Aural Perceptions
I had two mock tests today, theory and aural. The theory test was pretty good~ Didnt quite expect it to be more challenging than usual but yeah it went VERY WELL :) I think i just have one wrong answer.. at least to my knowledge~ The aural test however wasn't so well. Especially the last part.. The aural test basically tests to see how well you can identify notes, intervals, different chord characteristics, and rhythm identification which i kinda suck badly at.. It's the only part of the test which i cant seem to grasp well.
Nevertheless, overall it was a VERY GOOD day :D Thank God for dat! This week saw me going back to the sax~ yeah after like 5 plus weeks of working on the clarinet, God's telling me dat i would just flop in the practical exam. The first hardest part of learning a new instrument would be to identify the different keys and register the coordination of the mind and fingers together. Thus, scales help in memorising the keys and sightreading too. When i first started out with the sax, it took me about like some months before i could grasp all the major, minor and chromatic scales in my head and play them by heart. And even then if i stopped practising them awhile, they would seem to leave me.
So, yeah given a few weeks with the clarinet alone.. i can say dat i still remember about 3 or 4 of the major scale fingerings by heart~ yeah.. it's even much more difficult with the clarinet because the fingerings tend to be confusing. On the sax, when you finger a low G (left index, middle finger and ring finger) and then press the octave key (thumb), you will get G one octave higher, i.e mid G. However, thigns get slightly more complicated on the clarinet depending on whether you're in the clarion(mid)or chalumeau(low) register. Just by pressing the octave key alone will not give you the same note an octave higher, but will give you a fifth up. I.e G fingering plus octave will give you D instead of G 8va.
On the clarinet, a low G is fingered with the all the fingers of the left and right hand (minus the little fingers; i.e similar to a D fingering on the sax) and to go up one octave you have to release ALL the fingers (similar to a C# fingering on sax) AND THEN, to go up yet another octave, you finger the same fingering for mid G on the sax. So yeah there u have it, 3 different fingerings for clarinet for teh same note at different octaves.
ANyway enough of technical stuff before i start boring ppl out. So yeah, last week when i spoke to my staff sergeant(staff), yeah dat's when i was advised to sign up as saxophonist instead, given the foundation i already had as one. Since then, i decided to go back to doing all the exams in saxophone; drill exam and practical exam. My staff wasnt too sure about it because there wasnt much time left. However, i felt it was better dat i switched back so dat i'll have a better chance of passing the practical exam. At least i can sight read AND be able to play the notes on my
sax.
So thank God for yesterday and today, i was practising the grade 8 piece i chose~ yeah grade 8.. HAHA! i must be mad but yeah anyway, it was a smooth time sightreading~ i've never sightread so well in my whole life! HAHA! I was kinda shocked at myself.. i seriously wondered where i got dat sudden ability to process the notes in my mind and fingers so fast a rate~ So dat must have been strength and focus from the Holy Spirit alone :D Normally, i'd get tired out easily while sightreading but i found myself going strong even after 3 or 4 hours of sightreading~ AMAZING!
I'm left with less than a week to practise all 3 pieces of music. i tried out the other 2 grade 5 pieces. Well, they were good too~ So i am confident dat this practical exam wouldnt be too bad at all~ Thank God :D
So, my training stint is finally coming to an end~ After almost 9 weeks.. Yeah :D it's like the duration of BMT but yeah never felt as long as dat! hahah! Throughout, God has taught me much. I've realised dat i can play many more instruments well and the only thing dat limits me is time factor and my own effort i put in. I also returned to my first love~ Musically, this meant dat i returned to saxophone. I was advised not to put aside sax and pursue clarinet. Dat could work out but it could double back fire on me as well. My staff was right when he said dat pursuing the clarinet without being dat proficient at the sax yet, could actually cause me to lose both. Both embouchures were pretty different as well which could hurt my sax tone. And then he also mentioned about percussion~
Dat is when i actually reconsidered reviving my drumming knowledge. After all, drums is the biggest foundation i have build up, bout 8 years~ And in very timely fashion, God allowed me to cross paths with a sister in Christ who has good potential in drums~ And i would teach her sometime soon~ So yeah, i decided to take occasional drum lessons if possible from brother Tan Boon~ After signing on in April, i can support my lessons' fees for drums and yeah can focus on the saxophone fully also. As for the clarinet, it doesnt mean i'd be stopping at it BUT, when i have achieved a high standard of saxophone, then i can delve into it again~ Meanwhile, i can play it for leisure~
So i wun be taking a $5000 loan for a clarinet anytime now haha! But yeah, i guess i would start investing in a proper drumset for which to practise on and to teach others too. i foresee dat after the CNY period, then i will get the drumkit~ My drumming has always reminded me of the parable of the servants with the talents. Whatever talent one has, if he doesnt sow it and put it to good use, even what he has will be taken away from him. And to him who has many talents, MORE will be added! And i've come to realise dat, i cannot NOT pursue my drums.
The fact is, i once wanted to pursue drums professionally. But dat time i didnt have parental support. So over the years, i lost dat goal, dat vision. And since i didnt have formal training in drums, i always had a mindset dat i learnt the wrong techniques blah blah blah which would hinder my growth in drums so why bother pursuing further study with it? But really, dat wasnt the case, but i just somehow wanted to get away from it being a 'distraction' to my saxophone. But no, now i see it as enhancing my musical knowledge and experience~ So once again i see it being revived and i've realised dat i should take my drumming to a higher level than before~
All in all, i gotta max my talent in whatever instrument i play because these are gifts from God to me. And i needa realise my full potential in them, to use them for the service of the Kingdom and to teach and impart to others what i have learnt~ Whether saxophone, clarinet, or drums :) My mum has granted me a loan, and even today, when dad fetched me home from camp, he even talked about sound proofing my room just so dat i can teach and practise in there! Wow, i tell you, SUPER BLESSED is the order of the day man!!~
How many parents would allow their child to sound proof their room??? Not to mention getting a drumset.. and saxophone.. yeah.. all of which amounts to thousands of $$$.
Indeed, when i start putting these talents to use, God will multiply them and add to them :D It's evident in my life :D
Nevertheless, overall it was a VERY GOOD day :D Thank God for dat! This week saw me going back to the sax~ yeah after like 5 plus weeks of working on the clarinet, God's telling me dat i would just flop in the practical exam. The first hardest part of learning a new instrument would be to identify the different keys and register the coordination of the mind and fingers together. Thus, scales help in memorising the keys and sightreading too. When i first started out with the sax, it took me about like some months before i could grasp all the major, minor and chromatic scales in my head and play them by heart. And even then if i stopped practising them awhile, they would seem to leave me.
So, yeah given a few weeks with the clarinet alone.. i can say dat i still remember about 3 or 4 of the major scale fingerings by heart~ yeah.. it's even much more difficult with the clarinet because the fingerings tend to be confusing. On the sax, when you finger a low G (left index, middle finger and ring finger) and then press the octave key (thumb), you will get G one octave higher, i.e mid G. However, thigns get slightly more complicated on the clarinet depending on whether you're in the clarion(mid)or chalumeau(low) register. Just by pressing the octave key alone will not give you the same note an octave higher, but will give you a fifth up. I.e G fingering plus octave will give you D instead of G 8va.
On the clarinet, a low G is fingered with the all the fingers of the left and right hand (minus the little fingers; i.e similar to a D fingering on the sax) and to go up one octave you have to release ALL the fingers (similar to a C# fingering on sax) AND THEN, to go up yet another octave, you finger the same fingering for mid G on the sax. So yeah there u have it, 3 different fingerings for clarinet for teh same note at different octaves.
ANyway enough of technical stuff before i start boring ppl out. So yeah, last week when i spoke to my staff sergeant(staff), yeah dat's when i was advised to sign up as saxophonist instead, given the foundation i already had as one. Since then, i decided to go back to doing all the exams in saxophone; drill exam and practical exam. My staff wasnt too sure about it because there wasnt much time left. However, i felt it was better dat i switched back so dat i'll have a better chance of passing the practical exam. At least i can sight read AND be able to play the notes on my
sax.
So thank God for yesterday and today, i was practising the grade 8 piece i chose~ yeah grade 8.. HAHA! i must be mad but yeah anyway, it was a smooth time sightreading~ i've never sightread so well in my whole life! HAHA! I was kinda shocked at myself.. i seriously wondered where i got dat sudden ability to process the notes in my mind and fingers so fast a rate~ So dat must have been strength and focus from the Holy Spirit alone :D Normally, i'd get tired out easily while sightreading but i found myself going strong even after 3 or 4 hours of sightreading~ AMAZING!
I'm left with less than a week to practise all 3 pieces of music. i tried out the other 2 grade 5 pieces. Well, they were good too~ So i am confident dat this practical exam wouldnt be too bad at all~ Thank God :D
So, my training stint is finally coming to an end~ After almost 9 weeks.. Yeah :D it's like the duration of BMT but yeah never felt as long as dat! hahah! Throughout, God has taught me much. I've realised dat i can play many more instruments well and the only thing dat limits me is time factor and my own effort i put in. I also returned to my first love~ Musically, this meant dat i returned to saxophone. I was advised not to put aside sax and pursue clarinet. Dat could work out but it could double back fire on me as well. My staff was right when he said dat pursuing the clarinet without being dat proficient at the sax yet, could actually cause me to lose both. Both embouchures were pretty different as well which could hurt my sax tone. And then he also mentioned about percussion~
Dat is when i actually reconsidered reviving my drumming knowledge. After all, drums is the biggest foundation i have build up, bout 8 years~ And in very timely fashion, God allowed me to cross paths with a sister in Christ who has good potential in drums~ And i would teach her sometime soon~ So yeah, i decided to take occasional drum lessons if possible from brother Tan Boon~ After signing on in April, i can support my lessons' fees for drums and yeah can focus on the saxophone fully also. As for the clarinet, it doesnt mean i'd be stopping at it BUT, when i have achieved a high standard of saxophone, then i can delve into it again~ Meanwhile, i can play it for leisure~
So i wun be taking a $5000 loan for a clarinet anytime now haha! But yeah, i guess i would start investing in a proper drumset for which to practise on and to teach others too. i foresee dat after the CNY period, then i will get the drumkit~ My drumming has always reminded me of the parable of the servants with the talents. Whatever talent one has, if he doesnt sow it and put it to good use, even what he has will be taken away from him. And to him who has many talents, MORE will be added! And i've come to realise dat, i cannot NOT pursue my drums.
The fact is, i once wanted to pursue drums professionally. But dat time i didnt have parental support. So over the years, i lost dat goal, dat vision. And since i didnt have formal training in drums, i always had a mindset dat i learnt the wrong techniques blah blah blah which would hinder my growth in drums so why bother pursuing further study with it? But really, dat wasnt the case, but i just somehow wanted to get away from it being a 'distraction' to my saxophone. But no, now i see it as enhancing my musical knowledge and experience~ So once again i see it being revived and i've realised dat i should take my drumming to a higher level than before~
All in all, i gotta max my talent in whatever instrument i play because these are gifts from God to me. And i needa realise my full potential in them, to use them for the service of the Kingdom and to teach and impart to others what i have learnt~ Whether saxophone, clarinet, or drums :) My mum has granted me a loan, and even today, when dad fetched me home from camp, he even talked about sound proofing my room just so dat i can teach and practise in there! Wow, i tell you, SUPER BLESSED is the order of the day man!!~
How many parents would allow their child to sound proof their room??? Not to mention getting a drumset.. and saxophone.. yeah.. all of which amounts to thousands of $$$.
Indeed, when i start putting these talents to use, God will multiply them and add to them :D It's evident in my life :D
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