Then and Now

Thank you for your patience! I hope everyone had a great celebration over the Lunar New Year. I know my stomachs did lol!

Anyway, some students have recently asked me about pursuing music as a career - why and how I chose to do music, and all those details. So let me start with my life story...

...nah just kidding!

Honestly, I didn't explicitly choose music as a career path - it was really a "try it out and see where it takes me" kind of on-a-whim decision. Of course, family and friends encouraged me and I took that first step to apply and auditioned for the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. Little did I know that when I actually dig deep into the intricacies of music, I fell in love with it so much that it was (still is rather) the only thing that I can see myself doing.

But that's only the why aspect - how do you make a living and fulfilling career in music?

I don't really have an answer to it, but I can certainly say that your decisions will change all the time.. or at least most of the time. When I started out as a freshman in YST, I had such (seriously) high ambitions for myself, it's almost laughable now. As time went on, the ambitions became more of a reality check and important decisions had to be made - but I had to journey through the learning process to discover all this. The journey was something like this:

Year 1: I will have two jobs - day job: play in an orchestra; night job: play in pubs/clubs/jazz bars. I mean, what can be so hard? (Yup, that was my super ignorant phase)

Year 2: Struggling to decide if I should really be doing music or something else.

Year 3: Aim to join the Ministry of Education (MOE) to teach in government schools - stable job, monthly pay, I can still do my practicing at night.. right?

Year 4: Abolish the MOE idea and work towards getting into Peabody for Masters. See where this all takes me..

Year 5 (MM Year 1): Work hard to get accepted into a DMA programme so that I can continue being a student. (Who needs and wants adulting anyway?) Still seeing where this will take me..

Year 6 (MM Year 2): Adulting became inevitable so a decision was made to return to Singapore and to do something in the scene. (hopefully improve it!)

And while I went through a different "ambition" phase every year, I know of friends who knew what they wanted to be from the get-go - orchestra musician, chamber musician, teacher, college professor, etc, and they ended up doing what they set out to be. On the other hand, I also have friends started out knowing what they want to do, but ended up doing something else. It's been about 20 months since returning and while things seem to be going well, I have to always plan for the future and work towards it (and of course, be open to crazy opportunities and ideas throughout). I can't say definitively if knowing your direction earlier on is good or bad, but one thing is for certain (and this is just my personal view) - work hard on the craft and while on that journey, you will discover your likes and dislikes.

What about you? Did you go through the same struggles? Do leave a comment below and share this post with friends! As always, thank you for reading and I hope you all stay safe and well!

Joachim

Rob Knopper

This is a little (ok more like a lot) late, but if you're a musician and you're reading this, you should already be following Rob Knopper on his various social media outlets.

A percussionist by profession, he not only teaches percussionists how to get better at auditions, he also applies the same techniques to other instruments! His Facebook page has a considerable following and comprise of many different instruments and musicians from all over the world! It's very similar to Noa Kageyama's Bulletproof Musician, but Rob focuses more on the audition process whereas Noa's is directed at performance anxiety.

Rob is also an accomplished percussionist, playing with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, but he did not get there overnight. As with many other musicians, he struggled and failed countless times before his successful audition into the Met, but I won't bore you with more details about him (because you can read it up on his website and online). What strikes me most is Rob's down-to-earth personality and his creativity - it is hard work, time, and effort to produce quality videos! He has been-there/done-that, so there is no question on his experience and skillset - the only question is for us, whether we really want to win that audition or not, and if we take Rob's opinions seriously.

This week's entry is really short but I thought it would be great to share an amazing person and resource Rob is - just like Noa, he has blogs and videos to help those going through their auditions. He recently announced a free mini-course for snare drum practicing, so do check it out! (I already signed up for it hehe..) If you know of someone who has been a great help to you, or you think people will benefit from, do share it with us in the comments below - it's always better to know more and to learn, especially from other instrument families instead of always focusing on percussion (for me at least..)! Thanks for reading as always, and I hope everyone stays safe and well!

Joachim

P.S. Wishing all a Happy Lunar New Year in advance! It's the festive season and I'd probably be gobbling down New Year goodies and filling my stomachs (yes plural), so #midweekthoughts will be taking a break next week. See you on the 28th!

PCS: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Shortly after last year's website refurbishment, I had the privilege of performing my first "Live in Concert" movie film with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, doing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This time round, we did the second film - The Chamber of Secrets!

We had Maestro Jeffrey Schindler with us again and it was great working with him! We also had very few rehearsals before the first show (like last year), meaning we had to prepare our parts and the setup beforehand, in order to make the performance run smoothly. It's contradictory, but the music this time was both easier and more difficult. It was easier because I could rely on my experience with the first film - the themes are the same and the keys, more or less too, and I was also on the glockenspiel for the most part, so the notes just needed some refreshment. But it was also challenging because there were other sections that were technical and needed practicing! I had to look at certain sections on both the glockenspiel and xylophone for a longer period of time, and it didn't help that we just performed Siginnah! the week before! I had spent my time preparing for the concerto and so practicing and preparing for Harry Potter was definitely tough for me - but I shouldn't complain since I accepted the gig and therefore, it is my responsibility to make things work (One of the often said sayings at Peabody was "If you cannot put in your 100% for the gig, don't take it up" because it deprives the audience of a good music experience and a great performance). Other factors that had me on my toes were also the tempi of the movements and the fast changes between instruments - there was a movement where I only had 2 measures to get from the toms to the glockenspiel, play for 1 measure and then had to play the suspended cymbal a few measures after. It sure made me run a lot but I made both shows work!

The setup also played a major role in the section's execution of the music - certain instruments had to be close enough as many of us had to move quickly from one instrument to another. Of course, it would be so much easier to have 1 set-up for everyone, but that will mean doubling the production cost, or more. As percussionists, we face these limitations and always have to work around with what we have. Personally, I try to bring as much personal instruments as I can to a gig - not so much to carry all that gear, but I'm always asking myself, "When will I next use this instrument for a performance?" There's no point buying a snare drum if I'm going only to use it for practice at home - might as well bring it out and let the world hear it! And that's why even though there were only 2 movements of snare drum parts, I still brought out my trusted Pantheon Percussion snare drum because why not! 

Working with Maestro Jeffrey again also helped tremendously! He knew the music inside-out, its nuances, and was very particular in the sounds we were making, despite only having so few rehearsals! He injected his sense of humour often, and definitely knew how to work the crowd! The audience was spectacular and really into the film and music both nights, and it truly was a blessing to be able to be part of this production. Truthfully, it was a scramble for me to prepare for this, and I'm not sure if there will be future performances of the rest of the Harry Potter film series, but if there are and I get called to play for it, I'm definitely putting in my 1000% to prepare and perform! If you're reading this and you came to catch the show, let me know what you think in the comments! Otherwise, stay safe and well, and thanks for reading as always!

Joachim

Goal-based Practice

The Bulletproof Musician strikes again! If you haven't signed up for his weekly newsletters, again I highly suggest subscribing to them!

I was reading one of his recent posts, and even before he got to his main point, my eye caught this: goal-based practicing.

I certainly have been guilty of just doing repetition-based practicing, but the article gave me a fresh perspective on how I should approach my practice sessions, as well as what I should be practicing. While there are many things to work on, technically and musically, I really have to be picky with what I practice now, and what actually is useful as well. For example, I love playing the drumset, and I love polyrhythms and playing independent stuff, so I'd definitely want to do some work on some 7-over-6-over-5-over-4 kinda thing.. but the truth is, I have no real application for it as of now! I don't play in a rock band or even a progressive band (although I would love to - any guys out there looking for a drummer? :D) and so, practicing such a technical feat, while good for long-term preparation, serves me no purpose as of now.

(Who knows.. I might actually play in a progressive band later in the year and I'd have to eat my words..)

Goal-based practicing should be the basis of all practice sessions! I may have practicing formula since December 2015, but sometimes I lapse into repetition-based again, and Noa came at the right time to remind me of doing focused practice! Afterall, new year new practice routine right? (well.. kind of, since it's February already!)

Following a previous post, one thing I was told in school was to practice as much as I could while I was still in school, especially since playing percussion is a lot trickier - there are so many instruments to handle, and leaving school makes it worse because we wouldn't have access to those instruments (unless of course you own a studio full of instruments!) and we'll have to conjure up our own way of finding a solution to that. Of course, I didn't realise how important that was until I actually left school, so I'll be returning the favour by saying:

If you are currently a student, practice ALL you can while you're in school! Especially more so if you're a percussionist! 

(There I said it, but we all know you'll only realise it after leaving school hahaha..)

But back to goal-oriented practice, I've started reworking my doubles and I decided that I should focus on that for now - to get them clean, tight, even and consistent. Stephen Taylor has a great 30-day routine that I'm currently trying. You can also try it out if you'd like to work on your doubles! If you're not a percussionist or drummer, prioritise your practice sessions and goals and work on them first. It could be long tones or getting the right articulation for a certain passage or dynamic control - it doesn't matter what it is, as long as you focus on one thing instead of multi-tasking. I find that by having a task to accomplish in my practice session has been really beneficial for me and I hope by sharing this information with you, it may help your practicing too. 

As always, thanks for reading! If you have great tips and ideas for your practice time, do share them and hopefully it can help others and myself included! :) Stay safe and be well.

Joachim

PCS: Siginnah!

What a ride!!! I am so incredibly blessed and fortunate to have been part of this huge project, and to celebrate OMM's 10th Anniversary!

I have never played a concerto before, and this still feels surreal! (I'm writing this a few days since the concert and I'm still at a loss for words!) Let's start from the beginning..

Jon took probably a year to write the entire concerto, and was still making changes up to the final concert day! He wrote draft after draft and scrapped so many versions, one starts to wonder how composers in the past wrote and composed in ink, on manuscripts - one mistake and a lot of work goes down the drain! We have modern day Sibelius and Finale now, and deleting or changing notes just takes a split second, but I digress..

I'm pretty sure Jon had a vision in his mind already, but that didn't stop our Skype sessions, going through the music and the notes, or sharing ideas on sounds or grooves. I feel he was very influenced by Iannis Xenakis, as my setup was exactly the same as how you would play Rebonds. The only additional instruments were a marimba and a gong, but it wasn't as crazy as many of the percussion concertos out there! (Granted, the music is for 5 soloists, so having too many instruments on stage might have been too much).

We started rehearsals immediately upon Jon's return from Boston (David arrived a week earlier and started rehearsing with Gabriel as they had many intricate and interlocking parts). I have to say, the tempos Jon wrote were incredibly insanely fast, and I had some trouble getting my parts up to speed, but it made the music that much more exciting and exhilarating!

The tricky thing about any multi-percussion setup is the setup itself, and then followed by stickings and motion. But having said that, I don't think there is a set "rule" of which comes first because I think they all affect each other. Many times during chamber rehearsals in school, I would find myself having to change instrument positions to make switches easier and more convenient, and this ultimately affected the way I played and sound. Other times, I would have to adjust my stickings, especially if there is some coordination involved, or if it brings out the phrasing of the music better. For me, I think comfortability should be of utmost importance because when you're playing comfortably, everything else will come naturally - good sound and great playing.

It was an intense 2- to 3-week period of practicing and rehearsing with the Boys. As with any new music, it takes time to get used to the material. But what was completely different for me, was when we had our first orchestra reading.

You see, percussionists are used to being at the back of the orchestra. For me, especially if I am situated on raised platforms, I'll be able to hear the orchestra pretty decently. This time, it was my first being in front of the orchestra and it changed my perspective entirely - I was just completely overwhelmed with the difference! Of course, it could have been the hall we were rehearsing in, but there were certain sections where I couldn't hear completely, like the horns (which I always hear from the back of the orchestra). It was also intriguing to experience the sound delay from the winds and percussion from the front of the orchestra! It's seriously making me think whether I've been playing "in time" with the conductor and orchestra, or do I have to make adjustments.. Another change was that I could not really make eye-contact with anyone! And I also had to crank my head in order to see Prof Chan's conducting. This was a particular challenge as again, I'm very used to seeing orchestras breathe and move, which helps me place my beats (which now I hope, are in time!) with the orchestra or sections. But to get around this difficulty, I memorised my parts so that I can maintain eye contact with Prof Chan while playing, and also kept my ears opened and in the music. This is especially so during the marimba parts - it's hard enough playing the right notes while staring at the keys, and it was just going to be so much harder if I had to go back and forth with the conductor and the keys (sorry Prof Chan, I was using my ears more than my eyes in those sections of the music!). Going back to placing beats with the orchestra, there were a few times where the orchestra and I would have hits as tutti. Easy from the back, but challenging from the front because I wouldn't know how or when to place the beats! So, I had to fully trust the brass section, particularly the lower brass, and they surely did not disappoint each time! 

I particularly love the second movement - a beautiful cello solo accompanied by marimba and strings. It's my favourite by far because of how the music is able to move your soul. The melody and harmony makes it heart-wrenching yet full of love and hope.

All in all, we had a great time on the concert day! I put in my best effort, had tons of great energy from the audience and orchestra, and I'm pretty satisfied with it! From what I know, there was both video and audio recording of the concert, so hopefully something comes up in the future! If it does, I'll be sure to keep you in the loop :)

Thank you for reading this week's entry even though I think it's a bit long! It's hard to condense a first-time experience because I always want to write the whole story out! But I would like to hear from you as well - first-time experiences, whether good or bad, remember to leave them in the comments below! Till next week, I hope you all stay safe and well.

Joachim