Sabah Music Culture

So much for a very brief description of the background, I shall now begin by saying that the condition of musical life in Sabah is on a critical balance: not only at the moment, but for most of its independent days. There are many contributing factors towards this critical balance. The first phenomenon is that musical life is dominated by the Chinese people. They are the second largest race in Sabah and dominate the economy. In contrast to the largest people group, the Kada

In many ways, people tend to express more naturally on the organ. This is confirmed by a report recently from a Sabah pianist (who is Western-trained) said that people find pop music has much stronger attraction than Classical. While it is good to have a piano at home, it is not common to have an organ. The reasons are less clear, but basically are: first, the association of the organ player with his/her music school appears to be significant. These schools often are exciting places to be at (or called 'home') because of the activities they hold both inside (e.g. lessons) and outside (e.g. concerts), the promotion they put on, and the variety of organ models on display for sale (probably comparable to a car showroom). The second reason is that new organ models are produced every few years (three years with Yamaha) and the best way to keep up is be attached to the music schools.

What is the future? Is piano music to stay or organ music, or both? I think the essence of the situation is where Chinese people can find their voice. This is an issue difficult to measure or assess. In a recent study by Hirschberg and Seares[4] (1993), 19 Chinese undergraduates at the University of Western Australia, who have been educated in English-speaking western-oriented schools in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, were asked to response to six Vietnamese songs. Some of these songs are traditional and others modern but in a traditional mode. They conclude that these Chinese students showed marked preference for western elements and were less tolerant to traditional Asian traits, and they do not expect themselves to act as intercultural mediators. They were not exposed to traditional musical elements of South East Asia.

1982 400 333025 (all practical subjects)

Some topics in this essay:
Schools Music, Peninsula Malaysia, Kadazan Chinese, Japanese Pop, Australia USA, Yamaha Technics, Westernised Oriental, Peninsula Peninsula, Seas China, Hong Kong, chinese people, musical life, pop music, chinese music, tonal music, western culture, music music, western tonal, western tonal music, hong kong, people own voice, chinese people voice, board royal schools, royal schools, royal schools music,