Music! Here I store my various music projects. This page serves as an introduction to my musical skills, while I have a separate one for dizi and xiao (笛子、箫) materials, and yet another one for compositions. Eventually if I have even more digital music, it will have a page on its own, but for now, it'll just be hosted on this page.
Experience
I started on music quite young. My first instrument was the melodica at 6, but it was for a one-off kindergarten graduation performance. Since then, I have played various instruments over the years, primarily as the woodwind champion at the Teck Ghee Community Club Chinese Orchestra (德义民众俱乐部华乐团). I have also jammed with the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Kiltie Band, as well as the Flute Choir of CMU.
My proficiencies are provided in the table below, in rough descending order of familiarity.
| Instrument | Familiarity | Year Started |
|---|---|---|
| dizi (笛子, specifically 小笛、梆笛、曲笛、大笛) | Lead/Solo | 1992 |
| xiao (箫, specifically 洞箫) | Lead/Solo | 1999 |
| Mountain Ocarina | Solo | 2007 |
| Concert Flute | Lead (华乐); 2nd Flute (CB, FC) | 2008 |
| Piccolo | Lead (华乐); Amateur | 2011 |
| Bass Flute | Cello-cover (华乐); Amateur | 2016 |
| bawu (巴乌) | Amateur | 2017 |
| Soprano Saxophone | Amateur | 2006 |
| Alto Saxophone | Amateur | 2008 |
| Soprano Clarinet | Amateur | 2009 |
| Pocket Saxophone | Amateur | 2009 |
A side on terms used in familiarity: ``amateur'' means I know the basics of the instrument and can play tunes on it, but have never played in an official performance (one-off or consistently). Some instruments have more than one level of familiarity---they represent the manner in which I have been playing them against the expected use case. So for Concert Flute, we find that I have played lead with it in the Chinese Orchestra (华乐) context, but was Second Flute in Concert Band (CB) and Flute Choir (FC).
Such qualitative statements are necessary because I have not and will not take any examinations to obtain a grade for my level of instrument playing. Making music is my hobby---I play these instruments for fun.
Instruments
No one has really asked me what I play yet, but I think it is cool to share the gear that I currently own and use. Inactive/decommissioned instruments are struck through; if the instrument has been let go, it will be removed altogether. Apart from my primary instruments of dizi and flute, everything else is just some low-end student model.
| Instrument | Nickname | Make and/or Description | Owned Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Ocarina | EDC | CODA EDC, Polycarbonate, 2 octaves, key of C | 2019 |
| Concert Flute | MT | GUO Tocco (Milk Tea, C-foot) | 2019 |
| Bass Recorder | Aulos A533B Bass Recorder (in F3) | 2018 | |
| C 大笛 | 倍大 C | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 8-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| D 小笛 | 小 D | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (苦竹), A446 | 2018 |
| Quena | Bamboo quena in G by Sisay | 2018 | |
| C 小笛 | 小 C | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| B 梆笛 | 小 B | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| F♯ 梆笛 | 小升 F | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| Baroque Flute | AULOS Stanesby Jr. (AF-3), A415 | 2018 | |
| G Flute | GUO Grenaditte G Treble Flute | 2018 | |
| G♯ 梆笛 | 小升 G | Zhou Sijin (周思进) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| B 梆笛 | 小 B | Zhou Sijin (周思进) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2018 |
| E 大笛 | 大 E | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 8-hole dizi (劲竹) | 2017 |
| E♭ 笛子 | 降 E | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2017 |
| B♭ 梆笛 | 小降 B | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) 6-hole dizi (紫竹) | 2017 |
| 大C+F+小C 排笛 | CFC 排笛 | Zhang Wei (张玮) 3×6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2017 |
| F 大笛 | 大 F | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) & Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 7-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2017 |
| A 大笛 | 大 A | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) & Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (紫竹) | 2017 |
| B 曲笛 | 正 B | Zhou Sijin (周思进) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2017 |
| Piccolo | S.O.S. | Armstrong 204 | 2017 |
| F 加键巴乌 | 森雀牌六键巴乌 (ABS) | 2017 | |
| Tenor Recorder | Yamaha YRT-304BII (in C4) | 2017 | |
| 大D/G 双管巴乌 | 云南思语牌 (紫竹) | 2017 | |
| F/B♭ 双管巴乌 | 流水之音牌 (红木) | 2017 | |
| F 大笛 | 大 F | Lu Yang (陆扬) 7-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2017 |
| A 大笛 | 大 A | Gan Jianming (戈建明) 6-hole dizi (红木) | 2017 |
| B♭ 大笛 | 大降 B | Bao Yanan (鲍亚男) & Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (紫竹) | 2017 |
| E♭ 笛子 | 降 E | Zhou Sijin (周思进) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| C♯ 曲笛 | 升 C | Zhou Sijin (周思进) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| D 大笛 | 倍大 D | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 8-hole dizi (紫竹) | 2016 |
| G 南箫 | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 8-hole Cantonese-style nanxiao (毛金竹) | 2016 | |
| D 小笛 | 小 D | Huang Weidong (黄卫东) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| C 小笛 | 小 C | Huang Weidong (黄卫东) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| D 曲笛 | 大 D | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| D 曲笛 | 十孔 D | Huang Weidong (黄卫东) 10-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2016 |
| Soprano Recorder | Yamaha YRS-302BIII (in C5) | 2016 | |
| Garklein Recorder | Aulos A501S Garklein (in C6) | 2016 | |
| Bass Flute | Mio | GUO Grenaditte Tenor Flute | 2016 |
| G 口笛 | Dong Shenghua (董生华) | 2015 | |
| D 口笛 | Dong Shenghua (董生华) | 2015 | |
| B♭ Band Flute | One-key Band Flute (``D♯'') made for Boosey & Hawkes London | 2015 | |
| G 梆笛 | 小 G | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2015 |
| G 大笛 | 大 G | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 7-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2015 |
| Piccolo | Picc | GUO Grenaditte Piccolo | 2015 |
| Acoustic Guitar | Melody (?) | 2012 | |
| Sopranino Recorder | Yamaha YRN-302BII (in F5) | 2012 | |
| C Fife | Yamaha YRF-21 | 2012 | |
| Alto Recorder | Yamaha YRA-28BIII (in F4) | 2012 | |
| F 梆笛 | F | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2010 |
| C 曲笛 | 大 C | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2010 |
| G 洞箫 | 箫 | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 8-hole xiao (紫竹) | 2010 |
| Concert Flute | Azumi | Altus-Azumi AZ3000REOB (B-foot) | 2010 |
| Piccolo | Prelude PC711 by Conn-Selmer | 2010 | |
| A 梆笛 | 小 A | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2009 |
| E 笛子 | E | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 2009 |
| Pocket Saxophone | Xaphoon Pocket Sax (Key of C) | 2008 | |
| Alto Saxophone | Hisonic Signature Music Alto Saxophone 2710N | 2008 | |
| Concert Flute | Hisonic Signature Music Low B Flute 2821S | 2008 | |
| Soprano Clarinet | Sop Claire | Hisonic Signature Music B♭ Concert Clarinet 2610DF2 | 2008 |
| G Ocarina | Mountain Ocarina, Polycarbonate, Key of G | 2007 | |
| C Ocarina | Mountain Ocarina, Polycarbonate, Key of C | 2007 | |
| Concert Flute | Hisonic Signature Music Low C Flute 2820S | 2007 | |
| Chromatic Harmonica | Golden Cup Chromatic Harmonica | 2005 | |
| Soprano Saxophone | Sop Sax | ? | 2005 |
| G 管子 | 中国吴氏管乐 | 2005 | |
| G 梆笛 | 小 G | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 1996 |
| D 曲笛 | D | Ng Teck Seng (黄德成) 6-hole dizi (苦竹) | 1996 |
| Soprano Recorder | Mikatone C-Soprano Model 200 (in C5) | 1994 |
My sifu has other instruments that I have loaned on a permanent basis; these aren't included in the table above. Among them include:
- Yamaha 211S Concert Flute
- E 大笛 (紫竹)
- C 小笛 (苦竹)
- G 新笛 (苦竹)
Since they are my sifu's, their origin is a little more obscured.
In my shopping list, I talked about buying a professional-level concert flute. I have decided to keep a write-up of my quest towards the perfect flute for me. Check out what I have found out over here.
Digital Music
I used to think that I would spend time creating digital music, either original or from sampling/remixing. It turns out that I did not really have that kind of interest. So this section is currently quite sad and have only one piece of work hosted on Dropbox to avoid bandwidth issues.
- Frogs in the Cave, the final composition for the Introduction to Computer Music class that I took in Spring 2009.
These days, as I am slowly evolving my role from performer to that of composer, I am focusing on composition instead.
Nyquist Tuning Layer
Back in Spring 2009, I took a fun class (Introduction to Computer Music). For my final project, I wrote a tuning layer that sits between the user program and the underlying Nyquist system.
Check out the help file over in the legacy section of this website re-write/re-design and download the code from there.