your right hand please...
my long awaited sitar class finally started and i had my first lesson yesterday.
how was it like?
hmm...i have a mixed feeling about the entire thing actually.excited, worried, pressured and a little tired.
so let me start off with the teacher.
He's a man around 60 yrs ++..yes a senior teacher.he looks like those people who have this pengetua kinda look. Very well dressed(long sleeved n all) and professional type. When i first entered the class, he called me up and gave me a form to fill up (my particulars n stuff like that). So this was my first conversation with him..
Teacher : Please fill up this form and return to me.
Me : Sure..(i stretched out my hand to take the form tat he is giving)
Teacher : Your right hand please.
Me : err..oh im sorry..
I actually didnt even realize tat i was extending my left hand to receive the form.
So from tat moment on..i knew there was more to come.....the protocols i mean.
I filled up the form and to my dislike i had to answer 2 questions which i couldnt think of any anwers to write..so i had to force my already exhausted brain(coz i was after work) to think of something reasonable to fill in that particular column.
Below are the questions..and my answers tat i could think of at that point of time..
Q) Why did you take up Sitar class?
A) I'm interested to master the art of playing this instrument.
Q) How long do you intend to learn this?
A) As long as I can.
i know my answer might sound dumb...but tat was all tat i could think of and my sole intention was to fill up tat 1 line of empty space.i just took it as a normal survey form we usually hav to fill up when we register for somethin.so any words tat came out from my head would do.
so i submitted to him the form..and to my shock..he started going tru the answers and evaluating wat i've written...
Fantastic i thought.
=_=''
i was preparing myself for another round of lecture of "wat do u mean u want to master the instrument?do u think its so easy?..u need to put in 100% effort and practise bla bla bla bla..lalala ..."
and so..get did i a few minutes worth of lecture on wat did i mean by using tis word and tat word..wat kind of effort u intend to put in..will u work hard..n all this kinda questions (suddenly i felt as if i was back in primary skool)
haih..mental torture la..i just didnt expect him to analayse those few miserable words in so many angles...haha..but finally tat session came to an end..after he found out that i hav been learning veena for 4 years..he got convinced tat i cant be a learning-somethin-just-for-fun fellar.
phieww..
so he started explaining to me abt the instrument parts and asked me to go get one.So i took on from the room and brought to him. I sat and he asked me to hand him the instrument..so i lifted the instrument from where i was sitting and handed it over to him..and then he said..
Teacher : "Next time, please stand up and pass me the instrument"
Me : "Ohh..ok.i will"
Another protocol i have to bear in mind.
Overall he started off teaching me how to play the basic notes..and i had the feeling tat i was trying to accomplish a very sophisticated yoga pose.
the angle i hav to place my legs, my hands, my fingers, my eyes..felt as if i was trying to get myself tangled.
after somehow managing to get the sitting position right..i suddenly wondered if there is a sudden fire..i'll be half burnt before i can actually release myself and start running.
haha..just kidding..it wasnt tat bad after u got used to it..:P
so overall it went well. actually the teacher wasnt tat bad, a very soft spoken person and go-slow type. I guess i just need to be abit more careful with the way i speak and move about..haha.
he asked me to get the instrument as soon as possible.so i guess i will be shopping for one soon..will try to upload a pic once i get it..;)
how was it like?
hmm...i have a mixed feeling about the entire thing actually.excited, worried, pressured and a little tired.
so let me start off with the teacher.
He's a man around 60 yrs ++..yes a senior teacher.he looks like those people who have this pengetua kinda look. Very well dressed(long sleeved n all) and professional type. When i first entered the class, he called me up and gave me a form to fill up (my particulars n stuff like that). So this was my first conversation with him..
Teacher : Please fill up this form and return to me.
Me : Sure..(i stretched out my hand to take the form tat he is giving)
Teacher : Your right hand please.
Me : err..oh im sorry..
I actually didnt even realize tat i was extending my left hand to receive the form.
So from tat moment on..i knew there was more to come.....the protocols i mean.
I filled up the form and to my dislike i had to answer 2 questions which i couldnt think of any anwers to write..so i had to force my already exhausted brain(coz i was after work) to think of something reasonable to fill in that particular column.
Below are the questions..and my answers tat i could think of at that point of time..
Q) Why did you take up Sitar class?
A) I'm interested to master the art of playing this instrument.
Q) How long do you intend to learn this?
A) As long as I can.
i know my answer might sound dumb...but tat was all tat i could think of and my sole intention was to fill up tat 1 line of empty space.i just took it as a normal survey form we usually hav to fill up when we register for somethin.so any words tat came out from my head would do.
so i submitted to him the form..and to my shock..he started going tru the answers and evaluating wat i've written...
Fantastic i thought.
=_=''
i was preparing myself for another round of lecture of "wat do u mean u want to master the instrument?do u think its so easy?..u need to put in 100% effort and practise bla bla bla bla..lalala ..."
and so..get did i a few minutes worth of lecture on wat did i mean by using tis word and tat word..wat kind of effort u intend to put in..will u work hard..n all this kinda questions (suddenly i felt as if i was back in primary skool)
haih..mental torture la..i just didnt expect him to analayse those few miserable words in so many angles...haha..but finally tat session came to an end..after he found out that i hav been learning veena for 4 years..he got convinced tat i cant be a learning-somethin-just-for-fun fellar.
phieww..
so he started explaining to me abt the instrument parts and asked me to go get one.So i took on from the room and brought to him. I sat and he asked me to hand him the instrument..so i lifted the instrument from where i was sitting and handed it over to him..and then he said..
Teacher : "Next time, please stand up and pass me the instrument"
Me : "Ohh..ok.i will"
Another protocol i have to bear in mind.
Overall he started off teaching me how to play the basic notes..and i had the feeling tat i was trying to accomplish a very sophisticated yoga pose.
the angle i hav to place my legs, my hands, my fingers, my eyes..felt as if i was trying to get myself tangled.
after somehow managing to get the sitting position right..i suddenly wondered if there is a sudden fire..i'll be half burnt before i can actually release myself and start running.
haha..just kidding..it wasnt tat bad after u got used to it..:P
so overall it went well. actually the teacher wasnt tat bad, a very soft spoken person and go-slow type. I guess i just need to be abit more careful with the way i speak and move about..haha.
he asked me to get the instrument as soon as possible.so i guess i will be shopping for one soon..will try to upload a pic once i get it..;)
posted by ashes at 8:59 AM
16 Comments:
dude... make sure you get us a photo of you playing the instrument with your costume on...
pls bare in mind, uploading a photo is easier than uploading a video...
hahaha
ahaha, reminds me of when I was in Scouts at school, everything also got protocol... well gues you will need some time to get used to all the Do's and Dont's then.
eng : haha..well for classes we just wear the traditional baju and long pants.onli for performance i hav to wear the complete set.
pun : exactly..must be careful adi..dunno if i even can my leg or not..haha..must ask permission first..:p
well... do let us know more of the happenings in your class, ok?
Dude! This seems to be more like a class to groom you into a hindu prince than a musical instrument class! With his attitude like that, can scare younger students away man...
eng : sure..;)
steffi : haha..most traditional indian classes hav tis same kinda concept somehow.even my veena class we hav some protocols but since my teacher is young..so sometimes its abit flexible n relaxing. but the senior teacher's all gerenti will behave like tis one..they hav so many rules that their guru hav made them follow and they expect you to do the same..if u dont..then u r not a good student adi..aih..susah kan.
But I guess it's good in a way. This means that there's someone who will 'inherit" all the proper rules, regulations and protocols. They won't "die off" just like that.
I can't help but to think... would Ash actually pass what he 'inherited' to the next 'generation'?
hhmmm....
jonquina : hello there..:).well i too believe tat certain tradition shouldnt die off just like that.n tats part of the reason why i decided to opt for traditional music rather than modern music.the discipline it creates in u helps u be a better person..well at least tats wat i think..heh.
eng : of course eng!20 yrs later..come n see my kids(if i have)..and see how well behaved they're gonna be!
:P
yea... and I'll be the one spoiling them rite??!!!
haha..nah u wont be..oh c'mon eng i think my kids can learn loads from u..
wat with ur skills in those arts..i'll make sure they learn somethin from our sifu here..
you sure??!!
just make sure you dun regret sending them over to learn...
well..we all know eng is tis goodie goodie boy who works hard and goes all over the world to perform his skills..haha...
so how can such a good kid teach bad stuff kan..
I'm flattered... hahaha
20 years later your kids wont be kids anymore lar...hahaha
a child will always be a kid in the eyes of their parents...
try ponder!!!
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