Music gives enjoyment to people of all ages, whether you perform or just listen, and HKFYG is actively involved in making music for Hong Kong people. Some say that the rhythm of music has a calming effect on us because it reminds us of our mother’s heartbeat in the womb. Maybe that’s why we continue to respond to it all our lives. Some of the musicians with the Federation events told us their views.

Ying, Bosco, Patrick and Laurence – all still at school except Patrick – played at a Federation event in Times Square with a 40-strong saxophone ensemble:

‘We played mostly classical music,’ said Lawrence, ‘something a lot of young people know nothing about and don’t usually like. But being at Times Square meant that we had an immediate impact on passers by. They stopped and listened in a way they never would if they had to buy concert tickets. That was the really rewarding part of it.’

‘Giving Hong Kong people a taste of different kinds of music is what counts,’ said Ying, ‘and in the saxophone band we interacted not only with each other but with the audience in a very immediate way. It was a new experience for me and for many of them too.’

Ding-ding and Gabriel, two of the singers in the choir, talked about their forthcoming Christmas shows. They agreed that there was something special about performing in an informal setting, especially when the programme has plenty of variety and the sort of music Hong Kong people prefer:

When the young musicians talked about the role of music in their personal lives, they shared the views of the singers. Ying, who plays tenor sax, said:

‘I couldn’t live without music. Music and life mean the same thing to me. Everybody in my family loves music too so I get a lot of encouragement and reinforcement at home, just as long as I don’t sing too loud!’

Learning in harmony

Many musical prodigies have Chinese roots. Current young stars include Aristo Sham Ching-tao, the Hong Kong 10 year-old who came first in Category A of the 2006 Ettlingen International Competition in Germany.* 15 year-old Rachel Cheung Wai-ching is another local example. Two young American Chinese, Marc Yu**, a 6-year-old cellist/pianist whose mother grew up in Macau and Katelyn Tran, an 8-year-old pianist whose mother was a Vietnamese refugee in Hong Kong, are also widely known.

What all these children have in common, apart from being Chinese, is learning music at a very early age. But lessons alone are often not enough for a truly gifted musical child. Their talent is to some extent inborn. Children with perfect (absolute) pitch, a trait which is more common in Chinese, can be identified at 3 years of age. Such children can name the exact pitch of any musical note and some can sing a given note unaided although not all those with absolute pitch are musicians.*** Unfortunately, this ability can be a disadvantage when a choir sings together because a member with perfect pitch cannot ignore any voice or instrument that is out of tune!

*South China Morning Post 17 August 2006 C1 ** www.marc-yu.org 10, 2005

Singing praises

Learning music has many benefits, especially for the young. Behavioural studies and neurological research have shown that it helps develop intelligence. For example, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which detects activity in brain cells, has shown that brain activity in pianists is greater and more efficient than in non-musicians.* A study of US kindergarten children who had music instruction showed they have 48% higher scores in spatial-temporal skills than others and after 8 months of lessons, another group of similar age showed a 46% increase in spatial reasoning. **

Music training also has an effect on performance in verbal, mathematical and scientific skills. A large scale study of over 25,000 US secondary school students showed significantly higher levels of proficiency in maths by grade 12 among those who had consistently been involved in instrumental music in middle and high school. There is also a correlation between music appreciation and performance with a lower occurrence of substance abuse, disruptive behaviour and drop-out levels.

*Neuroscience Letters 278 (3) 2000, 189 ** www.menc.org/information/advocate/facts.html