6th Malaysia-Singapore Harmonica Competition

Hahahaha.... I know some of you may wait for too long on this 6th Malaysia-Singapore Harmonica Competition..... Because I stil got some photos didn't received yet, but is ok now, almost everything is here already...... Thanks to those who sent photos to me..... Thank you....




Both of them is my senior, and they have a lot of collections of harmonica. Some of the collections are built in 1957, and the harmonica is stil look very fine and new although so many years already. On my left is Mr. Lim Kean Leng, and on my right is Mr. Chin Lip Ming. Mr. Chin not just loving playing harmonica, and he also love to modifield harmonica.... he also intresting in audio Hi- Fi set up.... When I met him, he share a lot of experience on all the things that he know.... Mr. Lin are working in China, I hope he can come back here and give a hand to built up harmonica event. Because last time before he worked in China, he develop a newsletter and every 2 weeks we will received the newsletter and in the newsletter there is a lot of international harmonica information and festival that can let us know what is going on, on the europe country.Both of them are very kind....

Opening ceremory, three children were perform on the stage... looks very cute......

And then follow by Mr Lee Hea Bong from Korea.....

Bai brother's trio, from China Bei Jing.....

He is a pianica teacher in Japan, he love to play blues and jazzy music, and he also have a lot of music knowledge both education and production.

Me and Mr Choon Siang playing duet on the opening ceremory. We played pop song "Shape of my heart"......

3 of us were playing country medly and two guitars.....

I am playing 2 solo song also, the 1st song is composed by George Gershwin - An American In Paris and the second song is a pop country song Cotton Eyed Joe and I arranged it into techno style.

Of course, at last mr Chong Ah Kow and 3 of us were playing together and everybody were so enjoy for this opening ceremory concert....

I will post the competitions photos soon....

2002 Japan 4th Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival 5th Day

Today we have took part in small ensemble category, means 4 to 8 people playing together, but all is using harmonica without any others instrument......

I feel very pressure on this category, because I am the leader of the team.... and when we decided to took part, we just have around 2 month to prepare for this competition.... Because 4 of us after secondary school level, we seldom met together. Because Ming Chek (Black Pearl) was study form 6 in Yu Hua school, Choon Siang was study graphic design in Tar college, Keng Hong was study computer science and me was study music in Sedaya college..... Almost 2 years we didn't practice together afther the Korea and England trip.... When we decided to took part... i feel very pressure on it, because all of them didn't play harmonica for so long and I need to think of a formula to train them and push their level up.....

Finally they listen to my advised and we all collabrate very well during the training program. I have write out a training program for all of us. that is... every morning at 6am, we will wake up and go to jogging. Can not absent during the training program. After jogging, we play basketball and we seprate into 2 team. The team that lost will have punishment, and the punishment is either doing bumping or sit up. 100 times for each game.......

After the excersise part, then will go to have our breakfast and then practice at my house. Each day we have 2 practice session. Morning and night, sometimes if one of the member can not make it at night, will change to evening. The last training program is..... going to studio make a recording..... let all the member have experience on stage performance as well as studio experience. Beside that, it is very easy to hear who is playing not right and need to improve again....

Thank you very much for all of the collabration, without their collabration and
sacrificed we can not win in this competition.... a last we won Gold Metal in this category..... so happy when I know the result......



This is the photo that ta during we take part in the competition. Too bad is.... we fail to capture video.... hahaha.....


My friends was took part in Blues Harp category, He also won Gold Metal.......



He is my Blues harp teacher, we met each other in Korea and he teach me how to play blues harp in cross harp position.....


He is Yasuo Watani, very well playing on chromatic harmonica.......

Hahaha..... Taiwan friends, this coming August will meet all of them in Taiwan....

He is Mr Claude Garden, he can manage to play classical and jazz music in chromatic harmonica.Normally,very seldom people can mange to play both style. Because the accent for classical and jazz music is totally different world. Classical music the accent is on the 1st and 3rd beat. But jazz music is on the 2nd and 4th beat, and jazz music is emphasis on improvisation.Improvisation mean when the song is finish, and it will go back to the top again but not playing the melody anymore and playing on the spot with a new passage and it will continue to the end of the song and then the pianist or bassist will take turn to improvise again from the top. He can manage to master both style...... so amazing... but unfortunetely... he pass away on 9 of December in 2004. He inspired my playing a lot although I didn't have any private lesson with him.I met him in Malaysia 2003.

This small little children is so cute, although they are young but they laying very well and very tight. Sounds very professional....

Of course, The Adler trio from Israel, the world class top player in trio group.....

2002 Japan 4th Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival 4th Day

Today we are free, most of the time we perform on the open stage and taken photos with friends. Open stage means everybody can register to perform on the stage within 30 minuets.

I am doing solo on the open stage.....

my friends join me on the open stage.... we have play a several song....

4 of us play together on the open stage, actually I am enjoying more when I am doing open stage performance.... Because all the audience is not so serious and we can have fun together with all the audience.......

hahaha... just having fun only.....

Whenever Mr Lee Hea Bong apear, he always have a naughty action....... hehehe.....

Harmonica friends from Taiwan.... all of them playing very well on the free style category....

See.... Mr Lee Hea Bong again......

Of course, I met Mr. Teruhisa Mano in Japan.... He is a very nice and very kind person....

3 of them are playing so nice and so well. Long time I didn't heard their playing already.... They have a trio name call Ojoymay.

He is Mr. Lee Oskar, He playing blues harp harmonica.In 1995,Japan were organizing the world harmonica festival and competitions at Yokohama.... I saw a video tape that he was perform on the stage.... I got stone when I listen to his playing.... because he using blues harp harmonica jaming on the stage but it's sounds like a trumpet when he use high key. When he shift to lower key, it's sounds like a trombone..... how can it be..... i stil can not figure it out..... amazing.....

All of us were taking photos at the lower ground rest room.....

2002 Japan 4th Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival 3rd Day

On the other side, at the Atsugi Cultural Centre hall, they having a harmonica concert and cultural performance. I have a fews photo and video clip,thanks to Shui Yun provide all the photo and video.You can have a look on it, some of the performance is very special...

The costume is so special.......



All of them were playing drum, but I am not sure what is the name of the drum call.....



Their dancing are very well, and very beautiful......







I have a short video clip, you can have a look on it, while they playing the drum, on the left hand side, that's a guy over there playing a flute and sound like a piccolo for accompanyment.....

This is a father and son performance. His son playing so well is blues music...





This is just a dancing from a group of kids....

2002 Japan 4th Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival 3rd Day

Today is the 3rd day in Japan, and today I have took part in free style competitions. Actually before I take part, I really don't know what should I do in this category. Because this is a new category. So I decided to do something creative and challenge. That is, left hand play harmonica and right hand play piano.

I have choose a jazz piece, call "As Times Goes By " very romantic piece, and I like it so much.

I still remember that is a Yamaha grand piano, and that is my first time I played a grand piano. Normally that we can see it in the music center or music college is baby grand piano. The size is smaller than a real grand piano.



My friend have recorded it down but is just 20 second long.

This is the stage, and the stage are very big.....


My friends also took part in Trio open category..... After that, we went out for our lunch..... we took pizza for our lunch, is just nearby the Atsugi hall.

That's our pizza lunch, is slighly different than Pizza Hut, but is tasty as well.. hehehe....



After we have finished our lunch, 4 of us ride on a superbike. That was cool.... hahaha.....

At night, the organizer is having a welcome dinner at our hotel ballroom..... but is not all the people will invited to attend this dinner, but most of us were invited to attended this welcome dinner..... you can see the picture... Mr. Lee Hea Bong is so naughty...... hahaha... but he really very funny and happy go lucky.... hahaha.......



5 of us were perform on the stage...... but later will have more people go on stage jam with us.....

and then my friend from France, Mr. Alexandre Thollon, using his blues harp harmonica playing with us. We were playing "St. Louis Blues" after that we were doing 12 bar blues jaming on the stage....


All the guess from others country were dancing on the flow while we were jaming on the stage.... The whole environment is so great.... hahaha....


Another player go on stage jaming with us, he is from Japan.



3 more people go on stage but you can see on the right hand side there is 2 people playing percussion for us. The one who wearing white shirt is Mr Lee Hea Bong from Korea, he is holding a beer bottle and the one who stand beside him is Oscar Tan, he is holding a fock and spoon... hahaha.......

more and more people go on the stage playing with us, do you know why?????? Because they all get drunk. hahaha..... drink too many sake..... I also drink a lot before I go on stage..... hehehe.....


Hahaha..... all of them is so happy on the stage...... Sake is one of the reason make all of them so high...... hahahaha..... This is so unforgetable.......