Tag Archives: music

You Were There

This is the current hit song in my choir (SMU Chamber Choir).

You Were There by Libera.

I hope I’m not the only person that thinks the video is cheese sandwich. I mean, ugh. It’s like somebody just took their pictures and tinkered around with iMovie or the likes (Windows Movie Maker? Eeks).

But it IS a really beautiful song, kudos to Takatsugu Muramatsu. I just think that the song (at least in the mp3 I got) got too much enhancement, echo and stuff, that it lost some of its magic. Also, the strings. Ugh, the strings. The piano was fine, but the strings was downright “ordinary” for the amazing song.

By the way, this song is actually a soundtrack of a Japanese movie called “Dare mo mamotte kurenai” which seems to be a very interesting movie. This is the plot summary (from Eigapedia)

When the older brother of junior high school student Saori is arrested for murder she is separated from her family for her own protection. She ends up living with a police detective named Katsuura and his family. Katsuura has to get information from her without making her already-troubled mental state any worse.

Can’t seem to find the trailer with English subtitles, but I think the movie (trailer) is powerful enough without subtitles.


Intriguing, eh? I wonder where can I watch this movie…

Btw I found another video.. I believe this was the opening of the movie?

BTW, I totally have a crush on You Were There’s soloist. Hehe! His name is Tom Cully.

Tom Cully Pictures, Images and Photos

Are you what you listen?

We’ve heard a lot of cliches around this : you are what you eat, you are what you wear, you are what you do, etc etc. But are you really what you listen? And do you define what you listen by how you define yourself?

I’m pondering about this since my choir (visit SMU Chamber Choir Fan Page if you’d like to) was visited by a vocal coach from Philippines. He did technical stuff like breathing, posture, sound production that I would not go into detail else I’ll bore a lot of you out. Not that there’s a lot of you in the first place.

After all technical stuff, before he left he said that the way to improve our singing is to listen to more choral works. He then went on to recommend some people, or rather groups, to listen to. And I just couldn’t stop pondering.

You see, if you have followed my blog from the beginning, you would know that I don’t only listen to choral or classical stuff. Review my music category. I listen to some pop, some rock, some electronica, some lounge music, and every other thing as I feel like it. In fact, I think my choral music collection is like… 5% of my whole collection?

Do we really have to listen to music that defines who we are? Do they have to match?

I don’t think we should choose a music, or any interest, first then decide how we should act. If I like emo songs (I do like some), do I have to sport the over-one-eye hair cut and write sad poems? If I like rock songs, do I have to sport studs and funky hair? If I like classical songs, do I have to act all nerdy? Do I really have to fulfill all those stereotypes only because I like a type of music? And is it fair to judge a person just based on what music they listen to? (or based on their interests?)

All I’m saying – sometimes people identify a group, and then identify themselves. Isn’t this backwards? I think we should identify ourselves first and then join a group.

But then again, this is only a personal opinion. But I’ll stand true – I don’t want to listen to choral music just because I sing in a choir. I don’t want to limit my choices – there is a lot of great music of any genres out there.

What do you think? Do you think you define yourself by your music – or does your music define you?

Somewhere deep inside, we’re all musicians.

I can’t help to share this. Usually this is not my style to just post a video or a link on a go. But I just really want to post this up.

Check this out: Bobby McFerrin (ahem, I bet you know “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, right?) “hacks” your brain.

He gives 2 or 3 starting notes, and then voila! Like magic, the audience sang together with him. Confused? Not clear? Just check out the video :)

 

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Perhaps somewhere deep inside, we’re really all musicians. After all it’s one of the oldest form of entertainment isn’t it? :)

 

Thank you BoingBoing for the link. (and thank you, StumbleUpon! :P)

Home on the Range

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

For some reason, this song keeps ringing in my head. It came upon midnight clear onto my head, and as a result I put it on my MSN personal message. Everytime I open that MSN main window I see the lyrics, and it’s ringing in my head again. Repeat the cycle.

This is weird, because all my life I have always been living in a city with all the modern conveniences. Oh well, perhaps that’s why. I long for laid back, friendly, happy life on a country side. I need to go to Bangka, my dad’s hometown, soon.

By the way, do you know that “Home on the Range” is the state song of Kansas, USA? Here is the list of the state songs of USA.

Here’s the (static) video of the song.

The end of classes

Classes have ended. Projects have ended. I just handed in the beautiful 30-page report today, and that would be my last submission of the term.

As always, as the cliche saying goes, time flies.

And as always, I always review a term.

This term has not been my most tiring term ever. I guess the time has passed. I sure did lack of sleep sometimes, but not much. Overall this term has been quite enjoyable.

Exams are coming soon, and I wish my friends good luck. Some of them have 5 exams, which is like, super killer. Jia you!!

Here’s a song to cheer people up! Have a nice day everyone!

Haha yea I love Mamma Mia!

The Middle Girl

Sometimes I feel that I’m always in the middle.

Not good enough, but not bad either.

My grades are never top grades, but they’re still adequate to keep me from being kicked out. I play piano, finished my grade 7, but I’m still not able to play Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu.

Perhaps it’s because of my nature of being jack-of-all-trades. I don’t quite understand why I became one. Perhaps it was because of several lessons I took when I was a child. I never know.

The saying “jack of all trades, master of none” scares me sometimes.

After all it kinda sucks being a middle girl. People know you can, but you’re not the expert. You’re not the best.

Countless people have told me that I need to choose one. I need to focus.

But I honestly tell you, I can’t.

I’ve analyzed each of my interests, weigh them, see whether they’ll benefit me in the future, and the blah and the blah and the blah.

I got tired. But after pondering for some time (actually quite a long time) for this, I think I know my passion : to know a lot about as many things as I can.

However that still doesn’t free my status as “The Middle Girl”.

I still don’t know, though, whether it’s a blessing or a curse. What do you think?

—BONUS—

A video of Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu (I don’t know whether I spelt it right. Don’t bash me if I didn’t)

A video of me playing “Giga” by John Loeillet. This was my exam piece for my grade 7 exam. Be aware though that I don’t play this clumsily for my exam! Haha. This was just one of my practice, I wanted to know how I sounded so I recorded it. This video is also dedicated to Wilfrid, who, if I remember correctly, asked to see my piano performance. Well here’s one of my unglam performance.


sylv playing piano – john loeillet – giga from Sylvia Giacinta on Vimeo.

Here I come, November

 

part of NaBloPoMo 2008

part of NaBloPoMo 2008

And so NaBloPoMo starts. Here I am with the first post for this month!

 

It was, like usual, a busy day. I’m always busy on Saturday. Choir at morning (which I attended late because of my stupid morning stomachache that made me go to the toilet back and forth). Sang 2 tango songs. Very emotional. And tiring.

Then I had brunch at a dim sum place in Sunshine Plaza. I think it was called Victor’s Kitchen. Great dim sum although it’s sad that the waitresses can only speak Chinese. Bah. Went back to school to do EWS (Enterprise Web Solutions) assignment. We’re supposed to create an enrichment course portal. I realized we started late and I realized there’s SO MUCH to be done, but I hope we can strive anyway.

OTW to EWS computer lab (which is, strangely, located in School of Economics/School of Social Sciences. Huh.), I remembered that there’s Podcamp Singapore going on. I intended to attend the event religiously but hell the things that I need to get done was just eating me up. So I thought, ah hell I’ll just drop by and say hi to some blogger friends and then go. So I went to the room. Saw DK, Farinelli, Miccheng, Claudia present. Daphne went out to talk to me (and to go toilet) and told me that I should just go in. It was 12.56 PM and the talk is supposed to be over at 1.00 PM so I thought, again, ah what the heck, just barge in and wait until it’s over, and then I can mingle around with blogger friends, and go.

“Sorry it’s already 1 PM and time’s up”
“Ah sorry, just 1 more question. Very short.”

La di da. As I checked the clock, it was 1.25 PM. 

Immediately went off from the room and said hi-bye to bloggers and rushed off to the lab. Helping to search for automatic way to create website after an event happened (in Microsoft Share Point – the urgh thing, I might say).

A friend, Olivia, came to the lab and told everyone that today is another friend, Edwin’s bday! She bought a cake and told us to go out and celebrate.

She took picture of my EWS group and the cake!

Yes I know my hair looks hideous. GAH.

Happy birthday Edwin Tan!

And it was time for my piano lesson! And guess what! I didn’t bring my piano books to school! Yeay!

Sigh. Lucky I realized it quite early so I rushed off from the lab and went to the bus stop to catch the bus home. Waited and waited until at least 15 minutes. I turned impatient. Checked SBS Iris and HA HA HA, GUESS WHAT. SBS Iris next bus : 10 minutes. You gotta be kidding me.

Anyway bus came and I went home and took my piano books and I quickly flagged a cab to get me to the piano lesson place. (this is an attempt of shortening sentences. I realize I did too many things)

Piano lesson finished, bf picked me up and we ate at Ayam Penyet Ria at Square 2! YEAY! <3

 

Ayam Penyet! Photo by Shellfish

Ayam Penyet! Photo by Shellfish

Photo by Shellfish. Hehe! I didn’t have time to take photo coz I just tucked in!

Oh well.. What a busy day it was! Imagine how busy the rest of November will be! I have another blog to update for NaBloPoMo so I’ll leave you guys with a video of one of the tangoes I sang : Adios Nonino.

 

Background of the video : it was played during the church wedding of Prince Willem-Alexander (of the Netherlands) and Maxima Zorreguieta. Maxima was born in Argentina and Adios Nonino (meaning : Goodbye, Father) is a popular song from Argentina written by Astor Piazzolla after his father passed away.

Such a sad, depressing song yet beautiful..

Should I give up, or should I keep on chasing pavements?

After a loooong while not updating my music library, I finally did so.
And here goes my new favourite song..

Adele with Chasing Pavements

I think it’s a pretty song, though bitter and painful…And I like her voice. I like those unconventional throaty/dreamy voice.. Haha.. Although I still like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, of course.

Enjoy.

EXT A PATH WITH COLORFUL DRY LEAVES SCATTERED

GIRL (holding the boy’s hand)
So tell me, should I give up, or should I keep on chasing pavements?

BOY (letting go of the hand)
I don’t know.. Do whatever you like…

GIRL
Even if it leads nowhere?

BOY
I don’t know…

Yes, I’m too stressed studying for exam that I made this kind of scenario.