Copied and paste, this is very true. (peiyi)
I am very disappointed.
I will say what I feel in this post as if it is on my personal (locked) blog, and I might be crude. So dont be offended. Read this post. If you think you'll get angry, read on, and then go cut-up a barbie doll.
I'm utterly disappointed with what I've seen from the practices I've went back to. And to be frank, I dont know how to help you guys. Any sec4or5 you ask now is stressed from the all the work and I will not elaborate because you guys know it yourselves even at your level. The leaders are still adjusting to their new responsibilities and roles. And you? You are still in January.
You are bored of practices.
You are sick of failing subjects.
You dont see the importance of working hard now.
You are tired of schoolwork.
You think that you can slack.
You think that someone else would coverup your horrible sound.
You think that Sylvester and Crystal are still here.
You think that you have enough experience and the others are lousier than you for anyone to comment.
You think that you are so good.
You still think that the holidays are meant to be a time for you to rest.
You are so dead. wrong.
The (school) teachers have already showed you the definition of school holidays through the amount of work and projects they have given you. Enough said. Forget primary school. Holidays are time for you to catch up with what are lagging behind with. Be it schoolwork or CCA, you should still be spending the days like any other days. And occasionally, take a break as a reward for putting in so much effort revising through all the crap science texts and practicing tirelessly just so that you can sound better than the person next to you during combined.
Would you like me to come back and record the sound of the CRIES next year when the SYF results are released? Maybe that way we can remind future batches more forcefully of how we should not give up.
Please. The seniors are GONE. Do you think that we have nothing better to do than to come back and watch your progress? We dont want the CO to die. We want to be delighted with the performance we see and tell ourselves that our hardwork would not die. However, I still see some of you slacking your asses off. Simple notes- you cant play. Simple things that are taught before- you do not do. Notes that can be memorized, you refuse. and panic with the sheet of paper besides your notes. ( the one showing the notes on each string).
The sec1s and 2s may not see the absolute importance of practicing tirelessly, but sec3s? I shall not humilate you here since there is still some kind of respect you should to receive from the juniors.
Frankly, I dont know how to continue this post.
All I am asking of you is to practice. Practice with a fire burning inside of you. Practice so that you can be BETTER than the person beside you. So that you can show off that you are playing louder and more fluently. Practice so that you would get a truthful recognition when the school claps for you. Practice so that you know you hadn't been practicing for nothing when you receive a GOLD, or even just a simple praise from the sectional teacher.
How to be motivated? Watch Videos. There are tons of past videos in past posts you can go and dig them out. An easy alternative is to just search "chinese orchestra" or any such keywords and songnames in youtube. Dont tell me you dont have time. Its a matter of if you see the importance of doing so.
Watch how others play so well and still find it fun and not a CHORE.
I shall reiterate again and be frank that if you do not motivate yourself, nobody will.
You will soon find CO a boring crap. You will come to practices and practice and practices and just attend them like a hands-on lecture. Seriously. And at the end of the day, you do not receive any form of appreciation for all the lectures you've attended because you are just simply not committed to this hobby enough.
Good luck.
No work without effort.
Nowhere without determination.
No start without interest.
No end to start of commitments.
Hyang.
No future without studying the past.
For sec3s or any others. Read if you want cos it applies to mostly sec3s and I will be frank. Seriously- Frank.
XLS and Mr Goh's styles of practices are very different.
XLS's lessons are usually filled alot of talking and also technical stuff and detailed analysis of songs. And you(sec3) will most probably agree. XLS's lessons are also filled with stories we might have found boring. But look back, dont you see the life skills we learnt from them?
What I'm driving at is this: Remind yourselves that CO is more than just practice practice practice. We learn stuff here too that we use in daily life and it isnt just music crap. I've hinted this in my speech and I dont know if anyone really heard but I dont wish to see what XLS taught being washed down the drain.
Learn different things from different people and keep them in your head.
Remember how you used to be afraid being "picked out" and asked to play? I want that kind of attitude and feeling again. Mr Goh's style of practices is fun and engaging, so that we can learn something new and not feel stressed. But we should be motivated OURSELVES.
I should want to want to learn.( no typo here. )
Tell yourselves that.Why do we add extra practices?
If we were to have normal practices, everybody practices and progresses at the same pace. Since we cannot ensure that everyone practices faithfully at home, we have to add extra practices.
Adding extra practices ensure that Huqin does not fall behind the other sections, and that our weaker members can catch up.
So why should we practice in the first place?!
We practice for the same reasons you joined CO for.
To learn music and have fun.
To learn your instrument.
To learn to work with others.
To compete with other schools.
To find joy in performing.
To learn lifeskills.
I can gain lifeskills from joining CO and learning Erhu?!?!?!?!?!?!
Yes. SOME of following from personal experience :
Confidence - Through performing and (for leaders), speaking to people.
Dealing with interpersonal relationships - from working with others ( all members! )
Perseverance- Through tough practices for competitions and performances.
And of course, you get to know yourself better.
Other facts about extra practices :
Secondary school life only gets tougher as you get to higher levels. What I'm saying is that the seniors are experiencing more stress than you are. The seniors are adding practices because they hope that YOU will take this CCA seriously and that we can all improve as a team. We are tired from practices too, but its all for YOU! - so do not grouch!
During School Days(from past years):
Morning practices while others have assembly. 6:50-7:30
Lessons till 7:30- 1:50
Practices all the way 3:30-6:30
Home and schoolwork.
Practice.
This is how tough it may get and daily. Weekends might even be ate up. So if you dont want to work that hard just before the SYFs, work hard now! Thank the seniors for the extra practices because working hard now means lesser work before the competitions. And if you can attain a higher level of skill now, we can try even tougher things before the SYF which gives us an advantage.
Thats about it. I cant remember anything else I'd like to add.
To other authors: Please feel free to ADD anything.
-Haoyang
