SYF is finally over. Even though the choir got what they have hoped for (a silver!), but my stand still remains that this entire competition is an unhealthy sport. I liken this competition to the ABRSM system of Music exams many kids go through. For 1 entire year, they do nothing but practice 3 pieces. In many cases, students attain their grade 8 just by playing 24 pieces. When asked to play something out of their repertoire, they give that blank look. The same goes for the SYF (for any group for that matter). I’ve seen once too often the dramatic reactions of students when they do not get the medal they have hoped for. It’s as if their world has crumbled to nothingness. But what they have forgotten is the journey and experience leading up to that day. It’s the journey, not the destination they say.
Yes I cannot deny that these pieces do drill in them techniques needed to be a good musician, artiste, but the original purpose of making music is lost. Students are so keen on the medal that they lose sight of the purpose and meaning in the reason for their incessant practice. For almost a year, they forget why they sing, dance or perform. The love for the art is killed because of that. How can that love for performing be reinforced if all they do is practice the same old 3 pieces every other day for a year? One can only cultivate that love for music only through constant exploration and exposure. The SYF has done nothing but to eliminate those factors which drive that passion.
I constantly have to remind the students why they sing, why they love music; that they mustn’t just be singing notes, but that the notes are vehicles of expression. Music is a universal language that expresses the emotions; this language is nulled if the expression if not conveyed. How can one then put a medal to a form of expression?
All is said, this SYF has been here since the longest time and will be here to stay. Since it’s almost impossible not to not participate in the SYF, I guess I just have to keep reminding students of the purpose of making music. Well for now, there’s 2 more years to soak in the music before the dreaded time is here yet again.
I cannot agree more to the notion that the SYF has indeed become a competition. Where is the spirit found in the ‘festival’? I have no idea if there is any connection to the conventional undestanding of that word.
The teachers play a critical part in re-establishing the reasons why the pupils are taking part in a competition like this. That enjoying themselves through the beautiful expression of music is indeed much more important than the ‘prize’ in the end. And what ‘prize’ is this in the end really?
One positive thing in this whole SYF experience which I gather is that pupils get really emotional about it, and they train really hard to achieve their ideals (whether it is a medal for the school or to just be their very best on show). This cannot be bad, as it develops them in so many other ways that the typical classroom cannot provide. Through such experience, their passion for the art form and hunger for excellence deepens, and that cannot be bad.
Comment by Siew Weng — April 27, 2009 @ 2:24 am