Form 1 Talent Show (2010)

 Date for Entry: (Friday 17th September, 2010)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Wednesday 9th June, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today during the last three periods of school, the Form 1 Students were sent to the School's Auditorium again. It was time for the Form 1 Annual Talent Show. This would be the first time that I am going to perform in front of a large crowd. The Hillview 'crowd'. Two elder students stood in front to announce who was to go up. Finally, my name was called either second or third.

    I made my way up on the stage from my classmates to the wonderful upright piano that had “Kemble London” written inside the opened flap of the keyboard area. They opened the piano flap to the top and placed a microphone inside while I played. I started to play “God Bless Our Nation” as part of the strategy.

    By the time I got near the second verse, I forgot it. I knew I did not know it so well so then I remembered Ms. Saunders telling us in class about improvisation. Keeping that in mind I decided to transform the piece into a medley and substituted the second verse with “Jesus Bits a Shine” and then concluded with the final/third verse of “God Bless Our Nation” to end.   

    When that was all done, I got up, took my notebook from the Piano and went back to my seat. As soon as I sat back down and rest my back, I felt that good sense of relief coming. I could still hear the students applauding me for that song. The nervousness had finally left me, thank God.

    Then the lady who showed me where the Form 1 classes were called me on the side to ask me for my parent’s number. This is the whole beginning of me in the Aramalaya Youth Group. To date, I'm not sure if it was by snatch as it felt that way. I gave her my dad’s number and went back to my seat after chatting with her.

    Suddenly, during the fifth performance after mine, the current went. The teachers opened the side doors and told us to go back to class. To me, it felt as if I was the only one to perform and that everyone had come out to see me alone, Lolz. I was hoping that there would have been another day where we could have gotten to hear the other students.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Hillview College (SONG)

Date for Entry: (Thursday 16th September 2010)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Monday 19th December 2022)

Dear Diary,

    The following sections are my trials and attempts at completing music notation for Hillview’s College Song.

 

LEARNING THE MELODY & WORDS.

** Thursday 16th September 2010 **

Today during the last three periods, every Form 1 student was sent over to the School Auditorium to sit and practice the School Song. My English Teacher, Miss Charis Sieunarine – Thompson, who sang on the first day of school was there. I was amazed at the way this lady could sing. I listened closely for that “Here every creed” part of the National Anthem and she nailed it.

    The four boys from the first day on the steelpans were there too. The music was fairly okay but if the rest of the pans were played the quality would have been better. But Miss Sieunarine made up the rest with her voice. 

    I'm glad that at the end of the evening, I was able to keep the melody in my mind. Around ten o'clock in the night, I was able to play the melody easily on the keyboard at Tunapuna’s home. I did not write it out on manuscript paper but I kept it in memory. 

    During lunchtime in school, I would take my pan sticks and try to figure out the same melody on a Tenor pan. Somewhere around that time, I was acquainted with Ifeaye not formally but we would have spoken before I was about to enter the Steel Ensemble by his invitation.

 

FIRST NOTATION OF MELODY.

** Unknown/Forgotten: Form 2 (2011) **

Today after Hillview and pan practice, I tried searching for music notation software that could help me to write music professionally. I was feeling a bit disadvantaged because I saw musicians being able to do this and not me. I had tried Finale, but they would only give me a thirty-day trial and then either I pay for it or have none.

    Finally, I found something at www.Sheetmusiceditor.com. I found a place where could write music. It was very difficult and too troublesome to use. But I had a lot of patience and do-overs to overcome. I so wanted to have a copy of the college song but there was a strong feeling that the school did not have it. There must have been someone who at least attempted transcribing the thing.  

    With one wrong little click, I lost all the hard work I did. There was no way to save it because that was only on a website. It was very hard to do over that short melody. I rewrote it and saw how simple a song can be.

    All my life I saw people with scores, and it made me constantly wonder how they managed to have the pieces written over the computer. What program did they use? Even if they had arranged music, it is something I wish I could do too, but I do not have the feeling that many books can teach you steelpan arranging.

    A copy of the music was made to save. I knew the website would not save my transcription. This was shared with Miss Saunders at some point, and she verified it making sure it was correct. I recall the stained patterns that came on the paper.

Link(s):

• Hillview College Song (Melody) –First Attempt.

 

FIRST STEELPAN ARRANGEMENT.

** Form 2 (2011) – From 5 (2015) **

It took me from the end of Form Two until the end of the first term in Form Five to complete music notation for the college song. I had to beg the boys one at a time to write out their parts on the separate steelpan instruments. I knew that most of the boys did not know how to write music notation properly, so I asked them to write out the pitch letters instead.

    Once the letters were written, I asked them to show me the rhythm that was given to them to play. The difference between this section entry and reality is that it took me a great amount of time in between asking each member playing a different steelpan instrument to write out their parts.

    All the sheets were compiled in a folder until Form 5 where Ifeaye gave me the pitches and rhythm for ‘his’ three cellos. I did appreciate that he told me about the rhythms for all the parts grouped within the bars of a common time meter. I had my transcription from Form 1 as the tenor pan part. I did meet one of the Double Tenor players and he said that it played the same as the tenor pan.

    At some point, I opened up Musescore (which I discovered in Form 3) and began to transcribe all the different parts that were given to me. Playing it back on the program was special. It felt like for once I had something close to what the document should have been. Most likely, it may have been the only one that exists.

    The full notation was not printed in a rush. I had it saved at home. Only a small portion of this college song was used during my difficult trials of CXC Music. I am still not sure I there were others before my time that had continued to do CXC Music through Hillview.  

 

STEELPAN ARRANGEMENT (V1) – FOR YOUTUBE.

** From 5 (2015) **

First YouTube Video Attempt

At this point in my life, I was having my first experience with an electronic tablet. There was a time during the summer vacation I recorded the transcription that I did to playback. I was about to set up my YouTube channel after discovering how to obtain it by listening to a passerby in Tobago.

    At that time also I had to wait some three days for such a channel to be prepared and created. This was my first channel before I lost the account. Having that wild idea, I made the first post about the college song. The tablet was not able to record the entire video clearly so it would have been a bit too dark and blurry in some parts. I hoped that it would have served well on that platform.

 

STEELPAN ARRANGEMENT (V3).

** Friday 28th April 2017 **

I was in the final semester of my Music Certificate at UWI. I had a trip up to Hillview in the morning to play the anthem and college song with the steel ensemble. We all planned to play at the prayer service for the final time as an ensemble. It was only we who created that ensemble from Form 1 and the others who did Form 6 remained. I had brought copies of the full score for the college song to share with a view of them.

    One copy was for Miss Saunders along with copies of parts for all the steelpan instruments. I had the Fundamentals of Pan Arranging course in session at the time and I took the opportunity to revise what I had done in 2015. This time around chord symbols were inserted into the full score when I added a line to make a lead sheet. Other people again from the past might tell me that it isn’t needed but I personally believe it is necessary.

Link(s):

• Journal Entry: “Hillview Surprise Visit & Performance.”

 

STEELPAN ARRANGEMENT (V4) – FOR YOUTUBE.

** Friday 11th February 2022 **

On Monday of this week, I was contacted by Miss and she said that my YouTube video for Hillview’s College song was used to teach the students. This period was the COVID-19 lockdown and schools were opening back after two years. I had completely forgotten about the first video I made.

    I decided to take the third version of the transcription I had and have a final review. I found out how to video record a score being played from Musescore and began working on a proper video that would be friendly towards a student now starting to learn the song.

    In this same process, the third version becoming version four was now a “short version”. This one was used as parts and sent to Miss by email to give to the school. I’m not sure if all the several parts made it. There was another one created as a “long sore” that was used for making the actual video presently created. 

    On Monday 12th December 2022, the first video of the college song was deleted. The updated video is provided in the link below.

Link(s):

• Hillview College Song – YouTube Link.

DELIVERY OF SONG BOOKLETS.

** April 2023 **

The entry's date was forgotten. My arrival at the compound was during the Easter vacation. Not many people were there in the school. I was able to speak with Miss Ramdeen. She was acting as Vice Principal at the time. It took her some time to remember me. We had a wonderful conversation in the Vice Principal's office. 

    I got to share the books with her and explained the issue of housing for each one within the school's compound. At that moment of handing over the books, it completed a wish of mine from Form 1. The music notation was made and is now freely accessible to the students that will be learning to play it on the steelpan instruments in the future. 

    Special thanks to Almighty God for his guidance and training over the years. And, thanks to the Gentlemen of our year group in the Hillview College Steel Ensemble, for the assistance in aiding this project: 

• Joshua Ojar (Tenor), Alex Jalsa (Tenor), Zachary Mongroo (Tenor, 2013), Christian Jaggernauth (Double Tenor), Isaiah John (Double Seconds), Jordon Sooknanan (Double Guitar), Ifeaye Murray (3 Cello), Stephen Mohammed (Tenor Bass), Stephen Messiah & Davonic Bailey (Six Bass).

    The first steelpan arrangement score took from Form 1 (2010) to Form 5 (2015; Term 2). It has been amended approximately three times to its current state seen in the YouTube video presented above. I wish the future students enjoyment using these scores and that they will continue to chant their cheer and to "Let the name Hillview ring across the campus clear."

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Meeting my Drama Teacher

 Date for Entry: (Friday 10th September, 2010)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 8th June, 2021)

Dear Diary,

      Today I had a big nice surprise. The fourth and fifth periods were assigned for Drama. The next thing I know, Ms. Saunders was walking in the Classroom door with her three books in her hands. Apparently, she said that she was going to be our Drama teacher as well so this made me very excited.

    During this class, she told us about something called improvisation in Drama performances, that when you forget your words you should be ready to act out how you should be in the skit and that we should not take too long to give a response.

    With that note being said, Ms. Saunders played a word game with the class. It was quick and accurate. The instruction was that a student must give a word (‘Apple’) and whatever letter the word end with (‘e’), the next student had to give another word with that ending letter. The trick was giving an answer quickly enough and not giving the same words over and over.

For example:

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Meeting Hillview College's Music Teacher

Date for Entry: (Thursday 9th September, 2010)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 8th June, 2021) 

Dear Diary,

    Today was Day 4 on my Timetable. I was eagerly waiting for the recess period to be over because I was going to have my first Music Class in Hillview. This time the lesson was going to be free and in my school. How amazing is that?

     At the entrance for all the teachers in the classrooms, the students had to stand until the teacher gave us permission to sit. A reason for this was not given so all of us went with the flow. Many of the boys including myself took some time to get used to this practice. Miss told us to sit and she had an introduction as if it was printed in a book. Her name was Ms. Sherry-Ann Saunders.

    I can recall when she had asked if there was anyone who had a musical background to stand. I for one stood up and then looked for the others in the back from the second-row fourth column in the front. Wow! There were nine of us standing. It looks like I might be getting some music friends? I hope so. hehehehehehehe, Lolz.

    Miss Saunders then proceeded to teach us about the Staff or Stave and gave us a definition that I had never learned before. She said, “A Staff or stave in music, is five lines and four spaces of which Music is written on.” This was probably the first time for me that someone had ever given me a definition for it. I did not mind that I knew off of this already. I knew that this was a chance to see what else there was apart from my music theory encounters.  

    Sooner or later, the fifth period was over and she had to go. I felt sorry because that was so nice. But overall, she was a great teacher just by observing how she taught us. I just hope the next class comes soon again. lolz. 😂😊. 

________________________

(UPDATE) 

    At the time of this class, we were only required to have 

• Eric Taylor Music Theory in Practice Grade 1 (ABRSM), which was misplaced. 
• Music manuscript book, which was lost in time
• A recorder. 

    Over time I got to learn that Learning can be a fun book and got that. I also got a school recorder book for my own. I did not know that mommy had the family's copy of the book. She also had a claim that she was the only one in the family to master the recorder but I'm not quite sure how true it is. Maybe one day I will do more practice and try to get there too.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

First Day of Hillview College

 Date for Entry: (Monday 6th September, 2010)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 8th June, 2021)

Dear Diary,

        Today was my first day at Hillview College. Mom walked in with me through a small pedestrian gate and we met the vice principal, Mr. Ramsahi, up in the main office. She showed him a photocopied page from the newspapers with Andrew and Essay Writing Competition.

    When we went downstairs, a lady we knew from church was there. I realized that it was also Andel's and Joshua's first day too in Form one or that the three of us would be in the same class. She told us where the Form 1 classrooms were and I went out in that direction. 

     I went into my new classroom nervous and worried about what could happen. My mind for days now had me overthinking everything TOO much. It was hot because of the white long sleeve shirt and maroon tie. I felt so special to have to wear a tie during one whole day of school. That was amazing indeed!! 

    During the assembly, four tallboys were playing the steelpan instruments for the National Anthem of Trinidad & Tobago and their very own school anthem. I was so happy to be greeted with a lovely song and to hear the graceful melody of their college song. I hope that someday I will get to learn the melody on either the tenor pan or on the piano. The chanting of the boys yelling out at the end of every verse sounded really cheerful. I even carried my Hillview College homework book in my pants pocket to follow the words printed on the inner side of the back cover.

    Suddenly, at the end of the morning’s message, the Principle came up to announce Andrew’s third place in the writing competition. He knew that I was here today and had asked if I was to show my hand in the large crowd. I was so worried I just my hand and they saw. Thankfully, it was not for so long and I was glad that he did not call me up.    

    At the end of the first assembly, we were sent into our classrooms. For me, I was placed in Form 1 West. We got our timetable and meet our two form teacher names: Mrs. Mala Chin Fong and Mr. Gajadhar. I hope trouble don’t end up following me. To go through such things isn’t nice and I hope I get along with my teachers as well as the subjects that they are about to introduce into this new school life. 

    Only in the afternoon after lunch, we were given a tour of the school. I was very happy when I saw the savannah up on the hill. It was lovely. Then getting up onto that pavilion showed the magnificent descending view from the hill and far. Amazing Hillview! 😊

    Looking back at the timetable I know for sure that the Music class in a few days would be really exciting. I'm hoping that it would be well for me. That it will be able to step in for me (as a guiding teacher) and that it help fill the gaps from all these years of self-education in music theory. Hopefully, this experience will give me the chance to know what it is like to have a music teacher.

Daryl Zion M. Ali