The Clarinet Section - CHIJ St Joseph's Convent, Concert Band.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

OMG YATI ROCKS!!!!!

-yati

4:41 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Friday, March 28, 2008

Happy March the 28th!
Award's Ceremonyyyyy (:
Yeah new layout too! :D Hooray. It isn't that good xD Need to brush up my skills :O
I'm gonna miss (Ma'am)(Melodi & Mui Ghern) so much!
I was just thinking about it earlier. Don't know why xD but I was so tired when I was walking back home. Practically dragged myself back all the way. When I got home I fell on the couch and fell asleep instantly. But on the way back it was like.
OMG P.O.P COMING ALREADY! D:D:D:D:D:
Then I was thinking about the graduating seniors.
THE TWO THAT WILL AFFECT ME MOST IS.
Muighern&melodi:O
I wanted to cry when I thought about it okay!
I'M ADDICTED TO THEM.
Too used to walking out of school with Melodi& Mui ghern! OMG! No more crapping anymore! *weeps dramatically*
Anyway about the clarinet section picture.. it was taken during lunch.. during the first day of our KL trip in 2007. So yep! If you didn't go,im sorry that you didnt get to be a part of the picture,but we'll get a perfect elevenpersonclarinet photo! :D
OMGOMGOMG I DONT WANT P.O.P TO COME ALREADY.
im so sad:(
They may be ultra crazy and cuckoo,shouting like mad cows during band practices but the second band is over,they CHANGE!OUT OF THEIR DISCIPLINARY CLOTHES AND INTO FUN PEOPLE CLOTHES!
haha that's what people don't know.
but they're super nice and IM GOING TO MISS THEM SO MUCH.
i bet after reading this you're crying right now huh! hahaha. just kidding xD
yaya i make no sense i know.

Good luck for AC tomorrow! Don't listen to anyone who asks you to play louder. I mean you can,but you'll end up squeaking like a dying rat.
Okay,rest well everyone!
I'm as tired as all of you :(
GOODNIGHT!

psst,cant the rest of you all post too?!??!!
HAHA :D
-tessa

10:25 PM

Life is a lot like a clarinet. You've got your ups and your downs, highs and lows. There are the seemingly meaningless days of the throat tones between F and B flat. There are the high notes of days full of worthwhile risks. Then there are squeaks where everything seems to fall apart in your face. There are stunning crescendos and monotonous mezzo pianos. Major, good days; minor, bad days. A complex system of keys and holes to cover. So many choices due to alternate fingerings; some are better than others. The soft, calm days of the chalumeau register. Some days you're in tune, some days you sound like a dead goose. Yes, life is like a clarinet. It'll always turn out right in the end, just like the beautiful final note in a Carnegie Hall solo.

-Adapted from ~amyoftherealm

8:45 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Hi guys (girls)
Want to know the right way to care for your clarinet? :)

Steps

1.Remove the reed after playing and store it in a reed case to dry. Put the rest of the clarinet in a safe place. Don't stand it on end, unless you have a clarinet stand (It holds your clarinet upright, and can usually be folded and stored in the bell), since it can fall over.

2.Use your polishing cloth to wipe fingerprints off the ligature and keywork. Then, carefully place the cloth back in your case. Don't use any kind of metal polish (unless the clarinet is all metal, ie: silver) or other substance on your instrument , except for key oil. Key oil makes the keys move more easily.

3.Pick up the clarinet and take the mouthpiece off. Drop the swab into the top of the barrel joint. Wait for it to come out the bell and gently pull the swab through the clarinet. You may have to do this several times. Take the pieces apart and dry the tenons (these are the places where the joints of the horn fit together.) Then, fold the swab and store it in your clarinet case.

4.Get out some cork grease. Grease the corks by rubbing cork grease on them with your fingers. Cork grease comes in many different forms, but the most common looks like lip balm. However, lip balm is not an appropriate substitue for cork grease, and cork grease can be poisonous if ingested, so do not confuse the two. You don't need to do this EACH time you take your clarinet apart, or even very often, as too much cork grease will weaken the corks and make them prone to breaking apart. Just examine your corks regularly and apply cork grease as needed depending upon the dryness or wear in the cork. You may need to grease them more often in the dry winter months.

5.Take out your cleaning cloth and polish the keys to remove fingerprints and grime. Then you may, if necessary, take out your dusting stick. Dusting sticks are long, twisted, thin, wire, with a small, broom-like thing at one end, and a little thing that looks like a tooth cleaner at the other end. Gently clean between and under the keys with the mouthpiece-brush end, and brush the dust off with the broom end. Pay close attention to the tone holes that your fingers cover as they often collect gunk and grime from your fingers. You may wish to polish the instrument again after doing this. This would also be a good time to oil the keys, if necessary.

6.Place the mouthpiece cap over the mouthpiece, then store the clarinet in its case. Put the case in a safe place.

Well hey! We've been playing the clarinet for months now. Who doesn't know these? Haha.

Here are some tips on how to take care of your clarinet :

It's a good idea to soak the mouthpiece in luke-warm/room temperature water every once in a while, and occasionally to use a cleaning solution to dissolve calcium deposits.

You don't always have to grease the corks. If you do, they will rot and you will have to replace them.

Regular polishing, swabbing, dusting, and oiling will make your instrument last longer, but obsessive polishing and dusting will wear down the finish on your keywork.

***** Do not leave the reed on the mouthpiece. Removing the reed may seem like a waste of time, but if you don't let it dry after each use, it will get really gross and possibly stick to the mouthpiece. Who wants to deal with that? YUCK D:

FOR THE JUNIORS :
It's better to know now than to embarrass yourself later on! Hee :D

Prepare the reed. Place the base or stock (the back, unsliced half) of the reed into 1/2 to 1 inch of water. The capillary action of the reed will pull water from the base to the tip, despite gravity. As the water reaches the middle of the reed, where the slice begins, take the reed out and quickly wet the end into which you blow. You should experiment with how saturated you let the reed get, and see what produces the best resonance for you. (Two minutes before band practice starts is not the best time for this experiment.) While the reed is soaking, you can complete the other steps.

Grease the corks if they seem dry. Most of the time, cork grease comes in a tube that looks like lip balm. You could probably use it on your lips, (Don't! It's petrol; it's highly poisonous!) but that would neither feel nor taste terribly pleasant, nor would it do much for the reed (or your love life, for that matter).

Remove the upper and lower sections from the case. Holding the upper section in your right hand and the lower section in your left, press down on the tone hole rings on the upper section.
Use a gentle pushing and twisting motion to attach the two sections, aligning the bridge keys, press on the tone hole rings of the Upper section and hold the bottom of the Lower section, so you don't bend any keys.

Holding the LOWER section, Continue the same pushing and twisting motion as you attach the bell to the bottom of the lower section.
Gently attach the mouthpiece to the barrel. Make sure that the hole is facing the back of the clarinet, not the front!

Attach the mouthpiece and barrel to the Upper section.
Put the reed against the mouthpiece- the side with the hole. Do not tap the top of the reed and try not to touch the front of the reed because the pores will get dirty and not play as well. Look at the side of the mouthpiece for reed placement. Line the tip of the reed vertically equal to the tip of the mouthpiece. You should ideally try to see a fingernail width of mouthpiece above the reed. Hold the reed in place with your finger and play. Move it around a little. Different reeds have different "sweet spots". Perfect alignment with the table (hole) in the mouthpiece is not always best.

Place the ligature (metal or fabric band that holds reed in place) over the top of the mouthpiece, being careful not to chip your reed. Tighten the ligature over the middle of the base, the back, unsliced half, of the reed. (There should be two lines or sets of lines engraved on your mouthpiece, line it up evenly between these.) If you have a metal ligature, the screws go on the same side as the reed. If you have a leather one, the screw goes on the back with leather against the base of the reed. Do not over tighten for fear of breaking the ligature, leave it a little loose for best vibration, it's a matter of feel and practise to get it just right.
Keep your clarinet well polished by using a soft cloth and rubbing it gently. Never use any type of metal polish or liquid on the instrument! It will ruin it.

**** Remember to swab your clarinet after every use. This is especially important for wooden clarinets.

9:30 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Friday, March 14, 2008

Hello all fellow clarinetists! :D
Let's welcome this AWESOME MARCH HOLIDAY!!!!
Okay skip that bit,cause we've got to throw a farewell March holidays soon.
IN ABOUT... 2 FREAKING DAYS!!! D:D:D:D:
Saturday & SUNDAY!!!
Oh no! Okay yeah,as hard as it seems,try to bring home your fellow clarinet friend .. more often..yayaya! HAHA I know what you're thinking and yayaya this applies to me as well okay xDDD
Even though got no time to practice at home,must at least bring home,fix up your best friend and stare at it... lovingly. Make your clarinet feel loved... or it will run away from home...
I LOVE MY CLARENCE!!!!
But not more than Mr R( )MA.
I'm not called Mrs R( )MA for no reason! hehehehe.
Okay just ignore that! I STILL MISS YVONNE.
MY DEAR YVONNE! BAND WAS SO BORING WITHOUT YOU ON WEDNESDAY D:
Haha. You laoya lah you.
who ask you go china. miss out on all the fun.
HAHAHA WE HAD CATERED FOOD *says it in a in-your-face kinda tone*
I need someone to bug during band!!!!
SOMEONE SMALL.
WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH THE LETTER 'Y'
Yayayaya. YVONNE!!! Whoopeeeeee :D:D:D:D
COME BACK SOON O.K....
and ...
I HAVENT STARTED ON MY HOMEWORK!!!!
*yells and bangs head into wall*

SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!
I.M.So.Dead.
HELP!
SO MUCH HOMEWORK.
OH NO.
IM DROWNING.
HELPPPPP !!!!

- mrs rama. tessa.

11:08 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

today we had band!!!!!!!!!! :DDDDDD
both mr tan and mr yea came, and used our stands to hang coffee D:
~~so mean!~~
played concert band clinic, mr tan got frustrated ):
then he asked us if we want him to [1.play music and have fun] or [2.build the band].
then he got really serious and told us to think very carefully.
so in the end we agreed half half (:

after that we played blue ridge and all of us finally got our full scores! :D
mr tan said that if the original was crumpled or dirtied, the whole section would have to buy a whole new pack. not very expensive, maybe a hundred plus or so.
yupp, so treat it nicely :D

ate lunch together in school, after that went for sectionals.
some of us practiced QPM and BRS while some went to teach juniors.
some graduated seniors came back too(:
at about 2.15 we packed up and sat on the floor while mdm alya talked to us.
erm, i cant remember everything she said, but she said something about minimising our sound and being more conscious about our noise.
oh, and also about people being helpful.
etc etc..

dissmissed at 3plus.
ma'am shaina doesnt want to tell us D:
and we miss ma'am yvonne D:

p.s. now we have two spoilt stands and will have to compete for the only perfect one!!! :O

-dailing rocks so does clement :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

5:17 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Hi, Suzhou people left alr.. it's so sad.. yvonne is dearly missed by me .. nobody to bully already.. then nobody to take 163 home with. AGHHHH *screams* COME BACK NOW YVONNE. i need my senior back okay! HAHAHA.
ok yep.. i hope yvonne & the others are safe&sound! (:
haha... yeah band was ok today.. sectionals = =...
yes yvonne if u read this in china.. bring back some dog meat fr me will you..?
MDM ALYA IS AWESOMEEEEEE AT THE CORNET.
MR YEA IS AWESOMEEEEEE AT THE DRUMSET.
aghhhh!

I want to be a clarinetist when I grow up! (:

TTTTTTESSAROCKS:D

10:05 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Friday, March 7, 2008

I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17
Don't matter if I step on the scene
Or sneak away to the Philippines
They still gon' put pictures of my derrière in the magazine
You want a piece of me [x2]

I'm Miss bad media karma
Another day, another drama
Guess I can't see the harm
In workin' and bein' a mama
And with a kid on my arm
I'm still an exceptional earner
You want a piece of me

I'm Mrs. "Lifestyles of the rich and famous"(you want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. "Oh my God that Britney's Shameless"(you want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. "Extra! Extra! This just in"(you want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. "She's too big, now she's too thin"(you want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. "You want a piece of me"Tryin' and pissin' me off
Well get in line with the paparazzi
Who's flippin' me off

WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME.
SELLING LEG -> $20 ONLY!! GRAB URS NOW. WHILST STOCKS LAST!!!!
SELLING ARM -> $70.
SELLING BRAIN -> WORTHLESS. FREE!! GRAB URS NOW.. CAUSE I KNOW SINGAPOREANS EVERYTHING FREE SURE TAKE... BT I WARN U FIRST...GT NO USE ONE.
SELLING OTHER PARTS.... PLEASE CONTACT ME AT TESSAYEO@HOTMAIL.COM FOR ENQUIRIES.... YEA... WHILST STOCKS LAST.. CAUSE IM WANTED EVERYWHERE:DDD

Yup,band tomorrow! I'm so tired... sports day.. YAY ST CATHERINE'S !!! 2nd place! WE'RE ON OUR WAY!
YAYYYYY:)
i think shouldnt have band tmr.. sure every1 wake up tmr all got cramps then skip band.. then sec3 got CIP... lots of ppl going china..
OKAY! must impress mr yea tmr..
haha.

AND..
I hopehopehope tmr got no sectionals = =
the sec1's always get mr yea.. thn its like no point coming for us...
anyw saturday everyone always tired no mood to play properly.. so always very lao ya.. i think shd have it on weekday
like friday maybe?
though its the day to GO OUT!!!! haha. but better than coming back on WEEKENDS.... =.=
ok...byebyebye!

TESSA:D

8:41 PM

HELLO KIDDOS :D
RECRUIT TAN PEE GEOK IS POSTING :D
for once tessa .
i rock more than you can :D
okay sports meet.
TIRED .____.
band tml.
*cries*
and i really want to ):
4HRS ! ):
CAN I DIE!
MDM MARIE ;
MY NAME IS PEEGEOK NOT PEACORK
PLS. MIND YOU.
my name is unique
PEE GEOK

8:36 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Thursday, March 6, 2008

"but dont ask dai ling or she'll bite your head off."
NOT TRUE NOT TRUE NOT TRUE.

cos i am so NICE! :D

how much is one clarinet?
its so fun (:

ha.

4:54 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

HAHA. YAYYYYYY Mr tan says we have IMPROVED A LOT! clapclapclapclapclapclapclap:DDDDDDDDDD
in Queen's Park Melody!
yeyyyy okay everyone remember to do your homework.. QPM and BRS :DDDDDDDD
AND YOU BETTER DO IT WELL BECAUSE MR TAN AND MR YEA COMING DOWN ON WEDNESDAY. IF DONT PLAY WELL I BITE YOUR HEAD OFF.
hahahahha. okay yes i rock *bows* thankyou thankyou!

ok ya la.. like,lets welcome our new family members!
TAN PEE GEOK (:
NUR SITI ATIKAH(:
SI HUI(:
YESSSS we wish the three of you the best of luck in your clarinet journey.. yayaya and if you need anything THE WHOLE SECTION WILL BE HERE FOR YOUUUUU ~
but dont ask marie or she'll bite your head off.
but dont ask yvonne or she'll bite your head off.
but dont ask shaina or she'll bite your head off.
but dont ask germaine or she'll bite your head off.
but dont ask hui min or she'll bite your head off.
but dont ask dai ling or she'll bite your head off.
so, ASK TESSA!
why?
cause i rock. HAHA.

AND TO ALL YOU CLARINETISTS OUT THERE!
CLARENCE THE CLARINET IS THE BESTESTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSZXZXZXZX AMONGST ALL. MUAHAHAHAHA I RULE ALL :DDDDDDD
ok,time to get on with maths homework,bye! :D

11:32 PM

- SJC Clarinetist :)