It’s been a week since Mother’s Day and the launch of this “First Connections” website. I wanted to reflect upon the process of creating the track that I did last week, titled “Mian Yi” (棉衣) [cotton clothes]. I do not remember where or how I had heard that song, but I remember it as a familiar tune from childhood days. I got requited with the song again when I was teaching music teachers in a module that explored the musical cultures of children. I wanted a representation of songs that were familiar to Singaporeans and chanced upon this song in A/P Liang Wern Fook’s repertoire as “Xin Yi Na You Jiu Ye Hao” (新衣哪有旧衣好) 【new clothes are not better than old ones】 It was Mother’s Day, and I realised that the only traditional Chinese tune I remembered from childhood was “Ma Ma Hao” (妈妈好) [Mother’s Good] that I found speak of distressing times in the past. While “Mian Yi” similarly spoke of cultural notions that perhaps no longer resonant with contemporary notions of motherhood, its melody intrigued me and connoted a less depressing image of motherhood in a different time. The intention was to do a multi-frame recording with Dodo. Unfortunately, intention and reality don’t always fit (especially with a 2-year-old with a mind of his own). It was technically more challenging than I had expected. In order to ensure the synchronicity of the different layered tracks, I needed to be on ‘click’ (i.e. the metronome). This was challenging for Dodo as he would keep tugging at my headphones, wanting to wear them too; and bluetooth wireless types of ear phones meant that there was a lag time between what I heard and my recorded playing. As I reflected upon the challenges of the process in making this a shared activity between Dodo and myself, I realised (hardly to my surprise but perhaps ironic to my subconscious desired outcome) I had to let my toddler take lead in order for an experience meaningful for him (not me, not my audience). This makes it really difficult for me who has limited tech knowledge in video recording and editing to deliver a polished, social-media worthy outcome! This perhaps leads me to some questions I hope to answer (and share) during the process of the artistic endeavour: -How do I create meaningful music-making experiences with my baby/toddler with existing songs and structures? -How do I allow my baby/toddler to lead a meaningful music-making experience based on song and structure? -How do I engage fellow parents to create meaningful music-making experiences with their lil’ ones based on song and structure? Thus, the video for this week. ;)
Please connect with me, let me know your thoughts.