Rowie's Scribbles

I'm sure many of you would've heard of Scribd, a digital library with ebooks, magazines, and even audio books galore! I usually search for sheet music on Scribd as well as some Nora Roberts books for light reading :D You can have unlimited access for $8.99/month, else you can opt for the free membership however you have to upload a document for a single download.  PS This is not an advertisement for Scribd;  I've produced some music transcriptions and uploaded them to my profile here :)

I recently joined a weekly violin ensemble class and my teacher is open to trying different pieces, not necessarily classic, so I joined musescore as they had quite a variety of free sheet music and the software was relatively easy to use. Previously I used GuitarPro so I didn't have much trouble adapting to musescore software. I like how the interface is similar to Microsoft Visio; it creates a professional feel to what I was doing! :p Transcribing music was habitual for me during university; the orchestra was small so purchasing sheet music was impractical as we would not be able to achieve the same depth as a full orchestra. Good thing I've perfect pitch so we could write out scores and adapt it to our capabilities.  I've uploaded several pieces, both are transcribed by moi; feel free to browse and share pieces on this wonderful site :) Check out my profile here . If you have pieces you would like me to try, feel free to comment! 

Oh how time flies. I can't believe my juniors who were first-yrs when I was a final yr student will be graduating come October. Seriously, where did all the years go? Now they're hunting for jobs, going for interviews, some of them already got a job. I remember my path was somewhat similar, albeit easier I suppose. I miss 4 things the most from university life:  1) Living solo I stayed away from home for the first time when I enrolled at UMP. Somehow the transition wasn't difficult for me; I enjoyed my space even though the dorm was nothing to shout. I enjoyed driving out to shop for groceries or just for a meal. I liked the routine of running the machine, folding clothes; somehow since I got home, I've not been able to adjust to living with other people again. I'm improving but I sometimes yearn to lie down in my small narrow cot (top side of a double-decker bed) under the fan and dozing off alone in the room.  2) Freedom The only curfew I adhered...

The Mid-Autumn (or Mooncake) Carnival (Pesta Tanglung) is back at UMP! Organized by the Pesta Tanglung Secretariat under UMP's Chinese Culture Council , the event will be held this Saturday (17/10). Last year me & Fei Fei wrote the theme song for this event. This year...We did it again! We were less prepared this time; what with PSM & academic stuff bugging us, so we finalized the song just last Sunday night :D The song is STILL under renovation (hehe), but you can listen to the piano version here . Check out the performance video! You may also download the simplified piano score here . Enjoy!

The start of a new sem always got me thinking about my goals: 1. What do I want to achieve? 2. Why do I want to achieve (1)? 3. How do I achieve (1)? I have stepped down from the Principal post at the OG; not a choice I made happily, but one that must be taken for progress. I am still participating actively in the group & I naturally have plans for this sem (at least). Some of the ideas churning in my mind now: 1. Organize a more streamlined theory class I was always worried over 1 dilemma; what happens if we have more than just Grade 1, 3 & 5 classes? I estimated 2 hrs per section; even now 9am-1pm on Saturday mornings only gives me 4 hrs; this sem showed that we can do it. How? The theory exam is always in late Aug. New intake (potential students) enter in early July. Organizing classes for Grade 1 can take the stress of Mdm June as she finishes the revision for the exam. This makes it easier for her to take over the Grade 1 students after the exams ...

Woooooooooo what an exciting day it was! Well, yesterday :D Some people had asked me about the exam results, so Mrs. June called me & read me the results of each person one by one... My opinion: 1. I'm so happy & proud that almost all did very VERY well! It's your hard work & you deserved it! Some did not make it but it doesn't mean failure; as someone told me, "without failure, success is meaningless". 2. Thanks to Mrs. June who spent time to teach us, even getting a room for some of us to come over & have class in Kuantan. Thanks for helping each one of us to understand the subject & answer the questions! 3. Hopefully this will encourage y'all to study harder for future exams! It'll only be tougher from now on but that means the value of your music education will rise! Congratulations to all! PS. If you want your result, please SMS me. You can also wait for me to get the email & I can email the results to you *please leave your em...

As announced on the side bar, the Orquesta has reached out for the next frontier: YouTube. The channel was made to showcase the videos of the OG's performances. So far I've been able to upload most of the recent performances but I'm now tracking down videos, either yet to be found or of better quality. Pros Easier medium to promote OG videos (it's YouTube!) Easier to share our music with the world *plus I don't have to keep the videos! Cons Not much popularity (yet) Need hours to upload large videos (duh) Goals Promote OG's music to the world: it's unique & it's US! Promote UMP Share our love for music with music fans around the globe Improve through comments & viewers' opinions So do help to rate & give your opinion on our music! Thank you!

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 ...

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...

On this coming weekend (10th & 11th Oct), the Chinese Culture Council (more popularly konwn as JKC) will organize the first ever Lantern Festival (PT) at UMP. This will be a historical event as it aims to promote cultural exchange not only among UMP-ians but also with the general public. There will be performances, competitions, an exhibition plus many other activities! The Orquesta will perform the PT Theme Song this Saturday (11th Oct) at the Culture Night. The song was written by yours truly & Jaray, the lyrics penned by David, Jaray & myself. The song aims to invoke sentimental feelings, to remind us about the hardships we've endured & the final culmination of our joint efforts. The lyrics are in English & Mandarin, I will post them here ASAP. I'm not even sure what the title of the song is haha :p The mp3 of the song is in the works, previous recording aren't that nice to post here but feel free to email me if you're interested. The score is com...

Well thanks to a very special someone, the new OG forum is up! We've new features, better smileys & a brand new home! So if you're interested to talk about music, general issues & have fun, do drop by! Click here for the link! PS. The old forum will shut down effectively on 31st October 2008. Thanks :)

Hm this is basically a summary of one of the most important accomplishments in my life: the OG, short for the Orchestra Group in UMP. It deserves some detail so I'll do my best :) When I first came to UMP, I wasn't flowing with happiness; I was quite sad that I was away from home, being in a new environment, meeting strangers, worried that the course I selected wasn't a good one for me...All the usual yadda yadda. So I threw myself into music...I feel so grateful to Kak Syazanah who invited me to perform with the Orchestra Group for Malam Inspirasi Seni 2006 (I was horrible at the violin haha); I met great friends, I had a great experience & it awakened this sleeping passion in me for music. Expoconvo...Bringing together the old & the new When the new yr came & I took over the helm, I saw that this is something I WANTED to do, this is something I WANTED to improve; so with the help of great friends, we made the OG grow; I can attribute part of its ...