A Ninja at Da Vinci the Genius exhibition

During my brother’s school holiday, the family decided to go and see the Da Vinci the Genius exhibition at the Singapore Science Center.

Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the exhibition.

But I can tell you that the exhibition is an interesting look into the mind of Leonardo Da Vinci. There are several hands-on exhibits you can try. There are also replicas of his codices and his famous works of display.

It’s hard to imagine that the exhibition's material was formulated by a man who lived hundreds of years ago. It made me wonder what it’s like to be a man centuries ahead of his time.

It is astounding to think that Da Vinci could make such findings and inventions without the use of modern day technology and equipment. I found his drawings of the human anatomy especially impressive. It is incredibly detailed and extremely accurate.

My family spent about 2 hours there. We only left because the exhibit was closing.

If you want to take a peek into the mind of man who was clearly ahead of his time, I recommend that you visit the Da Vinci the Genius exhibition.

More details can be found here. Read more

Are classical guitar lessons really necessary?

As a student and a teacher of the instrument, I find the above mentioned question utterly ludicrous.

There is a terrible misconception that self-study is sufficient when approaching the classical guitar. Nothing could be further from the truth. This fallacy probably stems from another popular misconception; that playing the classical guitar is easy.

What about Segovia?

Andres Segovia’s claim of being self-taught has been challenged by several guitarists.

In his biography, Segovia admitted to having turned to Miguel Llobert. Llobert was a former student of Francisco Tarrega and was a classical guitar maestro. However, Segovia claims that Llobert did not have any real influence on his playing.
This is a claim that has been challenged. Some guitarists claim that Llobert’s influence on Segovia is quite noticeable.

Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that Segovia was a classical guitar prodigy who grew up in Spain, the geographical birthplace of the classical guitar. He also had Llobert to advise him.

Before using Segovia as an excuse to shun lessons, ask yourself this: are you a prodigy like Segovia? Do you have the equivalent of a Llobert to turn to? Do you live in a country with a highly sophisticated classical guitar ecosystem?

Segovia believed in the power of teaching. That’s why he wielded his tremendous influence to increase the pedagogue of the classical guitar. He also gave Master Classes to young guitarists.

But I don’t want to be as good as Segovia!
But do you want to be any good?

Passionate guitarists can easily invest hundreds of hours of practice within their first year of study. It’s a terrible shame to invest so much time only to discover you haven’t been doing the correct things. It is imperative for beginners to take lessons.

When you are instructed by a qualified teacher, what you learn stays with you for life. Your fingers learn to move in a sophisticated and intelligent manner. Your tone will also invariably improve, because you have a strong reference point in the form of your teacher.

This is a crucial aspect that almost every student takes for granted. When a good teacher is employed, the students’ ears become accustomed to good tone. Good tone can only be created with superior technique and good musicality. By passively listening to the teacher, the students’ ears develop. Soon the student gains the ability to detect nuances in tone. This acts as a highly refined ‘6th sense’. Now that the student has the ability to detect nuance, the student forces himself/herself to improve technically and musically.

This is not a skill you can develop from listening to audio recordings. I have a Diploma in Mass Communications. I know how different recorded sound is from ‘live’ sound. I’ve also met self-taught students who claim to listen to many classical guitar recordings. Their tone usually leaves much to be desired.

I have met several students, privately and at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings, who were either self-taught, or taught by an inferior teacher. All of these students were lacking technical polish and good tone production.

It is extremely arrogant to think that you can develop such skills unaided. John Williams, David Russell and Pepe Romero are all regarded as virtuosos in the realm of classical guitar. They are regarded as some of the best classical guitarists in the world. They all have been taught by their respective masters.

Yeah but I don’t want to be as good as any of them either!
But once again I have to ask: do you want to be any good?

If you receive proper training, you have the opportunity to develop your skills further. If you don’t, you will always wallow in a trepid pool of ignorance.

Furthermore, beginners who teach themselves have a tendency of forming poor playing habits that could plague them for years. By the time they approach a qualified teacher, the damage has been done. It becomes difficult to unlearn their mistakes, and the self-taught student has effectively crippled his/her own hands. Read more

My classical guitar confession part 2

When I enlisted for my National Service, there was serious talk about bringing me back to Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings (NPS/NP Strings). I attended a series of meetings discussing my possible return.

But it soon became evident to me that coming back, in any form, would be difficult.

The school would require written permission from my Commanding Officer (CO) for me to return to my teaching duties. (It is illegal for full-time National Servicemen to moonlight, unless they have the express written consent from the Ministry of Defence.)

Then there were discussions of finding loopholes for me to return.

“How about instead of paying you a teaching fee, we pay you a transport fee?” One person suggested.

This would circumvent the ‘moonlighting’ rule. But it was clearly a grey area.

After a series of exhaustive meetings, I decided to save the committee any further trouble. “Find a replacement for me,” I ordered. And that ended my involvement with NP Strings.

In hindsight, the decision was correct. After my basic military training (BMT), I would be posted to MINDEF Public Affairs. I would constantly be ‘on-call’ and my uncertain schedule would deprive me of any opportunity of participating in the classical guitar community.

This would also prevent me from teaching privately.

I was surprised that I would still receive offers to teach privately. I did not have a blog then, and I assumed that my teaching career was too short to have established any sort of reputation. But the offers still came in. I flatly refused all of them.

During my service, I kept my skills sharp. I briefly returned to study under Ernest Kwok, but my national service (NS) vocation promptly put this to an end.

Prior to enlisting, I almost never missed a lesson with Ernest. I could go for months, sometimes up to a year, of attending classes with Ernest, all the while never missing a single one.

This is quite impressive when you consider that this took place during a time when the North-East MRT line was not yet built.

It was a 1-hour commute to Ernest’s location. In total, I would have to commute for 2 hours for a 30-minute lesson. But I was passionate and determined.

My NS vocation caused me to miss almost 50% of all my classes. After several months, I stopped classes with Ernest.

My uncertain schedule would also deprive me of meeting Alex. I struggled to find the time to meet him. During my service, I met him several times before we would gradually lose touch.

During an early instance of my NS, I managed to meet him during my BMT. Alex got quite a kick out of meeting a very ‘botak’ (bald) Recruit Dedrick Koh. That would be the only instance where Alex would have more hair than me.

After months of refusing offers to teach, requests would slowly die down. I would perish the thought of any career involving classical guitar as I wondered what to do with myself at the end of my NS.

To be continued...
Read more

My classical guitar confession part 1

Over the years I have trained under and trained several classical guitar teachers. I studied the classical guitar for 7 years under a variety of teachers.

I first studied under Mohammed Zuklifee for 2 years, and then under Ernest Kwok for 5 years.

Zuklifee was an excellent teacher who instilled upon me the joy of playing the classical guitar. Under his tutelage I learnt the importance of playing for yourself above all else. The moment you play for ‘other’ reasons such as exams, performances or pressure, your personal relationship with the instrument suffers.

But after spending 2 years with Zuklifee, I wanted some variety. I wanted to learn from one of the best classical guitarists in Singapore. I asked around and every guitarist I approached unanimously pointed me to the esteemed Ernest Kwok.

This classical guitar master would hone and sharpen my technical and musical skills. The 5 years I spent with him was my greatest cycle of growth as a classical guitarist. This is not only due to his excellent instruction, but it is also due to circumstance.

During these 5 years, I would also be mentored by the legendary Alex Abisheganaden. I came to know Alex when I joined Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings (NPS). There, I became a principal performer, performing as a soloist at every major event I was involved in.

The marriage of Ernest’s technical training, Alex passive mentoring and the burden of being a principal performer for NPS became instrumental in my rapid growth during these 5 years.

I am proud to say that as a performer, I played a wide variety of solo works. This includes Adelita by Tarrega, Dansa Brasilera by Jorge Morel, and perennial favourites of Mark Yong that includes his arrangement of How Deep is Your Love, You’re my Everything and All at Once.

I did not take the easy way out by regurgitating 1 song over and over again (an irritating concept that was pervasive at NPS). I set high standards for myself.

Being surrounded by passionate NPS guitarists was also helpful. James, Sio, Jeremy, Boon Kuang and Yow Heng were excellent contemporaries who selflessly put their ego aside to let me flourish in NPS. They trusted me enough to burden me with the role of a principal performer. For that I am eternally grateful.

Up until that point, I had never thought much of my own abilities as a classical guitarist. I had always assumed that everyone was the same as me. When I joined NPS, I saw otherwise, and apparently so did Alex. After I left NPS, Alex personally requested that NPS hire me as an instructor.

I was completely and utterly flattered. I could not say no to Alex.

So in addition to teaching the classical guitar privately, I also taught at my alma mater. There I would train student instructors and club members. I would also act as an assistant conductor during Alex’s absence. (I find it disrespectful and dishonest to label myself a co-conductor since I did not contribute to the club’s conducting as much as Alex did.)

I oversaw operations of the 30-member strong club, lead the procurement of Niibori instruments and lobbied the school’s management into giving Alex a much deserved raise. I am exceptionally proud of what I achieved there.

But all good things come to an end. My 1-year employment at NPS came to a conclusion when I was drafted into National Service (NS). My commitments to the countryalso forced me to stopped teaching privately.

My NS vocation constantly required me to be ‘on call’ and I could not provide the level of attention and customer service that my students deserved.

During these 2 years, I would still get requests from potential students but I flatly turned down such offers.

A long time would pass before I would continue teaching the classical guitar again.

To be continued… Read more

3 things I learnt from Michael Jackson music videos

“Singer, entertainer, white-woman”-these are just some of the adjectives that can be used to describe Michael Jackson.

But Michael was more than an entertainer to me. He was a unwitting teacher who taught me during my young and impressionable youth. In tribute to the King of Pop, I would like to share with you 3 things I learnt from watching Michael Jackson music videos.

1. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; as long as you are a mutant shapeshifter.



Decades before Charles Xavier could share his dream with a mutant-fearing world, Michael Jackson was already ahead of the curve.

It doesn't matter if your black or white. As long as you're blue.

At the end of his music video "Black or White", Michael showed us that it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white as long as you’re a shape-shifting mutant.


2. Gang related knife fights are actually pretenses for simultaneous dancing

Now, now, we both know why you're REALLY here.

As a young child I always feared knife-wielding, colourfully-dressed, leather-jacket-wearing gangsters. Fortunately, Michael’s video “Beat It” taught me otherwise.



You have no idea how many gang fights I stopped by breaking into unexpected dance. Thanks Michael!


3. Herds of flesh-eating zombies can be stopped with MORE simultaneous dancing

The WRONG way to deal with zombies.

I always thought that zombies were hungry for human brains. I also always wondered what happened to gangsters when they die.

The CORRECT way to deal with zombies.

With “Thriller”, Michael corrected my first misconception while satiating my subsequent curiosity. Apparently, when gangsters die, they turn into zombies who are hungry for dance. I'm sure those shotgun-wielding survivalist feel real stupid now. Time to trade in those shotgun shells for some dance lessons.




Rest in peace Michael. You gave the world more than it deserved. Read more