Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Rhythm
Notable songs I have listened to during Week 3: F.I.R.'s "Lydia" and Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing At All". The tunes of these two songs stuck in my head. They had simple tunes - which probably proved that sometimes the simplest tunes are the ones that making the longest-lasting impression. I liked the clash of Eastern and Western instruments in "When You Say Nothing At All" and the free improvisation part in "Lydia".
For this week, we focused on Rhythm, which was something that was essential for all good performers, an ability that many have yet to perfect. My performance group (with me on the harmonica) did not make much progress in the first rehearsal (because of disorganisation and time constraints). We did not have a wide range of instruments as well - four recorders, two harmonicas, a pianica, a small Chinese drum and some jingly bells made up the ensemble.
The lecturer from the room directly below us complained about the noise we made during our performances (e.g. banging of metal pipes on the ground), so we had to put Plan B into action. Thus, we ended up in the pungent-smelling Visual Effects Room where my group went first. The rhythmic pattern of our piece was quite monotonous as we realised later - but I felt that this was not because we had not improvised enough, but because of the clash of the timbres which the instruments made. For example, the recorders, no many how complex the improvisation, all produced roughly the same sound (though they were on different pitches) - resulting in a garble of tones. Later the class (or rather the whole course - there's only 43 of us) was astounded by Puay Chin's rendition of "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" on the chinese Zhong Ruan.
As for the piano piece I'm currently practising - it's Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu. Have to get used to my strained left hand because it was formerly not used to so much turns and movements (I learned music the organ way - left hand played triads/chords). I've only gone as far as half of the first page. Another thing that's troubling is that I've no piano to practice it on - only my electone organ - so I've to make do with two layers of keyboards for each hand (very uncomfortable considering that it's a piano piece with a wide range of notes that I'm playing).
12:33 pm *
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Rhythm
Notable songs I have listened to during Week 3: F.I.R.'s "Lydia" and Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing At All". The tunes of these two songs stuck in my head. They had simple tunes - which probably proved that sometimes the simplest tunes are the ones that making the longest-lasting impression. I liked the clash of Eastern and Western instruments in "When You Say Nothing At All" and the free improvisation part in "Lydia".
For this week, we focused on Rhythm, which was something that was essential for all good performers, an ability that many have yet to perfect. My performance group (with me on the harmonica) did not make much progress in the first rehearsal (because of disorganisation and time constraints). We did not have a wide range of instruments as well - four recorders, two harmonicas, a pianica, a small Chinese drum and some jingly bells made up the ensemble.
The lecturer from the room directly below us complained about the noise we made during our performances (e.g. banging of metal pipes on the ground), so we had to put Plan B into action. Thus, we ended up in the pungent-smelling Visual Effects Room where my group went first. The rhythmic pattern of our piece was quite monotonous as we realised later - but I felt that this was not because we had not improvised enough, but because of the clash of the timbres which the instruments made. For example, the recorders, no many how complex the improvisation, all produced roughly the same sound (though they were on different pitches) - resulting in a garble of tones. Later the class (or rather the whole course - there's only 43 of us) was astounded by Puay Chin's rendition of "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" on the chinese Zhong Ruan.
As for the piano piece I'm currently practising - it's Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu. Have to get used to my strained left hand because it was formerly not used to so much turns and movements (I learned music the organ way - left hand played triads/chords). I've only gone as far as half of the first page. Another thing that's troubling is that I've no piano to practice it on - only my electone organ - so I've to make do with two layers of keyboards for each hand (very uncomfortable considering that it's a piano piece with a wide range of notes that I'm playing).
12:33 pm *
- Name: niwdehot
- Location: Singapore
Music has always been an integral part of Edwin’s life since the tender age of 4. The top graduate from the pioneer batch of the Diploma in Music & Audio Technology (Singapore Polytechnic), Edwin achieved the Media Development Authority Gold Medal (Course Medal) & DBS Bank Award.
An avid performer, Edwin plays at corporate and private functions, cafes, weddings, musicals, and community and charity events throughout the year. In Singapore Polytechnic’s “Superstar: The Pop Musical” (2006), he took on multiple roles of Cast Member (Chorus), Rehearsal Pianist and Baritone Section Leader. Edwin was also the second keyboardist in the incidental music band of Young NTUC’s May Day 2007 musical, “A Labour of Love”. He has appeared regularly at music festivals (Singapore Street Festival 2009, MoonFest @ Esplanade 2009) and charity events (Charity Fiesta 2006 @ South West, Music For Hope 2008, Blackout @ Emily 2009).
His artistic passion continues to grow, as does his hope to inspire others through his expressive music.
View my complete profile
My Goals:
-Long Term: To become well-trained in all aspects of music
-Medium Term: To improve my sight-reading and keyboard skills to another level
-Short Term: To brush up on my basic music theory after stopping for 5 years+
Special Skill Set:
Improvisation, Playing-by-ear
Repertoire includes (to be updated):
*Pending (practice in progress)
Electone Organ pieces:
Piano pieces:
Piano/choral arrangements:
(They Long To Be) Close To You - Burt Bacharach
Walk On A Rainbow Trail - Berta & Sonja Poorman
Laudate Dominum - Sherri Porterfield
When You Believe - Stephen Schwartz
*Joyful, Joyful - Beethoven (arr. Mervyn Warren)
*Because He Lives - Sally DeFord
Original compositions:
Vivid Dreams (theme: hope)
And any other tune/piece that I know well (play-by-ear)...
This performance journal was created as part of an ongoing assignment of the DMAT module "Performance".
