All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players
-As You Like It, Shakespeare
My voice is dead. Or to be more accurate, it's alive and well after a few hours of recuperation, but after dinnertime i developed a cough. Coughs are serious issues. Take my classmate who has been coughing since Chinese New Year about a month ago. He can't do PE(physical education) effectively because when he runs he coughs; he can't concentrate well in class or do homework at a faster rate. I hope the affliction disappears soon, because i have a choral concert (a short one, with 5 other choirs performing at SJI Library) next Saturday.
I suppose it's what you would expect after an entire week of nonstop singing during what was supposed to be a week-long school holiday, all in preperation for the SYF (Singapore Youth Festival) auditions. We did that in groups, and i am very, very apologetic to my group now. Sorry guys and girls for coming in a semitone flat for my part. Which led to the entire song going a semitone flat. Sorry for not being able to sing the marcato rythm correctly. There's so much to be upset about, but dwelling on it is pointless because there's no use crying over spilt milk. I think the audition conditions simply tested my abilities to the breaking point because there's nobody to rely on; one person per section, so after drawing a quick breath, we still have to sing as a full-bodied entity. Add a hint of nervousness to that, and the song's pitch goes immensely off. At least, that was the case for my group.
My throat is tickling. I want to cough so badly, but i have to supress the urge to do so. Coughing spoils the voice.
Which makes me wonder why i am up at 2am in the morning typing out this blog post. Perhaps it is the need to vent my frustrations of the day, but inadequate sleep also ruins the voice and leads to a poor state of concentration. I should sleep.
Since this post is about choirs, i suppose that the reason why i want to get so badly into SYF is partly because of self-esteem. Being a naturally pessimistic person, i tend to have low self-esteem as well. The way my hopes were raised and then dashed at the auditions earlier on in the day- or rather yesterday- helped contribute to the feeling of being utterly useless. As though i am but a grain of sand on a beach, featureless, being pushed wherever the tides will me to go to. The feeling of being in chorale contributes to a sense of belonging, that i truly do belong to part of a greater whole and not detached and alone; that i can contribute to a beautiful sound that overwhelms the audience. Of course, in JC life SYF only comes once, and once i miss this opportunity it won't come knocking on my door ever again. I don't suppose alumni choirs or universities have SYF, do they?
Finally i have a day of rest. But yet after waking up, i have to revise three economics lecture notes, full of profound concepts both mathematical and intellectual that i have to grapple with, before even getting started on a few very, very lengthy essays and case studies that i probably cannot finish. I find it amazing how some people dismiss economics as a fun, interesting subject that is basically common sense, because to me it is a seperate world, where specialists understand each other and the typical layperson such as yours truly has trouble dicephering what exactly is going on. I feel that career paths lead to specialising, learning a specific set of jargon that only confuses people and helps to boost the ego (i know something that you don't, im smart and you're not). It's so sad to think that in this short lifetime i cannot even fully learn about a specialised field, for example molecular genetics. There is simply too much to look through, and more is being added each day at a breakneck pace. If i could live forever, i would read, and continue reading until my thirst of knowledge is quenched. (BTW, this is what led to the creation of a short essay, << The Bookkeeper>>)
Lately in most forms of media i encounter there is so much news about Japan's tsunami and the nuclear crisis it faces. Before that was the Jasmine Revolution, with the younger generation across the Middle East revolting against oppresive governments; and before that, more news about the latest issue regarding this or that. And people scramble to buy copies of the latest trendy item, the hottest gossip in town. It may be good to keep oneself updated wth current world affairs, but i feel that there is a need to draw the line somewhere. to me, there is no meaning in a life spent running around between work or school, tuition classes, enrichment programmes, gossiping and whatnot. Life soon turns into a routine that repeats itself, day by day in an endless cycle. In the midst of all the hubris around us, we must stop to think, and find a cause in life worth working towards, because only then will the emptiness be filled.
-As You Like It, Shakespeare
My voice is dead. Or to be more accurate, it's alive and well after a few hours of recuperation, but after dinnertime i developed a cough. Coughs are serious issues. Take my classmate who has been coughing since Chinese New Year about a month ago. He can't do PE(physical education) effectively because when he runs he coughs; he can't concentrate well in class or do homework at a faster rate. I hope the affliction disappears soon, because i have a choral concert (a short one, with 5 other choirs performing at SJI Library) next Saturday.
I suppose it's what you would expect after an entire week of nonstop singing during what was supposed to be a week-long school holiday, all in preperation for the SYF (Singapore Youth Festival) auditions. We did that in groups, and i am very, very apologetic to my group now. Sorry guys and girls for coming in a semitone flat for my part. Which led to the entire song going a semitone flat. Sorry for not being able to sing the marcato rythm correctly. There's so much to be upset about, but dwelling on it is pointless because there's no use crying over spilt milk. I think the audition conditions simply tested my abilities to the breaking point because there's nobody to rely on; one person per section, so after drawing a quick breath, we still have to sing as a full-bodied entity. Add a hint of nervousness to that, and the song's pitch goes immensely off. At least, that was the case for my group.
My throat is tickling. I want to cough so badly, but i have to supress the urge to do so. Coughing spoils the voice.
Which makes me wonder why i am up at 2am in the morning typing out this blog post. Perhaps it is the need to vent my frustrations of the day, but inadequate sleep also ruins the voice and leads to a poor state of concentration. I should sleep.
Since this post is about choirs, i suppose that the reason why i want to get so badly into SYF is partly because of self-esteem. Being a naturally pessimistic person, i tend to have low self-esteem as well. The way my hopes were raised and then dashed at the auditions earlier on in the day- or rather yesterday- helped contribute to the feeling of being utterly useless. As though i am but a grain of sand on a beach, featureless, being pushed wherever the tides will me to go to. The feeling of being in chorale contributes to a sense of belonging, that i truly do belong to part of a greater whole and not detached and alone; that i can contribute to a beautiful sound that overwhelms the audience. Of course, in JC life SYF only comes once, and once i miss this opportunity it won't come knocking on my door ever again. I don't suppose alumni choirs or universities have SYF, do they?
Finally i have a day of rest. But yet after waking up, i have to revise three economics lecture notes, full of profound concepts both mathematical and intellectual that i have to grapple with, before even getting started on a few very, very lengthy essays and case studies that i probably cannot finish. I find it amazing how some people dismiss economics as a fun, interesting subject that is basically common sense, because to me it is a seperate world, where specialists understand each other and the typical layperson such as yours truly has trouble dicephering what exactly is going on. I feel that career paths lead to specialising, learning a specific set of jargon that only confuses people and helps to boost the ego (i know something that you don't, im smart and you're not). It's so sad to think that in this short lifetime i cannot even fully learn about a specialised field, for example molecular genetics. There is simply too much to look through, and more is being added each day at a breakneck pace. If i could live forever, i would read, and continue reading until my thirst of knowledge is quenched. (BTW, this is what led to the creation of a short essay, << The Bookkeeper>>)
Lately in most forms of media i encounter there is so much news about Japan's tsunami and the nuclear crisis it faces. Before that was the Jasmine Revolution, with the younger generation across the Middle East revolting against oppresive governments; and before that, more news about the latest issue regarding this or that. And people scramble to buy copies of the latest trendy item, the hottest gossip in town. It may be good to keep oneself updated wth current world affairs, but i feel that there is a need to draw the line somewhere. to me, there is no meaning in a life spent running around between work or school, tuition classes, enrichment programmes, gossiping and whatnot. Life soon turns into a routine that repeats itself, day by day in an endless cycle. In the midst of all the hubris around us, we must stop to think, and find a cause in life worth working towards, because only then will the emptiness be filled.
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