Third Aramalaya & Kelly Youth Sunday Services

Date for Entry: (Sunday 30th August, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 6th July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today was the Service for Aramalaya and we had to repeat it at Kelly. I wanted to play a piece on the pan but then Ria told me she couldn’t let me play at the beginning because she got in trouble for putting two introits at the beginning of the service. This led me to play the National Anthem for the ending.

    When it came to playing the National Anthem at Aramalaya, Zara had already begun to play it and I didn’t reach the pan in time. So I stood by my chair on the stage and sang. I listened to her because I was to play it in Kelly just like she did in Kelly. But one of the most interesting parts of the Anthem, not everyone can execute the highest note by “here every creed and race” isn’t always that easy to sing. I knew my sister is accustomed to singing that high and she did it beautifully.

    Ria had crushed my feelings with something mean during the time of Kelly. I didn't tell her about it. I was taught something during the service that was when I had intentionally blanked out the entire surroundings to cross over to my mind. I listened and realised what "it" through feeling was trying to say. 

    Whatever it was, it said to me, “If someone hurts you, don’t just hurt them back as they did. And do not hurt them back in some other form. Because this violence is only going to cause an increase in your own hurt. You should simply just be able to move on from that and spread the kindness and infinite love you make to destroy that hurt instead. If it is not done so, then the friendship or bonds you have maybe broken and can become difficult to repair.”

    I may have been hurt but with that little message said and I was able to forgive. It is not an easy thing to do but I did. Thank you, my loving Jesus. J I did get to play the National Anthem but it was to be a duet with my new musical friend Mr. Nathan Nagir. I always admire the emotions I get when he plays. It has so many stories to tell like listening to a rainbow in music. 

    After the service, we had a nice little chat about going to UWI. He asked me, “So are you glad school starting back?” I answered yes and he was shocked and then told me, “What? Nobody does ever be happy to go back to school!” He for sure did not know that I was getting to go to my WONDERFUL school DCFA that I was waiting for so long since I was seven and eight years.

    This chat continued while I was writing the notes on my Soprano score of the National Anthem. A lady had asked me for it because she said that she wanted to learn it on her Tenor pan. He then introduced me to her and I think she was the sister of Rev. Daniel Teelucksingh. He was even shocked to know that I didn’t know who that was. Honestly, I didn’t know who that was, Lolz. Before he left, I asked him if he had a copy of “Go now in peace” because I always wanted the music with the accompaniment also because I fine that playing the melody alone sometimes can get a little boring.

Link(s):

1. Song Sheet from Kelly.
2. Presbyterian Magazine (2015).
3. "Go Now in Peace" (Score).

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Pans & Pans to Clean.

Date for Entry: (Saturday 29th August, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 6th July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

Today was the Youth group meeting in the church. We had to practice for service tomorrow and also it was going to be repeated in Kelly. I was most excited because I had made some plans to clean all of the pans in the church by myself. For this meeting, I probably went a little crazy because I had packed one of my cloth bags with the musical flashcards, my youth group notebook with the prayer I wrote in less than a minute, a bowl and a blue J cloth. 

The sad thing was that Wednesday when I was labelling the pans, I heard from one of my friends in the group that the church had given away two of the tenor pans. Now, this part got me upset and worried because this pan gives the melody. But then I continued to quote the labelled notes in a dark red marker. The only thing was that I didn’t have my tablet to see the labelling of the pans on an app that I had downloaded. So, I took my tenor stick and compared the sounds to the others pans. This helped me a lot because I was not familiar with any of those in the back. For the six basses in the back, I couldn’t touch it because it was painted in black and the writing wouldn’t have shown up. Few backs and forth trips to the piano was helpful.

    On my procedure of cleaning a pan, which I had no idea of doing, I had to get my bottle of rubbing alcohol at home. Then I realised that I had to get the pan sticks I brought for the group and also a copy of the national anthem. Some of them said they could try but then I had a feeling that they would have just left it. So then I had to run home and get that to come back from the pool as fast as possible. But in any case, I printed out a full score of the National Anthem and it was in four pages. I thought it was going to be three pages. But I was still glad because it was something that I had arranged for a whole Steelband without much teaching and it sounded like it might have worked from the computer's playback.

    By seven o'clock, I was all done with the Bass pan with my shoulders hurting because I had to lift up all of those six heavy pans by myself and re-arrange them. So, each pan was lifted twice. How painful. The pans looked happy and presentable now. I took my time rubbing the solution I mixed with the rubbing alcohol and water all on the body of the pan and at the end. By by the time I was done and ready to snap a picture, they were all ready to lock up the church and go home.

    I do not have any pictures of this set of work to which I had done and put care in but they do look good. If time was there I would have gotten to take the pans down from the racks and clean out the inside lower bottom sides of them. Hopefully, tomorrow will go well and I will get to play the National Anthem for the Service.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Acquaintance to Pan Sticks

Date for Entry: (Friday 21st August, 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 6th July, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Yesterday I carried my Stamp Collection and Sherlock Holmes Painting to show my friends at the Youth group. When Ria had asked for any ideas, I then was glad because I had mentioned the Pan group. She immediately when into talking about pan sticks. So, we both wanted to find out how much it would cost for them. 

    I then texted Mr. Lewis on WhatsApp as soon as I got home to ask him if he knows of any store that sells pan sticks. So, then he told me that they sell pan sticks at his school at a cheap price. I was glad to hear that. I told him that I needed sticks for two Tenors, a Double Tenor, a Double Second, Guitar, and a Six Bass.

    He came by that same afternoon. It was $260.00 in total for the sticks and I was happy to hold them in my hands. The only problem was that he had forgotten a pair of pan sticks in school. So, he asked me if I wanted any more and if it was urgent. So, then I asked him for Cello Pan sticks to complete the band. And that was the one that came by accident in his car. So now I had $54.00 to give him. He seemed to like mommy’s haircut and then she asked him about the two in my Music. He was looking happy and said, “He is a child I’ve noticed, if he puts his mind to something he would do it.” 

    Later, that night, I got my scissors, brown masking tape, and clear scotch tape. I papered the pan stick as I usually do to all of my pan sticks to make it one of my signatures on them. It even makes the sticks look uniform.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Audition Day to DCFA Music Certificate

Date for Entry: (Friday 14th August, 2015)

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

Dear Diary,

    Today was the big day to getting into UWI but it was a task in getting in. For me, it was like a competition because I wanted to get really "high marks" on the judge’s paper. After all, it would be like a fight to get in if many other people are going to be playing the pan as well. Well at first, I practised a while with Mr. Sharma and then by myself because I was early before most other persons would come into the campus.

    After some time, I practised until Mr. Sharma took me over to the Audition Room. The first was the duet and then I played the solo piece, which was Blizzy. At first, there was this strange start off for the Duet and then I played on like sir had told me to. In the middle part, I played three bars incorrectly but didn’t stop to correct them. I guess he was glad that I didn’t stop. 

    Next was the sight-reading passage was written with three sharps. I was not sure what was the key to it. So, in the second half, I made one mistake while not stopping so I just finished it in C Major. It cost me some good "marks". It seemed like someone had put it together. The playing of it had felt like a regular unseen exercise as it was instead of a piece. My idea of the sight-reading aspect was to be given a piece and one of the persons would have asked me to play from a certain measure until I was asked to stop. 

    The best part was the questions and answers. Out of the two judges, there was a man and a lady. The lady was my examiner for my Grade 2 examination in solo steelpan. She remembered me very well just as I did but the gentleman had asked one question alone that I was kind of prepared for about three years ago. He asked me, “So why do you think this course can help you based on your background in music?” Then I gave my answer. There were some other words he was saying that I even didn’t hear or remember. I'm not sure if it was suggestions for the playing or something else.

    After this last question, the Audition was over for me and then I met Mr. Sharma outside. He told me something about the mistake I made and the weird sound at the beginning of our duet but I didn’t understand. I gave him the book he lent me and then I went by Mama in Curepe. They were both surprised and happy to see me. They were only then seeing me after hearing the CXC results and then they questioned me on the audition. 

Link(s):

1. DCFA Letter for Audition (Certificate Course).

Daryl Zion M. Ali