shades of grey.

after reading a few other syf guitar participant's blogs, well i'm glad to say that the guitar scene in singapore is really picking up.

the spirit of music is there, (most) groups still keep the spirit up despite not meeting their expectations at the syf.

not to mention some groups that get gold with honours get to present themselves to the school during assembly (so cool), and are putting unnecessary pressure on other musical groups that are competing at a later date (haha mx and yd, dont so stress lah)

well and as for me, although i'm officially exempted from guitar practices for, well, forever.. the guitar ensemble will always be an integral part of my life (1.. 2.. 3.. awww) and ms ng is still chasing me for the cheque lol. perhaps i might come back and play a bit and do stuff with the guit orch, and also do stuff with mr choo's schools thats for sure.

it's kind of like my mode for expression. i've composed for piano, small chamber groups but really, i feel the greatest sense of achievement when i arrange something for guitar ensemble, regardless of whether people like or can play my arrangements or not. i can see the results the most immediately, and i can use my imagination to the max. but getting the imagined result is a different story of course. sometimes sibelius plays better than the real thing.

and the gavotta, 3rd movement of classical symphony is almost done. and for the first time, almost complete with fingering haha. let's see how far it can go.

and mann.. my standard of english is really dropping. relying too much on spell check already.

posted by guitar123 @ 8:49 PM 0 comments

Guitar SYF 2007

hey all.

so, it's finally over.

and yes my final few words to them is so true..

'you all were retards, are retards, and will be retards forever.'

but for those 10 or so minutes we were on stage (and a few rare moments during ALL the practice sessions we had), we put our retardedness on hold.

really, as i said, we don't deserve our award. it is probably by God's grace that i can leave the guitar orch with something sweet. God answered my prayer through all those tuesdays and thursdays that i was feeling so, so down, just praying that something good would come out of all my commitment.

but more importantly, i think those in the senior comm and a few other committed members of our orch deserved it. thx y'all.

but moreover, there are other things that are worth talking about.

1) choreography should be banned, really. i have ABSOLUTELY ENOUGH of fake smiles, head jerks that imitate flamenco dancers, hands that follow through when you pluck the string as if you're hitting a tennis ball with ur nail, and coordinated bobbing, and coordinated swaying, and who knows what. it's highly unethical, in my opinion. if you want to move to express yourself, do it naturally.

2) having a guitarist on the panel makes such a difference lol. this morning there were 4 gwh out of 20, and 5 out of 14 for jc cad. even though i didnt hear him say any words, or talk to him, i just get this feeling that he's a really nice guy. lololol.




3) hey junior orch, don't be so disappointed. you all did your best and i heard that today's performance was one of the better ones. and that's all that really matters. the judge's opinion is a poor measure of the amount of effort you all put in, and this goes for all the other sch's that are disappointed. really, you all are more disciplined, and i think you all sacrificed more time and effort for the competition than your senior group, so well done. thanks for playing my arrangement of prelude in gm well.

4) hey dun hao, it was really nice seeing you playing today with vjc, as the concert master, and b minor concerto soloist; you played real well. don't be disappointed with ur award okay? you did ur best and you know it. i could really see you all moving NATURALLY to brazillian street dance, and i think you all were really enjoying urselves. it doesnt matter if the judges think you all our not as good as other schools. ur ensemble spirit really showed through at the end, when you all gave that loud cheer despite ur disappointment. and that's all that matters.

5) also saw old guitar friends carl who's in acjc and joshua paundra who's in sajc now. haha take care y'all.

6) finally, i cannot help feeling extremely overjoyed for my guitar teacher, mr terence choo. his 3 schools were once left in a poor state by their previous conductors. but, today, all 3 schools received gold with honours. and mind you, st anthony's cannosian, acjc, and tpjc are the only 3 schools mr choo takes. that makes a clean sweep haha. i know how much mr choo worked for this syf, and how much effort he put into cultivating his students. he makes the effort to make sure everyone plays properly, no one finger antics or poor technique whatsoever. during the march hols, when i went to judge a mini competition he held, i just knew that we were no match for st anthony's cannosian. and indeed they've proven themselves. i'm really really glad that the judges looked beyond the fact that acjc were playing simpler pieces and didnt use percussion, but rather saw the extent of their neatness and expression. and they really do deserve their gwh, all 3 schs. even though they were competing against each other, at the end i noticed tpjc cheering for acjc. i will never forget the spirit of music mr choo carries, and creates. i'm sure mr choo isn't paid as highly as a lot of his peers, nor does he enjoy the normal type of life a doctor or lawyer or any other professional enjoys, but i'm sure on days like this, it's all worth it. congrats sir.

7) to all the philharmonic people, haha dont be too pressured k? ms ng told us that we were not supposed to let the news get out so quickly, later u all become very stressed. but somehow you all found out even before the senior admin. don't worry about the results, just play ur best. all the best for tml!!

posted by guitar123 @ 8:02 PM 0 comments

finally, a post not about guitar

posted by guitar123 @ 5:49 PM 0 comments

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

today justin was telling me about how frustrating to try to communicate a point across to a group of people who're not willing to listen.. or worse make noise or even talk back to you.

i've reached a point where i have truly nothing to say.

well i was just playing through the compo/arrangement i made for mr choo last year, it's a theme and variations on As The Deer, and it starts off with the theme, then 1st variation with quavers and 2nd variation with semiquavers, and 3rd variation with a slightly whimsical mood. but in the 4th variation it goes into a minor key, and its definitely one of the darkest parts of music i've composed. then its back to the theme and a coda that ends magically with harmonics.

i guess i'm still waiting for the revert to the theme, and the magical coda. the reason i'm still hanging on is because there are people who i dont want to let down.. the senior com, and those who truly want to contribute to the cca. and of course ms ng, mr gaspar, mr balraj.


anyways.

i was thinking.. the group who truly wins the syf is the group that shouts and cheers the loudest when their results are announced, regardless of the award. we'll see. lol.

posted by guitar123 @ 8:52 PM 0 comments

so.

SYF is in 1 wk. i just really cannot wait for it to be over. then can go home on time on tues and thurs :P

posted by guitar123 @ 9:03 PM 0 comments

haha this is truly amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMZn7qKKQR0
heres the first link, everything else you need to see is linked on the right hand side column. to the person who posted this, thanks, you made my day :)

sometimes i really wonder what the point of all these worldly pursuits are. so much feelings involved.. and even if i revealed them all no one would really understand. maybe i just think too much.

but really.. correct me if i'm wrong.. music competitions/assignments should really be judged based on the amount of effort put in, and attitude towards the task. but of course thats seldom the case.

some pics to go, courtesy of weihan. thx :)




anyway, at the end of the day, i think one of the things i really will take away from all these experiences are the friends made. and the character moulded out of it.

and even though we couldnt watch each other's concerts (haha now you can watch mine now, at least bits of it), somehow i just get this feeling that the struggles we encounter with working with our music groups are so similar. well then all the best for ur push to syf. do ur best k? i'll do mine too.

posted by guitar123 @ 9:13 PM 0 comments