Envision

Sweat was dribbling down my face, and I cursed myself for not switching on that damn fan. Immediately after picking up my instrument I was reluctant to get off it just to switch on the bloody fan. So there I was, my fingers dancing across the fingerboard with adequate strength and gusto to amplify the raw emotions of the song.

It was a sad, slow and tender song known as Schindler's List Theme (for solo violins). Images of the horrors of war brought to the Jews in Europe back during World War II flashed across my mind, just as a phrase of the song ended with a long note. With all my might, I conjured the best vibrato I've ever done before, projecting a concrete melancholic effect. And then I paused. The next part of the song was simply too difficult.

But I noticed something else. There was an eerie silence around me. It was quiet. Too quiet.

More images of the blood and gore of World War II flashed across my mind instantaneously. The sadness of the song injected that sense of insecurity inside me, made me timid and afraid. What the heck? The piece was supposed to picture the utter obliteration of an entire human population, the sorrow of losing everyone alongside you, the wretched sense of hopelessness. Why was I playing this song? It's not as if I'm attending a funeral of some sort.

The immediate silence made the hair behind my neck literally stand up. Goosebumps popped all over me. My heart fell like it was suspended in a void by threads yet weighed down by fear. It was in an insecure position, ready to collapse anytime soon.

I was alone.

I realised, I was sweating even more. My hands shivering, I put down my violin and spun back the computer to check my e-mail. Yet again, gruesome pictures of the genocide of the Jewish population in Europe flashed before my eyes. It was etched in my mind - that experience just now.

To conclude, I'm impressed by this piece of music. After that shock and awe experience, I realised how a splendid piece of artistry can emotionally affect someone. It's not just the notes, the clefs, the rests written on a paper. It's all about the passion within the musician.

Perhaps for that moment I did have some passion. It all happened mainly because I was alone. Here I quote Mr Lam (a music maestro I personally know) - "We play our best music when we are alone." We play it best because we're not trying to showcase our skills, but we play to please ourselves. Also when we're alone, we do not feel nervous. We just... play.

So, playing violin alone at night is spooky and not for the faint-hearted. (Only applies to sad, dark songs)

P.S. Schindler's List is a movie based on World War II set in Poland. It is very much related to the Holocaust (massacre of Jewish people) and is a very depressing show. The music - the main theme song - is beautiful. John Williams did an awesome job in composing this masterpiece.

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This isn't the first time I experienced a heartfelt disappointment over brainless American votes. One I can remember, it was the 2004 US elections when warmonger George W. Bush reclaimed the "imperial throne" of American dominion.

Oh yeah, it could be because of his sweet and tender, all-American good looks which spur the opposite sex's votes. But Kris' victory in American Idol 2009 is all a fluke. Yet again, how could millions of Americans be so dumb?

Kris doesn't even have half of the vocal range of Adam Lambert. He's just a pretty face who belongs to the category of Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers that's why millions of dumb teenage girls voted for him.

Sometimes, democracy really doesn't work at all.

"[Kris] is probably the right winner in terms of being a nice guy," Cowell told Ryan Seacrest during the Thursday morning interview on the Idol host's syndicated radio show. "[But] was he the best singer in the competition?  No."

- After stating that Kris Allen wasn't good enough to compete with Adam in the finals, Simon is still skeptical that he deserves to be crowned champion.

Simon knows best.

Yes, probably Kris is very much better than most of us. He is creative and knows how to control his voice very well. But if you compare the statistics of these things to Adam Lambert, Adam is by far a class above, more superior and in a league of his own. Some might insist that Kris connects emotionally with the crowd better, makes you feel warm and pleased; not blown away by stellar performances. But if you watch the performances by Adam with Tracks of My Tears and Mad World, you will think otherwise. Adam is a master of all trades and the rightful winner of American Idol.

Adam is a prophet of Music, a delightful artiste and possesses a behemoth voice. A victory for Adam will spell victory not only for Adam, but a victory for Music. Now that Kris has won an upset win over the deserved winner, we have to criticise the voting system by American Idol.

About 38 million votes were cast from Arkansas after American Idol's final performance show on Tuesday night according to AT&T, Fox's KLRT-TV affiliate in Little Rock, AR reported Wednesday night. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas only has a population of 2.86 million, which would mean that -- assuming the hard-to-believe 38 million figure is accurate -- its residents somehow managed to cast an average of more than 13 votes for every man, woman and child living in the state.

- This isn't working at all.

Now I wonder how the hell Kris Allen managed to beat vocal powerhouses Allison and Danny Gokey in the top 4 and top 3 weeks respectively. Adam was lightyears ahead of Kris in terms of talent but Kris was the tweeny type that teenage girls go crazy for, and that's why he's won. Idol is a popularity contest first, singing contest second.

Let's boycott American Idol.

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A massive talent within his strong personality, David Cook is a deserved winner of the American Idol 7. Week after week, this man 25-year old man has received applause and compliments from the judges. Impressive, talented, fantastic, "hot-molten lava" performances, were all the words used by each of the judges.

In the final, David Cook battled it out against David Archuleta. David vs David. Apparently, according to the judges, Cook had wrong song choices. Archuleta went on to win the heart of Simon Cowell, one of the judges. Simon called it KO.

Instead, during the results show, Simon apologised for being too clear-cut, stating that the comment was disrespectful. When David Cook was announced the winner, he couldn't help but let the tears drip off his eyes. He certainly didn't expect to win.

Why I call him a deserved winner is because he is very talented. His vocal strengths are incredible and versatile. He can play the guitar and electric guitar. He can sing every type of song, and he specialises in hard rock/metallic songs.

His versatility is displayed when he sings the song Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera and Little Sparrow. My favourite performance from him was Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. This man truly rules the show.

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An orchestra is a large group of musicians playing each of their own musical instrument. Examples of these instruments are violin, cello, double bass, trumpet, oboe, percussions and many, many more.

There are 2 types of orchestra:
1. Less than forty people - Chamber Orchestra
2. More than forty people - Symphony/Philharmonic Orchestra

The magic of orchestral music is displayed when all, different types of instruments play at the same time. Although they produce different sounds, but if played accurately according to the songs, the sound is wonderful.

This is the layout of a usual symphony/philharmonic orchestra:

Coordination of an orchestra is the most important. The conductor must synchronise the movement and timing of each and every participant in the orchestra. For example, the conductor flicks his baton once, meaning one beat in the song. Besides, the string instruments movement of their bow(stick) is of highest priority too, to maintain the fluency of motion in the entire orchestra.

Here is a list of the instruments:

• Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon (double bassoon)
• Brass: 2 to 8 horns, 2 to 5 trumpets, 2 trombones and 1 bass trombone, tuba
• Percussion: timpani, snare drum, tenor drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, wood block, tambourine, marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, gong (tam-tam), tubular bells, etc.
• Strings: harp(s), 16 to 30 violins, 8 to 12 violas, 8 to 12 violoncellos (cellos), and 5 to 8 double basses.

Click on any instrument to find out more about it!

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