How I fall in love with music

2004.07.21

I was tone-deaf before primary 2. My mom recalled that once she overheard my
preparation for an upcoming singing lesson, she couldn't stop laughing as I
"sang" as if I was reading the lyrics, with absolutely no tone.
 
The turning point was my transfer to St. Paul's Co-education College (SPCC)
primary school for primary 2, after spending one year in an all-boys school.
I am not 100% sure if this is true (very likely though), but there's a
policy saying that every SPCC primary school student is expected to learn at
least one instrument, anything from piano to recorder. As a result, I picked
up violin and that was my first encounter with music.

Learning the violin serves as an introduction to music appreciation. To me,
music is a catalyst of sensation. Throughout time, the pool of artistic
treasure those created by numerous talented musicians for all mankind is so
huge that there's always the right kind of music for every single moment I
have: happiness, excitement, sorrow, depression.music is both the
facilitator and inhibitor. In brief, music makes life more vivid.

Playing the violin also leads me to the fantastic world of creating music
with others. There are other team activities in various areas, such as
sports, but music is far more attractive than all those. The fun of
co-operation among different individuals and the aesthetic part of music
blend into a very unique form of interaction within the group. If goes well,
it would be an insanely touching, attractive and addictive moment amid those
human beings could ever experience. I particularly enjoy playing in smaller
group settings (e.g. chamber music, rock/pop band) as smaller groups are
usually closer and the bond among members are much stronger.

There are peaks and troughs during my tenure of enjoying music. Learning the
violin and participating in SPCC school orchestra had been the first (and
longest so far) peak. When I went to college, there had been so many
distractions that I didn't devote any time in playing music with others.
Although I still listened to music a lot, half of the fun was gone. After my
graduation, there was more disposable time after work and so I picked drums
and started to play with Joyce, Albert and Ray. In fact, I knew two of them
only because we decided to play music together! Otherwise I would have
missed them, or won't be able to be good friends with them. It's great pity
that I left Austin due to career choice, but playing with them brought the
other half back to me. I am truly thankful to them, as it's them who
reminded me the wonderful feeling of playing music together.

No matter how good I write, it's impossible to convey the joy of music
simply through others' experience or description. It is meant to be
experienced, but not taught. However, I am secretly hoping this would lure
readers (i.e. you) to try, if never did before.

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