Rowie's Scribbles

I've decided to write out simple tunes for my violin students (cheh), I used Guitar Pro to write the score & export as BMP file, then I used Paint (blush) to convert it to JPG file. You may click on the images for the full size, & feel free to use it for your own entertainment. Silent Night Jupiter Theme Happy Birthday To You Fur Elise Auld Lang Syne It will be nice if you would mention about yours truly hehe... Enjoy! If you have any special requests, do let me know & I will try to help!

Someone asked me recently "What is a Musical Key?", so I'd thought to briefly explain this simple yet essential concept in music :) The Key Identifies the tonic triad (chord) representing the final point of rest for a piece/focal point of a section. Usually noted by a letter name (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) followed by the term major/minor. Eg. C Major. The key chosen depends on the composer to compliment the tonal voice of the piece. Each key is identified by the key signature located between the clef & the time signature. Every major key has a relative minor key. The minor key shares the same key signature but may be natural, harmonic (7th note raised) or melodic (6th & 7th notes raised). Key signature It is useful to remember the key signature for a particular key. Click for larger view The sequence of the accidentals in the key signature is important & fixed: Sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B# Flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb A simple example on how to analyze ...

Whew...After scouring the Net for suitable images, I've finally settled with one that makes me smile. After multiple edits in Paint, Microsoft Picture Manager, & Picasa (yes I'm noobish), I finally got the look I want... Like the new look? I do hehe Changes The backdrop isn't the only change; I've also mixed & matched the fonts & colors so that it would blend well with the template yet is readable. That's not all: I've re-organized my posts by adding appropriate tagging. History section: I've always been allured by myths & historical events, I'll post related topics in this section. Blog section: Articles related to my blog & blogging will go here. Science section: The general Science issues & articles will be posted here, I'm gonna cover facts about this world related to biology, physics, astronomy etc. Travel section: It'll contain articles about my trips to different locations, with photos & easy description hehe. T...

Well it's that time of the yr again...OG members will be sitting for the ABRSM Theory Exam on Mar 16 next year in Kuantan; this will be the 2nd time we send UMP students to sit for this renown exam. Last semester, 34 students sat for the test and 80% received Distinction. A very good result for our debut there hehe...Currently about 28 students had already registered; more will do so tonight. ABRSM The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) is the world's leading provider of graded music exams & assessments. Based in the UK, the ABRSM has branches all over the world. In Malaysia, there are many centers associated with the board, so one will have no problem to register for the exams/assessments. The papers are graded by examiners in the UK. The Exam It has become a policy in the OG for all OG members to have a minimum requirement of ABRSM Theory Grade 1. Why? Encourage deeper understanding of music theory. Music theory is universal & can be applied to all...

Well folks, here it is: it's been up for a while now...this new forum is mainly for UMP students to hang out & discuss a variety of topics: academic, local & international issues, & plain fun socializing :) It's open to everyone who's interested to befriend UMP-ians & to share opinions on various topics. My favorite features are the familiar & adorable Skype emoticons! Definitely a plus with this forum hehe So if you're interested, sign up here ! You won't regret! :)

I'm sure some of you have heard of the legend of Atlantis; a great civilization with advanced technology & possibly god-kings residing on an island only to be swept away by the sea. Let's have a look at this fascinating story & the deets on it. Plato Atlantis Atlantis is a huge island, consisting of alternating rings of land & sea (circular moats) with a mountain at the center. Atlanteans built bridges to connect the mountain with the rest of the island; a great canal was dug to the sea. Tunnels were carved into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; docks were carved from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates & towers, & a wall surrounded the city's rings. The civilization was powerful: it conquered parts of Libya until Egypt & subjected the people to slavery. In 9600 BC, Atlantis failed to overcome the resistance from Athens & afterwards there occurred violent earth...

The Mola. What a cute name haha; it is derived from the Latin word mola which means millstone which refers to the mola's roundish shape. Also known as the ocean sunfish, the mola is the heaviest of the bony fishes, with large specimens reaching 14 ft (4.2m) vertically & 10 ft (3.1m) horizontally & weighing nearly 5000 pounds (2268kg).  The mola looks like a huge fish head without a tail Interesting facts: They are found in temperate & tropical oceans around the globe. Their shape is formed because their back fin simply never grows! It folds upon itself to form a rounded rudder called the clavus.  They are frequently seen "lying on their side" basking under the sun: hence the common name "sunfish". Sunbathing in horizontal position They eat jellyfish. However since jellyfish isn't the most nutritional food in the world, they have to consume A LOT to maintain their huge bulk. They are harmless to humans, although they have been known to be curious...

I was fascinated by the viola after I watched Ms. Ruth Killus perform with the MPO last yr. I searched for her online but came across Olga Goija, another violist. I was especially enthralled by her rendition of Sergei Prokofiev's 4 Suites for Viola & Piano; the song was wonderful & her skills were amazing. Taken from her site here : Olga Goija was born in Daugavpils and grew up Riga, Latvia, where she began studying violin at the age of eight. She received her pre-conservatory training at the E. Darzins music school in Riga, where she became passionate about the viola.  After graduating from E. Darzins in 2000, Ms. Goija moved to Los Angeles, where she studied with Evan Wilson (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Robert Becker (Pacific Symphony Orchestra), and Donald McInnes (Primrose Chair at the USC Thornton School of Music). She has also played in master classes with Roland Vamos, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, the Ysaye String Quartet, and the Takacs String Quartet, as well as in the Corw...

I came across Hilary Hahn when I was browsing for videos on YouTube. I downloaded several of her videos & I was entranced. She looks awfully young for her age (she's 29) but her talent & prowess with the violin is immense & breathtaking. Taken from her official site here : Hilary Hahn was born in Lexington, Virginia. At the age of three she moved to Baltimore, where she began playing the violin one month before her fourth birthday in a local children's program. From age five to ten, she studied in Baltimore with Klara Berkovich, a native of Odessa who taught for 25 years at the Leningrad School for the Musically Gifted. From ten to seventeen she studied at Curtis with the legendary Jascha Brodsky - the last surviving student of the great Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaÿe - working closely with him until his death at the age of 89. Though she completed the Curtis Institute's university requirements at age 16, Ms. Hahn deferred graduation and remained at the school f...

I'm ashamed to say that despite having a car for more than a yr now, I've very vague ideas about how the engine works. Sure I learned it in KH during PMR & I memorized the mechanism of it, but it got buried under other knowledge. So I thought it'd be fun to dig it up & see what else there is to know about this technology. Introduction So...open the hood & you'll see a bunch of metal stuff: tubes, compartments, wires; it looks like a metal piece undergoing surgery or something! The purpose of the engine is to combust gasoline & convert the heat energy produced into mechanical energy (remember how energy can't be created/destroyed but can be converted?). Combustion occurs within the engine; hence it's an internal combustion engine. There are external combustion engines, such as the steam engines used in old-fashioned trains. However external combusion engines are less effective than internal combustion engines; that's why we don't see much ...

With all the current economic crisis, political drama & overall down state of the country (& the world), we all need something to light our way & cheer us up. Diwali (more popularly known as Deepavali here) couldn't have come at a better time. Yup, it's that time where we mingle with our Hindu friends & eat loads of goodies!  The Festival Diwali/Deepaawali means an "array of lights"; Deep = lamp, Vali = array. It's one of the most glamorous & brilliant of celebrations not only in India but in various parts of the world. I certainly enjoy visiting friends, exchanging cards & of course, eating delicious Indian fare! Who doesn't love murukku eh? Plus watching beautiful lamps come to light is a simple & wonderful experience. The Legend The legend is interesting & imparts positive values to us. There are several legends associated with Diwali (you may read about them here ), the most popular is the return of Lord Rama,  King ofAyodhy...

Yesterday my hair underwent rebonding for the first time; like a jittery virgin, I allowed my glory to be plundered and...Whoops off-tangent there hahaha :p Oh well last night was the KKK dinner so my buddies suggested I go for hair rebonding (temporary)...Apparently my hair is too wavy & unruly for a dinner party haha... To have hair like Fann Wong's...or no? The process The curls that some of us detest comes from natural chemical bonds. In rebonding, these bonds are broken & rebonded to give that silky straight texture. Hair is washed with mild shampoo (no conditioner) & dried completely. Perming lotion is added to soften the hair (break the chemical bonds) & is washed off. The hair is then heated between 2 metal plates which straightens the hair. Here the chemical bonds are connected again.  The effects You may choose to have temporary or permanent rebonding; the latter will require maintenance to make sure the new hair that grows will be straight too.  Worry me ...

It was a pretty good morning; a public holiday, nice cool weather, boredom (despite having loads of work to do haha)...Me & Kai decided to refresh at the Hutan Lipur Waterfall. Neither of us had been there before, nor did we plan it; we headed out there right after lunch. It was FAR; the drive was about15-20 min, we had to stop for directions. When we found it, the road was long & bumpy, very narrow path. We found the parking area & the start of the climb up :p The pathway was in stone for half of the journey, then we'd to go through the jungle by the side of the river. Occasionally we stopped to take photos, many beautiful pieces of nature enticing our senses. I was relieved that we weren't plagued by insects/leeches etc. It was difficult to maneuver through the huge rocks, slippery sand & the thick jungle foliage in our slippers but we made it hehe! We didn't go all the way because we worry the slippers couldn't handle it, plus it started to drizzle ...