Friday, October 2, 2009

The spread of good news

My poly friend recently just congratulated me on my acceptance at Berklee. News travels. So somehow, my friend reminded me that it was a dream since 2004. And i was sure it was.

So what have i done from 2004 til now? I played music.

Ah, i have so many things in my head that i need to just talk to someone properly about it. Just like 15 years down, what would i be doing.

Anyhow, i’d better go. My throat hurts and my third finger is rotting. Yes, cos of the stupid thoughts that i’ve been thinking and thinking and THINKING.

Darn!

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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Haven’t been writing because…..

Yes,  you must be wondering why haven’t i wrote…. probably for a very very very long time i kept this blog empty….. Kinda like as if i jaded it.

Anyway, in recent times, i’ve gotten too much information in my hardisk that i’m trying to filter and slot them into their various categories such as under a person’s name or under a particular event that happened…. with the whole experience like music, place, moods and all sorts that pertain to my 5 senses were captured and stored properly in my  different categories.

Somehow, today…. i felt Different.

Different maybe because i’ve started to understand certain “truths” about a matter, about a person, and about things that happened around me and to me.

I used to blog about my daily and recent happenings and put up photos of my glorious friendships that i built with my friends, especially the very new and recent youth band and old people, erm, yeah OLD people. Hee.

They are new happenings for this entire year i would say. I’ve learnt alot and i’ve heard alot too. Yet, i couldn’t very much blog about it because of this disclaimer *Keep this to yourself* or *You CANNOT tell anyone*. Yah, and precisely these words were being said, whatever that i’d eventually write, could possibly just leak out some information. These information are kept under the *X-files* category. Even i don’t know how to name them.

I guess, i’ve understood fnally… after a year of great happenings… that allowed me to have my own conclusions.  :) So, the happenings will have an answer to themselves. I can rest with the fact that the Alpha and Omega is Him. And that pretty much sealed my months of many thoughts unsettled and questions unanswered.

Somehow, my conversation with my MD today makes me think a little more and i don’t seem to be able to settle my thoughts on that. Well, it was nothing that he said, and nothing that i said. Perhaps it was something that we both heard - yeah, both heard that got us thinking through constantly. An awkward silent burst within me sometimes, when we gather in a group.

I guess i was saddened by several issues that has happened throughout the year - repeated issues of one’s struggles, constant lack of family support and a fight for one’s career.

I pray that people - all of us - including me, would learn to walk through life, learn its experiences and grow to mature with learning how to handle our own mistakes, our own failures and our own setbacks. And ultimately know that God holds us dearly to Him even when we fail and fall.

My conversation has spark forth a thought that stirs within my heart. A thought that makes me wanna ask some sensitive questions and perhaps not get an answer back. Why? Cos it’s just too sensitive lar.

Anyway, just as my MD feels the time is drawing nearer, i feel my plans are being adjusted. It’s as though it is at the back of me running and catching up and then reminding me about it all. Well, my heart pounds as i write this. I have no idea why.

Seems like, 15 months would make a difference.

I have understood that my GOOD GOD loves me and i can stand boldly and confidently despite the wrongs i have done. Why? Because, long time ago, i was saved by Jesus and Jesus has already paid the price for me.

I read something today about the Blood of Jesus. Somehow, it got me excited and i realised…. with the load-ful of information, i pray that the blood of Jesus will cover them all and protect everyone involved.

Jesus loves us and for that, there is no need to prove to anyone how good you are. We should just come to Jesus just the way we are.

:)

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Friday, September 11, 2009

Video

Berklee
:) Very nice!

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Monday, September 7, 2009

Transcipt and it’s madness rush!

I am submitting my transcript tomorrow. YES i will do! :)
OH well, tonight i’m going to meet some nice friends and listen to nice stories!!! Yes! My evenin bed time stories!

My new inclusion of friends! ALAN chan! haha.. :) see you all soon!

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Thursday, September 3, 2009

Updates!!!

Hello All!!!

I haven’t been updating for a long long long time. Well….. i guess i’ve gotten slightly too lazy to write!!! Maybe cos i fb more and msn just too much, plus i go out that many times a day too and i have just too much to write that i just don’t wanna talk about it.

AH! So my audition went on pretty ok-ily. BUT i honestly did screw my prepared piece very very and i meant very badly. Like if i were to take that for an examination, i’d have failed that immediately - yes it was that freaking bad.

Otherwise, the sight reading was not bad…. ear training melodic and rhythmic sections were not bad too….

My interview went on quite well…. we talk about my goals and aspirations… what i’m good at… and the interviewer got to know what kinda person i am etc…

On the whole, it wasn’t too bad, it’s just that the piano was DAMN HARD and my audition piece screwed up… so that could mean a whole lot of points deducted… not that they’re taking down points for my playing.. but definitely a gauge to my prepared piece yeah…

How’s things at home?
It seems like everything’s going back to normal. I’ve got my new modem fixed up and need to readjust a bit of my schedule to fit in my students. I have concluded that i am 12344321. And i need to be a bit more 78900987. My mom’s getting on good… just got back to work recently. However, her previous checkup at the hospital wasn’t that good (but when i called, my father said it was fine). So we’re going for another check up again soon…

The dental clinic called for me to go down for my braces check up on 5 Oct. I’d better go before everything goes weird. This time i’ve gotta make sure they tighten it 2-4x harder so that for the appointments that i’ve missed, i could just clear it like that. SO lazy right.

I am obsessed with my new love for red mango at suntec…. i kinda prefer that to yumi yougot, really! Thanks to GF, he intro-ed that to me.

I am hoping that Sept would be a good month. And yes i am dying. Cos i am so last minute in so many things that i do that i’m so disorganised and i just keep having lessons clashing with each other, and appointments clashing with each other. REALLY i am DAMN JIALAT. Even a diary or an organiser doesn’t help much to me cos i don’t follow and i can’t seem to remember what i’ve got on it. I can spend a whole lot of time worrying and thinking and wondering about some particular issue that waste my time cos it’s no nonsense of mine. I am messy i’ve concluded after living for 24 years. My mama just “scolded” me and said that i am SO DAMN LAST MIN.

Well… it’s getting late and i’m getting sleeepyyyy i wished my face got some auto make up remover pores or cells, then i dun need to keep putting make up and removing it then PUT FOR WHAT to show the world my pretty face. Xian, sometimes i’d like to look like a xiao char bo messy person. Yah, i am damn gila.

I have a new friend that i made recently and i’m quite happy about it. Hee :) Wann know who? :) It’s my invisible friend, Harry on my facebook.

My audition photos are all on fb. Have fun seeing…

Okay, i’m going to sleeep….i really just wished i could sleep in my make up and LONG mascara-ed eye lashes… like you know… in movies? They sleep and wake up in it. ALL THE FREAKING DAMN TIME.

ALright, good night. I’m preparing for a wedding… going to try wedding gowns next week…. :) i’ll update on this wedding thing. REALLY very excited cos it’s going to be a good time.

Posted by littlemusician at 19:18:43 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, August 28, 2009

In Japan!

I met great music lovers.
I met a Singaporean girl.
I am so drawn back again to those music music events… musicians…. piano… talking about music….
I am looking forward to my audition on Sunday. :)

Posted by littlemusician at 15:48:40 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, August 24, 2009

HELLO! After a LONG time!

Hello everyone…..

There’s so much that happened…. let me summarize for you. :)

1) If you read previously, my mama got admitted to hospital. I decided NOT to blog, because if i do, i’ll blast everyone - people who talked too much and do too little. I was pretty angry at that time and got REALLY moody. Sigh! So it got over to 20th anniversary that weekend, and FOP too.

2) OH my SM friend sang for FOP and we are all SO DAMN PROUD of him. Hip Hip Hurray!

3) I’ve met a new friend called SPF+ during the week and i know that Jesus loves me lots and for this, i’m happy to be me.

4) i got into alot ALOT of freak mood swings and i’ve realised that some people are pretty devisive and they separate friendships when they just gossip and gossip.

5) After my mom’s hospital incident, i was left with 2 weeks to prepare for my audition and also for my driving test which i spent a whole lot of money one. And it was BAD. Cos 30 Aug is my audition and 1 Sept is my driving.

6) You’ve realised that my blog doesn’t have any password function or tag board, it isn’t because i took it out it was cos blog.com admin changed its interface so everything got changed. So you can continue reading as and when, just that those previous posts about who’s gotten password about what has been taken off.

7) I kinda think i have 2 new spf readers so since they’re going to read me talk about them, i better say HELLO and WELCOME my spfs - special powers friends.

8) I am nervous about my audition and i’m very thankful for Glyn. :)

9) I am thinking about alot of things in my mind because there are just too many things in mind to think about - yah. I am just too crazy perhaps - and that’s why i’m still choosing to do music therapy, i want to be even more ki xiao and meet and mix with ki xiao people.

10) This is a freaking short update because i’m going to start planning for things again, and i’m going to start doing my crazy pattern music lessons soo

Goodnight blog readers. :) Welcome back to my blog!

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Your Love Amazes Me!


This is my cgl and i. It has been a very pleasant time in cell group and i’ve been adjusting well. :)


Well, we’ve been friends since i was 15. And sad, we’re getting older. HAHA! But quite interesting that round and about, i’m back in his cell group but this time, he’s my leader instead of a cgh doing followup on me. HAHAH!!!! :)


So one of the best part of being in this cell group is….. having friends who are just darn close to you like my brother, ZM. :)


Yah, we fight often but in the end, after clearing our differences, the agape love still exist among the 2 of us as friends. :)


And the happy part of being in this cell group is having music friends who wanna just do something out of their passion of music!


And they doesn’t really bother if you’re crazy, cos…..


They go crazy together with you…. And somehow i’ve realised… the boys in the cell group are just SO TALL….. cos….


Even with my mini little hannah montana shoes, the girls in the cell group are all so small….. OH, so small! But i do think we’re really big on the inside… :) Hee! But i really like them alot. Yes, i like the girls ALOT! I see myself when i was their age coming to church!


So this is MY cg and i like us. :) I am looking forward to cell group tomorrow!!!!


OH WOW!!!!!!! :) This is my WHOLE cell group. Yay, very happy!!! AH!!!!

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

I need a BF!

What were u thinking? I meant, i need a Berklee Friend - BF! HEE! 

So well, i’ve asked questions and got my mails replied almost instantly, like as if he doesn’t need to sleep. Typical musician eh? More likely, i’ve gathered he is just a year older than me and he’s crazily good. For my questions answered, you’ve gotta read this below.

Ramu Thiruyanam
Today at 3:42pm
Lol I don’t really remember what I said that time, but it was mainly what I felt like doing and what the major I wanted to pursue, and how it would affect my life in the end, and how getting into Berklee would help me broaden my career prospects and stuff. Make sure you are aware of what you want to do, why are you choosing Berklee of all schools, how will the scholarship help you, etc… And my strong recommendation is to also bring a secondary instrument along if you have one and demonstrate your abilities on that instrument(s) too, but it has to be decent though. Think of it like a job interview almost, they might ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how will Berklee help you. Also (if you have not done so already) it would be good to have a portfolio of your performances or any music-related activities you might have had. Just a simple one would do, just in case. 

The scholarships vary, so I can’t say how much one can get and what the probability of getting one is now, for it’s pretty competitive here. Are you a classically trained pianist or a contemporary keyboardist btw? Extreme cases I meant was when you get to school: There are students who should not be in this school as some are already accomplished musicians in their own right and may even surpass the teachers, and there are the other spectrum: Those who can afford the tuition fees and pay with family funds, and then end up screwing around and may not even be able to read music well. Trust me, it’s pretty strange, but hey, education is a business! lol. Sometimes it may be daunting at first, but if you have a focused mind, then anythings possible.(this sound excatly the same as what DY and ELF told me). I never expected to come this far myself, especially when I first started.

Lol don’t freak out! Quote: “AHH (with multiple exclamation marks)”.

After NS, I took about almost a year off, teaching mainly and working on my chops (everyone says the same thing - DY, ELF, KL) before going to school and did the auditions during that time… I did it in KL, ICOM.

Plans after graduation? Lol… Too much to mention. I’m starting up my own company and will be working with Mr Tan and a couple of other conductors, and eventually do my masters and phd in education. Also working on setting up a latin jazz band and doing a couple of collaborative projects and cutting an album next year, I’ll also be performing here and there and doing clinics in asia and other places, some other hush hush projects for now, and then some…. and go back home to practice and play computer games. Lol.

Like what I’m gonna be doing? Definitely I will say! How many people get to say that they get to do something that they love doing as their jobs everyday (and get paid)? Haha, if I thought that I would not like what I was doing, I would not have even set foot at Berklee, and would have ended up doing computer science instead. Good thing I didn’t…. *phew*

Btw, did we ever meet at CNL? Something tells me that I’ve met you at least once before with Mr Tan around.

Ramu

Goes back to square 1 again. I’m reconsidering on this issue about craftwork. What nonsense secondary instrument do i have? I’ve done a little of this, and that and this and that, and i can play anything but the guage of Good isn’t even on par with any standards expected.

Great. Ramu, u’re the man. Cheerios to many more music makers! LH u should meet him - UR beloved victoria senior!

Posted by littlemusician at 08:45:38 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

My Berklee Friend!

So i’ve been up till 6am all these days recently - or have i always been up this early just having my thoughts running wild and sometimes talking to God bout my eccentric ideas about music and about our love relationship. OH GOD! Just when i was thinking hard about my plans for these 2 months through to my auditions, i have many questions that popped up in my head regarding it and i so needed a friend to talk to. I thank GOD for my band conductor, who told me a long 2-3 years ago that he’s got a victoria kid who headed to Berklee to do his music studies and u know, his name is Ramu - a darn FREAK percussionist major in piano, major (minor) in marimba. Freak i tell u, he’s a freak and he’s a victoria kid.

So well, running here and there all my life, i’m still far and connected with people who love music - the victoria school band kids. Farid, if you’re reading this, this is darn freaked up weird lar! Rights, at least i am talking to people who do music professionally and who could help in any sense. So anyway, i’ve got myself into writing facebook emails to him and questioning him all the stuff that i needed to find out. For a good start, he’s my one and only REAL BOSTON BERKLEE friend and not a fake affliated “berklee” teacher whom i’ve encountered before.

So check this amazing stuff out:

Today at 5:49am
I’m online that’s why… lol

Well, the audition is pretty straightforward, things to keep handy (just in case, since I auditioned on marimba) is to know all your scales at the least, and prepare contrasting pieces on piano (different genres) and if you have a backing track for a tune that would be good too (if you’re doing a standard jazz tune that is). Also for the interview itself, just be relaxed and honest about why you want to go to Berklee and what do you seek to accomplish there. Note that they are looking for potential as well (I know cos I used to help with the auditions here in Boston).

I was on 2 scholarships, the World Scholarship Tour one from Berklee and then eventually the BAS (Berklee Achievement Scholarship) and one from NAC back home, so I did not have to pay for my school fees, mainly lodging.Yes it is expensive, and the fees keep going up every year or so.

If you come to Berklee, my biggest advice is to come prepared, and know what you want. What I mean by being prepared is that you should work on your music theory from counterpoint to at least the basics of jazz harmony and your ears so that you can save quite a bit of time and money in classes, and you can finish school earlier. Judging from your profile you already have a degree, right? So some of the credits will transfer over, but if you took any music courses, those will not transfer at all.

It is pretty daunting coming in the first semester, as there are the extremes in standards which may or may not shock you (it did for me!) but have a goal in mind, or you might end up like many Berklee kids who come here and end p dropping out halfway or not achieving what they really wanted to get out of the whole Berklee experience. It’s not only about the academic work involved but getting involved with the right crowd and community. lol the reason why I know most of the school policies and the inside scoop of the auditions and stuff is cos I used to work for the admissions office and was in a couple of education committees in school.

Keep me posted if you have more questions!

Ramu

PS: If you’re in the US still, call me at ***  or I can meet you back in Singapore if you’re around early August.

DARN! He didn’t pay for his school fees AT ALL. So much for a freak talented pal, i think i’ve gotta re-educate my mind and my fingers on those music theory and stuff. Well, for a good start, he’s been the freakiest drummer i’ve seen while in sec school, and honestly, this is just darn!

I recalled the last time i was nervous and stuff about an interview and a written test paper was when i gathered enough courage after the disappointing O level results, to decide on choosing Mass Comm at Ngee Ann over mediocre Business in which i’m definitely NOT cut up for. I spoke to Anne - the pretty girl on harvest highlights? I recalled, she was the ONLY ngee ann mass com girl i knew then and Kelvin Ang told me about it.

Now, i’m going through the same routine of finding myself, searching out the things i’m passionately craving for, digging deep within for a solid base foundation to see where my roots stood… now i have 1 friend in mind to help answer my many questions.

OH GOD, u know my inquiring heart… of many questions left unanswered.
OH GOD, u felt my deepest desires…. of many wondered moments left unspoken.
OH GOD, u see my crazy ideas…. of many music makers gathered together.
OH GOD, u sense my anxiety exploding…. of many excruciating expressions left unsettled.

OK. THIS is it. I’m exploding.

Posted by littlemusician at 22:57:08 | Permalink | No Comments »