today i sat for the higher ability selective test...
which i obviously failed.

so anyway, moving on to happier topics:
MY BROTHER CAME 2nd IN UNDER TWELVE PIANO COMPETITION IN THE PRESTIGIOUS RYDE EISTEDDFOD!!!!

yay i feel sooo proud of him =]
it was rather enlightening, watching all these under 12 year olds playing...
some ppl think it's rather monotonous, seeing as younger children will be playing all the very stereotypical songs such as Fur Elise and they lack the maturity and skill to be... entertaining? (for lack of better word)
but that's a terrible misconception!
because there's a lot to learn while watching them.. haha well at least for me. watching younger children play, and well, being unfairly critical about their playing (they are, after all, very young xD) one learns a lot.
1) most of them had pretty "floaty" playing. and watching them play, i truly appreciated what my piano teacher said about "singing into the piano". how do i describe it... it's like they were playing the notes, but it was just notes, and you couldn't feel the connection. which brings me to my next point
2) their melodies. a lot of the time, it didn't really come out. once again, something my piano teacher was telling me, "people don't care how many notes you have, and how hard it is to bring out the top line, they just want to hear the melody." of course, it's much harder when you're playing chords in the RH with the melody sandwiched in the middle of them, but the same rule still applies - people need to hear the melody. because without the melody, it just doesn't connect anymore
3) balance of the notes! it's something i can really empathise with, because when i think i'm keeping the accompaniment REALLY soft, my teacher still complains that it's too "overpowering". and listening really carefully to some of the playing today, when the LH was just way too much, one could judge that in fact their LH wasn't that loud at all. it was, surprisingly, actually softer than the RH, but it still appeared to be "drowning" out the RH. lesson: keep the LH 4 times softer than RH, and in chopin nocturnes, 10 times softer. wahahaha. nah joking, music can't be "measured" and "calculated", it just comes with experience. xD

but, it really was freaky seeing a select few go up there acting like well seasoned performers and playing with such maturity and direction... CHILD PRODIGIES! (my bro included =])
ok, so i REALLY want to talk about the girl who came first. gosh, her performance is totally seared into my memory.
seriously, the minute she walked up on stage, i'm sure everyone sensed that she was different. she was just so composed... hahahahaha after funny episodes of some ppl rushing up on stage and bowing like they were almost going to trip over, she was.. WOW. the performer before her had scores, and so the score rack on the piano was up. and then (i took note of this) she (was the only one to do this) walked up, bowed (very nicely), and then walked up, and PUT DOWN THE SCORE RACK! *absolute amazement*
ok, so, it's a very.. professional thing to do. most amateurs don't bother, but putting down the score rack is.. hmmmmm NVM. it's just, at professional piano concerts and stuff, if a previous performer has scores, the next performer will always walk on and put down the score rack first before proceeding.. it's like a sort of.. tradition? (ahh me and my embarassing lack of vocab ><")

she's 11 years old! and then she sits down (and where other competitors before her hastily started playing away) and places her hands by her side. she deliberates. adjusts the seat. adjusts again. (by this time the audience is getting a BIT restless. i'm just awestruck) then she takes a deep breath, places her hands on the keys. and waits again. i'm just like, OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR HER PLAY!
and i wasn't disappointed. it was a song i've never heard before (sad me ><") and started off with broken chords in the higher register of the piano in the RH.
absolutely beautiful, both to the ear and the eye. she was totally immersed from the very beginning, and her arm seemed like it was almost boneless... seriously, it was like a piece of ribbon or something, and i could actually SEE the muscles. bleah. ok nvm. too detailed, i'm ruining the beauty of it.
the notes sounded like running water, perfect.
and then the LH melody came in, and it was played with such conviction and direction, with lovely swells and falls and perfect rubato. i was spellbound for the duration of the 3 minutes she played. 11 years old! CHILD PRODIGY!

ok, so i think (or maybe i'm just trying to console myself) that she stumbled across a few notes somewhere along the middle, but still!!!!!! i shall refrain from going crazy. but anyway, the applause was thunderous, and well, i think she won the hearts of every single member of the audience with her performance. she definitely won MY admiration. xD

but yes, once again, GRATS TO MY VERY VERY PRO PRODIGY BROTHER! yay =] i feel so proud of him xD

hmm, so i found a very simple way to express what i was feeling yesterday. the lyrics of the first verse perfectly capture what i felt. and i LOVE this song =]
In His Time
In His time, in His time
He makes all things beautiful, in His time.
Lord please show me every day
as You're teaching me Your way
that You do just what You say
in Your time.

Reading List 2011