Impressions by Ginnie Liang
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) organised a four-day music creation camp at the Seac Pai Van Vocational Training Centre in Coloane from August 31 to September 3 and invited renowned Hong Kong lyricist Chow Yiu-fai and veteran music producer Eward Chan Ho Yin as mentors, with singer-songwriter Yoyo Sham as a guest speaker.
Known for their popular works in the Hong Kong music industry, as well as their teaching positions at Hong Kong Baptist University, Chow and Chan came to Macau to provide guidance and advice to 15 local participants on music production, melody structure, lyrics, concept, and completeness.
The participants were selected by the bureau.
Luckily, I was a participant this year. To fully immerse oneself in music creation for four days, especially for those who have jobs, may seem crazy. But with our love for music, we made it happen.
This was the second time the bureau had organised such an event, which combined educational teaching and competition in the field of music. 15 participants were divided into writing lyrics, composing, and song arrangements, receiving four days of professional guidance to strengthen our skills in music production and songwriting, as well as gaining a deep understanding of the work of music producers from a comprehensive perspective, so as to help participants improve and optimise their works, breaking through blind spots in creation and providing more ideas for future compositions.
Collaboration is a difficult task
Collaboration is a difficult task. For me, creation means locking myself in and creating music until I feel satisfied before sharing it with others, but this camp taught me to put aside my ego and accept the opinions of others. It turned the creative process into a journey taken step by step with others.
As Chow said, the richness of collaborating with others in the creative process is vastly different to creating alone. After participating in the camp, I have gained a different understanding of the creative and production process: to have a deeper impact, one must immerse oneself in a group and even experience collisions.
At night, I saw everyone, just like me, eating instant noodles, dragging around their tired bodies, turning raw rice into cooked food, and presenting their works like dishes.
Don’t just wait for inspiration
“Inspiration is crucial in music creation, but simply waiting for it to come is like ‘’Waiting for hares by the tree.’” I silently noted the words of Hong Kong veteran music producer, Eward Chan.
Rather than waiting for the perfect setting or mood, there is no such thing as a perfect inspiration. What we have instead is the relentless effort and daily training of creators, as well as the nourishment of music that our ears provide, which internalises and becomes an endless source of ‘inspiration’.
Learn to accept critique
Many people see encouragement as the driving force behind their progress, but I see honest critique as something that hones the soul and brings about a deeper impact. As Chow said, what we learn in the process can be applied in the future, but the product is already done.
In this music creation camp, the unique styles of each group collided with the perspectives of top professionals in the Hong Kong pop music industry, our original melodies encountered the commercial logic of the industry, and the clash of ideas within the team and within ourselves, became a process of constant compromise and improvement.
If we look at music from a mathematical perspective, it is nothing more than 12 pitches, 24 major and minor keys, plus and minus, high and low. Yet, it creates so many melodies, each with a completely different listening experience, with every song creating a new combination of melodies in this music world.
Oh, there it goes, another inspiration for my new songs now!
Renowned Hong Kong lyricist Chow Yiu-fai
Veteran music Hong Kong producer Eward Chan Ho Yin
Photos taken by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) during the camp from August 31 to September 3.
