Transcript of interview with Xinmin Tan (conducted by Amanda Lee), 15 January 2016, 5 pm, Skype.
Xinmin is a 12-year old female Chinese Singaporean. Xinmin sometimes listens to English pop rock music. She does not like contemporary pop music as she finds it loud and annoying. She thinks that English pop music helps her to express herself sometimes. Xinmin likes Western classical music as there is more depth of emotion in the music. She likes how the music flows and finds that it is good for studying. She thinks it should be preserved as it is part of her life. Xinmin thinks that Western classical music is part of global culture as people all over the world listen to it. Xinmin does not listen to Chinese pop rock music, but knows some songs through her mother who listens to it. She thinks that Chinese pop music is just like Western pop but in another language. She finds that she can relate better to English pop than Chinese pop. Xinmin takes private piano lessons and has had music lessons in primary and secondary school. In primary school, she had the chance to experiment using an app to play drums or string instruments and she learnt the recorder as well. Xinmin enjoyed music lessons in primary school as it was fun and it offered her a chance to meddle around with the instruments. Xinmin is looking forward to her music lessons in secondary school as she wants to learn how to sing. Xinmin enjoys piano lessons as her teacher is fun and humorous and does not pressure her to take exams. She does not think that music lessons are necessary as music does not help one in their lives. However, she thinks that it is a good outlet to de-stress and have fun. She thinks that introducing different kinds of music and providing the chance to play them could help get more Singaporean students interested in music.
“Um, more focusing about the recent [English pop music]. Because now they are playing – mostly they’re playing them in stores and I find them really annoying. Er, other than that, the old kind – the previous kind is not really that – I don’t really dislike it that much. It’s only the recent ones.”
“Sometimes, yes – yes, I do feel that [English pop music helps me to express myself]. But, um, other than that, I feel that classical has more of a feeling into it. And pop is the – really outgoing, and the really, really forward – those emotions. But classical for me is just like a more gentle way – sort of.”
“I think [Western classical music is] a part of global culture. It’s because people around the world listen to it. It’s not, er, people in Singapore usually listen to like the songs that are in dialect. So in Singapore and Asia we have our own languages to sing in.”
“[Chinese pop music] – only those the – only ones that I listen – listened to are the ones that my mum listens to. So I don’t know the titles, I don’t know the lyrics of the songs but, um, it’s like kind of get the melody, but it’s not like I really like it.”
“Well, Chinese pop music is ... well, to me it’s just like Western pop with another – in another language, that’s like – like my mother tongue language, so it’s a bit more familiar to me. Um, other than that if you like Chinese, um, Western pop – English pop is like basically the same.”
“The guzheng – I like like how it’s played, and the flow of each strings when it’s played, it’s really, really nice to me. It’s like similar to a piano but it can – the strings can be plucked and so those sounds are really, really nice as well.”
“Well, for other Chinese friends they usually listen to Western pop music, so not all – not – rarely any of them I know listens to, um, Chinese traditional music. And so ... I feel that it’s like – it connects us better with Western pop rather than our traditional music.”
“I feel like the – [Chinese crossover music] was a really nice way of connecting both Chinese and Western together since it uses, um, instruments from both sides. And also it was really nice to see how well the Chinese instruments can cover Western pop as well.”
“To me, um, well [Chinese crossover music] felt more on the Chinese side because – well, you can hear all the guzheng in the background with all the Chinese classical instruments. Those – those instruments are really overpowering the Western. So I feel like it has more of a Chinese feel into it.”
“It was quite interesting to see instruments [in experimental Chinese music] that I never saw before that were similar to actually Western – actually similar to Western instruments. And so ... and it really sounded similar, so I feel that it was almost like Western instruments playing a Chinese traditional piece.”
“I only know [Singaporean] bands through my friends who are a really big fan of them. Um, I’ve only heard about The Sam Willows. I don’t really listen to their music but it was really ex – interesting to see that my friends really, um, like fans of such – of – of a band like that. So it was very interesting to see them, um, interested in Singaporean music.”
“But for the English Singaporean sounds, I’m not sure if I can differentiate that, other than the pronunciation of the words, maybe like a bit Singaporean-ish. It’s like a little bit of Singlish. Other than that, I don’t think there’s really a huge difference.”
“It’s because the lyrics [of National Day songs] make me feel like Singapore’s really your home. It’s a feeling that Singapore’s the best home I can get. It’s because, um, there are no natural disasters, we’re actually well – very well-protected. As well – I feel like it’s a very safe place to live in, and I feel proud that I’m Singaporean.”
“Outside of school I do play piano. But inside of school, usually we just learn the recorder. And for those – like – because this is for drums or strings, we usually have this app called GarageBand that we play the sounds on. And is only really for the drums, only really getting the beat of it. And for the strings I can experiment with them, so it’s not like you’re actually playing a piece.”
“In primary, we learning percussion, percussion instruments, and the xylophone. So, er, each music lesson – which is about half an hour, we would get to learn these. Like – and then practice it, and then perform it front of the class as a band, like a five-member group. I remember in primary three, we were learning the guzheng.”
“I get to enjoy the fact that we actually can meddle around with the instruments [in music lessons in primary school]. And it’s like the only subject other than Science that we can actually do hands-on activities with it, and learn from it. And also we can have fun at the same time.”
“It was the fact that when we practicing, everybody was also practicing. So the music room [in primary school] was really, really loud. And really, really noisy. And the fact that we had to perform in front of the class. Um, I dislike going up and performing in front of everybody, with all their eyes staring on me. So it was really uncomfortable for me.”
“I actually want to learn how to like actually sing properly, and – you know – improve my singing skills. But also I feel like I’m dreading it now since the – so-called exam day is – ya, the singing solo in front of the [secondary school] class is coming, so it’s like I have mixed feelings about it.”
“The [piano] teacher that I have now – you probably know her, Miss Veron. Um, she’s really fun, she has a lot of humor, she likes to talk. And she makes music lessons really enjoyable. So she is not forcing me to take exams, so I’m really just playing piano for leisure.”
“The only pieces I played were Beethoven, um, Wolfgang [Mozart] – and ... I don’t know how to pronounce the third composer’s – composer’s name. So I really like to try other pieces composed by other composers, and like compare to see, um, how different they are from the composers that I already know.”
“I feel like the things that we learn [in music lessons] are not really needed. But like, if you just let us have fun and like de-stress from all the work that’s been piling up, I feel that’s really fun – minus the test part. Then I think that will really make music more enjoyable.”
“Um, maybe performing music, like more. And maybe trying to introduce [Singaporean students] to more and more kind – kinds of music. So maybe they will start appreciating music – appreciating music more now.”
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