Very disappointed..

Oxford dictionary, 'disappointed': sad or displeasure because one's hopes or expectations have not been fulfilled.
Well, we made it pass the division level round and now we're going to go to Bintulu for the state level secondary school choir competition that is coming up in around a little more than two weeks. For the seniors who have went through this same path before, I'm sure that our competitors are at their best yet. So the Batu Lintang choir army is marching on.. even without Pn Luk.
It's not an impossible task, and I believe in the potential of our school choir. Today morning we actually had a sectional practice just for the guys that started at 10.30 and ended at 12.00pm. (It started at 10.30 because we had a compulsory 'gotong-royong' for all the morning sessions before that) And when I walked in about 2 minutes after 10.30 and opened the bilik kuliah door, guess what? There was not one person present!
A few came later, but more than half of them were not present. A few were busy with the Genesis Quest thingy that also took place on this Saturday morning. And there were others.. with other reasons.
Needless to say, I am very, very disappointed.
To all the present choir members, I want to say this: wake up. Remember that we're competing against a choir that has a record about as impressive as ours in the choir competition. We're up against the best. Wake up! In the following two weeks, we can either make it or not. We have to decide whether we want to do this or not!
I'm simply wasting my time working so hard if all of you are going to keep finding thousands of excuses to keep yourselves away from practices.
Have I been too lenient to you all? Have any of you realized that we are going to face our toughest competition yet in Bintulu in about two weeks time, and that we're going to be performing on July 14 alongside some of the best choirs in Kuching?
Wake up people! You guys either give your all or not do anything at all!
I'm very disappointed and this kind of things will never be tolerated again. When there are practices, find ways to come, not escape!
The following two weeks will be crucially important. I hope you all wake up and start being a responsible choir member. I'm already doing my best and giving my all.
Please, no more nonsense from now on.
Do it for each other. Do it for the choir. Do it for the school. Do it for Pn Luk! Do it for the seniors who have worked hard to earn the SMK Batu Lintang choir a good name!

Me to choir members: I BELIEVE in you..

Remember, all that you have done and sacrificed for the choir will not be forgotten.

It's time to make history, guys.

Into The West

Hi ya all,

One of the songs we are singing on July 14 is 'Into the West'. Check out the original version of the song by Annie Lennox at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nVVWDSFFhc

Hope you guys enjoy it and understand and appreciate the song better after watching the video. : )

Ryner

Happy moments together...

Today is the 1st week anniversary of our choir winning the inter-school choir competition. I felt so proud of everyone because we had done our BEST!!! But...we still have a long long way to go...that is going to participate the state level choir competition...I agreed what Ryner had said that the BIGGEST opponent in the competition is ourselves...it is true...but we must also try to work hard to be better than not only ourselves but also those who are better than us...I think we should learn from them, not always competing with ourselves. Choir had given me lots of fun and happiness. I hope this won't be the last month of our crucial bonding...especially "mommy". She had left me...and went to become a soprano...sob...Actually I dunno what decision should I make now. On the 14th July, our choir is gonna perform somewhere in Kuching but I have a very important event goin on...I think I juz needa sacrifice the it for choir...I had made so much commitment to choir, I will feel guilty if I left choir and go to the 10th (grandest) Sarawak Rainforest Festival in Damai...hmm...since choir had brought so much sweet memories, I guess I needa be with the choir that day...By the way, we had pass our division level but we must always remember to improve ourselves because you will reap for what you have sow...I believe that we can do it if we are willing to put ourselves into it!

Behind The Scenes

When it all started....

Sectional Practises---> Block C

Had to move the keyboard and wires here and there as usual. But people were... and still are obsessed with toying the tuner and all fancy sounds makable.

"Sing loud but soft...Huh?"
Hah! That guy in white left us! (Seb) but its ok cause the brothers in. jk

"tenors! leave up your notes!"
Hmmmm, can't remember when was this. But the face tells a lot about the date though.haha

New location!----> Top floor of Block D

Remember guys, Colin wasn't with us yet and who's the one carrying the elephunk speaker up and down 4 stories MAN?????? haha

Was kinda fun singing at the highest point of school.

"haha, check him out"--------------------------------

Temporally Hideout----> Library

* We even practice at the library but i didn't took much photos of it. But it was the turning point for the choir as Ryner sort of let out whatever that clot in him (and of course the "bitchy" incident), the choir found new hope as we suddenly sounded remarkably nice.

Home Sweet Home---->Bilik Kuliah

Traditionally the most familiar place for all choir members. The smell of the unfancied air-freshener, the shaky benches, the "not in good condition" main doors, the banging on the piano... so much la.haha

"AAaahhh! ada nyamuk..."

cam pasar aje...




A better feeling of competition--> Dewan

Please don't be mislead by the following picture, it was really fun singing in an empty dewan.

Sleepy headszzZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

***Group HUGS***

I guess this is where our chemical bonds come from. Van der Waals forces has no fight against the magnetic force between us.haha.no idea what i'm talking about.Just wanna say that a more united choir will produce a more united voice. And we sorta acheived that..sort of. lol

ONE VOICE , ONE SONG, ONE TEAM!-Xiaman motto(if not mistaken)

All the best!!!!

credits : w850i walkman phone

We won!!

Yay! Competition day finally came and our school choir has managed to win the division level choir competition yet again. Phew! That means that our choir's history of always being the champion in the district level competition has not been broken.. What a relief. We're going to go to Bintulu for the state level choir competition where we'll meet up with SMK Methodist again, after so many years..
Best conductor award went to Greenroad. Third place also went to Greenroad, and the second place went to St. Theresa. First place went to.. us. Well, when the winner was announced, a lot of the members were on their feet screaming and cheering.. Guess all the months of hard work finally paid off..
I'm not going to blog much, because I don't have any pictures with me now. To the St. Theresa choir members, I've got to say you girls were much better than the last time I met your choir back in 2004.. Your choir sounded quite nice and you girls were our biggest competitors in the competition.. Congratulations!
To all the other choir members.. Yalah, happy-happy... but not for long ar! I didn't want to tell you this, but now since division level is all over now, let me just say this: we have A LOT of room for improvement and polishing, so don't get all overconfident and stuff.. Use the very short break to catch up with your studies.. I know we have fun in practices but we all know studies is still the most important thing for us as students..
Well, congratulations to all the choir members!! Seniors, I hope we made you guys proud.. The road to this outcome was not an easy one.. And we promise to do our very best to get ready for the battle ahead for us at Bintulu..
So proud of you all!
*Group hug again*

Ryner

Preparations Made for the Competition

Hi everyone,

Hah.. competition coming up so soon and I really have to admit that it has really been tiring and pressuring at times. Especially the fact that people are getting SICK.. even when I told everyone plainly, "Don't get sick." A few are even so sick that they cannot even make it to practice, and that really puts unnecessary pressure on me... *pressure.. pressure...*
Not to mention that some STILL have excuses to skip practices, though only a few.. Even on Saturday when I strictly told them that whoever does not come on that day will no longer be in the team, some STILL had the bravery to go back early from practice.. For those who have been in the choir in the early years, you can probably understand my frustration at this obvious lack of commitment that leads to more pressure on my part.. *pressure.. pressure..*
The school hall was also used by PBSM for some blood donation activity from 9am to 12pm, so because of that we couldn't use it for practice. And furthermore, we are going to have four microphones on the day of the competition and I thought of using four microphones just to test how it sounds in a hall, but teacher said something about the amplifier not enough and that we could only use two microphones. For that reason, we couldn't use microphones to hear how it sounds in a hall. Even though that's a minor issue, it is after all still a problem.. *pressure.. presure..*
A few people still come late for practice.. *pressure.. pressure..*
The fatigue that comes from spending more than 9 hours in school a day.. *pressure.. pressure..*
The team morale that is not exactly high right now.. The not-so-convicing expressions on the members' faces when they sing.. The changes still made in the songs.. *Pressure!!*
But cut all that emo-ness.. This is what it means to be a conductor anyways, so what am I complaining for? Besides, it's a good experience and Cg Susie says something like she believes all this is teaching me to patient on how to work and deal with people in the future.
We're having a rest on Sunday, and on Monday it's going to be all-out.. Actually we don't sound as bad as many of the members think right now.. It's just that I have big expectations for the choir and I keep pushing them..
(By the way, the look on my face on Saturday had nothing to do with my contempt with Pn Luk.. I in fact really appreciate her coming over to teach us.. It was actually someone in the choir that I felt put a lot of pressure on me and made me the scapegoat for every mistake the choir made.. but we're ok right now.. a misunderstanding I guess..)
I know we can do our best.. Just need to polish some here and theres, and get the team's spirit up and I think we'll be ok.. I'm also sort of relieved that people have gotten sick for the past few days, because then they will probably recover by tomorrow and that's a good thing..
To all the members, I BELIEVE in you all and know we can do our best.. Some of you might not think so, but I also agree that the choir is not about winning competitions, it's about having fun singing. So the main thing about choir is producing a good voice quality that we can be proud of achieving, not necessarily being better than the other choirs. That's why I hope that after the competition is over, we can just have fun singing some other songs as well...
To the sick, you're probably getting better and better. And to the others, section leaders please remind them to have a good rest and do some exercies like jogging to sweat because it'll be good for them. Get yourselves excited for the Monday rehearsal and be confident.. We should be ok if you all follow what you have been told..
We can do it!
*Group hug*

Ryner

A million thanx to u

i would like to say thank u to Madam Luk for coming on sat morning although she's not feeling well, she stil turn up to hear us sing.. Really appreciate it!
LOVE U SO MUCH! <3

little wonders

let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder
don't you know the hardest part is over
let it in, let your clarity define you
in the end we will only just remember how it feels
our lives are made in these small hours these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate time falls away,
but these small hours, these small hours still remain
let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine until you feel it all around you
and i don't mind if it's me you need to turn to we'll get by,
it's the heart that really matters in the end
our lives are made in these small hours these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours still remain
all of my regret will wash away some how but i can not forget the way i feel right now
in these small hours these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate these twists & turns of fate time falls away
but these small hours these small hours, still remain, still remain
these little wonders these twists & turns of fate time falls away
but these small hours these little wonders still remain

Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

i love the lyrics of this song.. guys.. take a minute and think about it.. ^.^
to those who r sick.. get well soon k.. hope tomoro's offday will provide u guys wif enuf rest n u'll feel rejuvenated on monday.. i myself is getting much better.. try to relax abit n don b too tense.. as in dis song.. let it go. let it roll rite off ur shoulders..it's d heart dat really matters in d end..

3 days to go

I just wanna remind everyone to not start getting nervous because there is absolutely no point to start feeling nervous. If anything, you should begin to feel EXCITED, NOT nervous.



I've witnessed and unfortunately experienced how it is when one of my mate was thinking too much, lost his nerves and messed up big time. He forgot the one essential thing of being in this choir I guess, that is to have FUN singing.



Let me reiterate once again the purpose of this school choir. As you can see from the history bar on the right side of this blog, SMK Batu Lintang choir was not created for the sole purpose of participating in inter-school competitions and winning them, it is also to make beautiful music through singing.



Do not be so...so...FOCUS-DRIVEN on the aim of being champs of Kuching until you forget to just relax and enjoy what you're singing. I know there may seem like there is a huge amount of pressure on us to accomplish that aim, but the truth of the matter is that pressure is all in your head. People do not have expectations for us to win. They only have expectations for us to give the best that we can give. So don't fret too much people!!!



I believe all of the seniors that are still in the choir would reaffirm me when I say that we sound pretty darn good at this moment. Even the old choir members (Nicholas Kho, Eng Jia Yih and the-other-guy-whose-name-i-do-not-know-very-very-sorry) that came in to listen to us on Friday mentioned we sounded good. So don't lose your confidence guys!



Also, about falling sick....haha. There is nothing in the world that we can do about it now right? I notice that most of those who are sick are the seniors. Speaking from my own experience, because I am one of the *counts with fingers* eight who fell sick in the space of 4 DAYS this week, we've been pushing ourselves a bit too muchh to get the best out of us and out of our respective sections. Honestly, it is a lot of stress if a member of the section repeats the same mistakes over and over again. Ask Nurul!!!!



That is why tomorrow's break from practice is very God-sent. God Bless you Madam Anita. I think we all desperately need the break after working our asses of for the past week, especially our conductor.



I hope that everybody will come back in on Monday morning with the same enthusiasm and drive as ever before, if not MORE. Remember, we are singing not because we want to win competitions, but because we love to sing (just reiterating Mr Lee's point)



God bless guys. Rest well and game on on TUESDAY!!!!!!









goodness gracious me, this is my most formal post in any blogs to date!! so dramatic

Choir practice..

Hi again ya all!

Well, competition is coming up soon and we're all practising hard. The attendance has obviously improved, because it is school season and members are bound to turn up during school season.. The mood and the aura, I'd say, is improving. We did a mock presentation in front of a few classes who did not have a teacher in the afternoon, and when we got back to the bilik kuliah it was all business.. It's gonna be quite serious from now on.. We will do our very best to get the songs as perfect as we can, to do the best of our abilities.
Practices are getting really fun, especially with people like Izzati around.. Haha.. There's always some spontanous things happening during practices, so I'd say they are really entertaining and fun.. But like I said, it's getting all serious now.. It's gonna be no more jokes and all for a while.. Gotta get all the songs right..

Uh, when Ruby said that we WILL win.. Let me just say that was just a self-motivation thing.. It's not meant to offend any of our competitors, so please don't take that in an offensive or a serious way.. I personally hope that after the whole competition is over, we can really just be friends and learn from each other..

To the current members: Like I said, it'll be all business from now on.. Few days left and we have to get our act together.. Just a word of reminder:

1. Do not sleep late. Do not sleep later than 11pm at night.
2. Stay away from food that might spoil your vocal chords or be harzardous to your health.
3. Drink more cooling drinks like honey.
4. Do not overstress yourself. Practices may be long, but have enough rest at home.

These tips should be followed because they are really important and when not followed can easily affect our performance on the actual day. The last tip should also be taken seriously.. I know the practices are long but it has to be that long if we want to get our songs right.. So after the practices, get enough rest.. You want to be at your best during the competition..
Members, have faith in yourselves.. You guys have all worked so hard and we'll just do our best during the competition and see it how it goes..

4 more days..

4 more days to the "BIG DAY"..

i dont know about you guys, but i'm nervous. maybe it's cos i'm new in this whole experience thingy.. but yes.. we ARE going to win. all we need is ONE FINAL PUSH and voila! we'll impress everyone there AND we'll impress Ryner. i always find impressing Ryner, especially us sopranoes, a great challenge. i just love it when Ryner is happy with our singing. cause i know he believes in each and everyone of us, and that is why he is working like two times harder than us all.. he deserves a pat on the back, no?

but anyways.. thank you Ryner, for all your hard work with us.. and especially for believing in us all..

okaay okayy.. enuf of Ryner! haha. 4 days people! lets make SMKBL proud! *erh so cheesy* take care!

forever yours
Ruby

mmm...choir...

Choir is juz like a daily routine for me...having practices everyday...Erm...let me juz introduce myself. I am Megan, I am one of the choir team member but I DON'T SING!!! Being in the choir is so much fun! DUH...its like having interesting happen in choir almost everyday...but does anyone believe that our school choir is actually having violent stuff happening on?haha!!! It's the best choir team I have ever been. The bonding between each team member is so strong that even the WORST thing happen to us will not affect our friendship...I dunno why I felt very happy these few days, maybe the choir is improving in lightning speed...it is...obviously!!! But I sort of did something not loyal enough to the team...I sort of sobbed that day juz bcoz I needa join choir and let go of the National Debate. Luckily there was teacher Susie to give me a hand!!!Phew...Actually I hadn't write blogs for bout a year...so not so sure what to say...Let me tell u a personal secret, which is why I dun write blogs for so long. Last year, I was caught to the Penyelia Petang's room bcoz of writing blog...I hope SMK BL choir can do our very, absolutely BEST in any competition...Good Luck!!!

Choir practice

Yes... the attendance IS really poor on Saturday until there was simply no point of continuing practice unless we're gonna do sectionals.. which was not planned because we're gonna do sectionals anyways on Monday and Tuesday.
About 9 or 10 people did not turn up on Saturday, mostly guys. That's a third of the choir. I actually planned on working on the remaining three songs that we did not work on on Friday, so that we could actually complete practicing all the songs well before the week is over. But so few people cam on that day, and so many others were late and that itself was just so discouraging (low attendance and latecomers puts me in a 'righteous anger' mood straight away). So after we tried out our costumes, the meeting was dismissed, something I always wanted to do when attendance rate is low. I mean, how can a choir actually get anything done when a third of its members are not present?
Just to inform everyone who might not know,

Monday - Bass and Alto (1.30pm - 4.00pm)
Tuesday - Tenor and Soprano (1.30pm - 4.00pm)

The two days are COMPULSORY for the members of the sections mentioned. We only have about a week left to get our act together.
And as a reminder, choir members please TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH. Don't get sick. Stay away from food that might be harmful to your health, sleep well... The official fast will not begin until about Saturday, but it's good to start taking care of your health. The worse thing that could happen is getting a sore throat or something like that on the day of the competition. And yea, update your studies as well...
Please members.. we expect PERFECT attendance from now on, unless for very good reasons. Choir is a teamwork thing... Please be responsible and not let the whole choir down by something you might do.
Please work hard to give something back to the choir and the school.. We all want practices to be fun, but we can't have fun if half of the members aren't present, can we? Don't let us down anymore.. Don't let me down anymore...
Work hard.. Competition is a week's time.

disapointed

sigh.. i was kinda sad when i heard frm gloria that choir practice was cancelled 2day.. i was like eager to ask her did d choir improve like we did in pas 2 days? n wat did i mis during d practice hours?? but yet.. i was kinda angry too y d choir members din show up?? i mean we had improve alot for d las 2 days n if we stop mayb our performances wil b affected.. or u guys r being too complacent.. i apologised coz i myself was absent 2day.. i haf a scholarship selection test to attend frm 8am-5pm. i'm really disapointed by d attendance..

Message from A Senior

It's 12 midnight; gonna do this short and sweet. Practice in 8 hours.

I'd like to talk about seniors and juniors. Yes, I gotta say that the bonding between the senior members and the juniors or between different batches are not that close. We never had the chance to mingle with each other..even during the reunion. (I dunno the members from 2002/2003 =| )

Skepticism of the seniors towards the juniors do exist, more so towards this year's batch because of the absence of Mdm Luk. Even so, their love for the choir has been imprinted onto their hearts.

Anyway, the reason for my post is that I got a reply from our former conductor, Sean Wong, and this is what he said (and no, he's not being skeptical):


bout the food ban.. i think u guys should just give it a try..
weell.. i'm doing vocals for my final music examinations here... before any major performance i'll try to take care of my voice, throat and health ... i've been sick before quite a few performances .. i did well but i noe i could hv done better if i wasnt sick... so there you go.. that's wat i think bout the food ban anywyas...

well all the best frm me.. and i'm impressed with the dedication all of u hv... good luck... u guys would still uphold the name of BL choir even if u guys don win ok? so dun stress bout it.. i'm already proud of all of u.. u guys get my full support for ur effort and will b in my prayers.. all the best!!! :)

yours
sean

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you soo much, Sean. We really appreciate your support =)

K i'm going to hit the hay. nites all.
*snores*

Response to Jonathan and Choir Update

Hi ya all,

I thought that this was important to deserve a blog post on its own. I want to have a response to Jo's blog post that said I sweared and cursed and also update you readers on how our choir has been lately
Here's the thing: I was getting quite tired and 'agitated' because I didn't think the choir was improving at all, and it really is kinda frustrating if you keep practicing the same thing over and over again with the same mistakes over and over again and the same corrections over and over again. So I got to an all-time low, and I had a chat with Nurul and Cg Susie. They told me to be more positive, and I did try my best, I really did, but it isn't quite as easy as it seems.
So they told me to share my feelings with the choir, and I did lor.. So I told them why I have been more to the negative side lately, and shared with them candidly what I felt. I then said something like I'm not being on my bad side on purpose, nor purposely showing what some might describe as a 'bitchy' attitude... Then some members were all teasing me that I supposedly used a 'swear' word.
BUT...
I don't consider it a swear word for obvious reasons. No. 1, it is used commonly to describe a kind of attitude, so it's an adjective, not a swear word. No. 2, I was referring to MYself, so how can that be swearing? No. 3, the Webster's dictionary does not mention that it's vulgar.
So things cleared up...
Anyways, after my candid share of how I felt, I divided the sections to stand in a circle for each section and went around helping them get their parts right. I don't understand how or why, but the choir started to improve a lot, and the bonding between members just became so much so strengthened. At the end of the practice, we were all quite happy and proud of our improvements.. We could really feel the bonding between members..
And the freshly discovered motivation and hope that we can do better.
Probably was a good thing that happened, seeing the good it did for the choir. I guess if you go so low until you can't go any lower, the only direction you can go is up. : )
Division level choir competition is just around the corner.. We're really working hard to get our act together. Seniors, you are most welcomed to drop by any time to visit us and give some constructive criticism.

Ryner

To break away from all the melancholy...

I passed my driving test today!!!!

I don't know why, but maybe it was a case of the jitterbugs, I got one of my worse stomach aches ever the night before the test

It.was.not.fun

But I had to skip choir practice today and from what I heard, it was very eventful...

For one thing, OMG RYNER ACTUALLY SWEARED!!!!

Ryner Lai, Ryner Lai, Ryner Lai

cursed, cursed, cursed, cursed, cursed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've known him for 3 frigging years and the closest swear that I've heard coming out from his mouth was "mother" (actually, he wasn't cussing. He was referring to his mom)

People who went to practice can explain further. Goodness, gracious me.....Ryner Lai cussing is almost as scandalous as him starring in the next Paris Hilton porn video.

I need to sleep now. I went to see the doc this afternoon and was diagnosed with not enough rest. harhar. Always like that...

Memories...

lovely memories lie in that 4 years of joining choir...

*the places we went together

*the shopping spree we had

*the excitement n joy of victory

*the anxiousness on stage

*the confidence we had in each other

*the learning of new singing techniques

*the many songs we have sung

*the impression we left behind everytime we went to a new place

*the unity

*the jokes, laughter n tears we shared...

wonderful memories...

never ever regretted joining choir.

im sure every single choir members will agree to this=)

Was It A Mistake?

Was it a mistake to join choir?

Why do I have to put myself in a club that always criticize by Ryner?

Why do I have to myself in a club where I need to sacrifice half day each day of 2 weeks holidays and need to ban myself from spicy food which is my favorite?

The answers comes by when I join choir practises more and more.....

I wasn't really wanna join choir at first actually, just wanna go for the audition for fun with some of my freinds BUT when we reach there, I'm the only one that was pushed in..... Ok .... I got through.... That's how my choir life started

1st practise was fun.... 2nd practise i skip ( Ryner and Jo sorry ya... erm... i didnt appreciate the practise time, last time)...

3rd practise.... tat's when the question came into my head...

Ryner... If i'm not mistaken you doubted whether I can sing in choir or not right?

If Bong Yang didnt told me this I really wanna quit choir because i don't want to pull down the quality of the choir....

He told me that Jo always cover me up... I was so shocked that he cover up for me... asked Ryner to give me more time (HEY HEY!!!! READERS I'm not trying to be "FEELING" ok!)

Ya... ya.... Because of that.... makes me really want to improve more and don't want to disappoint Bong Yang, Susan, Ant and Jo that always support me... APPRECIATE YOU ALL!!!

This one of the main reason I really really wanna stay in choir....

Another reason is that some how the songs that we practise..... GET STUCK IN MY HEAD!!!!

that's what Suk Thin said too...

This how a newbie in choir like me fell in love wit choir... the bonding of the choir makes me feels like a family too....

I know what I experience now cannot be compare to how the seniors experienced last time... So... Haha.. Thank God for that....

Ryner.... after i heard about the histories of the school choirs.... (ONCE MORE!!!! I'm not trying to be so "FEELING") and after what teacher told us.... You really go through alot of pressure.... you as a student need to lead 30+ people to sing... in tune... emotion... dynamics... all thses without the help of Pn. Luk... Prove to people that you can lead... Work on your own conducting.... Is hard...

Ya... ya.. ya.. I'm kinda mad of the way you criticize me... us...Actually all you want is the best out of us....

So...I'm sorry for getting mad..

So.... Was It a mistake??

MY ANSWER IS NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Erm... For the food part.... hehehehe... will try my best la....

To everyone in the choir team of class 2007..... All the BEST!!! Competition is jus 13 Days to go...

Please do help me in my voice....

So this is just short report to the seniors of how the newbie(me) feels about choir....

The Great 'Food Ban Before Competition' Debate

Hi ya all!

I just had a conversation with Nurul concerning when and how we should impose the sacred 'food ban' our choir always practices before any choir competition. So I decided that we shouldn't impose the food ban too soon, because no one would follow and it just doesn't seem to work. So to avoid having to explain EVERYTHING again, I just decided to copy and paste our conversation, with the non-related stuff cut out and with slight modifications:

Ryner says:
I remembered, I think, that a team that got something in the top 3 or something like that
Ryner says:
forgive me, SO LONG ago...
Ryner says:
was eating KFC before competition
sKunKeeS says:
haha..what is it?
Ryner says:
I think Sabah
sKunKeeS says:
ya ya
sKunKeeS says:
a&w
sKunKeeS says:
we were all pointing out
Ryner says:
nah you see!!
Ryner says:
fasting doesn't necessarily help
Ryner says:
minor differences
sKunKeeS says:
no it doesnt
sKunKeeS says:
Sylvia already explained to mdm luk
Ryner says:
but it might affect, seriously
sKunKeeS says:
u remember sylvia dont you?
Ryner says:
yea sure
sKunKeeS says:
cos Mdm Luk's diet s alrready those..no fried, etc
sKunKeeS says:
so when she eats the banned food
sKunKeeS says:
she has more affect that us, who are used to drink gassy drinks and stuff
sKunKeeS says:
the diet works for mdm luk
sKunKeeS says:
than the rest of us
sKunKeeS says:
cos mdm luk has been following that diet for a long time
Ryner says:
oh
Ryner says:
get it
sKunKeeS says:
to maintain her voice
cos it works for her
Ryner says:
yea
sKunKeeS says:
but it does work for us too.
sKunKeeS says:
like honey..
sKunKeeS says:
asam jawa..really works.
Ryner says:
I think that banned food only has a significant affect on us
Ryner says:
when we eat it directly before singing
Ryner says:
sometimes I do have a little trouble hitting the high notes after eating some fried stuff for breakfast
sKunKeeS says:
like mentos creats mucus
Ryner says:
yea..
Ryner says:
so the food ban is still on
Ryner says:
but I mean,
Ryner says:
they're HUMANS
sKunKeeS says:
better remind them abt mentos
sKunKeeS says:
of course
Ryner says:
and they don't cook their food
sKunKeeS says:
we're always tempted
Ryner says:
sometimes not tempted
Ryner says:
sometimes forget
Ryner says:
or have to eat
sKunKeeS says:
but we dont drink pepsi every day do we?
Ryner says:
yea
Ryner says:
that is a no-no lar
sKunKeeS says:
or ice creams
Ryner says:
yea...
Ryner says:
They should start taking care of their throats
Ryner says:
because spicy, oily food does affect the throat
Ryner says:
but realistically speaking,
Ryner says:
unless you get sick,
Ryner says:
it usually doesn't affect unless eaten directly before singing
Ryner says:
but the fear is someone might fall sick
Ryner says:
actually not only food
Ryner says:
stay away from cold places
Ryner says:
like air con too cold
Ryner says:
and stay away from playing in the rain
Ryner says:
or playing under a scorching sun
sKunKeeS says:
enuf water, rest
sKunKeeS says:
sleep early
Ryner says:
yea
Ryner says:
so it's not just food
Ryner says:
food is quite minor
sKunKeeS says:
bong yang and colin play basketball
Ryner says:
yea
Ryner says:
can
Ryner says:
just make sure it's not raining or too hot
Ryner says:
I think that might affect the singing more than food
Ryner says:
cos they can get sick like that
Ryner says:
but COME ON, eating one ice-cream ten day before comp won't have any affect!!
Ryner says:
I think food is only an issue if it causes sicknesses
Ryner says:
but plainly, I dun think it will if they follow good lifestyle habits
Ryner says:
food should only be an issue the day before comp and the day itself
Ryner says:
I had a concert once
Ryner says:
where my formal piano teacher
Ryner says:
was performing a song that in my opinion was not too easy to sing
Ryner says:
and she had sore throat on that day
Ryner says:
had a little difficulty talking some more
Ryner says:
but the time came,
Ryner says:
she did a great job
Ryner says:
so you see?
Ryner says:
We gotta break free from burdensome traditions
Ryner says:
and start being open-minded
sKunKeeS says:
what did she do abt her throat?
Ryner says:
I think drank something or took some medication...
Ryner says:
dunno
Ryner says:
but she had the sore throat, even hours before the singing
Ryner says:
so even with a sore throat, she can do it
Ryner says:
so food...
Ryner says:
maybe the ban should be a day before
Ryner says:
the seniors might passionately disagree,
Ryner says:
but I know what I'm doing
Ryner says:
and I know ppl won't follow anyways even if I did impose the ban earlier
sKunKeeS says:
nvm la.. seniors can ban themselves if they want to
Ryner says:
haha
Ryner says:
yea
Ryner says:
but dun forget the penyampaian hadiah performance
Ryner says:
Azrin lost her voice
Ryner says:
so taking care of throat is important
sKunKeeS says:
argh
sKunKeeS says:
that i fear
Ryner says:
but the ban, if should be affective, should be done not too soon.

Leave your comments if any. Suggestions and opinions are welcomed. : )

mmm-bop!

I've been singing that retarded song all day and still can't stop...

Before I start, I think it's most appropriate if I introduce myself. Hey, I'm Jonathan, lead tenor for this year. As Ryner mentioned earlier, I joined in 2005 bla bla bla.....err, what else ah.... oh God...this no profanity ruling is just ARRGHH!!!! Never mind, I'll just start blogging

Right...We've been practising hard since last Saturday to beat the crap out of the other school choirs win the inter-school competition. 18 more frigging days...

Anyway, the first 3 days were spent watching a hell lot of videos to learn from the previous choirs and to recognize our flaws and also our opponents. We even watched the classic "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn to ,in Ryner's own words, get into the feel of the song. Honestly, it felt like some horrible National Geographic special marathon that my parents forced me to watch. But hey, at least we now can "get into the feel of the song".

Honestly, I thought the first 3 days weren't really productive. Too many videos, too little singing. Ryner got a little agitated with all of us cause he can't stand out-of-tuneness. He is very unique I tell you.

When he's really really pissed off, he'll be very silent....you can even hear the crickets and the air-conditioning unit humming

When he's stressed out, he'll start walking around aimlessly

When he's happy......he's not Ryner Lai

Kidding. I still haven't cuss ah boy

Anyway, on Wednesday, progress really started to show. But since Ryner was leaving for camp the following day, we asked Pn Luk to come in and fill in for us if she could, but she couldn't . . . so Jeremy, Nurul and I were going to fill in for Ryner on Thursday. He came for 2 hours of practice before leaving for his camp. So....conducting sectionals for the first time was a very unique experience...

VERY unique for a person who does not know how to read notes properly i.e. me. But heck, I was assigned a duty and I was gonna do my best to fulfill it. Amanah (sikap bertanggungjawab yang boleh menimbulkan kepercayaan orang lain)

moral is the most stupid government propaganda drive there ever was....

On Thursday, we managed to polish up all the songs. At least we got all the tune problems ironed out.

Today, I don't know why, but I found myself very exhausted by the time it was 12.00 p.m. It was kinda exhausting giving individual training to the new tenors because they ARE improving, but they can improve a heck lot more if Pn Luk taught them. Now I know how Pn Luk must feel teaching new singers. New singers are like some sponge that sucks up all your positive, gung-ho energy. Anyway, Pn Luk is coming in on Tuesday *cue angels singing* My exhaustion could also be because we were singing in the hall today. Rasa mau pengsan. note to self : build better stamina

So that's the story so far.

To old members who have left the choir, you must seriously experience how practice goes without Pn Luk. I swear, you'll get a heart attack.

Practice starts at 8.00 a.m. , but not even half of the members are there. Mostly it's the juniors, but sometime seniors come a bit late with excuse. Did I mention that we also get free tid-bits every single practice thanks to Cikgu Suzie???

Very different indeed....I think to counter the punctuality problem, Ryner needs to start smacking butts like what Pn Luk used to do ...but hey, we don't want our dear conductor to be charged in court for molesting aye?

Well, that's all from me for today. Let's get this blog more active people. The purpose of this blog is not only to unite the old guard with the new, but also to HOPEFULLY create a strong choir blogging community!!!! or something like that......actually, I'm not really sure. Ask Nurul

Peace

From the conductor..

Hello everyone!

I'm Ryner, the present SMK BL choir conductor. For those of you who are in the choir, hi hi.. for those of you senior members who have already left the choir and might wonder how the fate of the choir might lie in my hands without Pn Luk, er.. let's just say that I'm a lot of different from the time you knew me in 2004.
Aiyo.. My goodness! Our choir profile / history sounds so cocky (I'm not the creator of this blog), I've got to say (hehe..). You know, our choir has always suffered from the 'cocky' image, which I don't really think you might feel if you really get to know us . Dunno lar... I hope that we can 'kikis-kan' this image this year.. We also like to meet everyone, including our competitors and be friends and stuff.. At least that's what I would like to see.
I know there's some friction between music club and choir club.. *Ahem ahem* I would like to apologize to all music club members if, say, anyone in our club said anything inappropiate or offensive. We hope you guys wouldn't see us in a negative way, because we just love singing and just want to uphold the name of our school, you know. Maybe we can do something together.. both clubs.. end of year..
Well, for the senior members who are wondering how this club is doing, we're fine. We're joining the division level again this year, since Pn Luk is not with us now. We're singing 'My Fair Lady' and 'Tanah Airku'. The 'My Fair Lady' is soo difficult! But we're getting there, so it's cool. Practising almost daily in the holidays.. Hope we can sing those songs well..
Cg Tiong already retired, so Cg Susie is the main teacher-in-charge now, and Pn Sng and Cg Anita are helping out as well. The practices are mostly conducted by myself with some help from the seniors. They're running quite smooth actually. We've got a lot of new members, a lot from Form 2. The only members from the 2004 team still left in the present choir are myself, Nurul and Gloria, and Suk Thin from 2003. Gloria's hasn't joined us yet, because she just came for Lower 6 and is at somewhere now. Suk Thin is already with us, and I must say she does help the sopranos a lot. Nurul has been a big help to the choir, Jonathan who joined in 2005 also helps out a lot, and not forgetting Jeremy who was conductor in 2005 who sometimes helps to teach and handle sectionals.
Well, discipline is quite ok.. Sometimes people do come late, but usually no later than 15 minutes. So punctuality is still quite an issue here.. But improving.. As for attendance, overall I'd say is ok because they all know choir is a team and attendance is essential to the raising of a choir's standard because it's all about teamwork.
We're making steady progress now actually. I mean, when the choir first started practicing in March, it was almost utterly hopeless. The voice quality was really horrible and everything didn't seem to get together. But slowly, our choir improved steadily. Now, I'd say we're getting to the more detail stage, where we're concentrating really a lot on the detail stuff of the song, like interpretation, dynamics, balance and stuff..
For those of you senior members who might wonder, conducting a choir without a choir coach is quite challenging, especially in the initial stages where auditions need to be made and stuff. There was a lot to be concerned about: discipline, venue of practice, time of practice, voice quality... *headache headache* But with the help of the senior members I mentioned and the teachers, we managed it. (By the way, this year the maximum number of singers, plus the conductor and the pianist in a team in nationals is only 35). Now I'd say practices are more steady and it gets easier after a while.. Voice quality is our main concern right now..
So for all of former choir members out there, do pray for us and drop by any time if you'd like to see our progress and give some pointers. For those of you who just dropped by this site, hello to you all and our choir is more than willing to make friends with you guys. To the present members, get your notes right, work hard, and let's give back something to this school and this choir of ours!!
That's it for now.. Long blog post I know.. First time also.. See ya all.

Conductor,
Ryner

Yes people, we now blog too

Ladies and gentlemen.

Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses.

Welcome to OUR BLOG!!!!!

Gotta keep in touch with the world, no?

I'm looking for contributors for this blog. Anyone who is interested just leave me an IM or a comment in this blog and I'll add you.

Thank you.