It was not until I joined a choir in my teens that I realized people with absolute “perfect” pitch exist... oh how naïve I was! The ability to distinguish a note without reference intrigued me – how do they know and what defines a music pitch anyway? Why do different instruments sound different? Here’s a brief introduction to the science and origin of music pitch so you don’t have to stay clueless like I did. Physics of sound frequency Sound refers to the ,longitudinal waves produced by a vibrating object that travels through a medium (i.e. air, water, glass) and eventually reaches a listener ..read more

We’ve all been there. Relentless hours of playing the same passage repeatedly, only to see marginal improvement at best. Or for some, whose non-music lives are so hectic that sieving time for practice becomes an unsettling burden. The past 2.5 years has been the most distressing time I had with my piano – certainly not a descriptor I would ever associate with my lifelong music partner, but preparing four Grade 8 “exam pieces” amid military and school commitments was a near impossibility. Every week returned a mere 1-2 hours of practice and there were times when I was away for more than a month ..read more

Interview with percussionist Christopher Kong (Singapore ) Preface: Christopher served for two years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Band during his military service – a mandatory commitment for all Singaporean males aged 18 and above. A fitness status called Physical Employment Standard (PES) is assigned to each serviceman prior to enlistment, which determines their vocation based on their medical health. Ranked from A to F in decreasing order of fitness, Christopher held a PES C – mostly fit for combat service support vocations. Read on for his experience as a military musician! This int ..read more

If there is one thing classical musicians wish never existed, it ought to be performance anxiety. Eight years on, I still shudder at the thought of my first choir solo. I was so nervous that I choked on my entry - a soloist’s worst nightmare. In front of a crowd of 40, I struggled to muster the energy back to my trembling lips and what came next was just a blur. Eventually, I got better at managing my anxiety as I performed publicly more, and even became comfortable singing for 3,500 people. Here are some things I learnt during my performance years which may help you overcome your anxiety. #1 ..read more