Win a One-Month Course Fee Waiver

A BIG SHOUT OUT to all you guys, please hurry, quick hands quick legs and be a 'Kiasu' Singaporean, this Stay-Home Contest for all Yamaha students is open till 1 June 2020.

Share with us @ Yamaha, videos of your home practice sessions and stand a chance to win 🏆 a One-Month course fee waiver when lessons resume!

Simply, hashtag #imissyamahasg and set your videos public.

Terms and conditions apply, please click HERE for more information 😀

Meet the ELB 02 this coming May

This Electone ELB 02 is going to replace the current model ELB 01.

FAQ

1) What's great about this new model?
The UK and LK will be equipped with the "Initial Touch" and "After Touch". Wow! that's something, right?

2) When can I place an order?
Soon, probably in May.

3) Price?
List price @ $2790 and the introductory offer price may be close to $2390.

4)Are you sure?
No! I am not, these are just my wild guesses and my gut feeling. Hehehe ;-)

A Song Dedicated to Mr LKY "Vocal Version"

I would like to specially dedicate this song "光耀小紅点" to our late founding father of Singapore Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Kindly find the lyrics below:

如果沒有李先生， 

沒有新加坡， 

如果沒有新加坡， 

我們沒有家。 

建国总理李先生， 

光耀小紅点， 

Founding father of Singapore, 

非常想念您， 

Founding father of Singapore, 

一路要走好。

Special thanks to my students, although they learn to play the Electone with me but they are not vocal trained. They tried their best to sing and made this song possible.

Last but not least, many thanks to my producer and daughter Shi Hui who help to render my music and photos.

Composer and Arranger: Dennis Ng

Vocalists:

1. Jaswant Kumar (9+): Compassvale Primary School
2. Dheekshaa (9+): Compassvale Primary School
3. Yeo Ya Wam (10+): Mee Toh School
4. Vallen Yap (10+): St Joseph Institution Jr

Producer: Ng Shi Hui Pearlyn from Nanyang Polytechnic

Related Post: A Song Dedicated to Mr LKY "Instrumental"

A Song Dedicated to Mr LKY "Instrumental Version"

• This is the instrumental version of my composition "光耀小紅点".
• Related Post: A Song Dedicated to Mr LKY "Vocal"

A Tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew

如果沒有李先生，   沒有新加坡，   如果沒有新加坡，   我們沒有家。  建国总理李先生，    光耀小紅點，  Founding father of Singapore,    非常想念您，  Founding father of Singapore,    一路要走好。

Launching of the new Yamaha Electone Stagea ELS 02 Series

The new Stagea is finally landed in Singapore this afternoon, my insider friend told me due to unforeseen circumstances the launch will be postponed to next weekend.

There are a few interesting points to note:

• Price: Price of the ELS02C will be around $17K but you may be able to get a special price of $14 to $15K during the official launch.
• Upgardeability: Upgrade kit may be at the range of $4-5K, it is possible to transform your ELS 01 to the all new ELS 02.
• USB Devices: The retractable USB Dock includes two ports, it is conveniently located near the Rhythm section, back ache no more, hehehe...
• Pedalboard: Other than the usual IT & AT, the pedal is enable with Polyphonic play.
• Horizontal Touch: The pitch can be varied using the horizontal touch for ELS 02C. Better sensors with 127 levels of resolution that enable a range of delicate expressiveness.
• Data Compatibility: Best of all, the data created or purchased for the ELS01 series can be used with the new model. As usual, some data may require further adjustment.
• Registration Bank: Up to 5 registration banks and each bank consists of 16 memories.
• Voice Link: When using the voice in different voice section or registration memory, no copy is needed. This is something new which I am going to lay my hands on the new instrument ASAP.

Why is the Electone suitable for music education?

There are always many views as to which is the best musical instrument to learn? I am going to do a sales talk today, hehehe... All you guys should know by now that I am an Electone teacher and whatever points I am going to say here may be biased, so please read with a pinch of salt ;-)

• The Electone can create the tones of various instruments, Piano, Violin, Flute, Trumpet, Drums and etc. Learning the tones of various instruments at an early stage will encourage interest in learning music.
• The rich and beautiful tones of the Electone stimulate your imagination.
• The variety of rhythms Electone can produce develop your sense of tempo and the three manual keyboards help you acquires sensitivity to beautiful melody and harmony.
• Students can play the melody, harmony and rhythm simultaneously by themselves. Basically, Electone is an one-piece band or an one-piece orchestra.
• The keyboard's touch-tone function makes it possible to achieve expression as subtle as when playing an acoustic instrument. 

If children want to play other instruments in the future, join a brass or woodwind group, study composition or arrangement, be a music producer or composer, etc. They will have an excellent musical foundation from their practice on the Electone.

New Yamaha Electone Stagea! Singapore Launch!

Good news! I heard from the insider that Yamaha is scheduled to launch the new Stagea on 2 June 2014 and Ms YUKI WADA will be in Singapore for the event.

Another great news! Mr TAKANO will be coming for a concert on 28 June @ Bugis Illuma Hall.

Will keep you guys updated on the details ASAP. CHEERS!!!

New Electone Stagea on the way

Yamaha Japan is scheduled to officially launch the new STAGEA ELS-02, ELS-02C and ELS-02X this coming 10 April 2014. Wander when they are coming to Singapore? Anyway, here come the sneak preview first.







Info & specs (translated Yamaha Japan site):
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fjp.yamaha.com%2Fnews_release%2F2014%2F14012201.html


Photos & demo videos (translated music store site
www.gakki.me/n_pre/?p=2014012204):
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gakki.me%2Fn_pre%2F%3Fp%3D2014012204

Piano vs Electone part 2

Here is another post taken from Kiasu Parents, contributed by Audacity:

Topic is kinda old. But posting to share some info with parents who are still curious about what on earth an Electone is.

Firstly, there is no such instrument as an Electone. That is Yamaha's product line. What it is, is a modern-age Electronic organ. It is an amalgamation of the pipe organ (from medieval Europe), the theatre organ, and the early modern tone wheel jazz organ. Any Electone will have all these sounds nowadays. It will also have hundreds of other sounds. An Electone, i.e. electronic organ, is not a synthesizer, not a keyboard, not an arranger etc. The course for those are different. The style of playing and even control for these are also different. More on this later.

Now, the question of learning piano or organ. Back in the 80s, there were lots more students learning the organ, not only at Yamaha, but places like Elka and Kawai. There were also loads theories of which is better, which is more beneficial etc etc. Not going to comment on these. So as not to insult the different types of pianists too, I'm not going to say which areas pianists are better than organists at, or vice versa. I'll just list down what are the things an Electone student at Yamaha can expect to benefit from:

1) Musical co-ordination. Which is actually the very first, and most straightforward benefit. Once you get it, you wouldn't lose it. Just like a bicycle.

2) Style. Style NOT as it being classy. But musical styles. I wish to emphasize that it is a complete misconception that the Electone course is only about pops. We play a lot of different types of music, easily more than any other instrument. Be it classical, retro, gospel, folk, rock, pop, jazz, latin, fusion etc. In the higher grades, a student is expected to be familiar with a myriad of styles, just to pass the examination. For eg, a student is given a simple score, and must play it in the style stipulated by the examiner.

3) What's the benefit of (2) i.e. style? Most obvious is arrangement of music. Any commercial music production you hear, on CDs etc, is arranged. With a solid knowledge of how different music types should sound like, an Electone student will be most ideal for arrangement work. (Arranging songs is part of the exams, btw)

4) Articulation, which refers to understanding how different instruments sound like, should sound like, and how they are played. It's NEVER just about selecting a sound, and pressing the key to voice it. It's about the little nuances that gives the sound the character of the instrument it is mimicking. Again, very useful for studio, arrangement work. Why? Because plenty of times, those orchestra backgrounds, wind solos etc are produced in these places by a keyboard. (Which is not an Electone, but easy to cross over to)

5) Improvisation. Which is the ability to vary on a song. Heavily used in Jazz and at least in some degree in other songs. One might ask, what if my kid hates Jazz? Well, "impro" forces the musician to think on the spot. To really know one's basics and theories, and apply them outrageously. IMO, there are few better methods to train up anyone's creativity and boldness.

6) Crossover. Those keyboards you see on stages are not organs or Electones. They are synths, arrangers, stage pianos etc. Electone players have a disadvantage here because the style of playing in many bands are closer to that of the pianist. (Organists take over the bass part, and even the drums if necessary. We boss over too many things! ). However, familiarity with electronic sound production and especially different styles of instruments and sound will compensate heavily for this.

Now for more practical infos:

A) Yamaha's system is not ABRSM. It is this...truly queer system that goes backwards from 13 to 3 or 10 to 3 or something. Grade 5-3 are the higher grades. During then, it is split into two courses, the new one being Fundamentals of Music. FOM trains on theory, singing, accompaniment, and believe it or not, you have to play on the piano. So Electone students do learn to play on the piano ultimately.

B) The entry level Electone is around 2.9K. The standard is around 10K. The exam model is 15K. So arguably, it is more pricey to learn. Not so however, when you consider the price of grand pianos, or higher end upright pianos, which easily go beyond 15K.

C) There are other electronic organ models. But to use another brand while learning from Yamaha, is going to be very, very awkward. You see one main problem with the Electone is that it is very reliant on programming. To get the really awesome drums and sounds, you need hours of programming. Most players thus use readily made programmes sold from Japan. You guess it too. These programmes can only be used on the Electone.

D) Reference to (D), you COULD just sit down, press a preset, and perform. But you have to be very, very good.

E) For myself, one of the best thing about the Electone is simply that it needs minimal maintenance. Remember you do need to heat a piano 24 hours. And tune it regularly.

F) Of MAJOR concern, the Electone grade is recognized by MOE for employment. Check: http://www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/car ... level-dip/

G) Of another concern, it should also be good enough for the Music Elective Programme, since MEP states ABRSM or equivalent. Yamaha is an established exam board.

But all the above aside, I think the crux should be what the child prefers. Music is something very affective. I think no matter how much the benefits attract you, you will never master it if you don't love it. The choice between piano or organ or any instrument has to be one of real love. Disregard this and it will truly be a waste of money over many years.

Piano vs Electone

I stumbled on this interesting website 'Kiasu Parents', in the forum discussions where there are conversations between parents which clarify some of the concepts between the Piano and Electone. Below are some of the highlights which I would like to share with you:

• Do you get blank looks each time when you tell people that your DS is learning electone? The next question that typically follows is "is electone an organ?" & honestly i also can't explain the difference btw electone and organ.
• Personally, I would encourage electone as a starting musical instrument for kids - it practically trains kids to have great multi-task physical co-ordination (hence I would like to think brain too ;-p). If you think both hands playing is tough, wait till you see both hands (upper & lower keyboards), legs (left for rhythm controls, right for registration & volume changes ... plus knees too playing on the electone! Not to mention the music creativity aspect with the various music sounds. It's like learning all instruments with just 1 electone. Generally it's easier for kids to sustain their musical interest with electones.
• Wow, your reply came in just handy! Am keen to start my gal on yamaha electone but me being musically ILLITERATE.. sigh... and i have my SIL who was persuading my 4YO to go for 1-1 piano lessons!! I was wondering if it's too serious?
  But.. was wondering if in future she likes it, can she migrate to piano, or need to start from stage 1?
• Most kids prefer electone 'cos of the wide range of sound varierty. electone lessons (from my DS experience) other than your standard piano ABRSM theory, sight reading, focuses a lot on improvisation and music arrangements. if your kid has a good hearing, it helps a great deal 'cos "mixing & matching" music will come more naturally to them.
  as jce mentioned, techniques are different. piano focuses on touch. electone requires overall co-ordination ie both hands (play and to control rhythms etc) and legs (control expression pedals, vol etc) and emphasize on musical showmanship/expression. if u r looking at music producer kinda quality, I think electone players will have an edge 'cos of improvisation and arrangements capabilities. 
• Piano is of course more mainstream. my kiasu mentality kept prodding DS to pick up piano concurrently - easier to earn own pocket money than electone not everyone has electone but piano is common in public places (at least you don't get empty looks when you say you learning electone). alas, he just cant sit still in front of the piano and till now still not keen to pick it up. no choice - can't force a cow to drink water.
  I remembered asking the teacher then btw electone and piano, which will be better to start first. Was told piano will be better to pick up when the kids have finger strength later. and looking at the co-ordination level required of electone, if I would to choose again, I would still choose electone first then piano - - personal view of a parent only and not professional so don't stone me.

So, what do you say? Care to comment?

Related Post: Piano vs Electone Part 2

New Price Lists for Piano and Electone

Don't say that I never informed you! I have heard the wind of prices going up soon for all models of Yamaha Piano and Electone, probably within the next two months. Be prepared to pay a few hundreds to thousands more for your dream instrument. To avoid any disappointment, buy now before it is too late!

Email me your particulars and I will recommend the helpful sales guy to assist you with your purchase.

C ya and have a nice weekend ;-)

Downloads for STAGEA Electone

Have you ever encounter any issues with your STAGEA? I have noticed the following FAQ:

1. What is the latest firmware for my STAGEA? (Ans: ver 1.82)
2. What is the latest version of the MusicSoft Downloader? (Ans: ver 5.6.1)
3. Where do I get the update?
4. How do I install the update?
5. Compatible Thumb Drive for STAGEA?
6. How to use the MusicSoft Downloader?
7. How do I move the Protected Registration Data? (You can "move" but not "copy" the data)
8. How to playback the Protected Registration Data on my STAGEA and etc?

If some of the above questions are YES to you, help is just a click away. Please check out these two websites: Yamaha MusicSoft and Downloads for ELS01.

Teachers' Day

This is the BIGGER & the BEST poster I ever received, thank you Grace! Consider that you're very busy with your JC activities, I believed by creating this beautiful poster you had to burn many hours of your mid-night oil, thank you once again. If you can put in the same effort, same passion & same attitude in your study, nothing can stop you. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best in your coming Yamaha & JC exam.

Teachers Meeting on 5 August 2009

A very big THANK YOU to all you guys!

5 August 2009 was the day for me to remember, I was presently surprised and in fact nervous too.

I would like to say a million thanks to the following VIPs and colleagues:

• Mr Horie (MD, Yamaha Singapore): I'm very grateful that you replied my email and acknowledged my effect in starting this vblog. I was at a lost of words to say to you when Ms Cecilia Yue introducing me to you that morning, so sorry about that.
• Ms Cecilia Yue (GM, Yamaha Singapore): Thank you for introducing me to our new MD Mr Horie, I appreciate it very much.
• Mr Ng Tiow Seng (Manager, Human Resource): I was over the moon when you came to shake my hands and told me that you had visited my vblog.
• Ms Khor Poh Khim: Thanks for the many words of encouragement that morning, I believed all of us teachers need that very badly.
• Ms Lian Hee Yoon: My dear CI, you're so helpful when ever I needs help, please forgive me if I took you for granted and sometime forgotten to say thank you. Happy birthday to you again! I'm not going to reveal your your age here, you must thank me, okay? he he he...
• Ms Eileen Ng (Chief Examiner): Thank you for your words of encouragement and I shall rub shoulders with you more often. (I have learnt this phrase from Ms Khor)
• Mr Stephen Chia: Thank you 'Stephen' and that's the secret between you & me. Oh yes, "One bird in the cage is better than..." I like your words of wisdom, Cheers!
• Ms Sally Lee (Education, head office): Hi Sally! I have not forgotten you, without your approval at the initial stage, my vblog would have miscarried long long ago, you are the Godmother of my blog.

If I missed out any names, forgive me and please accept my sincere apology.

Finally, I would like to share with you guys my motto: "Don't just do it, Do it better!" Let us be united and work towards the same GOAL! Cheers!

Happy Birthday to my daughter

• Happy birthday to you, my darling.
• Hope you likes my Hannah Montana & Avril Lavigne mash-up music ;-)
• For demonstration purposes only, not for resale.

A Single Most Important Question!

You see, the amazing thing about human needs is that; no two people are the same and we all play music for different reasons. Every child, student, parent, grandparent and teacher including myself has very different needs. You may want to be a musician, a music teacher, a performer, or you may want to collect an extra certificate as a back-up; just in case you don't do well in your study, or you may want to learn a few simple songs to make yourself happy & etc...

Today, I would like to ask you this question "What is it that you want to get out of your music lessons?"

To all my dear students, parents and grandparents, in order for me as a teacher to help to fulfill your needs, avoid mismatch between you and me, it would be nice if you can share your thoughts with me. Please post your thoughts in the 'Comments' tab below or share with me during lesson, whichever you feels comfortable.

Hope to hear from many of you :-)

My objective of starting this Vblog:

1) To encourage students to practice regularly.
2) To give a platform for students to showcase their work & performance.
3) To give students more exposure, we can learn from each other 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.
4) To update information on various concerts. Electone is a very versatile musical instrument that we have a whole orchestra at our hand. Ideally, Electone player should be a good arranger as well and therefore to attend different genres of concert is important.

I sincerely hope that my Vblog can give you the needed motivation & inspiration to excel. Let us work together to achieve this GOAL. Many thanks...