Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Issues in our Society.. (Typicality) & the usual

The term of typical becomes a very common word to be used on practically ANYBODY on this island.. like i could be classified as a typical bad ass by typing all the not so bright sided remarks about other people just Not directly..

its just appalling.. really APPALLING.. to go through Creative Workshop again today.. why? cos there is literally NO change from our teacher.. he Literally says the same things.. now i know why, concert halls or at least decent stages were never meant for him.. its just not critical enough..

Anyway.. yes.. this question VERY interestingly came up.. another lecturer (no names due to confidential identity) crashed by our class and gave us something more trivial than critical but ok.. "what can you imagine yourself doing in the future?".. wow with an imagination of mine.. i would be doing very well and Not being an admin of the school like a fraction of graduates do.. (i wonder why? maybe they just have a sense of fiery passion for LASALLE [i doubt it])

I have no idea why.. Why are classical musicians all given the future of gigs and not concert halls and theatre halls or concert stages or just a giant nice stage.. What is the definition of Classical Musicians?.. Musicians who plays Beethoven's Symphony in a bar? or perhaps Moonlight sonata in a night club.. or would it be better to have Contemporary pure Advant Garde music while having drinks (i'm pretty sure that will ZEST your evening)

at the end of the day.. the lecturer was smart enough to zoom outta sight.. and fast.. we had a small group congregating and plotting how we gonna throw him off the building.. since there were so many holes in the walls.. why not make full use of them and CREATE ART out of sheer CREATIVITY of the mundane human life.. once he saw us there he immediately turned and took the stairs instead.. (i wished u came forward.. we would let you feel like God for a moment..)

i found out the core and foundation of this module.. Repeating.. it is the core essence of music.. make it ring in your audience's ear so much that it feels like you're hearing Rihanna on "Umbrella" going "ella ella ella" foreva (of cos let us know that was looped and not really sung).. sometimes i do think does the teacher has memory failure.. i was almost late for class.. i walked past him with a GIANT FREAKING PIPA without its case.. and he could still call my name and wonder if i was in class and doubted it when i said HERE..

You know what i really think about Creative Workshop.. its really about being creative at 8am in the morning.. create the most outrageous and avant garde piece of thing ever and show it at 9am.. its like the remedy for his Wednesday blues.. after all he is a """Professional""" drummer (followed by lots of coughing*).. and he is far too good for the students.. so much so that someone had his LUNCHTIME CONCERT up since 2008 and has POSTPONED it till NOW.. we all wonder why?? too busy?? or too busy trying to figure how to shift from a 4/4 rhythm to a 3/8 rhythm.. sad isn't it?

Creative workshop.. a sad ritual that is practiced everywk for music students.. thank god i'm leaving soon... i can't imagine myself growing old with it.. i might not live as long as Mozart did.. and of cos i just love his DICTION.. he made such an effort to read.. for EXAMPLE.. he reads Sing Huey (chinese name) as Sing Hue-y.. when its suppose to sound more like Sing Hu-ay... the pathetic thing these people can't do..

makes me start to wonder also.. what does Aubrey do as the DEAN of performing arts? i only merely remember him giving a talk about how he grew up with the circus and then went to explore theatre and he is VERY fond of Chinese Opera (bet u he doesn't understand a word.. like the rest of em)

someone i have this weird wish that we could somehow get the queen.. Ella Fitzgerald to sing by the FRASS (FAKE GRASS pumped with $$).. i'd like to see the building shatter.. i'd name that moment.. FINE ART.. where literally you pay lotsa $$$ to see that beautiful moment..

at the end of the day... we all must face it that we are slaves caught in this network of Monarchy... your feedback and comments are not wanted unless you want punishment.. of cos everything they do is right.. if the students end up jobless its just tough luck.. its hard out there.. or the word commonly used.. its "COMPETITIVE"... well... i'm sure everyone feels so good to know it is and this school has only 1 aim.. which Arts school can earn the most $...

Technical Theatre.. gawd.. don't get me started.. its a lunatic house in there.. hours of agonizing torture sitting on that hard floor for 2 hours... comon we're humans.. even if you're gods we're still mortals.. spare a thought and maybe introduce some chairs?... its true that maybe 1 day i'll get reprimanded for bitching about every little damn thing in the school.. but well lets face it.. i pay enough money to say what i want.. if you have an issue, solve the problems 1st before talking..

L is for all the Lunatics we see
A is for the pathetic Atmosphere we reside in
S is for all the Shitty times we had in school
A is for all the Ample money the school makes
L is for the Luxury the school gives to the students (FRASS)
L is the Lament of the students
E is for the Excellent number of imbeciles they hired to teach..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ok i'm tired commenting about school classes.. i'll face it.. They will NEVER change..

anyway did some browsing and i passed by Gramaphone.. and i saw a collection of Computer Mouse shaped into a woman's body.. i asked my friend.. how ON EARTH are you going to click it, and just as i thought.. u either press on to the left or the right.. i don't remember seeing a roller on the cleaveage.. probably would cramp it's style.. i just find it.. a sad thing that people would actually buy this.. whats so fun about click away everyday on a distorted shaped mouse that only stimulates you SOMEHOW by allowing you to press on boobs instead.. is humanity that deprived of bust that they had to make fake ones? i really have no idea..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

wJ
ABSOLUTELY DRAINED

Posted by wJ at 9:21 PM

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Education in LASALLE

what do i really think about it?

What can you learn from "teachers" who just don't really have the capabilities of teaching certain things..

Disclaimer : Everything up here May and May NOT be accurate but so far what i see it as.. they are pretty accurate to me..

What do we learn from Creative Workshop?.. Working in a group making good noise and complicated noise gives good grades.. I mean seriously, it is seen as a performance module on a stage as big as something you can find in a bar. The end of the day, you will be "Critically Commented" on about your performance and song.. HOWEVER.. the most shocking(not really, was totally expected) thing is.. your teacher asks you to comment about your friends and later on says you're all not giving good enough criticism to help them improve.. lets start with this.. Can the teacher do the same? for some reason i seem to hear this from the teacher most of the time. "That was a nice song/piece", "Good playing", "Good Rhythm", "I feel this was unrehearsed", "Maybe you could make the song longer, it was too short".. Do you really find this critical at all?

In order to allow students to squeeze their creative juices again.. we were reshuffled into new sets of groups and generally I didn't want to work with my new one neither.. but that not being the point.. we were made to create pieces without using any instrument but just ourselves.. and instead of doing the theme Multiplication? we had to do Concepts of Multiplication like rhythm, harmony, texture etc etc etc.. what do i think about it? How much can you do with human bodies for multiplication.. get the students to stand in 1 straight line and they start spreading out? (an image of multiplication without music)... which made me think that maybe something creative for Revolution would be to hang a G-String on a line wire and use a Hair-dryer or literally your breath to blow at it.. The Revolutionized version of Air on the G String.. You're not exactly wrong, you just made it more contemporary and isn't that what the school is?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had recently gotten an advise to consider continuing the Music course and graduate with the Degree in Music with Pipa.. well, seriously.. if i really wanted to do that? I would got myself into NAFA... Why would I want to pay so much money on a school that can't provide me PROPER guidelines as to what the school expects of me.. Well my 1 semester in LASALLE has told me.. NEVER even dream of doing classical music here.. I am just horribly ostracized in learning, my mainstudy has no aims no purpose.. just something to follow what everyone else does just a bit more free willed.. there is nothing i need to accomplish other than to prepare for a recital (that i HAVE no guidelines for yet again). What difference will it be in Levels 1, 2 and 3.. and do i want to really keep hearing from the same teacher everyweek.. "Good pipa playing" (even though i didn't even rehearse or even BOTHERED thinking what to play and just played whatever i felt like playing at that moment).. nope i can't even imagine.. i believe my passion for music would have died there and then.. and it'll be my biggest regret to have taken music in LASALLE...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just really can't help but wonder where does all the money go to... students pay a LOT of money to study in this school yet everything is being cut down.. Classes have been cut down because of a budget.. so what? does that mean more money to make sure LASALLE gets the Building of Year 2010 also? or more money to maybe try putting some flowers in the "Grass".. or have they finally decided to build Block A and B already.. maybe the money was used to pay the staff? perhaps even used to GROOM the "Grass".. really where does all that money go? hiring more "teachers"?.. A mystery we have yet to solve..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

wJ
dozing off..

Posted by wJ at 8:31 PM