Jointly reported by:
Chloe Soh Ke Er Jr2Z(3)
Khoo Xin Yi Sr1ScA
On the 12th of February, Kuen Cheng High School started its first Saturday Independent Learning Day event of 2022. One of the programs included an Enjoying the Music session hosted by the coach of the Music Composing Society and a few club members.
An introduction to enjoying the music session was given by the coach, Madam Hee Siaw Fuey, who is also the Head of the Co-curricular Department. She introduced the basics of music, major, minor and chinese music. She then performed her own rendition of Jay Chou’s 《稻香》in three different keys. Then, she shared different music genres like classical, pop music, and new age music. She also shared how a music’s tempo, texture and key can influence our breathing, imagination, and mood. Examples were played using Yiruma’s “Kiss The Rain”.
Example of using Different Keys on the Same Song – 《稻香》
Following the introduction to piano, a parlour music sharing session was then held via a pre-recorded video, starring Seow Hui Yeng, a member of the Music Composing Society as the emcee. She explained that parlour music is a very relaxing and calming genre of music before proceeding with the music sharing. She first shared 《梅花三弄》, an instrumental played with a guqin. Next was “Hidamari Neko ni Mado”, an OST (Original Soundtrack) from Mahoutsukai No Yome. “I Will Protect You”, an OST from Fruits Basket was played, too. Lastly was “Gentle Sunshine” by Monoman. Hui Yeng also shared keywords such as “relaxing”, “healing”, “spa” etc. as words to be used when searching for parlour music.
Hui Yeng Sharing Parlour Music
Then came another music sharing segment by Maggie Khoo Sook Hui, another member of the Music Composing Society. She spoke on the R&B genre, explaining that said genre comes in 3 different forms, namely gospel, soul, and blues. R&B originated from black Americans and can feel sad or relaxing. She emphasized on the liberty behind the vocals of such songs, like how the vocals could twist and turn yet still sound natural. Maggie also shared the songs “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye, 《飞机场的10:30》 by David Tao, “Ballad” by J.Sheon and 《最好的都给你》 by Yu Jia Yun. She also mentioned that it is much harder for Chinese songs to master the art of R&B, but when pulled off, may sound very relaxing and carefree.
Maggie Sharing R&B Music
Next, Sofea Chang Hui shared a genre that is very popular among the younger generation now which is OST(Original Soundtrack). She shared her favorite OST soundtracks from the popular TV series, “Arcane”. The reason she wanted to share this soundtrack is because there are different music genres among the 11 songs. Besides, the quality of music production is high. She also recommended the OST of Show Window: The Queen’s House, a Korean Drama which featured R&B music.
Sofea sharing the OST of Show Window: The Queen’s House