OBG

I think i OBG for sleeping right after eating that bcm.. in the end, the reflux came back. Disliked it when i couldn't enjoy eating anything.

Was at CQ steamboat on friday, but didn't eat as much as i used to.. and it didn't taste as nice as it used to be.. plus, it now cost more and more, from $12 to $15 and to $18. Price is also part of my utility curve.

Wondered what happened to the used-to-be very nice train station of the west side.. nowadays, it get quite messy during the book out time, then conglomerate here and there also. I still prefer the trip back.. at least i need not siam the crowd.

Pract was, only 6 of us, but each a different instrument. It was quite unique sounding, and we've got all range covered. Did scales on "i recommend", just as the sec school days, but with a better reach of the higher octave. It's been quite a while since i started playing on the horn.. to be exact, almost 12 years. Certain things are already programmed, and without realizing, it just occur naturally. But of coz, there are certain other things which didn't.. and really, practice makes permanent. If practice on the wrong thing, it will make the wrong thing permanent.

It was not as interesting as compared to playing scores, but with the number we got, i think it can sound very bad playing any written piece. A time for us to really look at the fundamentals and work on the skills we lack.

And what is lacking in my horn playing is the intonation between each note. The horn, like some of the other brass instrument (except the tbone) doesn't have a perfect pitch. There are some innate "flaws" which the instrument tends to sound out on certain notes. There are compensation to be made, but sometimes too much, and sometimes too little. And when there are other things to take note of, it can be difficult to keep a perfect pitch on a imperfect instrument. So when it gets "programmed", it can be taken off the equation. Some of the string players got very good intonation regardless which scale they are on.. and it seems to occur to them naturally. Who knows how many years they've trained on these.

I started late on horn playing, and taught by my seniors who were not professionals too. I don't mean to undermine them (i'm actually very grateful to all my seniors who taught me), but that is what our system can offer us. And being in a school that doesn't focus on the band, we didn't get the additional training require. I guess the reason why some of the national orch still need external players is that we didn't start from young (that's why we really lose out). My parents are not inclined to music, and so my actual "training" began when i was 12.. it was already very late. And then the quality of training also wasn't that good. When i moved on to jc, it got worse.. i actually switched instrument to fill the gap.. then i lost touch during my NS days due to working shifts and braces and also their refusal to grant me a chance to play in the first place (which thankfully they didn't.. hahaa.. i think i gained more being a SA).

Now i can't learn as well le.. as shown by my declining grades.. haha.. and i wonder how am i going to catch up. I don't mean to go pro, but i hoped to be able to deliver when called upon, and to keep up just not to hinder the rest of the group.

Thankful for all these challenges and disappointing stunts and also the chance to be exposed to orch music. It made me want to learn (for the moment) and re-learn. Perhaps what i need most is how to overcome the nerve factor. Even though i don't get 750k for a medal, i still can get kan cheong when i got some exposed parts to play.

Well.. it seems i like to niam a lot about pract these days.. lol.