Date for Entry: (Wednesday 24th February, 2016)
Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 14th September, 2021)
Today was my first assessment for Introduction to World
Music, which meant that today was the day for the group presentation of
“Sabilulangan”. I came with a surprise, which was the Kurta mom and I went to
buy in Priya’s a few days ago. Our group had decided to wear red but I preferred to dress up for the presentation.
We had a short practice in class but the bad part was that
we didn’t have the ending part ready for the performance. This morning was supposed to be for that. While my group took out the instruments to Studio 4 from the pan theatre, we signed the mark sheets and also
the one in the full score booklet for submission. I made sure that the cover was well coloured because the rest of the document was plain black and white. But I was glad that it was done and ready
except for the players. Not sure how the laying would have come out.
I had to go and change in practice room 11, while Natasha’s
group was performing but I still heard them more than twice yesterday during
the lunch period. While I was finished dressing and knowing that they finished
their performance, I walked down the corridor in my red Indian clothing and my bookbag on my back with my lunch kit in hand coming like a little red riding hood.
As I opened the door and walked in, I felt ashamed because everyone was watching me and that was
butterflies to my stomach but I took the enjoyment of the day.
I gave Eric the mark sheet with the full score booklet and
he gave it to Mrs. Neaves when it was our turn. My group was the third and last group.
I guess it was because of the time I took to come back to class but it was a
good part of timing. When it was our time to go up, the bass pan was a problem
to move until Toyanna came and lifted it up. That was surprisingly nice like
superwoman. She was strong. Everyone was in place but I didn’t like how we were
separating the percussion from the melody parts.
From the front of the class, I could see the same guy
Kershorn, Eran and Denzel who came to watch us perform. I was glad that they
came but I now worried about messing up everything I was doing because the three of
them plus the whole class was probably watching me because of my clothing. I
could remember Quianna telling me, “Ways boy, Daryl. I felling underdress now.”
The piece started off well only until my part of the introduction because Eric was supposed to start off the part by playing the G Major scale. We ended up missing four beats of rest before actually started and that was not supposed to happen. Thankfully, the rest was all cleaned up for the body of the song, which we had a lot of mistakes that were cleared up on Monday.
When the time came for the grand finale at the end that was the biggest bust ever because we didn’t practice or even reach the ending section of the song. Then it had this part that Eric was supposed to wait for me and then he rushed it in so now I had to keep up with him and then the percussion side was already at the ending point. For myself, I just added in my ending part with the long arpeggiation and looked over to Tinesha to give the final three counts as I told her to do before class. I could see from some of them that in the group that they knew had a screwed up situation there.
I took my bags to change back into my other clothes I came down to school within practice room 11. I felt worried because the song got a big mess up in two major parts of the song. I drank some cold water and calmed myself down. Then as I came back to class, Mrs. Neaves was giving her comments about the groups.
She started with my group first because we “gave a real taste of what Indonesian music was supposed to sound like…an introduction was given...the introduction is good to have because it gives the audience an idea of what is coming next.” Apparently, our group was the only one of the three that gave an introduction. Mrs. Neaves also thanked me for the clothing that I had on. I felt happy because it was getting a bit weird in the class looking too fancy and then everyone was wearing ordinary matching clothing.
She liked it and appreciated how Ishan played the Tambourine and I could remember teaching her the correct rhythms on her score and so I said, “Thank you” very easily in a whisper from my lips. Miss did the same thing with Rachel on the Dholak and then I said “thank you” again below speaking volume. I was glad that miss liked it. I could remember Monique shouting out, “Yeah that was really good. I could have fallen asleep with that.” I was shocked by what she said, however, this story and stress was tied up and completed well. I'm glad that there were some good things to hang onto from it after the first attempt at this arrangement.
The class was going on and then Mrs. Neaves told us how important yet challenging it is to be playing in a group that we have to become one when playing. That was when Adam started to sing a piece of “Stand together in what you believe” and then I hummed the other part “work for what must be done.” He laughed out.
After class Quianna and I was talking about the next presentation and about how worried in what was happening in the piece. We then spoke about adding lyrics to a piece of the song but then I suggested that we add in a special section of the song and then go back in the music. She agreed to it. I was wondering about the foreign language because it was something we would have to research quite well.
Politely I was trying to tell them they would have to study the language well and they would have to create it themselves. It was a good idea but it would have been more than too much for me at that point. As I continued to play on the Piano, Dr. Remy came into the room and told us that she was kicking us out. She and Toyanna had to play a piece of music so I sat outside with Natasha and Chikea outside with Adam and two others.
As Natasha was waiting to walk out she was talking about and then she said the sun was too hot to go walking out and then a girl we called Nella said, “We'll call a car and wait outside.” I understand what she meant by standing in the hot sun and began to giggle as Natasha told me “yuh right yuh laugh Daryl.”
Nella went with Kershorn and another guy from Intermediate class a while after they finished eating in the back by the breezy trees, That was near the small gate that goes into the law school next door. After talking with Toyanna in Studio 4 about arranging for the pan and the 7 steps it has, it was the only time I had asked someone about arranging. I was happy for her when she said that she was going to be arranging for panorama next year and told me about the limits for the jams.
I went to help Kershorn with “Song of Lopinot” for intermediate class and then I was teaching Megan from the same group to another piece. Got to teach him the whole first page and then half of the second page. While that was happening, Dad came and gave me a pie in a brown bag from St. Mary’s Bakery. I knew because I could sense the smell and then he drove off. I didn’t eat because I wanted to teach Megan the song and also to learn that dangerous part that was going to be a big hot mess in the middle. This was about to happen and go through in class today.
The five of us came to class a bit late and then class went on as usual. We all had a lot of fun together while I showed Chikea the music at the same time too. I’m glad my toes didn’t plat up. They were witnessing so much pain that I really needed to sit down but I had to stand to play the pan. I didn't trust the stool that they had in the pan theatre. Sometimes wishes I had a proper stool to carry and use.
(UPDATE)
Thursday 25th February, 2016
The submitted music of "Sabilulangan" was returned today. When I came out of practice room 4 from individual pan lessons and signed out tenor pan #6, I saw Mrs. Neaves coming down the corridor. She had just arrived at school. As I said hello and good morning I asked her if she saw the mark sheet I made for her in the full score booklet.
She couldn’t remember what I was talking about so she walked me back to her office and took out a brown envelope with the three groups' work. She told me that she “wasn’t supposed to be in school today but with a million things going on it could be a hot mess.” Well, I do know what she means by that and I would most certainly agree.
When she opened the booklet and she saw the mark sheet I did over, it sounded as if she wasn't dismissive of it. I too was still impressed by the 'accomplishment' looking down at the booklet on the desk. She then asked me if I would like her to write the marks from her papers into the sheets. I was a bit shy to say yes but I didn’t want to put her through all that trouble.
While dad and I drove off, he told me he now saw the two o we bounced up on the corridor the minute he drove in the year. When I told him about the booklet and the presentation yesterday, he then told me that I “must be really blessed."
Link(s):
Daryl Zion M. Ali
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