Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Pitch/Melody & Graduation Performance Rehearsals
First things first.
Here's the part about the timbre/texture/rhythm/pitch of my favourite song - well actually I don't have a favourite song (listen to many genres) - so I'll just pick Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" (which was my party piece too). 1. Timbre - this song is mainly vocal and piano (accompanied by drums); and the tone is bright and optimistic. 2. Texture - the piece is homophonic (like many other pieces), consisting of a vocal melody and a piano accompaniment. 3. Rhythm - the song is upbeat and determined in feeling, largely due to its interesting "broken-up" rhythm. 4. Pitch - the vocal range of this song is medium. Considering it to be sung by a female, it is of relatively low pitch (for a female).
OK, it's Week 6 now - we've effectively got THREE weeks to brush up our performance pieces for the graduating students' big Graduation Day. And it's gonna be graded. The pressure is ON...
Just a bit about last week's pitch/melody group improvisation exercises - I guess the standard went down quite a bit compared to the previous weeks' performances - everyone was lethargic at the thought of performing unconventional music and also because we found it rather monotonous to isolate each single element of music. As for my choice of performance grouping, I've been trying to work with different groups for each exercise to better facilitate bonding and understanding of my DMAT coursemates.
I've involved in 4 groups for graduation performance - out of which only 1 group (the a capella one) has not had rehearsals planned so far. I don't even know whether they're going ahead with "it". Last Saturday I had rehearsals for the songs At The Beginning and Xi Shui Chang Liu (Still Water Runs Deep) from morning to late afternoon. On Sunday it was the Final Fantasy song "Theme of Love" (from afternoon to late evening). This coming Wednesday afternoon I'm doing the same pieces mentioned for Saturday. And for Friday morning I've to begin with a third group (If We Hold On Together). Well, I hope we really do HOLD ON TOGETHER throughout these tiring, trying times. I know I'm throwing myself into a pot of hot soup by joining four groups, but I want to score well for Performance, so - there you go.
Will be blogging more about rehearsals in my future posts. About my own personal practice, I have been trying to fit in time to practise several piano pieces and of course, my scales. But do already take note that I spend THREE hours everyday travelling to and from school - not to mention the endless rehearsals, the trivial but compulsory events like the AIDS Talk, CIP of 7 hours to be completed, and my CCA to cope with. The class is draining out of energy. PLEASE - we need adequate rest. People are falling sick and the enthusiasm's almost gone in everyone. We can see it every day in people's faces. WE NEED A TIME-OUT.
10:08 am *
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Pitch/Melody & Graduation Performance Rehearsals
First things first.
Here's the part about the timbre/texture/rhythm/pitch of my favourite song - well actually I don't have a favourite song (listen to many genres) - so I'll just pick Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" (which was my party piece too). 1. Timbre - this song is mainly vocal and piano (accompanied by drums); and the tone is bright and optimistic. 2. Texture - the piece is homophonic (like many other pieces), consisting of a vocal melody and a piano accompaniment. 3. Rhythm - the song is upbeat and determined in feeling, largely due to its interesting "broken-up" rhythm. 4. Pitch - the vocal range of this song is medium. Considering it to be sung by a female, it is of relatively low pitch (for a female).
OK, it's Week 6 now - we've effectively got THREE weeks to brush up our performance pieces for the graduating students' big Graduation Day. And it's gonna be graded. The pressure is ON...
Just a bit about last week's pitch/melody group improvisation exercises - I guess the standard went down quite a bit compared to the previous weeks' performances - everyone was lethargic at the thought of performing unconventional music and also because we found it rather monotonous to isolate each single element of music. As for my choice of performance grouping, I've been trying to work with different groups for each exercise to better facilitate bonding and understanding of my DMAT coursemates.
I've involved in 4 groups for graduation performance - out of which only 1 group (the a capella one) has not had rehearsals planned so far. I don't even know whether they're going ahead with "it". Last Saturday I had rehearsals for the songs At The Beginning and Xi Shui Chang Liu (Still Water Runs Deep) from morning to late afternoon. On Sunday it was the Final Fantasy song "Theme of Love" (from afternoon to late evening). This coming Wednesday afternoon I'm doing the same pieces mentioned for Saturday. And for Friday morning I've to begin with a third group (If We Hold On Together). Well, I hope we really do HOLD ON TOGETHER throughout these tiring, trying times. I know I'm throwing myself into a pot of hot soup by joining four groups, but I want to score well for Performance, so - there you go.
Will be blogging more about rehearsals in my future posts. About my own personal practice, I have been trying to fit in time to practise several piano pieces and of course, my scales. But do already take note that I spend THREE hours everyday travelling to and from school - not to mention the endless rehearsals, the trivial but compulsory events like the AIDS Talk, CIP of 7 hours to be completed, and my CCA to cope with. The class is draining out of energy. PLEASE - we need adequate rest. People are falling sick and the enthusiasm's almost gone in everyone. We can see it every day in people's faces. WE NEED A TIME-OUT.
10:08 am *
- 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".
