The Music Talent Development programme offers personal tutoring with musicians so students get first-hand exposure into not just instrumentation, but the professionalism it takes to perform in an orchestra. — Photos: ONG SOON HIN/The Star
FOR double bassist Dahlia Dayana Ahmad Nazir, 30, music has been part of her life for as long as she can remember.
She started playing the piano at age four, but didn’t quite like the instrument. Both her musician parents – her father was in the DBKL Pop Orchestra and her mother, a saxophonist – wanted Dahlia Dayana to find a musical instrument she would enjoy playing.
At five, they asked her to choose an instrument she wanted to play but the little girl didn’t quite know the answer to the question.
During her free time, however, she would follow her father to his gigs, sometimes even falling asleep behind the double bass he played, since the lower bout of the instrument is about 65cm.
“I’d like to think that the double bass chose me,” she says with a chuckle and a wide smile. Today, Dahlia Dayana is a doctorate student at Universiti Malaya, on top of being one of the musicians in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) Music Talent Development (MTD) programme that helps train local classical musicians.
Music learning, Ahmad Muriz says, is a lot about discipline. — Photos: ONG SOON HIN/The Star
Dahlia Dayana is learning under section principal Wolfgang Steike.
“When I was six, my mum found a half-sized double bass for me, which I still have,” she shares. “It was very difficult to get and it took my mum a long time to find it. It’s slightly bigger than a cello but the size was just right for me because I was tall for my age.”
And so, her daily practices began but Dahlia Dayana says that she finds joy in playing music.
“I couldn’t have done it without my parents’ support, discipline and push. I consider myself very fortunate to have parents who instilled passion and discipline in me and accompanied me through my initial music journey until I was ready to stand on my own,” she adds.
For double bassist Dahlia Dayana, family support is crucial in developing her passion for classical music.
Positive effects
That music has positive effects in children’s development is well-documented by research. In 2009, researchers found that after musical training, children showed improved in their reading and pitch discrimination (auditory perception function) abilities.
Published in Cerebral Cortex, the researchers concluded that after six months of musical training, children significantly improved their musical behaviour, and the lessons also influenced the development of neural processes, reflected in specific pattern of brain waves.
Head of the MPO MTD programme Ahmad Muriz Che Rose says parents and families play a crucial role in exposing young children to music.
“We have research to say that kids who play music are better in maths, and children who receive musical training learn various aural skills to detect and identify pitches, intervals, melody and chords, something which people who don’t learn music don’t hone,” he adds.
“It’s not just about sending them to a music class, although that would give a good base; sometimes it’s as simple as singing to them, taking them to see musical performances or buying a simple instrument for them to play at home,” he says.
Ahmad Muriz says his education in classical music has shaped who he is today.
“Learning music is a lot about discipline. The ability to repeat something that seems ‘basic’ to non-musicians – like playing long notes until you get it right – requires a lot of discipline, patience and perseverance,” he adds.
“I would not admit this when I was younger, but as I age, I realise that music training brings out the human in me. It teaches me humility, tolerance and patience,” he adds.
Chan says he always has his parents’ support when it comes to pursuing his interest in music.
Parental support
Cellist Isaac Chan Hao Jian, 21, isn’t born into a family of musicians, yet his parents’ support solidifies his interest in music, first in piano, and then the cello when he was 11.
“I really didn’t think that music education was a privilege until much later, because when I was growing up, each one of my friends played some instrument and attended music classes. But eventually some dropped out, but I stayed on,” says the undergraduate.
His mother enrolled him in a toddler’s piano class at his kindergarten when he was three. He then started piano lessons at five with his aunt (who’s a piano teacher). It was not until later that he learned about cello.
“There was a group class in school and violin was one of the instruments we could learn, but when I submitted my application, the slots for violin were all taken up. What was left were cello and viola. I didn’t like how viola sounded but when I heard the cello, I said, ‘I can learn this’,” he says.
“Up until then, I never knew what a cello was and how it sounded.”
“I didn’t have to convince my parents; they were ever ready to support me, regardless of the instrument I chose to play,” Chan says.
Like Dahlia Dayana, Chan is also a member of the Malaysian Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (MPYO) and is a participant of the MPO MTD programme.
“When I was 11, my mother brought here to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) for a cello recital, because I wanted to learn more about (the kind of music) I will play,” says the cellist, who now learns under section principal Csaba Koros and assistant principal Elizabeth Tan Suyin.
“My mum jokingly told me that while she was pregnant with me, all she listened to was classical music. Maybe that’s why I like classical music so much and am in training to be a classical musician,” he says.
Retaining talent
Ahmad Muriz says young people drop out of music because there isn’t adequate support for them as they grow older.
“Teenagers grow up, go to universities and then work and they don’t always have time for music so it gets dropped, and we lose talents. This programme offers personal tutoring with MPO musicians so these students get first-hand exposure into not just instrumentation, but the professionalism (it takes) to perform in an orchestra,” he says.
“We hope to train them so they can become professional musicians or audition for the MPO or any other orchestra.”
Aside from training young musicians, the programme hopes to expand its talent scouting.
“I think we don’t look far enough,” Ahmad Muriz says. “Talents may come from the places we least expect. There might be a boy is a rural area who is musically talented but can’t afford a class...who knows? We need to find these hidden gems.”
Ahmad Muriz says bringing music to a wider audience requires substantial contribution from different stakeholders. “We can’t do it alone and we need support from collaborating partners who understand the importance of talent building and education in music, and its role in nation building,” he says.
Last year, the MPO organised a music demonstration for 200 students, between 13 and 17 years old, in collaboration with Sekolah Seni Kuala Lumpur (SSKL) to create awareness about orchestral instruments. Ahmad Muriz says he hopes the programme can be expanded to other schools, reaching even younger pupils.
There are schools who would like to come for a concert at DFP but don’t have the financial ability to do so. We’d like to bring them here, and share what we have with them,”
“There’s a lot that we’d like to do; workshops, masterclasses by international artists and music camps, among others. Music is not just entertainment. It is building a cultured society and raising a generation with discipline and resilience,” he says. “Music education creates a more cultured society.”
One day, he says, he hopes the programme will reach very young children – toddlers and primary school pupils – so they can have training and exposure from young, just like Dahlia Dayana and Chan.
“When that happens, we’ll be working with parents and families, and our efforts will come full circle,” he concludes.
