Aural Training 1 - (MUSC 1102): "Hand & Flower"

Date for Entry: (Monday 2nd October 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: Wednesday 3rd August 2022)

    There were sessions when a specific experiment and meditation were done. Through one of these, I was able to see an image in my mind with a dark background and a shining flower. I cannot recall exactly the date that I saw this image in my mind at one of the sessions. 

    The pencil sketch was done earlier on a Friday afternoon before Music Theory. I got to share it with the UWI Andrew when he was around as it was being done on the corridor floor. The class was small in number that day. Over the weekend the sketch was completed and then handed over as a gift. 

Link(s):

1. Original Painting & Black and White Version (Pictures).
2. Aural Training 1 (MUSC 1102) - Music Journal Entry.

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Indian Classical Ensemble - Note on Hindi Notation

 Date for Entry: (Monday 18th September 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Thursday 24th March 2022)

[Written as Report]

Dear Diary,

    On Monday 18th September, minutes going to seven in the night, was my first night of being a member of the UWI Indian Classical Ensemble. I first saw the teacher Mr. Maharaj and got his permission to join the group. Once he said that I "yes, sure" I rest down my bags and began to get a Tenor pan from the storeroom. I did not know if I had to audition to be in the ensemble. 

    I knew that I was going to have to be on the lookout for any new types of music coming. There was no one to really talk to about what the class was like. I still felt glad that they allowed steelpan to be a part of the group. I know that whatever was to be given for us to learn, I would give it a lot of hard work. I would try my best to do what was given no matter how hard it may come.

    Mr. Maharaj began the class with a welcome. He began to write out some things on the whiteboard which I soon began to understand was the song. But I had a feeling it would be the piece we would be starting off with because of the solfege. I learned that night that they called the solfege SARGAM in their style of music (as their version of Doh, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Doh). 

    In addition to the introduction of the Hindi Sargam, we were given some extra notes. I made sure to write down all of the instructions so that I can learn them and detect them and know how to play them if they should show up in the notation from sir. 

Here are some of the things I learned from the lesson:

Hindi Word / Articulation	English meaning
Thaat	Scale
Thaat Marwa	Main scale
Vedi Swar (Main Note)	Sa (or Doh)
Samuadi Swar (2nd Note)	Re (or Ra)
Jaati – Shaduv	6 up to 6 down
Aaroh (Ascending)	Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni Sa (Doh, Re, Me, Fa, Sol, La, Ti Doh)
Avroh (Descending)	Sa, Ni, Dha, Pa, Ma, Ga, Re, Sa. (Doh, Ti, La, Sol, Fa, Me, Ra, Doh)
Pakad	Identifying phrase
Raag	A cluster of notes (melodic structure) that are set to rules, which depicts emotions and is pleasing to the mind of the listener.
Alankar (An Exercise)	An exercise in any particular scale that can be done either fast or slow. Most often times it can be done in simple triple or simple quadruple.
Jeati	Omitted note
	The note is flattened
	Note is to be played an octave Higher
	Note is to be played an octave lower that

    We also did seven out of ten alankaars (exercises). Some were tough but easy and we all did in the key of D Major. They are quite similar to the pan examination proficiency exercises that I usually do with Mr. Sharma. I took a picture of the music solfege he wrote out and put it up on the projector. 

Before beginning the piece, were given the pakad to play a very times and after listening to sir singing out the first section, we were given some time to figure out the same on our instruments. We were also given the pattern of the Raag Sohini notes.

    Towards the end of the week, I was sent an email by Mr. Maharaj with a sheet of the ten alankaars. I decided to score it out and put a book together with the course outline that he included for everyone. Over time we were given the ten Indian Thaats from Pundit Bhatkhandi. I also scored them out and had them included in the little 'handbook' that I had complied.

 

Link(s):

1. Indian Classical Handbook.

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Indian Classical Ensemble - Degree (Yr1, Sem1)

  Date for Entry: (Monday 18th September 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Thursday 24th March 2022)

[WRITTEN AS REPORT]

Dear Diary,

The entry below will discuss the various pieces of music done for this ensemble.

RAAG SOHINI.

Raag Sohini: (D, Eb, F#, G#, B, C#, D) – Fifth degree omitted.

    The ensemble was given this piece called “Raag Sohini” on the first night. On Monday 23rd September 2017 in the Indian Classical Ensemble while running through “Raag Sohini” we got more pieces to the songs. These new parts were called Taans. It was really tough because they had more complicated rhythms and then to figure out the music to it was not nice at all. 

    I knew I had to try and listen to what Mr. Maharaj was singing to figure it out but when I had my mind forgetting everything like they are in a river floating away, it doesn’t come back, it just goes away and down the waterfall until it disappears completed. Sir had a long time trying to have me get the music but memory wasn't my best apparently, lolz. 

    It was that same week that I took out the papers I had and went to score the music. I had a feeling that there would have been 'no such thing as scores' in the ensemble so I decided to do it myself. You will see that over some time that there would be several pencil markings since all of the music was under editing and changed in class. In addition, the same could have been done when a new section(s) were added for us to learn. 

    The score version below was used for the mid-term. Each of the four alaaps was chosen for us to play individually and then sir wrote the mark secretly on his mark sheet. I recall being asked to play alaaps two. I don't remember which of the ten scales I was asked to play. There were two of them and I think each play that you made was final. 

    For the taans section, we were allowed to play any of the four. The funny thing was that everyone selected the easier ones because they found it difficult. So they most likely would have selected tan one or two. When it was my turn, I took the most difficult one which was Taan four and went with it. Everyone shouted like pepper burned them. By the time I was done, I could only hear surprised laughter and shouting. Sir did not say anything except for "good" and that was the assessment for us.

    Being able to notate the entire piece, I was given confidence and knowledge of what I was supposed to do. Yes, it will sound difficult. The secret I realized was that the tempo was just fast. That was the only trick to the ear. While the tempo was quick, the only types of notes involved were a semibreve being the longest note to a quaver being the shortest. And yes, the quavers will sound like semiquavers.

    Some weeks had gone by and I was very anxious because there would have been several versions of the score created. I did not know o the process that Sir would use to give us the music. It was really a lot of music to notate but I had it one during the weeks and then emailed it to some of the other groups' members. 

    From five versions of the piece, an ending was given and no more music was given to add or deduct again. The ending was a short repeat of the main idea and a rallentando. Version 7 was lost with other documents. I plan on doing over the notation. I see several other errors from those first times transcribing the piece.

Link(s):

1. “Raag Sohini” - Versions 5 & 8.** [Available by Request Only.]
2. “Raag Sohini” (V9) FINAL.**

EK AJNABI.

* Monday 23rd October 2017 *

Today in Daaga Auditorium it was very cold. It was a good thing that the lecturer cut class and allowed us to go home early. All of us had to wait outside first because a class was going on before. To me, it looked like an English class because someone was looking like a student who was reading a speech or report. When class was over Chekiea and Kayla waited with me to get a drop back at DCFA and then it was there that the three of us were talking about Assessment on Wednesday and they spoke about Mr. Mannette sending us reminder messages. I met Karen at the back after class and we walked outside down the stairs. She looked like she was looking forward to going to lunch with me again as we did last week but I had to go home.

    In Western Music today, we finally finished the Renaissance Era and began a part of the Baroque. There was a lot of writing and a lot I could understand what Miss Ramlal was talking about. Miss Neaves class went alright. Today I sat in between Andrew on my left and Samantha on my right. She had the cough and old just as I did and we both had the same deep voice tone with our noses clogged. I kept a pan stand and a bookstand so that when my class for Aural Training is over, I would not find a problem trying to get a good one while students in UWI Steel take all of them.

    During the Indian Classical class, we went through “Raag Sohini” that we had. Since I wrote out the music on my Musescore software, there were three printings done for it. Tonight, I see that there will be a fourth printing to be made and tape the pages together. As I got home that night, I went through the music from the recording I made last week on my phone and tried to remember what exactly we did, I made a few sight adjustments on the first page and then the correction on the third page caused the music to go onto another one. This now told me that I had to find a folder and clear pocket pages to hold my sheet music quickly.

    The other interesting part about Indian Classical tonight was that Mr. Maharaj gave us a group assignment that would be for marks. We had to practice an Indian song and decide how it should go and have it ready in time for the Concert at the end of November. This sounded like fun but it was tough trying to figure out the rhythms in the video from the singing men and women. One thing I did not like about the video was that it had a Bollywood actor I did not like so much in it so I look either on the floor most of the time or the roof and took in the sound of the music. Even taking in the sound of the music.

In addition to tonight, “Ek Ajnabi” which was the second song we got to learn tonight needed a slight correction. I could remember about two or four times when Eshay the girl on the other Tenor pan and Brandon the next boy on the Double Tenor ended up making mistakes because there were new changes to the song that we did not know about. I still got to make the changes and I made them on the Musescore software after correcting “Raag Sohini.”

Link(s):

1. "Ek Ajnabi" - Sargam Sheet.
2. "Ek Ajnabi" - V4, 5, 6, 7, 8.** [Available by Request Only.]
3. "Ek Ajnabi" (V9) - FINAL.

MEHENDI LAGA KE RAKHANA.

* Date Unknown/Forgotten *

This piece was introduced very late in the semester. About only three to four classes were spent on it. The score used for the recital was version three. It was a rushed down score and all the rhythmic patterns were not notated properly. 

A lot of rhythmic patterns were difficult to understand. It was corrected in the fourth version and the sargan was added. 

Link(s):

1. "Mehendi Laga" - Versions 3.** [Available by Request Only.]
2. "Mehendi Laga" (V4) - FINAL.

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Play Writings for Amir

Date for Entry: (Tuesday 3rd January 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Thursday 16th March 2022)

Dear Diary,

    I was contacted by a friend and asked for some assistance. The assistance upon that point had become a matter of DAPHA Projects and a ‘universal challenge’ to my creativity. 

    This challenge that Amir brought to me was to write a short play. He gave me some tips on what he would have liked to have. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the actual notes that he sent me in the first contact. There were a series of plays that had to be done to meet his satisfaction but I hope that they worked well. All of these were done within the vacation before the next semester of UWI for the certificate program.

 

CRYING TREASURE.

* Tuesday 3 January 2017 *

    This was the first piece written. I was asked to write the play within a certain amount of words. That limit was somewhere between 500 to 1000 words. I could not recall. The topic that was given to me was flooding and I took to writing immediately.

Link(s):

1. “Crying Treasure” – Typewritten Script.
2. “Crying Treasure” – Scrap.

 

RUN WITH DE WATER.

* Thursday 5 January 2017 * Curepe Home #2 *

    This was the second play written for Amir. On the third attempt, there was some sort of disagreement on what he wanted. He suggested that it ended from a video he saw on YouTube where people were persons were “moving to higher ground.” I had to leave it as presented below for him because I couldn’t make the entire thing over a fourth time. I ended up asking Amir to send me something that he was using or something he did so I could grasp an idea of what I was working for. It was an Exposition speech sent to me and I used that.

Link(s):

1. Exposition Speech.
2. “Run with de Water” – Version3.
3. “Run with de Water” – Version 4.

 

NOBODY DOES LEARN.

* Sunday 15 January 2017 * Curepe Home #2 *

    I was angered after some days when Amir had messaged me again for a third play to be written. It was not enough time to rest from working out all that writing. I took a while (or some days) before actually working on it. His main focus for this one was on Tobacco. I was happy that Amir was happy with this one. I sent him the document and took retirement from this work immediately.

Link(s):

1. “Nobody does Learn” – Typewritten Script.
2. “Nobody does Learn” – Handwritten PLAN.**

Daryl Zion M. Ali

World Music Study ('Textbook Mission' & Accomplishment)

  Date for Entry: (Friday 1st April, 2016)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Wednesday 15th September, 2021)

 Dear Diary,

    Today I completed another book. I decided to do a textbook for my Introduction to World Music course at UWI because I was more concerned that there was no textbook at all for this particular course except for doing my own research. 

    So, I decided to take some of the notes that Mrs. Neaves gave us and edit them and also add in some extra notes that I got from my personal research. It came out pretty well but the nice part was that it all came up to a total of 101 pages. I am supposed to add in some exercises I got from Natasha when I got her permission to use them. 

(UPDATE)

    The Friday before the event of the Music of the Diaspora concert held by DCFA, copies of this new textbook was made and bound. Five copies in all were made. I was offering copies to anyone that wanted all the notes for ninety dollars for the printings and binding. Only Natasha, Candise and Nella were the ones interested. They got their copies this Friday.

    My group for the class had practice again on the same Friday. More trouble in finding a place to practice was the issue. I was in a situation again. Nowhere in the school was available until I took the few members with me beneath the mango tree and we did practice out in the grass. Mr Murray apparently did not like us out there and said he would be ashamed of us out there if people saw us from the road. 

    He took us into the staff kitchen and we practised there as the other time. Ishan was not going to be there again. She had a group visit outside of the country and couldn't make the Diaspora concert. Literally, we were one person short again unlike the other two groups. As soon as I saw Mrs Neaves that evening, I took out the fifth copy and gave it to her as a gift. 

    One was left for me to use as the final exam was right around the corner. She took it and went through the book with another lady teacher in music I did not meet before. This textbook took me one week straight to create. Each day was a certain country. There were some days were two were tackled. I also got a section with music excerpts in the back but time for working on a disc was not possible. 

(UPDATE) 

Monday 4th April, 2016. 

    On this day the Introduction to World Music textbook was printed by Isa Technologies and spiral bounded by Vashti in the back of Massy's. This was my first copy being put together before offers were sent to the other class students. Looking back through the book made in my hand, I felt very proud as this was now being the first textbook I did in my stay at DCFA.

 

Link(s):

1. World Music Textbook - Scratch Created .
2. "Sabilulangan" Full Score (Final).**

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Grade 1 Compilation Book (1st & 2nd Attempt)

 Date for Entry: (Tuesday 5th January, 2016)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Thursday 9th September, 2021)

**This project was discarded and discontinued.**

 Dear Diary,

    Today I went to the bank and then on a roll to the computer place in Curepe. I made a lot of corrections from the last time I printed my book. That one had 97 pages and now this one has 75. I was so glad because it came cheaper and it was smaller and cute.

    This afternoon at three o'clock, I went down to the Stationary store behind Massy’s to get my Music Journal bound. At this time, it was up to page 219. So, I now knew that it is four inches tall and it had to split into two. So, Volumes 1 and 2 went together and then Volumes 3 and 4.

   Visiting Mr. Lewis, I had to correct a girl’s work with the diatonic scales in Grade 4. I got into trouble but I remembered the technique I was shown how to do during a Grade 4 practice exam. Then a girl started to cry in a laugh and she was the singing student. She couldn’t sing “where Christ is born” in the music she had to do during her class. 

(UPDATE) 

    Over a long period, this book project was discontinued and cancelled. Much more work was needed that time could not permit. I still had hope it would work in some way as a benefit to another student. 

(UPDATE #2) 

    Over time, a second attempt of a brand new Grade One pedagogy book entitled "My Favourite Musicianship Notebook: Grade One Booklet" was done. A more professional attempt was made and also the attempt of having the entire script of personal intellectual property. Of course, various books in previous attempts were used again because of their need and accuracy. 

    This document too was slightly revised by Mr. Lewis but was discontinued. In addition, a series of Grades 1 to 5 was done under this particular design in the Summer Vacation of 2016. More work is required on all parts of this series. No indication of the continuation of the series was decided.

 

Link(s):

1. Edited script.
2. My Favourite Musicianship Notebook: Grade 1 Booklet.**

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Quest to Grade 2 Handbook

  Date for Entry: (Thursday 29th October 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 7th September 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today I got up early-ish and began to gather topics from my ABRSM and Trinity Booklets as content for a Grade 2 Study Guide. This time I made it easier for myself by using a whiteboard I hadn’t used since CXC. There was a question about completing the square on it. It was a topic I liked but would always get wrong. Thank God, I passed my Maths, lolz. 

    I coloured the written areas with a whiteboard marker to get the stained ink out and then passed a wet napkin over the surface. It was long but fun to do. The only music topic that produced difficulty was finding a place for intervals. I know that it is the same thing as Grade 1 and questioned if it was really necessary. This book was completed later over the weekend. No idea about printing was done.

 **Unfortunately, this project was discontinued and late discarded.**

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Revised Grade 1 Book

  Date for Entry: (Tuesday 27th October 2015)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 7th September 2021)

Dear Diary,

    This morning I hurried down to Isa again to make another copy of the Grade 1 Study Guide from my flash drive. This time the MLA was incomplete because I didn’t bother to follow the rules involving spacing. The printing machine took longer this time. 

    I couldn’t wait for Isa to return to the store because I had to get to class. Dad couldn’t believe me when I left a copy there and looking through the book as we waited, he said, “Buh Dar, you are nuh ah teacha.” I know I was not one because I’m not certified and I have no experience but I hope to one day. It did not matter to me it was not a teacher. I knew how to put the book together and so I did.

    Onward from there, we had to go to the Stationary store at the back of Massy’s to get the other document bound. The other place didn’t punch the paper properly. Then when I reached school and sat down, Ms. Neaves told me that she got my text on her phone for being late. But then she said, “You picked a good day to be late.” Apparently, some of the class members from another performance group went on a field trip. 

    At the end of class, I left the book with Mrs. Neaves. I had asked her if she can take a look through it for me until the next Tuesday, just in case she thought that I can add something or change it in a way to suit.

    I rush myself home because none of the group members in my English class had submitted our second credit assignment to Ms. Jesshop for marking and the time had already come to pass the deadline. Many others were in the same situation.

Daryl Zion M. Ali