Shortcomings of WordPress.com

Darn. I just realised WordPress does not support embedding of tagboards. So I made my tagboard a link. It’s right at the bottom of my list of links. See if you can spot it. Wah lao eh. Oh well, at least everything else is simple enough. Need to get into the habit of blogging again. -apsm

Move to WordPress

Grew out of my old identity. Behold the new…

AMPERSANDMAN!!!!

In case you don’t know, an ampersand is this: “&”

Now you can act smart by telling people the proper name! =)

Yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today!!!!

Was busy the whole day!!!

I met up with Pei Jun in the morning to go swimming. Today was the first time I swam in almost 7 years; since P4 when swimming was compulsory for those who didn’t have a grade. Anyway, I was seriously owned by her lah. She overtook me like dunno how many times until I could just drown myself in the middle of the pool… Anyway, I had lunch with her after that. Initially I bought a cup of coffee, because that seemed like the more sensible thing to drink after a couple of hours swimming in the cold water. I ended up abandoning my coffee and bought a green tea instead. Don’t worry, I do not advocate waste, so I gulped down the lukewarm coffee after finishing my green tea, which earned me the epithet of ‘weird’.

After the hearty yet depressing swim and equally hearty and depressing lunch (found out over the news that Pavarotti had passed away…), I went back to GY for their band practice. I was given a bit of time to conduct sectionals with my section, and I am glad to say that this batch of juniors is the most rewarding to teach! Never before had I encountered such initiative, enthusiasm and plain passion in the juniors of the other batches. Unfortunately, their immediate senior was not even performing up to their standard.. Anyway, the thing which hit me the most was their initiative. I made a comment about how they could approach me or ask me on MSN they needed any band recordings, and I got the biggest shock of my life.

“It’s ok, we already have.”

They actually searched the internet on their own to find recordings!! I was very pleasantly surprised!!

Right after band, I rushed back home to change into fresh clothes for the Inventio performance, when I had the most traumatic experience of my life. (actually not the most traumatic experience of my life, just that day….)
I felt an alarm on my handphone go off at precisely 5.45pm. It reminded me of an event taking place at 6pm. That event was Inventio. I was utterly mortified, because it I suddenly could not remember if the performance started at 6 or 7.30pm! I believe Nat can vouch that I went totally bonkers trying to confirm the time. Luckily it was actually at 7.30pm, and we made it there just in time, sans dinner.

The performance was excellent; I went to support two friends, and I have to say both of them, and actually also every single one of the actors on stage gave a very professional performance and I was very impressed. I expecially loved the comic delivery by Francis (I think that’s what her name is), the annoying whiny nasal voice of the plastic surgeon and the banana monologue!!
I also realised that there are quite a number of pretty girls in AC, but of course I won’t mention anyone in particular. (tastes are subjective anyway!) Oh, and I saw Jillian there too. After the performance, I walked to the MRT station with 3 other YISS people that we met coincidentally. I ended taking the train home with Eugene, while the rest of them went in the other direction.

Lots of fun, today.

And absolutely no work done whatsoever…

I’m so going to get retained.

I should be doing work now…

I couldn’t resist sneaking a post, after I only discovered 10 minutes ago that Jayne has Friendster, a blog and her birthday is on Monday!!! Happy birthday!!!!!! =D May the Lord bless you with wisdom and maturity as you grow another year older, and may all your days be happy and fulfilling! I would get you something, but circumstances and time constraint prevent me from doing so… So I shall make up for it by treating you to waffles the next time we meet up!! Nothing, in my opinion, is better than free waffles.. Mmmm, waffles.

Be right back, I hear the fridge calling.

In school again…

This is my second post from school, which suggests the leisure time (or lack thereof) that I get during breaks. CLB lesson ended early because the movie ended already. Finally, I won’t get to hear that annoying theme song with the incessant ahhhh-ing… It’s break time right now and I’m in the comp lab enjoying air-con…

Anyway, there’s band practice right after maths later from 6.30pm to 8pm. I am going to perish before the week is through. Never before have I had 3 performances in 3 consecutive weeks! But it’s all good fun though, even though I have a sneaking suspicion that my grades are going to take a further dip as a result of my inopportune CCA switch. The things I do for the sake of band…

Oh well.

Two concerts in six days!

I am EXHAUSTED!

I just had my second concert barely a week after the Philyouth Concert, at the same venue! Saints Presentation Night – It was quite satisfying as compared to the PY concert; as least I didn’t really screw anything up. My name wasn’t in the programme however, because I joined last minute. =(

Anyway, I had been emo-ing by myself during the past few band practices. I was reluctant to make conversation because I was afraid that I might get snide remarks about ‘conveniently joining at my whim’ or some other undesirable comments. Surprisingly, SA band people are quite friendly, and yesterday people started coming up to talk to introduce themselves. I was even pulled in for a couple of photos! In all, yesterday was a rather heartening experience, and just like any other band, SAJCCB members are super LAME! On the bus ride back to school, a couple of guys belted out a rather rude version of ‘Saints go marching in’. All I know is I’m lucky my next birthday does not fall on a band practice day, because I’d dread ending up like the unfortunate guy yesterday who had his nipples assaulted by trumpet mutes. (Don’t ask.)

Anyway, I get released early tomorrow because of rehearsal for the band convention. Is that COOL or what?! Cut class for band, that’s what I’m talking about. =)

Going to do work now, till next time.

In school..

I’m dying in school…. PE got cancelled and we have to stay back until 5.30pm for some stupid dry run tomorrow. I’m hungry, miserable and stuck in the comp lab looking at blogs and did I mention I was hungry? The only reason why I am not pigging out at the canteen is because I have decided to restrict myself to just one schooltime meal. Therefore, I came to school with only $3 in my wallet. It is perhaps by sheer gluttony and general stupidity that I ate during the first break at 9.30am and now I have to wait until I get to go to TPY Central to draw money. In the meantime, I’ll just sit here and listen to my stomach rumble. I may be meeting Pei Jun for dinner if I end early though. =)

Bah.

Post-concert depression.

Finally, the Philyouth concert is over… Although it wasn’t our best performance, we still managed to pull through and survive. I was very heartened to see friends that I have not seen for ages, like the SRJC folks, Stefanie, Bryan and Eddy!! Eddy wore a dress, HAHAHA!!! Oh gosh, I miss them so much, especially Bryan!!! I’m really glad that they came to support me, despite not even being from band. Shelly and Nat also came; it’s a wonder how Nat managed to put up with Shelly and me with our band talk… Haha.. We went to eat at Raffles City and TPY Central cos Lee Ai Ting needed to get track pants there. After that, we slacked at TPY Entertainment McDonald’s until 11am, then I waited with Nat for the bus.. Poor girl, she’s going through such tough times, I only wish I could do more to help..

Anyway, I’m still very depressed after “drowning” in The Storm during Noah’s Ark… I can’t bear to hear myself when the recordings come out.. Sigh..
I dunno lah, during practice, that part was quite fine, it was only until the actual thing itself then I screwed up. Although my family and friends thought that I sounded fine, friends of friends were more direct. Anyway, there’s always the next concert in April, I suppose. I’m going to have to buck up. Which brings me to another piece of news, good or bad, you decide.

I sold my soul to the devil and joined SAJC band… I dunno why I joined, and why only now, but I just did lah. I missed being in a band. Philyouth doesn’t count, cos I only see them once a week, and up to now, I still do not know all the members. I am one of the few members that joined Philyouth independently, ie not with friends. Actually, I applied together with my friends lah, but they didn’t get in.

Anyway, apart from my own section, I haven’t really been talking to the other people, partially cos I rush home straight after practice. I know, I’m not generally anti-social, but sometimes I just get intimidated by large groups of people with something in common. It’s like a Catholic going to a Protestant church. Anyway, I don’t know many people in SA Band too, apart from James, my CLB classmate and Sijia from OCIP, who always dao me lah!! Oh well, I didn’t join with the sole purpose of making friends, I joined to play good music, or at least attempt to…. I only hope that joining SA band will improve myself in Philyouth as well. Damn malu lah, pass audition then cannot even play decently once I get in…

I seriously need a break.

A opinion on band.

I finally have time yet again to update! So many events have passed since the last time I blogged that I don’t feel like remembering what they were. So, I shall talk about yesterday.

Yesterday’s KI lesson was cancelled on short notice. Being the slacker I am, I did not use the time doing revision of any sort. Instead, I went back to Guangyang.

 

By now, the seniors have already stepped down and the juniors have joined the main band. Apparently they have some sort of NCO system in effect now, to pick out potential majors. Ahh…. What nostalgia. Seems to me like only yesterday when I was still around running things. Anyway, they’re still playing the same old songs! When I arrived, they were about to start on Sock Hop Tonight.

 

It was quite heartening to see my trombone section doing quite well. Jiong Jun, although appearing to be quite weary, was handling it all quite nicely. The juniors that joined after I left were surprising eager to learn. It was indeed a clear improvement over their predecessors. Anyway, they were starting to develop the bad habit of writing position numbers on their scores. The alarming thing was that a few of the numbers were wrong! My stand is that it’s fine to write numbers over certain passages that are hard, such as running notes or notes with accidentals. However, I cannot tolerate trombonists writing numbers over ALL the notes, and worse yet, the wrong numbers! The bad thing is that when inexperienced players pick up this habit, it will become a crutch for them and they are at the mercy of wrong numbers. I wish I could come back more often to train my beloved section, but I never do have the time. Anyway, it’s quite clear that in terms of music proficiency, the band is still stagnant.

 

My opinion: Instilling discipline in a band is alright. It’s very good in fact. But good discipline cannot be at the expense of musicality. It is quite unfortunate when we have plenty of capable leaders, but very few capable musicians. And although I’ve been in a military band for a couple of years, I will always love music more than drills, simply because I was in a BAND. I was not in NCC, or NPCC, I was in Braddell-Westlake Military Band. Discipline is not just about doing good drills or being able to work with each other in a group. The most important discipline is self-discipline. A musician must be responsible for himself before he can help others. When Mr. Glosz impressed onto us that concept during a Philyouth practice, I thought I understood what he meant. It means be responsible for yourself lah! Bring your scores and your pencils for practice, and practise your pieces at home! However, I realized it’s more than that. It means maintaining your passion for what you do. Practising your pieces and remembering to bring your scores and pencils is not enough. Anyone can train a monkey to do that. What matters most it how you, as a musician, are responsible for your own development. For me personally, this meant finding new ways of practicing warm-ups, or even finding new scores to practice with. I believe that variety is a key factor in maintaining passion. If you practice the same old pieces all the time, face it, anyone would get bored of them. However, throw a band a couple of new pieces, let them digest the music slowly, absorb the nutrients, and fully appreciate the music. I can still remember the very first song I played in Braddell-Westlake. Pop in the Spots. It was a Grade 3 song that the seniors were already playing. They really threw us into the deep end of the pool. I mean, the highest note was a high G! Thankfully it was a fairly enjoyable piece and I brought my trombone home and practiced every day. There was even a considerably long period of time where I was the only trombonist in the band. I certainly did not despair then. Without anyone to teach me new things, I turned to the then-OTJ Forum. I registered as a member, and nearly everything I know about trombone were learnt from this goldmine of resources.

 

Anyway, my point is, it doesn’t matter if someone is an excellent leader and is able to control his peers and juniors, when he has no passion for what he does. I’m not saying that instilling leadership is not important, but rather you need to have a passion for what you do, to set an example for others. For example, if you’re a senior, and you play damn well on tuba, your juniors will not think that tuba is such a sian instrument and might even be inspired to improve, perhaps even surpass you in technical ability. There is nothing more rewarding than when your junior becomes better than you. It shows that you have already taught him all you know, and he went on to learn further on his own. But it doesn’t stop there. You can practice and surpass him again easily, but it’s a viscious cycle when you two try to put and more effort to surpass each other. In the end everyone wins, cos both of you improved, and the band improved.

This is my hypothesis to explain why bands don’t improve musically even though there is ‘discipline’ in the band.

Anyway, when I went back, quite a few people said I look fatter. They are so blind… =P

John

 

One more thing..

I forgot to mention. I shaved my head today. Symbolic of a new beginning. Check it out. Laugh as much as you want, as long as I don’t see you doing it. =)

My dad was laughing the whole time lah.

The final product. I realised that my scalp has a lot of pockmarks, damn ugly, like got leprosy like that.

Oh well.