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

CXC Results

Date for Entry: (Tuesday 28th July, 2015)

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

Dear Diary,

    Tonight, I was patiently waiting for my CSEC Results with too much fear. I knew what was to come would come like that Spanish song: "Que serra serra, whatever will be, will be." The online website to view the results was giving some problems and we did not know what time exactly they were coming out.

    When I finally typed in everything, I clicked the log in button and then the big purple screen came up. I said, “Okay, Daryl. Just watch that middle column and pull your eyes straight down with the grades and nothing else for now.” There I was a four and then no one but then I saw threes and twos so I was pleased. When I called mom, she didn’t know what they meant so I had to explain that anything number from one to a three is a pass and anything four and below is a fail.  

    So, I was glad I got a good Two in my music and with the three, I hope it would be enough to go to UWI because I had my seven subjects including Music and English Language. Andrew, Dad, Mama and Nadara were all happy and excited for me. I too was surprised. It felt like it was all done and the big fear of CXC all these years was finally done. 

    Papa died some week ago. I did not get to tell him that I was finally getting to go to University. He considered me as a child of his would be the first one to do so.

Link(s):

1. CXC Certificate.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Fifth UWI Audition Practice

Date for Entry: (Tuesday 28th July, 2015)

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

 

Dear Diary,

    Today was my fifth day of Practice with Mr. Sharma in UWI. He told me for the first piece he would play and I can play the second piece as a solo. He taught me breathing at the start off. It was one where you had to point your head in a slant wards position to mark the first beat of the piece.   

    He then asked me about the Arthritis that Mrs. Sharma had told him about. I didn’t know that she knew I had arthritis. He showed me some exercises I can do to warm up before playing pan. And said that when something is hurting it means that it is time to stop so that it can recover. We then did some sight-reading, which I was afraid of because it is not always easy for me, lolz!

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Meeting about UWI Registration

Date for Entry: (Tuesday 7th July, 2015)

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

Dear Diary,

    Today I went to the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (D.C.F.A.) to speak with Mr. Sharma about some Piano lessons. We asked him about signing up for the Music Certificate course in September. He told us that one of the requirements was to have five passes in my CSEC Examination including English. And then he told us about an audition that I have to perform for some judges to find out some information about myself. I was getting a little worried about the English. I know that I did my best in it.

    Mr. Sharma didn’t know that I wanted to do Music when I had shown him the Pan book I made for the Youth Group. He looked surprised at the computer work and told me that I would be having to do a lot of this in the Course if I got admitted. After a chat in the Staffroom, He took me to Practice Room 4. There was a very nice brown Piano on the cover. I fixed my blue Tenor pan on a Pan stand. But to put in the Pan, the plastic holding the pan was the fat to go into the narrow hook of the pan stand. He soon came back to the Practice room and lent me a book with the songs I can play for the audition with. But this same book was the same one I am going to use for my pan exam right there in November.

    We both went through the song together. It was tough. Very tough. The first song was Adagio and I knew this one from by Mr. Lewis. And then the second piece was Blizzy. I really liked this one but it was too hard to learn. I found it difficult to learn out all in one. But we just went on from the beginning to the end. Mr. Sharma said, “That’s one of the things when you come to UWI, that you wouldn’t be spoon feed the music. So, you got to just take upon the Music.” This was one point appreciated and noted indeed in my head and nowhere in the journal. Thank you, Sir. 😊

     At the end of Practice, I was all wet as if it was a workout. I gave Mr Sharma back his book and went to meet dad and mom in the Staffroom kitchen. I told them that the room they were in was where I did my Grade 1 Exam in Pan there. I went back to Tunapuna and practised the song more.

Link(s):

1. Youth Group Steelpan Book. 
2. DCFA Steelpan Exam Book - Grade 3 Tenor (2012-2014).

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Scoring "She'll Be Called Blessed"

 Date for Entry: (Thursday 2nd July, 2015)

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

Dear Diary,

    Tonight, while digging up in an old library in Aunty Vangy room too many things fell over on me to get to the table in the corner. I was going to score out some of the old music I had on my Musescore program I found. Then I found a sheet of letters I remembered playing for Mother’s Day in Church with the Sunday School. The only one Aunty Joy gave us with the words and letters.

    Poor little me at that time didn’t know how to write music or even read it properly. In fact, that was the first time I was ever experienced playing a song on the Low C Tenor pan. One idea that mommy had, she pointed out a picture of the Tenor Pan. She got the name of the pan from Aunty Joy. We stuck it on the back of a Styrofoam plate. It was at that same time too that I did not even own my very first pair of pan sticks. I took two pencils and held them just before the point while I used the other side with the erasers to practice hitting and rolling on the note.

    The only difference was that this did not give out sound but it was a very good idea. I sat on the other side of mommy’s bed while she lay there and watched me learn the song with the letters on the yellow paper she wrote out for me on the opposite side before she fell asleep. 

(Update)

    Only after a while did mommy fall asleep, I noticed that the music wasn’t so hard. It repeated itself and the only difference was that in the fourth and eighth lines, a slight change was done. The rhythm was the same and the notes only descended each time. At that point in my life, I did not know about sequences.

    There were nine of us playing tenor pan at the time. Me and two others used the church's tenor pans. I think that Joshua had some cousins that joined us as well and they brought their pans. They were part of the nine. 

    Oh, how I admired all of them with their pans and pan sticks that I wished I could be able to play the instrument good as them. I thought that even though I was into music all this time that they would have known more than me. Time showed me that I progressed and had less to worry about back then.

    As time moved on I wondered what had happened to all of them. Are they still playing music and if they were able to play professionally. Not many of them stayed with the Sunday School as I left over the years in my short stay with Sunday School.

    There were about two to three practices with this song alone before the Sunday service that it was performed. I for one knew that I was most confident. Practising on that printout had ensured I had everything covered. I am certain that I  knew it by heart as I was practising on the printout and following the letter pitches on the yellow Bristol board sheet that mommy did for me. 

    During the performance, I had the tiny sheet with the same letter stuck inside the pan and I had the Bristol board sheet on a book stand. Being aware of the music and everything required for the piece, I did not need the letters. All that I did was just play the song. The rest of the Sunday School children had to meet aunty Joy Sampath at the back of the church by the beautiful stained glass to learn the words last-minute. This was the only way I was able to find out the words for the song. I had no idea of this song before.

    I did not know that during my private practising at home (Tunapuna; home #3) I was doing something called audiation. It was led heavily on what I had heard from class and then repeated at home. This term was taught to me by Mr. Sharma during Music Education 1 class during the third and final year of the Music Degree program.

Link(s):

1. "She'll be called Blessed" Score.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Time for Giving & Getting

 Date for Entry: (Wednesday 1st July, 2015)

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

Dear Diary,

    Today Mom and I went up to Hillview College to do two things. I had to return my books from the Rental and deliver the towel gifts I had wrapped up since Term one for some of my CXC teachers for Christmas.

    Everyone was out on lunch and Aunty Pam had come by to help us. She called Ms. Ali-Hosein and then Ms. Ali came out. Ms. Ali liked her gift and a photocopy of the play I took from Andrew’s Caribbean Studies SBA and make it better.

    Then Ms. Saunders was on a field trip so I didn’t get to ask back for my white folder of sonnets I lent her. So I decided I’ll make another folder and print them out to my DAPHA folder. Soon I saw Ria in school. She told my mom how her dad had run away from home and they looked all morning to find him. Eventually came back, thank God. 

    We then told her about the recommendation letter and she asked the Secretary to assist her on time as she walked in the door. Then I gave her a present I had for her and a photocopy of the play I did. She gave me a hug and then told me that I could do theatre arts too with the music is going to UWI. But then I realised it would be nice but then I might have to do Drama for CXC. Once that idea came to mind and remembering all the confusion and stress for CXC with music I did not want to do it.

    Later, while typing up my story “Magical Creatures” Ria called me from What’s App and I met her out in the road. She handed me the letter in a white Hillview College Envelope as she pulled up in the front seat of Mr Bedase’s car and I thanked her for it. 

Link(s):

1. Referee Letter from Ria.

Daryl Zion M. Ali