The Problem with Music

The Problem with Music

Difficulty of musical performance “That’s enough. One by one”, I barked. It was an atmosphere too familiar. My students brought up their instruments and started playing the first 5 notes printed on their music for me. As my finger went down the row rapidly, I barked...
Advent of Ensemble Music Making

Advent of Ensemble Music Making

Music Ensembles: Many Possibilities The majority of instrumental players started their music journey playing in school bands, wind ensembles and/or orchestras. One of the main differences between playing in a typical band and a chamber ensemble is in the scoring of...
20 Musical Years with Philip Tng

20 Musical Years with Philip Tng

While most people prefer to stay home over the weekends, members of West Winds come together on Sunday afternoons at Bukit Batok Community Club to make music. This tradition has been going on for at least two decades, ever since the group was established in 1993. The...
Conducting Perspectives with Rodney Winther

Conducting Perspectives with Rodney Winther

Rodney Winther is Professor Emeritus of Music and recently retired after fourteen years (1997-2011) as Director of Wind Studies and Professor of Music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  His duties at CCM included conducting the Wind...
Dreaming Big; Endless Possibilities

Dreaming Big; Endless Possibilities

Benjamin Yeo is a Singaporean composer who is internationally notable for his original wind band works. As a band enthusiast, Benjamin started writing and arranging music for wind bands and ensembles at the age of fifteen. His works have since been performed in both...
What Makes A Great Teacher

What Makes A Great Teacher

[blockquote author=”Charles DuBois” pull=”normal”]The important thing is this: to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become[/blockquote] If we were fortunate, we all had some teachers who were able to touch...
How to Rehearse a Band?

How to Rehearse a Band?

On creating a wholesome program I approach this topic with fear. The more I reflect on this topic, the more I find that the methodology of rehearsal cannot be divorced from the rationale of rehearsal. Through a conductor’s rehearsal, the way he thinks about music will...
What is Good Band Music?

What is Good Band Music?

A brief exploration of Wind band music in a Singapore context [blockquote author=”” ]Art in our society has become perverted to such a degree that not only has bad art come to be considered good, but even the very notion of what art is has been lost, so...
Be A Musician to Work Out Your Brain

Be A Musician to Work Out Your Brain

Anita Collins wants you to know that when you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on? Anita Collins explains...