Evolution of the Steelpan (Book)

Date for Entry: (Tuesday 26th May, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Friday 2nd July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today in the afternoon while I was preparing for my Principles of Business examination, Starry came and she gave me a small little pan book that she got from an exhibition. It looked quite lovely in red. I know that it will be a very nice one to add to my collection and that someday if I get a bigger library shelf, I would place it there with my other collection of work.

 

Link(s):

1. Made in Trinidad and Tobago: Notes on the Evolution of the Steelpan.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Second Aramalaya & Kelly Youth Services

 Date for Entry: (Sunday 9th May, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Monday 5th July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    This morning was Trinity Sunday and our message focused on The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. I had to start off the service both in Church and in Kelly with a pan solo. I played “Praise ye the Father” and right into “Suhani Raat” While playing Suhani, I heard someone persons humming the melody. The same thing happened in Kelly too. After all, it was Indian Arrival Day yesterday.

    In Kelly Church, I was surprised to see my Facebook friend Nathan Nagir coming to play the organ. this was the first time I  got to meet him in real. 

The songs that they had to play were:

• Lord God of Morning and of Night
• Come thou, Almighty King
• Father, we Love you
• Doxology and Glory be to God the Father
• Lord’s Prayer
• Holy holy holy
• Threefold Amen
• Coral Benediction

Daryl Zion M. Ali

CXC Music (Paper 1) - Set Works

 Date for Entry: (Friday 8th May, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Friday 2nd July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today was another Musical Exam for CXC’s/CSEC Paper 1 in Set Works. It was most worrying to me because the notes that Ms. Saunders had given me was some pieces on a flash drive to listen to and notes on them but they were not enough information at all. I really wished I had a teacher or someone who knew the coursework to sit with me and guide me along the way. 

    I reached in school at about quarter to nine and I met up with Ifeaye and he walked me up into the Auditorium just before the bell could have wrung for the morning’s assembly. I showed him the syllabus and some notes on Genres I made over the internet’s definitions and YouTube late this morning, desperate for knowledge and the feeling of failing the subject was so strong in my mind. I did not like that at all. 

    On arriving at the examination room, it was the same Chemistry lab that I did the paper 2 Music exam in also. I find that this was the room I should have done the recording inside of there instead of my room. There was enough tight space like a soundproof room to keep the sound in, even when you spoke, you could hear the loud echo. But I didn’t know that was so. I should have maybe gone and gotten permission from Ms. Lalchan to do the recording there.

    It was a bit easy and then finally, it came to the Set works section. The paper was designed into three sections. One for music literacy, one for musical perception and the last one for set works. The set works were kind of easy, however, the question was designed to match me and then I felt as if I mixed up two of them. Before one of the Examiners left me, Aunty Maureen, told me, “thanks for making me feel special” and she left. That was because I had given her a booklet from the Paper 2 Music exam and the other two examiners, Aunty Janice and Mr Batholomy. I was so happy I met them since in Form 1 in the third term when they had come to supervise the CXC examinations of that year as they always do.

    For this entry, two other sheets of paper are attached with my CXC Time Table for the Examinations. These two sheets show proof that I wrote the exam and were also the backover of the Official Examination Booklet. Somehow, they should have made it perforated so it would be easy to take out but I believe now that the place of the uneven and torn sides where they took it out of the book made it look like history. At least in my history I will cherish this special memory and include some of the hardships as well because it was a journey I went through and succeeded by the mighty touch of God, Amen.

 

Link(s):

1. Official CXC Timetable & Receipt for Paper 1 (All Parts & Sections).

Daryl Zion M. Ali

CXC Music (Paper 2; Parts A & B)

 Date for Entry: (Wednesday 6th May 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Friday 2nd July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today was my Musical Exam for CXC’s CSEC Paper 2 in Performance and Composition. I had to do a composition and an arrangement for this Examination as well as to prepare a file of musical scores in work that “I had done for the two years of experience.” I had never had that experience, however; I had the experience via “Graded Performances in Solo Steelpan” from the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) thank God.   

    I only did the scoring and writing of the arrangement and composition from Saturday until Tuesday night. Plus, we had to record them all on a device and then burn them onto a CD. That was hell! I had problems with recording because I needed the music room which we never had in school to do it. There was a dog in the neighbour’s yard in Tunapuna that was barking and children making noise. I was glad the children voices didn’t come out in the audiotape but the dog kept on barking. It was a good thing that it was not enough to have to do over the recording.

    I made photocopies of the examination booklet I made all with CD recordings of the songs. They were presents for some of the teachers. Ms. Sirjosingh got hers and she told me that I was a real sweetheart. It took me some time to get everyone's names on the booklets in a fancy font and handwritten in a purple fine point gel ink pen.     

    For the examination, I chose to play my Arrangement and for the Solo, I played “Jesu Joys of Man’s Desiring”. The Viva Voce questions were quite easy and I gave the answer to the questions in full detail. The Moderator was pleased with my answering and then she made me tell her what the bars in the music were describing. That part was easy for me because I had made a storyline telling my journey into Hillview, what happened and how the story developed in each segment of the piece. She said that the "piece was very comprehensive."  

    At the end of the exam, she let Ms. Saunders back in after the two of us talk about what I wanted to do when I’m finished with CXC. Then Ms Saunders and the Moderator who was a past student of Ms. Saunders’ father had a long chat that involved me. She told Miss that I should have been at a very high level than Grade 2 in Pan practical. Then the subject changed into talking about the school in terms of the unfortunate ways they treat Music Education.

    The moderator then walked the both of us to her car, to show us how the file should have looked like. Apparently, I went and did extra work that was not needed. She only needed the arrangement and the composition. She showed us one of the students she had moderated earlier that day, to give her an idea of what was expected inside of the folder. The only difference is that mine will be a prettier book which will be bound together so that pop out and look to go “bye-bye.”

    There were these two pictures that Ms. Saunders and I liked with the music. She took a picture for me to insert in the folder and she sent it for me on WhatsApp over might. But the way it was, I found similar ones on Google Images and downloaded them to put in the project. These were downloads looked brighter and perfect for the project.

Daryl Zion M. Ali