force Band. Following his military service he attended the Juilliard School of Music, studying under Vittorio Giannini, after which he was staff composer and arranger first for NBC, then for ABC. In 1953 he became the conductor of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra at Baylor University, where he received his B.M. in 1955 and his M.M. in 1956. His master's thesis "Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra" was awarded the Luria Prize in 1959. He was a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men in music.
From 1955 to 1966 he was the executive editor of Hansen Publications, a music publisher. He was professor of music at the University of Miami (where he worked with composer and arranger Robert Longfield) from 1966 to 1993 and was chairman of the department of Music Media and Industry and director of the Music Industry Program at the time of his retirement. He established the very first college-level music business curriculum at the University of Miami in 1966, which led other colleges and universities to follow suit. Some of his more memorable quotes while teaching music business courses are: "You can't give away what you are trying to sell and expect to stay in business" and "I am the second most published composer next to J.S. Bach" At the time of his death, he had composition commissions that would have taken him to the age of 115. Reed was a member of the Beta Tau Chapter of the National Men's Music Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Many of Reed's wind band compositions have been released as CD recordings by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Source from wikipedia.com

Sry,couldn't find any info relating the piece and the composer.

Have a nice day.

Skills of A Modern Conductor.

What kind of skills do we expect the modern conductor to have?

Harold Schonberg, the highly respected former music critic for the New York Times, tried to summarise the skills a conductor needed to be successful; they are elaborated here by composer cum conductor Harold Farberman:

1. A conductor must play several instruments; a student should excel on one instrument and have at least a performer’s knowledge of the piano and one string instrument. More than that isn’t necessary.

2. Working knowledge of every instrument: it would be a significant achievement to know the individual fingerings of all the instruments on the stage, but it seems unnecessary (beyond the middle school conductor, at least.). The orchestra player knows the qualities, possibilities and quirks of his or her instrument better than the conductor, unless the conductor happens to be a virtuoso on the same instrument. Still, a student must learn the ranges and differing colours of the string, wind, brass and percussion groups, the qualities of sonority they produce, both individually and, more importantly, collectively in various combinations.

3. Easily read a full score: knowledge of clefs, instrument keys, transpositions, speed of metronome markings, time signatures, and the meaning of musical terms in various languages remains an absolute necessity.

4. Understand the structure and meaning of a score: harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and phrase analysis are relatively simple, but the “meaning” of music is inherently ambiguous and should not be fixed.

5. Decide what the composer wants and achieve the vision: a flood of scholarship and opinion on this subject has washed over the musical world in the last decades. What is clear (and fortunate) is that performance decisions change over time, if not from concert to concert. Compositions are live entities and should be subject to constant review. “Achieving the vision,” whether vast or limited, inevitably becomes a series of compromises because of the inadequate manner in which baton technique is understood and taught.

6. Technique and memory to assimilate a new work: does this mean the ability to memorise a new work? Toscanini’s (a great Italian conductor) weak eyes forced him to memorise, but an open score on a stand during a concert is perfectly normal and acceptable. It is interesting to note that Schonberg links technique to ‘new work.’ The truth is that every single piece of music, regardless of style and period demands new and differing technical solutions.

7. Absolute pitch and a ear for wrong notes: orchestra players are always impressed by conductors who possess perfect pitch, but it is useful only in rehearsals. Players generally know when they play wring notes and will eliminate them. If they do not, the conductor must make the pitch corrections during rehearsals. Good players will also adjust intonation automatically, but conductors with excellent relative pitch can achieve the same intonation and balancing results in rehearsals as conductors with absolute pitch. Pitch recognition is a single element in a complex hearing process. How one listens is the important factor. In my view, a highly developed sense of perfect rhythmic articulation is far more important than perfect pitch in individual phrase construction and overall structure.

8. Ability to compose and orchestrate: conductors must learn to mechanics of composition and orchestration. It is not necessary to become a composer, but it is necessary to learn basic musical procedures: creating melodic lines and shapes, accompaniments, writing counterpoints, combining instrumental colours and organising new sonorities. These are the daily vocabulary of every conductor.

Source: Training Conductors. Farberman, Harold.

Just a reminder that what is stated above is not all the stuff that makes up a conductor, it is merely the skills that a conductor should have if he is to become a professional one. As student conductors or even aspiring professional conductors, it is important to start learning these rubrics of music. It is never too late to learn them…


Terrence Wong conducts Threnody with NAFA Wind Ensemble, 3rd Sept 2008.

~Important Announcement~

Hey Guys! This announcement concerns all secondary one to secondary three members, so please open your eyes and do not miss out on any information.


There will NOT be any Band practice on Monday (1/9/08) as it is Teacher's day and the school will not be opened. So please do not come to school thinking that there is Band.

There WILL be practices on Thursday and Friday.

Secondary Ones are not required to turn up on Thursday practice, but attendance is compulsory for the rest of the band as Mr Tan will be down to work on our SYF piece.

On Friday, Mr Tan would not be coming down, and so all Secondary Ones to Secondary Threes are required to come down for practice. SLs, please take this opportunity to teach your Secondary Ones the warm-up exercises.

I have already put up a recording of Golden Jubilee on the blog. And for more details on the practices, please have a look at the band schedule.

For those who does not have the Band schedule, the following are the timings of the practices:

1. Thursday (4/9) --> 1300~1800
   
2. Friday (5/9) --> 1300~1800
   

Please do not be late and do not miss any practices without valid reason, as these two practices are very important to us.

If you have enquiries, you can tag your question at the tagboard. And that's all.

=)

Some Notes.

Congratulations to all senior band members who have participated in the highly successful section competition (or so i heard) and to the newbies who have performed in 'my first recital'! It's good to see such high spirits in the Band...

Just a small note, NAFA Wind Band will be presenting Terrence Wong's Threnody and some other pieces like A Movement for Rosa and Symphonietta 2 by Philip Sparke. Also includes some pieces by the NAFA Brass Ensemble. Admission is free, 12.30 pm @ NAFA Campus 3, This Wednesday (3rd Sept)

Since its e holidays, might as well come down to watch a free concert of aspiring Wind and Percussion musicians! Do come if free!

Also, enjoy your holidays :P

IMPORTANT!!Section COmpetition stuff

All SLs and senior section members, please do a short writeup on what your section is presenting next friday. THIS IS OF HIGH IMPORTANCE, as the emcees (me and yuchen) have to condense everything to finalise our script.

NO NEED FOR YOU TO WORRY YOUR MAMA'S HEAD OFF THAT YOUR SECTION SECRET WILL BE REVEALED.

IF YOU ARE REALLY GOOD, YOU NEED NOT FEAR!!!.

Please get it done tonight or by tomorrow band. 2mrw during band, I will request all SLs to stay back before sectionals to pass me the short writeup on what your section if doing. Just 20 words max. Don't have to reveal too much. Just do a brief one.

PLEASE GET IT DONE....THANK YOU!!!!

Qin En

~A teenager's view of Heaven~

Hi Guys!

I found this particularly interesting (fiction) story on the net. I have no idea whether you have read it or not, but I am just going to post it up for everyone to see. =)


PS: It's not sick/PG 13..
PPS: This is not propaganda.


A TEENAGER'S VIEW OF HEAVEN
17-year-old Brian Moore had only a short time to write something for a class. The subject was what Heaven was like.

Brian's Essay: The Room...
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read 'Girls I have liked.' I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named 'Friends' was next to one marked 'Friends I have betrayed.' The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird 'Books I Have Read,' 'Lies I Have Told,' 'Comfort I have Given,' 'Jokes I Have Laughed at .' Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: 'Things I've yelled at my brothers.' Others I couldn't laugh at: 'Things I Have Done in My Anger', 'Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents.' I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.

Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked 'TV Shows I have watched', I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked 'Lustful Thoughts,' I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content.

I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!' In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it.. The title bore 'People I Have Shared the Gospel With.' The handle was brighter than those around it,seemed newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.

No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own.

He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. 'No!' I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was 'No, no,' as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.

He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, 'It is finished.' I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'-Phil. 4:13

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.' -John 3:16



PPPS: Er, you may not have noticed, but I added a recording of Jericho on the blog. All you have to do is just to raise up the volume. =D

Dear Band Members,

Some of you have requested to see a sample of the video of Aesthetique before deciding whether to buy it. Here's a watered-down quality for youtube version of a small portion...



Videos go at $10 each. Please give your names to Luke by tomorrow evening if you want to own a copy. To see the design of the DVD, ask the media department to show you.

Thanks.

Horn

The Day.

The day where some of us are waiting for (especially me, because i finally get to listen to my piece...haha.) is here.

Here are all the audio tracks from the concert, Aesthetique 2008. The video is being processed and I am happy to say that it will be ready for distribution via the Media department by next this monday. Meanwhile, enjoy the (extra) fruits of your labour! XD




Oh Yes, Happy National Day!

National Day 2008 *WOOTS*

Yo People!

National Day is coming up! (Well, actually its tomorrow..)

So aren't you guys excited? Happy? Enthusiastic? Overjoyed? Off the roof?

I am sure none of you are, because I really doubt if there are even any patriots in our Band. (excluding the teachers, and Mr Tan). On the contrary, if you are, then good for you! Tomorrow, on the 9th August, the whole of Singapore will be celebrating our nation's 43rd birthday!

THREE CHEERS FOR SINGAPORE!!!

Anyway, while I was on my way to the library@esplanade today (with yue feng, yu chen and (CO) xuan ming), I noticed that not only was Yu Chen in red, all the other pedestrians are in red as well. And they are not just mere students from Primary or Secondary schools, but adults are wearing red and white too!

When we were at the City Hall MRT station, I was flabbergasted! All I saw was a sea of red and white. And I am not exaggerating! It was so spectacular, i wanted to fish out my digital camera and snap a picture at that instance. ( Sadly, I didn't bring my Digital Camera) Even foreigners are wearing red and white?

At that moment, a sense of pride was welling up in me. It was so, so, AWESOME, seeing fellow Singaporeans wearing red and white all at the same time! It was a sight to be remembered, and I will never forget it in my mind.

It was at that moment when I realised that, Singaporeans aren't that worse off as they say in the news, that we are un-patriotic to our own country. But that's absolutely not true. There is a still a sense of belonging in the people of Singapore.

Believe me or not, I, who once thought that National Day was just a waste of time, was really looking forward to tomorrow's celebration. National Day marks the day of our independence, and we really should be proud of it!

So, I hope you guys will be anticipating in tremendous excitement for the upcoming National Day's performance. And I hope you guys will enjoy it as well!

Because I know I am going to! =P

Attendance

I'm sure everyone who came on Friday already knows this.

The attendance was horrible. Like some undigested lump of something in the bowl after you've had a dump.

Sure, it was after exams. Everyone is thinking (especially those that didn't come) that there shouldn't have been band; they should have been allowed to take a break, like run off to watch a movie or something. The fact is, there WAS band, and it was the first practice after the exams with Mr. Tan.

The people that didn't come obviously do not have the discipline that is required of them, nor do they have the basic respect for the other members of the band, let alone Mr. Tan. If the rest could fight temptations and turn up, punctually or not, why should those that didn't come be allowed to do so? All thanks to them, the practice wasn't fruitful, morale was low, and Mr. Tan's didn't have his usual sunflower face on.

Monday's sectionals; section leaders are reminded to make sure your members come down for practice. And if any member thinks he can weasel out of it just because his SL closes an eye or two, then he can think again, knock his head on a wall, then walk back to the band room.

Band practice is relaxing, so just have an open mindset and stop trying to avoid it. All it requires is for you to sit down and make good music- or at least try to- in a comfortable air-conditioned room. It is not something tiring like 2.4 or physical training. So if someone tries to pon band, we'll take the hint. Next time he turns up, he won't be practising, he'll be having extremely constructive physical training in a nice and comfy field. Don't make the leaders resort to that.

It's really up to you.

DO OR DIE!!!

All Band members take note, this friday, there will be a photo taking session. Thus, we will all have to bring our Full U, this means, white suit, blazer, tie, and black shoes.If there are any problems please feel free to call or approach me and mike.Please inform all those ppl that dont usually get these messages like Jinsheng and Xiyun, they usually give the excuse, "No one tell me leh" they better not this time!!!!

Sec 1s please bring your tie and collar pins, and for gods sake please don't play soccer in your uniform before coming for band. This goes out to ppl like Mitchell etc etc, be in a calm and composed mood upon entering band room and right before taking photo dont go and have lil sparring sessions.

Tomorrow, thursday. I will be opening the band room till 3.30, anyone who wishes to place their items in the band STORE may do so, however, it is your responsibility to make sure you CAN identify your clothes, i do NOT wish to have another repeat of someone crying because a second party mistook the clothing.

Random Wind Quintet

Since some of you guys have been wondering, what that 6 page score off a so-called woodwind quintet was; what sounded so ritualistic yet refined - what I had been practising for de-stressing entertainment whenever I pop by the band room, here's what it is.


Summer Music for Wind Quintet, by Samuel Barber.

A contemporary work of art, played by the Woodwind Quintet of Berlin Philharmonic. Therefore it is imperative for all Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon players to view once, for an idea of how your instrument should sound at its best, how to blend, listen and accommodate in an ensemble. It's quite soft, so turn up those speakers. Enjoy.

Edit:

This is probably one of the lesser anticipated and appreciated form of classical music. So some of you may be wondering why it sounds weird. It's 20th century, and if it is played by a woodwind quintet, it is rightfully music and therefore worth your listening. Brace yourself, weird chords and melodies alright.

Part 1



Part 2

What is Art? What is Good Art?

Let us ask, what is art?

We have seen in the recent newspapers about the photographer bagging the “UOB Painting of the Year” prize, which consist of a series of photographs of animal parts, which led to a dispute amongst the public community between good and bad art, and that most common people claimed that the series was bad art just because it was mortifying.

So if something is ugly and/or morbid, even for music, is it art? So what really is art?

Perhaps the 19th century Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy has defined it best. Let me extract a few points from his essay, ‘What is Art?’ (1896) Before you try to argue against it, read it and try to understand and absorb these points of view; these may very well help all of us in creating better music because after all, music is art too! Let us try to read…yes it’s long but take your time to read and digest…

-“Art, in our society, has been so perverted that not only has bad art come to be considered good, but even the very perception of what really art is has been lost.”

-“In order to correctly define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it in this way we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the means of intercourse between man and man.”

-“The activity of art is based on the fact that a man, receiving through his sense of hearing or sight another man’s feeling expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing the emotion which moved the man who expressed it. To take the simplest example: one man laughs, and another who hears it becomes merry; or a man weeps, and another who hears feels sorrow…By his movements or by the sounds of his voice, a man expresses courage and determination or sadness and calmness, and this state of mind passes on to others.”

-“However, if a man infects another or others indirectly, immediately, by his appearance or by the sounds he gives vent to at the very time he experiences the feeling; if he causes another man to yawn when he himself cannot help yawning, or to laugh or cry when he himself is obliged to laugh or cry, or to suffer when he himself is suffering – that does not amount to art.”

-“The feelings with which the artist infects others may be most various – very strong or very weak, very important or insignificant, very bad or very good; feelings of love for one’s own country, self-devotion and submission to fate or to God expressed in a drama, raptures of lovers described in a novel, feelings of voluptuousness expressed in a picture, courage expressed in a triumphal march, merriment evoked by a dance, humour evoked by a funny story, the feeling of quietness transmitted by an evening landscape or by a lullaby, or the feeling of admiration evoked by a beautiful arabesque – it is all art.”

-“Only if the spectators or auditors are infected by the feelings which the author has felt, it is art.”

-“The stronger the infection, the better is the art as art, speaking now apart from its subject matter i.e. not considering the quality of the feelings it transmits.”

-“A real work of art destroys, in the consciousness of the receiver, the separation between himself and the artist – not that alone, but also between himself and all whose minds receive this work of art. In this freeing of our personality from its separation and isolation, in this uniting of it with others, lies the chief characteristic and the great attractive force of art.”

-“The presence in various degrees of three conditions – individuality, clearness, and sincerity – decides the merit of a work of art as art. Sincerity is the most important of the three. It is always complied with in peasant art, and this explains why such art always acts so powerfully; but it is a condition almost entirely absent from our upper class art, which is continually produced by artists actuated by personal claims of covetousness or vanity.”

-“Thus is art divided from that which is not art, and thus is the quality of art as art decided, independently of its subject matter, i.e. apart from whether the feelings it transmits are good or bad.”

You, the band member need not agree with all these points; nevertheless it is good to use these extracted points as a means to a perfection of your own art: making music as an individual and as a band. :D

sec 2s no band next friday!!! woohoo!!! sec 2s, please read

hello, its my first time posting on the blog, what an honour... anyway, i just want to announce to all the sec 2s that we do not have to go for band next friday!!!! woots... we will instead go to some bar and partay!!!!

Unfortunately, our dear band major jun yao is jealous that he is not a sec 2 and he cannot join us to go to party, and disallow this fabulous plan... so when we see him tomorrow, we beat him up ok?? lets us show jun yao that we the sec 2s are not pushovers!!!!

SYF and WMC is drawing closer and closer to us by the seconds, but we do not have to worry a thing about it!!! Bil Keane once said " Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today's a gift, thats why it is called the present" we just have to enjoy every single day, and dont moan over the past or the future, and do our very best in preparing for our exams and the upcoming competitions!!!!...... woots!!!

eh..... the not come for band thing is just a joke.... dont be like tzung ern, thought is real...

A Little On Conducting.

Here's just a part of my modular portfolio for my Band Training and Direction elective under Mr Leonard Tan from the previous half of the year...share with you people...Here I will mainly share on what I have learnt on the objective of conducting and what is good conducting.

Why Conduct?
It has been shown that conductor-less large ensembles spend much more time rehearsing than large ensembles that have a conductor to lead them. Thus from here we can conclude two things: a conductor is a time-saver (which is something true but we just hate to admit it) and a conductor is above all, a leader of the entire band or orchestra. A conductor shows through his gestures what he wants of the ensemble, and thus leads them with a single source of interpretation and musicality.

What is good conducting?
Good conducting can be summed up in two aspects: it is clear yet musical. It is quite pointless when a conductor does an emotional tear-jerker piece in a strict 4/4 time pattern throughout the piece even though the score seems to say that everything is in 4/4, and it is equally pointless when the same piece is conducted with great emotion and fervour when none of the players can see or understand what the conductor is trying to convey to them. Good conducting must be clear to the players (not only to yourself!) and equally musical so that the music is music and not just a fixed sequence of sounds being played back in order. One might as well program a computer to play such sounds to achieve the latter.

How does good conducting work?
It is important to understand the effects of conducting; conducting is almost purely psychological in nature (though the players do have to be first ‘sensitised’ to your conducting). Good conducting brings out both the conscious and sub-conscious parts of the player’s mind; it helps bring the player to a higher level than he thinks he can achieve in performance.


How to be a good conductor?
If band instructors tell their musicians to practice their parts, should it not go that they themselves have to practice too? Thus I feel that a good band instructor should do adequate score study before the rehearsal (especially so for new works that have no available recordings…yet) and that he should practice in front of a mirror. Also, the conductor should not stick to what he practices in front of the mirror if it does not work out with the band; either the band has not been ‘sensitised’ to his conducting or there is something wrong with the gestures displayed. Thus a good conductor should also be flexible enough to allow room for change in his conducting when something does not go the way he would like it to go.

WARNING: PG-13/ Not suitable for Minors!

Disclaimer: The following jokes are, what we call, "misleading". So, if you have a pure of heart (which i HIGHLY doubt), please, DO NOT scroll down!

Oh, and do not try them at home.

Seriously


WHAT WOULD U ANSWER> > > > > >

A first-grade teacher, Ms Neelam was having trouble with one of her students.

The teacher asked , "Tom, what is your problem?"

Tom answered, "I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third-grade too!"

Ms. Neelam had enough. She took Tom to the principal's office.

While Tom waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms Neelam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions, he was to go back to the first-grade and behave.

She agreed.

Tom was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'
Tom: '9'.

Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'
Tom: '36'.

And so it went with every question the principal thought a third-grade should know.
The principal looks at Ms. Neelam and tells her, 'I think he can go to the third-grade.'

Ms. Neelam replied, 'I have some of my own questions. Can I ask him ?'

The principal and Tom both agreed.


(HIGHLIGHT TO SEE ANSWER)


Ms. Neelam asks: 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two> of?'
Tom, after a moment said, 'Legs.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not> have?'
Tom: 'Pockets.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains> thin whitish liquid?'
Tom:'Coconut'

Ms. Neelam: 'What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?'
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy was taking charge
Tom: 'Bubblegum.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?'
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he>could stop the answer...
Tom: 'Shake hands'

Ms. Neelam: 'Now I will ask some'Who am I' sort of questions, okay?'
Tom: 'Yep'.

Ms. Neelam: 'You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Tent'

Ms. Neelam: 'A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first. Who am I?'
The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.
Tom: 'Wedding Ring'

Ms. Neelam: 'I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip.. When you blow me, you feel good. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Nose'

Ms. Neelam: 'I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Arrow'

Ms. Neelam: 'What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?' Tom: 'Firetruck'

Ms. Neelam: 'What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it u have to use ur hand?' Tom: 'Fork'

Ms. Neelam: 'What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the Pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?'
Tom: 'SURNAME'

Ms. Neelam: 'What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love?'
Tom: 'HEART.'

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher, 'Send this boy to the University, I got the last ten questions wrong myself..."



Just like all of us including YOU. =)

The Worthy Concert Experience.

Why do we go for concerts? What is an appropriate concert experience?

A concert is an experience for two groups of people; the more obvious group is the audience, and the less obvious group would be the musicians themselves, be they opera singers, wind band musicians or rock band guitarists. But in this article, I will attempt to discuss the concert experience from the viewpoint of the audience.

Let me recount my personal experiences of concerts. I started going for concerts when I was in Secondary Three, which was also when I took up the music elective programme. Introduced to orchestral and piano concerts which were part of the modular experience, I began to go for concerts on my own too, which included band concerts and the occasional avant-garde music concert. Now during my study in NAFA it is even better. Every Wednesday afternoon is a ‘Music Platform’ of student recitals from different departments, like piano, woodwind etc and every fortnight, on Monday nights, there would be a commuter concert which would feature non-students in recital. These concerts are all compulsory for us music students to attend. Not that I mind anyway.

Let me categorise my concert experiences into three categories; the casual/fun experience, the professional experience, and the sleepy experience. The casual/fun experience usually refers to school band concerts, where there would be an ‘auto-encore’ and full of fans cheering and screaming for their friends in the band. The professional experience usually refers to more professional groups like the Philharmonic Winds and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where the audience is more reserved and standard etiquette applies, including dressing up appropriately for the concert. Lastly the sleepy experience is for the extremely unprofessional and/or boring concert…

Now I come to the main issue; what exactly do we go to concerts for? I have seen many kids who attend a concert because they are forced to by their teacher or school to attend, and these kids make a boisterous lot, playing with their PSPs, their handphones, listening to their own music from their personal mp3 player. There are also those who go to a concert and frown at every single little mistake that the player(s) make. I once had a young horn player sitting in front of me in a concert and when the horn player on stage played flat for a moment, the one sitting in front of me banged his head on the chair in agony as if he only came to the concert for that single moment and it had been ruined. There are also people who would rush to compete and see who can applaud the quickest right after the silence ensues, and this often causes much disturbance in between movements and ‘false’ endings. And all this undesirable behavior is not only seen in the casual/fun environment, but even in the professional concert environment.

So what do we attend concerts for? Do we really go to concerts to do all the things stated above? I personally feel that when we attend a concert, we should immerse ourselves in the present moment and simply enjoy and observe our own reactions towards the music. Surely there are mistakes in every concert; no human being is perfect, much less an entire organization of musicians on stage! And when we manage to appreciate the real concert quality, we would emerge from the concert content, no matter how badly the group has performed. After all we have paid our way to the hall, and to pay for two hours of pointing out every single mistake is simply ridiculous.

Thus the cliché ‘Sit back, relax and enjoy’ really applies here. Yes, we learn from concerts and their good and bad points, but to ruin our own concert experience by making it difficult for ourselves is plain ridiculous. Let’s just simply enjoy the concert! :D

P.S. here's my collection of every single programme booklet i've taken from all the performances i've been to! XD

Classic Country Music!

Hey People! Just a short (but extremely funny) video for all of you.

Hope you guys out there enjoy it!

Sorry...

Ok, apparently, my previous post was deleted because too ...umm...whats the term....Unfriendly.
So i've decided to first of all apologize to everyone for my unfriendliness and then try my hand at a repost.But you guys have got to understand my frustration on this matter, this policy(if i may) , i've been trying to enforce it for quite some time. So in this here repost, i guess i'll have to give u not only the rules, but the logic behind them, maybe that'll work

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New post starts here
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1) No bags in Band store
Logic: It is really very unsightly that bags are strewn all over the floor in the band store sometimes, under tables, on chairs etc etc. So, me and Mikey have already cleared up a quater of our image cupboard to be used as a storage space for bags. This rule though applies to Excos and section-leaders only, because they have added responsibilities and thus, may need easy access to their bags.

2) No Shoes on Band Store Floor
Logic:Once again, same thing, easy access, added responsibilities etc etc. Also, it was a huge mess of shoes in band store we took over, after lots of 'reminders' i've successfully dwindled the number to about 5 pairs on a good day, though a marked improvement, i'd like to strive for the perfect score.I'm okay with the shoes being on the shelves, just make sure its nice and orderly, not a strewn mess.

3) After having sectionals or personal practice in the Band Store, keep the stands and arrange the chairs to an orderly position.
Logic: This rule is meant for aesthethique purposes.

4) Instrument Cases in our as near to shelves as possible, this goes out to Tian Howe and his Bari Sax case.
Logic: enough said

I am willing to perform bag checks, any "unauthorized" bags will sadly be evicted.
Shoes Too
Section Leaders remember to clear up
Once again, I'm sorry.

Upcoming Practices

Hi everyone!

Band practices are as usual for the following dates:

10/7 -- Thursday
11/7 -- Friday

Please note that the following practices are very important as our Guest conductor, Mr David Gloss, would be coming to take us.

Please be reminded that no one is to be absent UNLESS they have valid reasons.

If not, let us give Mr Gloss a good impression of CHSSB!

Enjoy what's left of your Youth Day holiday!

YOUR comments reflects yourself...

YOUR comments very well reflects what kind of a person you are..


Trust me, the sentence above is very true..


I believe all Catholic High School Symphony Band memebers are all gentlemen.

So please, if you have comments about anything in this band, by all means express yourself! HOWEVER, please have the self-discipline to maintain proper decorums on the tagboard and on posts.

ESPECIALLY the Secondary 3s.

If you don't, you WILL face the consequences. Oh believe me, I can easily find out who you are. And I don't want to give examples. (YES, "aluminus" I already know who you are..)

So please, control yourself. The blog is for you to express yourself in a civilised manner.
Let me emphasise myself: Punishments will be meted out.

Let me end this with a solemn note.
THINK before you act. Especially in the band blog.

POP Video (Part One)

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Band Practice

Attention to all:

There will be no band practice tomorrow (Monday 30/6/08).
This includes the Sec 1s as well.

However, you are highly encouraged to come down tomorrow for self-practice or for sectionals.

Do pass this message around.

Band practice will resume on Thursday 3/7/08.

Enjoy what's left of your Sunday.

Benjamin Huang

POP interview

More Lame Jokes..

Yo people! These are jus some jokes to take you off your busy mind..

QUOTE: A day without laughter is a day wasted

Two peanuts were walking down a spooky road at night... One was assaulted.

What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk.

Two ropes walk into a bar. The bartender says to the rope "Hey! we don't serve ropes in here" so one of the ropes left. The other rope frayed up his hair and tied himself in a knot. The bartender said to the rope "Are you a rope?" and the rope said " I'm afraid not"

Why was the Tomato blushing? Because he saw the salad dressing.

A frog is looking for a loan, so he goes into a bank. He sits down at a desk and the name plate says "Patty Whac". He talks to Patty about the loan and she asks him what he has for collateral. The frog replies well I have this vase. He pulls the vase out of a bag to show her. Patty says "well thats just a cheap knick-knack". Then the owner notices the vase and says to himself "gee that's from the 17th century, it's worth tons of money" So he walks over to patty and says "Thats no knick-knake Patty Whac give the frog a loan".

A termite walks into a barroom and asks, "Is the bar tender here?"

How do you catch a squirrel? Climb into a tree and act like a nut.

Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? Because he didn't have the guts to do it.

Why didn't the chicken cross the road? Because he was too chicken.

What do John the Baptist & Winnie the Pooh have in common? Their middle name.

Why are there so many Smiths in the phone book? They all have phones.

What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches? A nervous wreck!

Why don't cannibals eat comedians? Because they taste funny.

"Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud." "Yes sir, it's fresh ground."

What's brown and sticky? A stick.

How do you catch a unique rabbit? U Neaq up on it.

How do you catch a tame rabbit? Tame way, you neaq up on it.

W hy do they put bells on cows? Because their horns don't work!

Two sausages are in a pan. One looks at the other and says "Gee, it's hot in here." and the other sausage says "OH MY GOODNESS IT'S A TALKING SAUSAGE!"

Upcoming practices..

Hey people!

This is just a reminder to all of you out there that there WILL be Band practices next week.

Just in case, the dates are:

23rd June, Monday

26th June, Thursday

27th June, Friday

As for the time, for sec 1s and 2s, come down at 2.30pm, because your lessons end at 1.40.
Sec 3s, non-triple science, come down at 2.30 also, if your lessons end at 1.40. if your lessons end at 2.30, then come down at 3.00.
For triple science, come down at 3.00.

If you have any remedials or lessons (especially the sec 3s), PLEASE, inform the leaders or the teachers-in-charge earlier. Same goes for the Lower Secondary.

Yups, and don't forget to take your lunch as well!
Enjoy what is left of your holidays!

Percussion Tutorial

To all percussion members, please be reminded that there will be percussion tutorial, on the 1st week of Wednesday that school reopens (25/06), at 4.00 pm.

Do inform your other percussion members about this, especially the sec 1s, (Zhan Peng in particular).

Also, come punctually and remember to practise for ‘表演’during the holidays. Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Benjamin

It's Sunday! Relax!

Hey people, nice to post again.

Well, I came across a few jokes while I was going through mail. So, i thought of sharing with you people! =D


It's Sunday! Something for your to relax.. and LOL.....

So, for now, just sit back, relax and laugh until you kee siao!

PS: Some maybe very cold..so grab your nearest sweater right now!

MUTHU & THE INTERVIEWER
Interviewer : 'What is your birth date?'
Muthu : '13th October.'
Interviewer : 'Which year?' Muthu : 'Every year.'

MUTHU & HIS MANAGER
The Manager asked Muthu at an interview....'Can you spell a word that has more than 100 letters in it?'
Muthu replied: 'P-O-S-T-B-O-X.'

MUTHU & LONDON TRIP
After returning from a foreign trip, Muthu asked his wife, 'Do I look like a foreigner?'Wife: 'No! Why?'
Muthu : 'In London, a lady asked me, 'Are you a foreigner?'... that's why.'Wife : (-_-)'''!!!

MUTHU & TOURIST
A tourist from U.S.A. asked Muthu whether any great man was born in his village... and Muthu said .. 'No sir, only babies were born here.'

MUTHU & HIS EXPERIMENT
Muthu was doing an experiment with a cockroach. First he cut off one leg and told it to 'WALK! WALK!' The cockroach walked.
Then he cut off it's second leg and told the same. The cockroach walked.T
hen he cut off the third leg and did the same.
Finally, he cut off it's fourth leg and ordered it walk! But the cockroach didn't walk.Suddenly, Muthu said loudly, 'I found it. If we cut a cockroach's four legs, it becomes deaf.'

MUTHU & DRIVER
When Muthu was travelling with his wife in a motorised tricycle, the driver adjusted the mirror. Muthu shouted, 'You are trying to see my wife, eh? ??? Go sit in the back. I will drive !!! '

MUTHU GOES TO HOTEL
Muthu went into a hotel. To wash his hands, he went to the washbasin. Then, when he had finished, he started washing the basin. Seeing this, the manager asked what was he doing. Muthu pointed towards the signboard'*****WASH BASIN******'

MUTHU & INTERVIEWER - FINAL PART
Interviewer : 'Just imagine you're in the 20th floor of a building and it's on fire. How will you escape?'
Muthu: 'It's simple.. I will just stop my imagination.'

>>>The PRESS<<<
At a political rally, Muthu was arrested.
Why ????????????
Because a woman journalist with a badge which read 'PRESS' pinned on the right part of her blouse walked past him... and he did it!

PPS: This post is not racist, just because i used a malay/indian name. It could be anyone's name...like Jun Wei, or Ivan (OPPS!)

**********************End************************

My Thoughts...=)

Hi people. It has been such a long while since i checked the band blog (my Internet connection was down this whole week, until today..), and i was WOW-ed! There were so many tag-ers at the tag board. Yeah! Keep up the good work guys!

For those who had (sadly) missed our final week of practices, work hard for POP! And for those who came for the final three practices, great job! True, it has been a long and eventful week for us. And we really need to improve a lot more on our attitude and on our discipline.

You know, many of you may have heard this phrase "need to improve a lot more on our attitude and on our discipline" a lot, but do you actually know what it means? Well, to put it simply, it just means to focus, to not screw on stuffs which you weren't supposed to and you shouldn't, and to show your enthusiasm in practices by doing the right things. In a nutshell, that is not too difficult to achieve, right?

There is one more issue that I would like to address. If you see the tag board, you may see a few apologies to zhi wei, our Concert Master. Yes, we did injustice to him. He tried his best and gave his all during combine time, and yet we did him injustice. We are all regretful, and we apologised. However, that is not enough, we need to show our enthusiasm at the next band practice and focus 100%. After all, actions do speaks louder that words.

Anyway, on behalf of the band, the secondary threes would like to say a big "SORRY" to zhi wei, because i feel that it was the sec 3s who hurt him the most. If we do not respect him, who will? Zhi Wei, if you are reading this, let me just tell you:" Don't worry! Be sure to see us in our best performance at out next band practice! =P"

Indeed, it was eventful. Pumpings...scoldings...praises. Let's all look forward to POP'08, and continue to be good, active bloggers. Yes, i mentioned BLOGGER, not tag-ers. Please post your feelings, your thoughts, especially the sec 2s!

Yup, that's all. Enjoy the last week of your June holidays!

Band Schedule

The next band practices for next week are as the following below:

Monday 9 June
10.00am to 5.00pm

Tuesday 10 June
10.00am to 5.00pm

Thursday 12 June
10.00am to 5.00pm

Please be punctual and do inform your other band mates about this new schedule.

Benjamin Huang

Algona Overture

Hi, this is my first post. :D

I'm here just to express that after the brilliant performance in VCH, the songs still linger around my ears till now.
For some strange reasons, specifically the song Algona Overture keep wandering around my heart and as if that it doesn't want to leave away. I hummed and hummed, this beautiful piece of music over and over again, until now. Ever since the concert was over, it still stays in my heart...

Maybe it is because it sounded exceptionally wonderful and remarkable on that night, but the true reason that I am so fascinated with Algona now remains unknown, even I find myself strange and funny...as I continue to hum Algona......

Band Schedule (Next week)

Hi everybody.

Please note that THIS post is the band schedule for next week only, which applies for both the Main band and the Junior band.

Main Band:

3rd June, Tuesday: 1pm to 4 pm

5th June, Thursday: 1pm to 4pm

Junior Band:

29th May, Thursday: 9am to 12 nn (this week)

3rd June, Tuesday: 2pm to 5 pm

5th June, Thursday: 9am to 12nn

Please note that 3rd June Tuesday has timings that clash for the Main band nand the Junior Band. DON'T FRET! Mr Lim and Mr tan will be discussing the problems concerning timings.

Until then, please be punctual for Band (from the leaders) and ask your classmates or section mates to check the blog often for updates.

And that's all.

Band schedule for sec 1s

So sorry for the last minute information, but this is the band schedule for secondary ones.

27/5: 2pm to 5pm
29/5: 9am to 12am
3/5: 2pm to 5pm
5/5: 9am to 12 am.

Timings are subjected to changes. Seniors, if you see this please inform your juniors. Sec 1s, if you see this, please inform your classmates

Band Schedule.

Hello people! The following are the dates of the upcoming practices. DO take note...

• Tuesday 27/5: 10am-2pm (combined) 2pm-4pm(games/drills)
• Tuesday 3/6 : 1pm-3pm (combined) 3pm-5pm (sectionals) 5pm-6pm(drills/games)
• Monday 9/6 : 10am-2pm (combined) 2pm-4pm(games/drills)
• Tuesday 10/6: 10am-2pm (combined) 2pm-4pm(games/drills)
• Thursday 12/6 :10am-2pm (combined) 2pm-4pm(games/drills)

Do also note that the leave form is no longer available in the band room. Please get a copy of the leave form from the band web, if you need one.

Time would be given for lunch, don't worry...

And please inform your classmates that THERE IS band tomorrow. Spread the message to the other members, especially to all those who hardly visit the blog. Oh, and don't be late.

That's all!

PS: The order of the activities in this time slot are placed according to probability.

Next Band Practice. Pon and you die.

Hi all. This is Luke here, with my first ever post, so you guys better get me a present and a party hat. The schedule isn't out yet, so you guys won't have a copy, but here's the details for the first practice:

Monday 26/5
10 am- 5pm
10am- 1pm-> Combine with Mr Tan
1pm- 2pm-> Lunch Break (On Your Own)
2pm- 4pm-> Sectionals (Including Sec 1s)
4pm-5pm-> Drills/ Games*

Some of the upper sec members might be a little late cause of chinese remedial, which ends at 11.30, so don't panic and go pressing your handphone buttons off. Also, because Mr Tan is going to be there, don't skip it; even more so because if you DO skip it you've got to face the M'am. Trust me, it isn't worth it. Practice is a lot less painful.

If you are unable to attend any of the practices above, fill up the leave form and seek permission from the teachers-in-charge (Ms Angelin Wong or Mr Victor Tey) at least one week in advance.

For those who aren't informed, P.O.P is on 28 june, which isn't very far away, so practise now is very very important. For those who aren't informed, P.O.P stands for passing out parade. Finally, for those who are wondering what's that, go fly a kite.

Please spread the message to the other members, especially to all those who hardly visit the blog. We don't want to see a half-empty band room on Monday now, do we?

* Do note that the order of the activities in this time slot are placed according to probability.

A day after the concert...

Yesterday was a... Magical, memorable, adrenaline-rushing, fun-filled and nerve wrecking experience - The experience of making music as a band was magical; the experience of hearing the audience applaud with delight and satisfaction was memorable; the experience of making sure every sound produced is fantastic during the concert was adrenaline-rushing; the experience of cheering like wild kids on stage was fun-filled; the experience of playing numerous solos during the concert was nerve wrecking.

Music really took flight.

...

All of a sudden, I didn't feel like stepping down; perhaps I'm too used to rushing down from classroom after lessons, and eating lunch quickly so as to report for band punctually; perhaps I'm too used to going home late in the evening everyday because of the long practices.

All of a sudden, I felt that there was no end to band rehearsals, as if there will be a concert or competition coming up again, and we will have to work hard, push ourselves, torture ourselves during fall-in, and go home very late every other day.

All of a sudden, I still think that we're the in-charge (although officially, we STILL are). Still concerned who is holding on to the band room key, if the band room is well-maintained, if the band website is still up to date, if the band blog is still well maintained, if my section will do well for SYF next year.

...

The responsibility of maintaining the band blog and website will be handed over to the Media heads (i.e. Ben Huang and Hang Siang) from today onwards.

...

All the best to the new batch of leaders, all the best to all sec3s in your studies, all the best to sec2s for improving on your music for your FIRST SYF, all the best to sec1s in learning the RIGHT foundation of your respective instruments...

...

I feel as if today's POP...

Thanks CHSSB and all of its members for the 3+ years of bittersweet memories.
Thanks CHSSB and all of its members for all the inspirations you guys gave me in the past.
Thanks CHSSB and all of its members for the invaluable lifeskills you guys taught me.

...

A day before the concert...

Hi people.

Today is the 16th of May. So I guess many of you all will read this post after the concert.

What I want to say is "just relax". Yes, and get enough sleep. Let bygones be bygones. Whatever you have screwed up, let's just put them aside and get on with life. Most importantly, get on with tomorow's concert.

That's all I want to say. And i believe CHSSB can totally thrash this concert.

=) Hang Siang

As Aesthetique Approaches

As Aesthetique 2008 approaches, how prepared are we? How alert, how focused can we be as a band during concert? During the Malacca trip, it has said a lot about how successful Aesthetique will turn out to be... Go to this URL..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UttcgQ5rxY&feature=user

Watch the band....my GOD!!! AS Mr Tan walks up and signals for the band to stand, look at what happens! The band can't even stand together.... It is a sore sight to see....please...be alert during Aesthetique and stay focused. DOn't screw things up...especially for choreography....

Today's practice was indeed disappointing for Mr Tan....the trumpets (or cornets up to you lah) were not prepared. Due to the musical, I believe that those involved had neglected practice....even if you practise at home, for songs like Carnival of Venice, you still need to work as a section...blending..intonation and sorts.

Tomorrow's practice; let's hope its a better one ok? About time...the last few days the band has to work before showtime.....the last few days before the sec 4s bade us farewell and start concentrating on their O levels.......

so let's make Aesthetique 2008 a good one. AS ONE BAND ONE SOUND ON BROTHERHOOD

Musical: Unarmed Combat

Hey everyone.

So, after several failed attempts to upload the photo taken during the musical... I FINALLY succeeded:

Musical 2008

HI guys

I bring greetings on behalf of those who were at the musical yesterday, the day before yesterday and toady. So sorry we could not join you all for practice.

Anyway, a short report on our experience there.

It was a fun time there...yea...literally FUN. Especially for Yu Chen and Luke.... having extreme fun in the makeup room for band people.

For those who went or are going to the musical, I believe it was a enjoyable one....the band people performing also enjoyed it thoroughly eh......

Hopeya guys are having fun too with "I can't take my eyes of you"

Bye

Malacca Trip

Hi all....


Just back from the Malacca trip, probably suffering from buslag (that's a term derived from jetlag). Would just want to tell everyone to take a good rest.

AND TO ALL SEC 3S.....LISTEN UP

THERE WILL BE A BARBER TOMORROW TO CUT THE HAIR OF ALL WHO FAIL. RELIABLE SOURCES FROM THE PREFECTORIAL BOARD HAS REQUESTED THAT THIS WARNING BE PASSED TO ALL SEC 3S.

SO BETTER GO CUT YOU HAIR....and sleep...zzzzzzz.................


Tomorrow's script check. If you wanna deplete your morale, read on. If not, go and sleep.


Only 18 people got distinctions for Social Studies
Only 40 people got distinctions for Physics


The other subjects have more distinctions.


Don't get to emo. Sorry if you get to emo.... but that's the facts.

Ok....about time to sleep./....


BYE

Qin En

BAND PRACTICE

Hey guys,

remember that theres band practice this Friday at 2.30pm

to the sec3s, I understand you'll end earlier. The band room will be opened early for you guys to use first. (Please on the air-con :P)

VERY IMPORTANT!
THIS SATURDAY THERE IS A COMPULSORY BAND PRACTICE FROM 3 TO 6PM
ALL ARE TO COME! IT'S OUR LAST PRACTICE BEFORE THE TRIP
IF YOU HAVE TUITION, CANCEL THEM

Okay
Daniel