Let's Play Music Together

On 12 March 2017, Rhythm MP organized a music recital event for music students held at the Penang House of Music in KOMTAR. A total of 11 music students performed either as a soloist or in an ensemble.

The event was simply called "Let's Play Music Together". The primary goal is to encourage music students to perform music publicly. Performing music to an audience develops the self-esteem and confidence of the young performers.

To perform will require a lot of practice and rehearsals (if one is part of an ensemble). Any performer will be very conscious of the task ahead and not wish to be unprepared. Moreover, all the hard work of practicing is for a meaningful purpose, which is to present your music to an audience.

The audience that day comprised of family members of the performers, friends of the family and the general public who happened to be visiting the Penang House of Music that afternoon. It was well attended and the audience was very receptive and supportive of the performers. Most of the performances were instrumental music except one ensemble that included vocal singing.

Our event also encourages the students to perform music creatively. This specific criteria can include many things depending on the musicality and musicianship of the students. One of the easiest ways would be to add embellishments (decorations) like 'ornaments' to the melody. This can be learned during music lessons as 'ornaments' are part of any music syllabus. To acquire and develop more ideas will require the student to play and listen to lots of music.

Other than solo performances, there was an ensemble comprising four young students (see photo on the right) performing 5 songs that included singing. The leader of this ensemble himself is a multi instrumentalist and is always keen on performing. He has actually appeared on TV being part of the Astro Kids program. He put together an ensemble with his friends playing the keyboard, violin and assorted percussion instruments.

Another interesting performance was a piece for '8 hands' performed by four piano students (see photo on the left). This piece was arranged by a schoolmate who excels in music and it was really refreshing to see such creativity in the arrangement. Also, we rarely see four pianists on the same instrument performing together.

This event is on-going and we hope to hold it monthly or once every two months. The next round will be on 28 May 2017 at the same venue, which is the Penang House of Music in KOMTAR and there are no available slots left. For anyone interested to participate in this continuing series of performances, contact Miss Toh of Rhythm MP at 04-5050246 for information.

Incidentally, the Penang House of Music that was set up and opened to the public some months back, is worthy of a visit by everyone. It is a one-stop centre that chronicles the history of music and the musicians of Penang. On display are many interesting items ranging from music instruments to gramophones, etc. Look up this venue on the internet to know more.