The Last 36 Hours

The last 36 hours has been emotionally draining. I’ve had about 5 hours of sleep in total and gone through an array of emotions. I’m pretty tired now... :)

Week Seven - The Test

This week we were asked to prepare compositions for performance and recording.

We had 2 hours to get through 4 compositions. This worked out to be about 20 minutes for each composer to work with the musicians. This includes rehearsal time (the musicians are sight reading the pieces – amazing!), performance and recording.

I prepared a piece for an ensemble consisting of a flute, violin and cello. This week we were moved into a recital hall *gulp* (to get better acoustics for recording I think….). Sadly, because of this change in venue, there seemed to be a bit of a mix up and not all the musicians found their way to the venue. Sadly for me, the flautist, violinist and cellist were the ones who did not find their way there.

So there I was in the middle of a grand recital hall scrambling like anything trying to re-arrange my piece for a bassoon, marimba and piano.

My classmates were very gracious and let me go last but I found myself getting pretty nervous as the night wore on. By the time it was my turn to step onto the performance forestage, I was trembling. The experience of working with live musicians and having them play your creation and gauging their plus everyone else’s reaction is completely and overwhelmingly daunting. It was very scary. But I loved it. It felt like falling and soaring all in the same instance.

When the bassoonist came up to me and asked me whether I’d like her part to be played slurred or tongued, I was pretty much dying. (Note:- Differences in articulation produce different effects. For example, legato playing produced by slurring sounds much smoother than the short, staccato effect produced by tonguing.)

As daunting as the experience was, it is one I dearly cherish. The musicians are currently studying year 12 at the Conservatorium High School. They are masters of their instruments but at the same time they are really just kids who love playing music. They are quick-witted, daring, honest and generous at heart. I know one of them wants to study composition in Paris and another wants to study voice in New York. As I stood back and listened to them play my piece, I found myself smiling. At the end of the night, I went up to them and thanked them. I wanted them to know I will remember them for always.

The original concept I had in mind for my composition was 2 instruments (the flute and the violin) having a conversation under the moonlight. But I think I’ll talk more about my composition next week when we are given our recordings. I hope to find a way to upload, at the very least, an excerpt of it on my website (yes, despite my misfortune, I will keep to my promise. I always do.).

‘Please stand by.’

Dedication

I haven't written many dedicatons. I can probably count how many on one hand, probably less.

Tonight as I was walking home from class I hummed a tune... I call it the Moon Theme.

When I was a little girl, I was once challenged to bring down the moon. I looked for the tallest tree in the park we were standing in and climbed it with a flask of water. Upon reaching the tallest (and most safe) branch, I poured the water out onto the lid of the flask and caught the reflection of the moon in it.

From that moment, a special bond was formed between me and the person who gave me this challenge. We weren't the closest friends but we had a special connection. With our common love for soccer (err... the real football), we referred ourselves as the formidable duo. At that time, we liked to play right up the front... with plentiful scoring opportunities, this creative partnership delivered :) We even had our own secret codes so as to know how to play with the opposing team during a game or how to let the kids who would join us in the park during practice score a goal without it looking painstakingly obvious that we let them.

Tragically, a few years ago this friend passed away. She was suffering from depression. Her funeral was held on my birthday and for this reason I wasn't allowed to attend. I thought I'd be really upset but strangely, for me it was ok. I am not one for goodbyes.

Still, on most nights I look for the moon.

Week Six - Conservatorium High School

We had special guests attend tonight's class. Students from the Conservatorium High School. A percussionist, bassoonist, flautist/piccalo player, violinist, cellist. The room was filled with such talent!

They spent some time explaining to us their instrument, its range, its techniques. Their passion for their instrument was overflowing. Their skill for their instrument was simply amazing.

Next week we submit pieces for these young musicians to play and to record. I promise to load mine up no matter what it sounds like ;)

We also spent some time on the Sibelius computer program - a program which assists with score composition (Thank goodness I finally learnt how to pronounce it... until now the lure to call the program 'sipholis' has been way too enticing, a reference I don't think the program creater would appreciate :(..). I think at some stage I'm going to have to give this program a go.

One of my dear friends gave me a gift this weekend. She gave me a watch. Most of my friends will know that I don't wear a watch because it scratches my piano... but this watch is rather special. It's an ironman watch and it's pink! I wear it whenever I can. I love it. We've even synched the watches with each other. I think I will give her a call tomorrow morning at 11.14 58s :)

Finally, I think I wrote in an earlier blog that I love being able to carry a musical instrument about. Revelation. Not a violin case on the train during peak hour.

My $30 Violin and a Tale of a Yellow Rose

I love my violin. It's very precious to me. My parents bought it for me at a second-hand auction. It costed $30.

I grew up in a household that wasn't too well off but wouldn't be what you'd consider poor. By the time my younger sister and brother came along, we were doing ok. But the memories of my parents juggling numerous jobs around the clock, my dad's coughing from waking up very early in the morning, hand-sewn or knitted (very special) clothes, an old black and white TV... they stick with me even til now. Despite this, my parents found a way to give me everything and I am always so grateful for whatever my parents give me. I am thankful for everything.... It's always a bonus.

My mother is beautiful – I say that literally and in all its other meanings. My mum modelled in her younger years and I have memories of my sister and I growing up flicking through albums of modelling photos of my mum in admiration. Actually we still look at them and smile... My mother is also very friendly. She speaks to all my friends. Sometimes it makes me smile. At other times, I cringe.

My dad is very proper. Should we get to the dinner table late, he becomes a very unhappy man. He’s very quiet but he does so much for the family and those close to him will know that he has quite a sense of humour. If you don’t know him though, you’d be afraid of him. Many of my friends are quite scared of him. Personally, I think he likes to keep up this reputation :)

When I was younger, I often wondered how my mum and dad came together. They seem so different. My mum has never really explained it to me but I don’t think these things are really things you share with your kids. What my mum has told me is that my dad is a good man. He never did anything particularly romantic or sentimental but once upon a time he did give her rose – it was a yellow rose and she remembers it til today.

Theme & Counterpoint

The theme to a piece of music is its primary melody. Throughout that piece, the theme may be varied or altered but ultimately it’s those few bars that you can consistently hear and recognise. Counterpoint is a technique where two or more melodies are combined to form a harmonic relationship whilst retaining the individuality of each melody. I like to think of it as a conversation between melodies.

I find composing themes quite easy. I must admit my themes are usually quite simple and easy on the ear – quintessentially obvious and simple… but hey, they’re still my creations :) It’s the rest of the composition I struggle with.

Recently I’ve caught a couple of films – from Hollywood blockbusters to screenings at the French Film Festival – and I’ve found myself listening to the music that is played against the moving pictures. A guy running downstairs to a solo viola piece, the contrast of two protagonists depicted in the sounds of a cello against an electric guitar.

In the latest Pride and Prejudice film, Elizabeth’s theme is dignified but emotionally fragile. Mr Darcy’s theme is a bittersweet understatement.

This week I’ve tried to compose counterpoint myself – a melody of a piano interwoven with a melody of a violin. I don’t think it really worked so I’m going to have work on it some more.

Favourite Study Places

with friends...

• in Korean cafes in Strathfield with large-size rectangle tables, sofa-like seats (with cushions!) and friendly waiters – whilst drinking strange drinks out of big mugs and ordering lots of snacks. Along with textbooks, notepads, manuscript paper, pens and pencils… the table is covered with a colourful assortment of healthy (not) snacks

• in my apartment against a background of classical music (note to self: don’t play meditation music – puts everyone to sleep) though half the time I have my earplugs on. The earplugs are connected to my digital piano.

• in friends’ apartments and forcing (*ahem*.. politely asking) them to cook for me.

by myself…

• at my piano

• on my balcony

• under a big, friendly tree in a local park (though often I stray to puzzles, reading or drawing.. ok I’m going to stop cos I’m starting to sound like a nerd :(…).

The Performing Arts Unit Symphony Orchestra

Tonight I was so privileged to sit in on a live recording of the Performing Arts Unit Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra is made up of the most musically talented high school students across Sydney.

It was a full size orchestra and it was nothing short of mind-blowing.

In the space of 2.5 hours, the students practised, performed and recorded to an orchestral piece written by my tutor. The last 16 bars of Theme Four were so musical, I could not find the tears.

As I was sitting in the control room and looking out to this sea of youthful talent, I hoped and prayed they would know how inspiring they are to this grown up sitting on the other side of the glass pane.

It’s one of those nights in your life that you know you will remember always.

Week Five - My Rock Beat

Guitars and Drums.

I found this lesson the hardest so far. Let’s get some basics out of the way first :)

Guitars mostly have 6 strings made of either nylon or steel. This is not set in stone. Some guitars have 12 strings where there are 2 strings tuned to each note. Guitars can be played with a plectrum (pick) or with fingers. They can be strummed or plucked and they can be notated with TAB (one line for each string), treble clef or with chords. I personally love the sound of a guitar being plucked. It’s very musical.

A standard drum kit will consist of a snare drum, bass drum, 3 tom-tomes, hi-hats and 2 cymbals (ride and crash.. yes that’s what they’re called!). The ride cymbal is most often used in jazz music where the crash cymbol is most often used in rock/pop music. One can also use different sticks to create different effects on the drums e.g. brushes are used frequently in jazz music.

This week we had to write a rock beat. I found this incredibly difficult, as in I had no idea…. Then we had to write a 12 bar chord progression with a beat… I felt a bit better after that.

I think I got there in the end.

My Musical Community

I live in an apartment block and I think I am surrounded by musicians. On the weekends, I wake up to a sad oboe being played. I hear a flute and an organ and luscious recordings of classical music. There's a pianist somewhere as well playing Beethoven's beautiful sonatas. If we were living on Broadway or in a Hollywood movie, our melodies would magically weave together to form a most beautiful ensemble piece - of course none of us would need to leave our separate apartments in achieving this... Sadly, the truth is we're all practising like crazy so were not really at that stage yet ;)

But I am happy to be part of this community.

I really like my tutor

She’s very sweet and she really does care that we learn.

Here’s a few other things I like about her:

• She plays the viola

• She plays other instruments even though she’s not trained in them and she’s not embarrassed to play in front of us.

• She’s likened composing orchestral music to painting. An artist never just uses one shade of red. There are many shares of red in a picture. I completely understand.

• She is a film composer and she sits in front of orchestras giving directions on her pieces. Amazing.

• She is an incredibly kind and patient soul. She includes everyone in the class, always

• She is a mother.

I really like my tutor.

Week Four - Percussion

Since changing our classroom to the keyboard lab, I’ve had to rely on the sounds of the gamelan to find my way to the new classroom.

The gamelan is the indigenous percussion orchestra of Java and Bali. I told a friend [waves frantically at that friend from this side of the laptop] that its sounds fall somewhere between the light rain falling on rooftop and the smile of a sun…. So you can imagine how much I have been waiting for this lesson on percussions :)

Ironically for this lesson we moved classrooms again and had it in a grand room filled with percussion instruments…. It was awesome! The feeling was like a kid standing in a toy store.

There were so many percussion instruments. I’m not sure there is one in particular I could speak about but after listening to a number of excerpts of different percussion instruments, it was our turn to compose a melody using any percussion instrument in the room. I chose the vibraphone which is like a xylophone but has a whirl to it because it is run by a motor.

I really enjoyed composing on it. I think the tone of this instrument lends itself to a particular tune and I found composing a melody for it very easy.

It’s no secret that I’ve been pretty worried about this course. Originally there were 8 students in the class and today there were only 4 of us. Honestly, the class is demanding and very hard. The pace is fast and there’s quite a bit of homework and additional reading to do. Still, it’s moments of finding things simple and unexpected rewards that catch me by surprise… and I remember why I’m so lucky to be here.

I love my class. I love it dearly.

Oh – and my teacher paid me a compliment today :)

A Bad Student

OK… We’re coming up to mid-term and I’ve had a revelation. I’m a very bad student. I haven’t been completing all my homework and have hardly been preparing for class…. When I do pluck up the courage to attempt some homework, I end up mucking around on my piano instead.

I have this program called Sibelius. It’s an excellent program, I hear. You can program full orchestral pieces into it and have it play it back. To be honest, I haven’t really given it a go… I don’t know. The thought of composing on the computer…. well, it kind of takes away the romantic notion of composing….

I prefer using pencil and manuscript paper.

Week Three - The Week of Woodwinds

Sergei Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ is a children’s story which showcases the family of woodwinds beautifully. In this composition (which consists of both music and text), the bird is represented by the flute, the duck the oboe, the cat the clarinet and the Grandfather is the bassoon.

The family of woodwinds, I feel, is a very versatile family. I liken them to the reliable family member of any family. Flutes, Oboes, Bassoons, Clarinet in Bb and Saxophones. They play solo passages, provide harmonic background for the strings, provide contrasting colour and can even double other instruments.

This week was pretty cool. During class, we had to write a 12 bar melody for the flute and it just so happened that one of my classmates is a flautist. So when the time came to review what we had written, my flautist classmate actually played my piece. It was the first time ever that I had heard a piece I’d written played by someone other than myself. I told my tutor this and she commented with a smile “It’s like a world debut.”

I know it was said as a little joke but still, I smiled.

I also learnt the importance of adding phrasing and expression marks in a composition. Prior to my classmate playing my piece, my tutor asked me to play it on the keyboard. And I did, adding in arpeggios in the left hand, con sentimen’to. Because I had written the piece, I knew exactly how I wanted it to be played but because I didn’t have time to write in any phrasing or expression marks, my flautist classmate played it note by note, exactly as written. No ‘sentimen’to’.

Still, I was pretty amazed. It was a world debut... even if it was just a mini one.. :)

I've realised

Composers… tend to be sensitive souls. They can be easily hurt.

Actually, I think that goes for all artists. Whether it’s a piece of music, artwork, dance… every time you show your work, you are putting yourself out there. Whether it’s to a kindred soul or an audience that fills Carnegie Hall, the feeling is if you are baring your soul to the world. It makes you feel exposed.

So much of a composer can be found in her songs.

On the Other Side of Sorrow...

Come fly with me (cos)
On the edge of the heavens, a star shines bright
Come fly with me (cos)
On the other side of the shore, a star shines bright
And through this lonely night,
A violin will yearn
Then pages will turn
And I remain here, holding your hand tight

Even through tears, I still see you
And though on this side of the gate
I know….
On the other side of sorrow
A smile awaits

Words & Music by Elaine Leong