Hi guys!!!!!
Wow it's been forever since
I used blogger someone updated this blog so HERE I AM. Aiyo someone please keep this place alive AND A TRADITION it is cool to have a tech-savvy section ok.
Anyways its time for a time-check and now it's
4 days to SYF!
Hopefully you guys aren't too stressed out because too much stress isn't a good thing aaand you still have 4 more days to go. Yes, it's scary- I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be very intimidating and nerve-wracking but the bottom line is
YOU GUYS WILL DO FINE. As the comm or whoever has been updating the SNCO twitter, us 'old seniors' have faith in you guys and we will be behind you all the way, especially during the day itself! We may not all be able to pon school but our hearts and minds are with you!!!! So put a smile on your face (alternatively, a papaya face is good enough for xia ri) and activate that lallang power!!!
On a more serious note, here are some things you can do to improve:
1) Coordinate
Gabrielle has very helpfully included a lot of annotations on the scores so I assume you guys have been reading it. Unfortunately, not everyone has been following whatever she wrote down ie 'nod your head' and 'look at Gabrielle'. Please coordinate whatever you do on stage on that day- make sure your bowings and your movements are similar if not exactly the same, and most importantly,
BREATHE TOGETHER. That's the most important thing.
2) Move more+ Feel the music
Technically, you can't really move if you don't have a groove. It's always good to have a mental image of what you're playing- for example, xia ri will be a very tense and rara song in general so try to
convey that mood through your playing. Play more forcefully/louder for the syncopated parts and really
mean what you play! It sounds quite hollow and fake now because you guys are doing it half-heartedly so please do it well on the day itself!
Chun, on the other hand, is more PG and childlike so please play with the mentality of a very happy person. Imagine rainbows and unicorns and translate that in your playing!! And smile!!!!
It may sound stupid but trust me, it works.
3) Intonation+bowing
Do mind your pitching because it can get a little
too 'interesting' at times. Especially for the arpeggio in xia ri. It's tough, but try your best yeah. Nothing much I can say here and you guys do know how to tune right (play open string and match your note to the open string)
As for bowing, try to
play your melody lines more smoothly. It's important especially for the cellos because you have them in both pieces! Your turn to shine so please please please play it well! You can practice this on your own by playing to someone in the section and asking her to rate your playing or you can always record it and judge your own playing.
I meant to say all these when I came back but I couldn't tell the whole section this whole load of things so I decided to type them here! I hope you found this useful (or at least mildly entertaining) and here comes the biggest contradiction of all time:
On the day itself, just go with the flow.
You guys have been practising so hard for such a long period of time- I know it's taxing, it's irritating and the songs have probably been haunting you in your sleep for the past idk how many months. But remember, you've been doing this for that mere 10 odd minutes on stage, so do it once and do it well. On the day itself though, you'll be bombarded with a lot of feelings so you'll probably feel lost and nervous but
keep your cool, remind yourself about what you're supposed to do and you'll do fine. Really. It isn't a good thing to load yourself with too many things- no matter what you do, just stay calm.
Play your hearts out on the stage, it's the last SYF you'll attend as a member of SNCO for the yellows and the reds, and nobody will judge you regardless of how much you sway on stage so play your hearts out and sway your hearts out! Enjoy your performance and don't leave space for any regrets!!
(don't cry after your performance too ok)
WE BELIEVE IN YOU GUYS. DO YOUR BEST AND BLOW THE MINDS OF ALL THE JUDGES!
Love,
Your seniors