TAN Kim Swee
Performing Arts in Singapore (Music),
Accession Number 002992
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 34
Total Reels
- Samuel Sng
Interviewer
- 33:11:43
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
All rights to the recordings and transcripts on this website, including the rights to copy, publish, broadcast and perform, are reserved. Written permission is required for any use. If you have any queries, please contact nas@nlb.gov.sg
Reel/Disc 1 of 34
Metadata
- 25 Oct 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:00
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Born in 1939 in Singapore. His parents loved music. All his siblings learned music. His father's Peranakan music group often performed at home. His mother loved Chinese opera. Listening to Rediffusion. Musical background of his siblings. How he started learning the piano. The piano at home. Prominent band leader Cecil Wilson was his neighbour. His daily piano practice. Stopped learning under Mrs Athias and switched to Lolabelle Wong. Piano lessons at Lolabelle's house. Cost of piano lessons in those days. When Lolabelle left for Europe, he continued under the Wong sisters Alice and Anita, who later became his colleagues at the Ministry of Education music department. His musical progress. Completed grade 8 before he entered teaching. Impressions of the Wong sisters.
He had no inclination towards the piano. His second brother learned under Dutch violin player Dirk-Kalf. Impressions of Dirk-Kalf. Music lessons at Rangoon Road Primary School under Miss Tan. How Miss Tan taught students to sing English folk songs. Alex Abisheganaden often led assembly singing with an accordion. School discipline. Childhood games. Jazz pianist Percy Proctor also taught in his school. His primary school education. Prominent school events. Recruiting and training teachers.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 34
Metadata
- 28 Oct 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:26
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Prominent school events. Impressions of Alex Abisheganaden. Singing English songs under Mr Abisheganaden during school assembly. Mr Abisheganaden's musical involvement in the 40s and 50s. Assembly singing was held twice a year to celebrate important events. Commemorative badges for the Queen's birthday and coronation. Prominent classmates. Games played in school. Posted to Bartley Secondary before being transferred to Beatty Secondary. Students from the Victoria Continuation School were transferred to Beatty. Memories of teachers and classmates. Co-education. School uniform. His education at Beatty.
Attended weekly 'O' Level music lessons under Mrs Madeleine Aitken. Mrs Aitken's music studio. The 'O' Level music curriculum. Mrs Aitken's class had 8-10 students, mostly girls. Mrs Aitken's background. There were no music lessons at Beatty. Mr Charles Lazaroo also taught at Beatty. He joined the Science Society and St John's Ambulance. Academic standards at Beatty. School discipline. Charles Lazaroo and Wilson David taught at Beatty. Charles Lazaroo often practiced on the school piano to prepare for his Licentiate of the Royal Sschool of Music exams. Games played in school. His activities in the St John's Ambulance and Science Society. Espirit de corp in school. Beatty excelled in soccer, atheletics and hockey.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 34
Metadata
- 31 Oct 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:28
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Missed his music paper for the school certificate exams. How he performed for the exams. His career options. Started as an untrained teacher in September 1957. Why he did not pursue the higher school certificate. The basic salary for trainee teachers was $218.75. Being underaged, he was only accepted into teaching in 1957. Posted to Owen School and later transferred to Dorset School. Called up for 3-year part-time National Service in 1958. His training at the Teachers Training College (TTC). Attended lectures and taught at the same time. Graduated with a Teaching Certificate after three years. His TTC modules. Half of TTC lecturers were expatriates.
Learning to teach music lessons. Louise Cheng taught music at TTC. Impressions of Owen School principal Miss Aria. Taught various levels. Started the school choir. Why he loved teaching. Started a student newspaper at Dorset School. Taught English and Malay songs for music lessons. Started the school choir to participate in a choral competition. Teachers from Malaya. He joined the Music Department in 1964 and served for 25 years. Taught music at different school each day. The Music Department's set-up at Monk's Hill Secondary School. Schools he taught.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 34
Metadata
- 8 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:57:58
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Upon joining the Music Department, he was appointed a parapathetic teacher and taught music at five schools. His new colleagues include John De Souza and Arnold Tan. Allocation of schools. Role of parapathetic music teachers. Interesting incidents in schools. The music curriculum. Music lessons include singing and rudiments of music. He taught various standards. Attitudes towards music in school. Introduced part-songs for upper primary students. Musicroom in schools. Children sat on the floor. How he taught new songs. Type of songs introduced. Voice change among older students. Introducing percussion and recorders. Using tape recorders to teach new songs.
The Dorset school choir. Interacting with school teachers and colleagues. The Music Department's premises at Monk's Hill. Saturday meetings. Seminars and workshops on classroom music. A Yamaha Japan representative introduced instrumental arrangements and conducted workshops in the late 60s. Played marimba in the Music Department's instrumental ensemble conducted by the Yamaha Japan representative. Instrumental ensemble workshops. Teachers who were not proficient in music. The parapathetic music teacher scheme lasted about three years. Sharing with colleagues about music pedagogy. Impressions of John De Souza. Benjamin Khoo's musical background. Benjamin Khoo promoted music in schools by introducing parapathetic music teachers.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 34
Metadata
- 10 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:03
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Benjamin Khoo's work expectations. Mr Khoo tried to improve the music curriculum and later introduced brass bands. Finetuning the music curriculum. Senior inspectors at the Music Department and their responsibilities. Comparing music programmes at the Teachers Training College (TTC) and the Music Department. Background of TTC music lecturer Louise Cheng. How he learnt from Louise Cheng. Unqualified school music teachers. How school benefit from parapathetic music teachers. Pre-training for parapathetic teachers. There were very few qualified English-medium music teachers in the 60s. How Mr Khoo inspire his staff to be more performance-oriented.
Piano exam results were published in the 50s. Senior inspectors were experienced music teachers. Comparing his musical ability with fellow colleagues. Why some music teachers did not join the Music Department. Appraisal from senior inspectors. Feedback from teachers and students. How he benefited from the quarterly in-house music seminars and workshops. Popular music programmes. Administrative aspects and school deployment for parapathetic teachers. Problems encountered in schools. How parapathetic teacher eventually became involved in the band scene. He started bugle and fife bands in primary schools from 1967. The Music Department engaged Mr Aw Boon to conduct band training. Learned the bugle, fife and drums within three months.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 34
Metadata
- 17 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:33
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Why school bands were started. The Music Department engaged Royal Air Force band instructors to teach brass instruments while Mr Aw Boon taught bugle and fife. Mr Aw's background. Learning various instruments. Acquiring and arranging band scores. Mr Aw's teaching methods. Staff at the Extra Curricular Activities Centre (ECAC) and school teachers attended Mr Aw's training. Weekly in-service training for band instructors. Auditioning teachers. Early cohorts were teachers who volunteered as band instructors. Birkhall, Fowlie and Hua Yi had good bands. Participants played various instruments in small groups. Swee Lee supplied instruments. Prices for bugles and fifes.
Men excelled in bugles and drums while ladies preferred fifes. Band music scores. Why bugles, fifes and drums were introduced. Brass instruments were later introduced to primary schools. The Police and Peoples' Association bands exposed locals to band music. Why British Forces band instructors never taught in schools. A British Forces warrant officer help to start the Teachers Band. Learned trumpet from British band instructors. The Teachers Band only consisted of ECAC band instructors. Hands-on practice for participants. The graduation concert. Problems faced in starting school bands. Help from ECAC instructors. Why some bands later closed down. Size and configuration of bands.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 34
Metadata
- 22 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:29
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Instrumental configuration for a 60-strong band. Why schools purchase more instruments than players. Most primary school bands have 30-40 players, comprising mostly of fifes and some bugles. Why Birkhall and Hua Yi had huge bands. Early successful band instructors include Soliman Bin Anis (Fowlie), Wong Sek Kew, Mr Cheong (Birkhall), James Sander (Fowlie). Factors behind successful bands. Early bands at Montfort and Yang Zheng. Visits to schools. Band repertoire. Most students need six months to learn an instrument. How instructors were equipped to teach various instruments. Observation of band practices. Sectional practices on weekdays.
Recruiting band players. Why some school bands did not progress. Obstacles in starting bands include long hours of practices and instructors who were not resourceful. Former players who return to help their bands. Players were allowed to bring instruments home to practice. Setting up band rooms. Most bands rehearsed outdoors as band rooms were not large enough. Saturday band practices. Why former players return to assist band instructors. Functions that most schools bands play. Tried to involve Hua Yi's band for National Day Parade. Aspects which band instructors could improve.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 34
Metadata
- 25 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:33
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Setting up a bugle and fife band cost around $4000. Grants for setting up bands. Listing down instrumentation was part of grant application. Calling for quotations from music companies. Yamaha's growing presence in the 60s. Schools bought instruments from various music companies. Popular brands for different instruments. The transition from cornets to trumpets. Comparing between Japanese and British cornets. Schools bought fifes from Swee Lee and AMA. Music companies had ample stock for various instruments. Why Yamaha became popular. Brands only available at Swee Lee. Casing for instruments. Bandroom for storing instruments. Condemning old instruments. Donating instruments to other bands. Common defects.
Aftersale service from music companies. Deciding whether to repair or condemn instruments. Criteria for grant application. Freelance instrument repairers. Maintening instruments. Flushing and oiling valves. Clearing moisture from one's instrument. The Central Supplies Office will auction all condemned instruments to external parties. Transferring instruments to other schools. Warranty for instruments. Procedure for condemning instruments. Introducing band uniforms. Hua Yi's uniform. Early band competitions were held at Badminton Hall. When the first band competition was organised, around 30 schools had bands. Bands had to perform for six to seven minutes during competitions.
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Reel/Disc 9 of 34
Metadata
- 29 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:09
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Introducing marching band competitions. American band influence. Around 20 schools participated at the first band competition. Band competitions was part of the Youth Festival. Early competition venues include Badminton Hall and Gay World Stadium. Outdoor competitions were later held at Jalan Besar Stadium. The first band competition at Badminton Hall. Supporters from schools. Bands awaiting to perform. Bands initially performed for eight minutes, in later years reduced to about five minutes. Hua Yi performed consistently well over the years. Outdoor competitions. Panel of judges include Police Band master Rizuan Mulok and Navy Band master Tony Way. Guest of honours. His role on competition day. Manpower allocation.
The Music Department drafted assessment criteria. Announcing the results. Analysing the first band competition. Bands were categorised according to gold, silver and bronze. Bands attaining the gold award. Prize presentation. Support from principals. Publicity for band competitions. Band displays became more sleek when trimmed to five minutes. Creative displays. Comparing the American and English band traditions. Band uniforms. Badminton Hall's ventilation. Programme for the first band competition. Engaging external instructors. Workshops for advanced instructors. Training instructors. Dedicated instructors at Fowlie. Yamaha workshops were free.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 34
Metadata
- 1 Dec 2005
Recording Date
- 00:58:20
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Media publicity for band competitions in the 60s. His analysis of the first band competition. Monitoring progress of bands. Schools establishing good bands with external instructors. There was no quota for band awards. Criteria for the various awards. Certificates of Participation were awarded to bands with no awards. Incidents and mistakes during early band competitions. The "Best Drum Major" award. Creative marching formations. Band repertoire become more complex from the 70s. Indoor band competitions. The first band competition was held indoors as there were too few schools. Why primary school bands only had outdoor competition. Primary school bands started embracing brass instruments from the 70s.
The transition to brass instruments. Finance to start brass bands. The Music Department later only conducted brass band training. Synonymous technique for brass instruments. Secondary school bands could have started first. Arnold Tan and John De Souza received bandmasters training at the Australian Military Academy of Music. Differences in administering bugle / fife and brass bands. Training for brass band instructors. Arnold and John's workscope. Secondary school with distinguished brass bands. Why more secondary school had good brass bands when the programme started.
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