Transcript of interview with Julien (conducted by Amanda Lee), 2 February 2017, 5 pm, Central Library.
Julien is a 15-year old male Chinese Singaporean who is a secondary four student from Whitley Secondary School. Julien used to listen to Taylor Swift’s older songs. He thinks that older pop songs are more meaningful than contemporary pop songs. Julien is not sure if the other English-speaking countries share a cultural connection with Singapore through English pop rock music. Julien enjoys listening to Western classical music and is a big fan of Mozart. He likes the music for the different type of tones and rhythms, and for its dynamic range. Julien thinks that this kind of music is still useful for people who want to pursue classical music as a career, but is not so sure if they are useful for those who do not listen to it. Julien thinks that Western classical music is part of global culture as it has dispersed into the world. Julien does not listen to Chinese pop rock music and thinks that it is very similar to English pop music. Julien prefers English pop music as he speaks English more frequently than Chinese. Julien thinks that some Chinese pop rock songs expresses a cultural connection as some artistes incorporate Chinese instruments into their music. Julien does not listen to traditional Chinese music and thought that the extract was interesting. He does not dislike it but thinks that it is something new for him. He does not think that traditional Chinese music helps him to connect with his other Chinese friends as not a lot of them pick up Chinese instruments. Julien thinks that traditional Chinese music expresses a strong cultural connection amongst Singaporeans who appreciate and want to learn Chinese music. Julien liked the extract of Chinese crossover music as he found it interesting and he is familiar with Adele’s songs. Julien thinks that the playing style and instrumentation for Chinese crossover music is more Chinese while the musical form was more Western. Julien found the extract of experimental Chinese music interesting. He did not think it was bad music as someone else might interpret it differently than him and might enjoy or appreciate it. Julien does not listen to any Singaporean artistes or bands but has heard of a few. He thinks that the Singaporean musical style consists of the Singaporean accent and slang. He likes the older National Day songs and thinks that the lyrics of the songs help him feel proud of Singapore. Julien plays the classical flute and the pipe organ. He picked up the flute when he joined his secondary school’s symphonic band in secondary one. In secondary two, he began private flute lessons with his tutor and his skills improved. In secondary three, Julien joined the 2015 WBAS Youth Band Festival and was selected to be a band major for his CCA. At this time, he started taking an interest in the pipe organ as he had been playing in his church services quite frequently. Julien was also accepted into the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and started rehearsals in January this year. Julien prefers to play in an orchestra as compared to a wind band, as it is easier to express and hear himself in an orchestra since there are many players in a wind band. Julien is in his secondary school’s symphonic band, and he has band practices for three to four hours twice a week. One memorable rehearsal for him was in his first year in band when he realized that everyone – including him – was playing better and improving, and he felt that it was all worth it. Julien thinks that being in band helped him make friends with students from the Express and Normal Technical stream. He found that the bond that he shared with his Normal Academic friends has gotten stronger over the years. Julien learned about the different instruments, note-reading, and played the keyboard and guitar in his sec one and two music lessons. He thinks that his experience with music lessons can be improved if his classmates were less noisy and disruptive. Julien thinks that music lessons are necessary for all Singaporean students, including the students who are not looking to pursue music as a career. He thinks that one way to get Singaporean students interested in music is to have frequent music lessons to sustain their interest and to have music enrichment or appreciation programs.
“Personally, after being exposed to a lot of like classical music training, I would say that I kind of changed my feelings towards pop music. So I’m more of a – like a classical person right now. I enjoy, um, classical, um, era pieces and also baroque compared to the, um, modern day music. Like – you know – all those Taylor Swift and all that.”
“All the old, er, composers who used to write [English] pop music like, um, and sang them as well. Like – you know, Whitney Houston, ya, those songs really have their meaning. In the 2017, most of the songs that are published now like don’t really have much of meaning. Ya. And like I feel that music right, the most important thing is meaning.”
“Because culturally, most of the [English pop] songs that, um, the new songs, they don’t really have a lot of culture about it. Unless like – you’re talking about like [National Day Songs] – okay, then maybe it may. Because the other countries will know like what Singapore is about. But like – those like – normal pop songs – I’m not sure whether the people from other countries who like know, er, will have like a cultural connection with us.”
“It’s the type of tones they use [in Western classical music], the type of rhythms. And also ... the very vast dynamic range. Because compared to baroque music, classical music has, um, slightly more dynamics, slight more crescendos. So I feel that it makes the music a bit interest – more interesting in a sense.”
“I guess [Western classical music is] relevant for people who would want to pursue classical music as a future career, or be more in-depth with music. So I guess they’re pretty relevant to us now, but I’m not so sure – so sure for those who don’t really listen to classical music.”
“Personally I feel that [Western classical music is] global culture. Because in the history of Western music, everything came from one spot. And it kind of like dispersed into the world. So I guess every music form found in the world, um, it can all be linked into – into one part of the whole entire history of music in this globe. So I would guess Western music is like a global thing.”
“Ya, I’m very bad at Chinese so I guess like when I hear Chinese songs or like music, I’ll be like, “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to understand it.” But for Chinese pop rock, I guess it’s very similar to our – our modern day English pop rock. Um, the instruments are about the same.”
“Because [while] English [pop] got like keyboard, drums, and all that. Some Chinese [pop] songs, um, are quite root – are quite rooted. Like they use all the Chinese instruments like erhu, guzheng, so it’s not really exactly so, um, English-style. Ya. So ... I feel that, um, there may be a cultural connection because of the instruments they use.”
“[Traditional Chinese music] was pretty interesting, I wouldn’t say I dislike it but like it’s definitely something new for me. Because being like very ... listening to a lot of classical music, this is a bit of a change, um, in terms of like the timbre of the – of the music. Because different instruments were used.”
“Because a lot of foreign students, they don’t really have a common topic to talk about with us. So I feel – ya, maybe, um, through [traditional] Chinese music, we can be able to communicate with, um, with, um students from China who also play, um, Chinese instruments.”
“I feel that [traditional Chinese music] definitely, um, has a strong [cultural] connection. Because, um, some Singaporeans, um, appreciate the Chinese music, and they – they also don’t mind learning it. So I guess like listening to the music and also maybe like wanting to learn it does has a – it has a connection in a sense that there will be a common understanding between the mainland and the local Chinese.”
“I quite like [Chinese crossover music] because I’m quite familiar with the pieces they play. It’s by Adele, right? So, um, I guess – ya, it was – it was quite good. It’s just that – ya, it’s just that different - different timbre, different types of sounds. Um, but all in all, it was quite – quite interesting.”
“I would say ... the [Chinese crossover music] style of playing would be a bit more Chinese because of the instruments used. But in terms of the musical form, like the – the piece they used, it’ll be a bit more English because this was done by an English, um, composer – Adele. And ... however the – majority of the instruments used were from China – China, a Chinese background.”
“[Experimental Chinese music] was interesting. Something like worth looking into. Because, um, normally, um, there’s like – the setting of the whole, um, orchestra was quite similar to a classical orchestra. So I said it was – it was interesting. And the sounds made were also very interesting.”
“I wouldn’t really say [experimental Chinese music is] bad but – not good – but like because, um, each music has its own, um, kind of meaning and its own, er, ulterior motive towards – towards the audience. Someone could interpret this as a very, er, mysterious piece of music, or someone else could be like, “Oh, this sounds like quite happy.” So it really depends on how the individual wants to interpret the music.”
“I’ve heard of quite a few [Singaporean artistes and bands]. And my friends like show me covers but then I – I’m – it’s like one in – one [ear] in, one [ear] out. So ... I guess I can name a few. There’s like, um, the Lion City Boy and the Sam Willows. Ya.”
“The old [National Day songs] though. The new ones I’m not very familiar. Because like a lot of people say the new ones don’t really have a lot of meaning compared to like the old ones. Like if you compare Home (1998) and like the ... the NDP songs written last year, I’m sure you will agree that Home has more meaning.”
“The lyrics [of National Day songs] really do a big part. Um, what they say in the lyrics, um, what they sing. Ya. It really, um, some of the lyrics really bring up Singapore’s, er, qualities. And –ya, makes me proud as a Singaporean to sing – be able to sing these songs or even remember.”
“So, um, I play two instruments. My first instrument is the classical flute. And my second instrument is the pipe organ. And for the flute, um, I joined the symphonic band when I was in secondary one.”
“I had literally no musical background. So I literally learned everything from scratch. So for my sec one days, um, it was pretty much the seniors, um, guiding me. But, um, not all of their teachings were that accurate. And moreover, they didn’t really liked to teach lah, so they would always just like leave me there to do [it] myself.”
“So secondary three came, and that was like the year where all the secondary threes like get a chance for leadership. So finally the results came out, so the drum major was a trombone player. Er, I was the band major, er, I’m the band major. And we have like a band committee, so our role is to keep the band in control and make sure we strive together for a common goal.”
“When I was sec three, I went for the [Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts] open house. And like I saw their course review and all that, and I felt that “Wow, this is something interesting. I would – I don’t mind, um, studying music there next time after sec five.” So I also, um, was looking more into like external group – playing groups. Because, um, I felt that I [shouldn’t] just be stuck in the band all the time.”
“I was like looking for other alternatives. There were many alternatives that – but there was one that really appealed to me the most, which was the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Because there – there’s a lot of youth bands in Singapore, but I wanted to try something different. I wanted to experience something different.”
“I guess, um, orchestra is more – much easier to express how you feel, um, compared to wind band, you can’t really hear yourself. So ... if you ask like – if I like, um, if I – whether I prefer orchestra over band. I would say I prefer orchestra. So I was trying to training to get into Singapore National Orchestra.”
“I entered, um, the ensem[ble] competition with three other flute players whom I know from the band festival. And we competed, and we – we got the first in place for the intermediate category. So I felt that this experience was also really good. Also because this thing was held in NAFA, it was a school I planned to go to. So I guess it was quite, um, I felt more, um, ensured, er, can’t find a good word for that, um, more confident of where I was going.”
“[My flute teacher] guided me through the audition process for Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and I got in. They put me in the training orchestra. So, um, I just started my rehearsals on January this year. And I would say it was a – it’s a good experience because for someone who really likes orchestra, you get to play in orchestra it’s like double the happiness. The experience is really nice.”
“For symphonic band, I’m pretty sure it’s three to four hours per day. We have like two CCA days. And like each day it’s either like four hours of training, three, four, sometimes five hours of training. So, um, usually the first half an hour, er, we – we do all the admin stuff like falling in and taking attendance. Um, for the next half an hour, we focus on warming up with the conductor. Usually, um, on Fridays we would break for sectionals.”
“After many, many rehearsals, we got nearer to the SYF date. And [during] that particular practice I felt a big change. I felt, er, I was really happy. I could feel everybody was, um, really improved and we could really play the piece quite well. So I felt very happy, I felt very, um, like all my hard work, my sweat and tears were worth it. Ya, totally worth it.”
“[My school] promote students to like, er, mingle around with the various streams and make new friends. So after joining the symphonic band, I had many more friends in the Express stream, and the Normal Tech[nical] – Tech stream, ya. And of course my Normal Academic stream, er, my Normal Academic friends that, um, my bond with them has gotten stronger over the years because of this CCA.”
“[My music teacher] was telling us a lot about the instruments and their own qualities, and how it operates. So I guess it was actually quite interesting. And it’s also quite beneficial for those who are in the symphonic band. Because, um, we just joined and he’s teaching us about what we’re supposed to know. So it was a very good experience – sad – and my favorite part about his lessons, er, is when he does demonstrations. It’s like, woah.”
“I’ll really ask my class[mates] to keep quiet because they’re really noisy [during music lessons]. I guess their mindset was like, “What for listen to something that I wouldn’t be doing in the future? And – moreover I don’t even like it. So why should I even listen?” So they’ll just like do their own thing, use their mobile phones, talk very loudly. So it was quite disruptive and I don’t think most of them took away what the – ya, what the teacher was teaching.”
“I would say that for organ lessons, they are very interesting. Because the, um, my teacher really goes in-depth in the instrument. Um, she explains the history and the different sounds that the organ can produce, and different combinations to achieve this particular sound.”
“[Music lessons are necessary for all Singaporean students] if you would want to do it as a future career, I feel that maybe it’s – ya, it’s quite essential, it’s a necessity. You cannot live without it. Because, um, for the – those who are really serious in, um, a music career, you are competing with people from all over the world.”
“I would say, generally for everyone, [students] should have like the same amount, er, very frequent music lessons because it keeps the interest going. So like the interest for it wouldn’t like suddenly stop.”
“I guess like music enrichment or music appreciation programs would really [get Singaporean students interested in music]. Um, or some schools they have MEP and I feel that it’s good because like they get to learn about the instruments. And if they play instruments, they also can like – you know – learn.”
“I feel that schools should have more music integrated programs that teaches, um, everyday students that music is not just about pop and all these. Music has a very wide history range, a very wide variety of instruments, and all could be very interesting.”
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