Amy Winehouse's Death: a Preventable Inevitability.

Amy Winehouse, 27, Is dead. No surprise there, I am afraid. Some deaths are more inevitable than others – particularly some early deaths.

Now, Amy Winehouse was famous for two attributes: her music and her addictions to drugs and alcohol. Indeed, it could be argued that she was more famous for her addictions than her music – since the former won her more tabloid newspaper coverage than the latter. She was always in the newspapers for things no-one would want to be in them for.

I can’t comment on her music, or its ultimate worth, since I didn’t really pay much attention to it. However, I can comment on her life and death: it seems overwhelmingly likely that she did not have to die so young. Her death, whilst an inevitable result of the lifestyle she led – was also preventable. There is a lesson here for all relatives of addicts: don’t stand by and watch – do something. Amy Winehouse would most probably be alive today, if others had been firmer with her on the matter of her addictions. Although the cause of death is not presently known, there are relatively few deaths, in the modern world, in 27 year olds, by natural causes. Given her drug addicted lifestyle, it seems most likely that her addictions contributed to her death – either directly, by overdose, or indirectly, through the health damage they caused.

If drug addicts (and that includes alchoholics) are not to die young, like Amy Winehouse, a certain lack of freedom should be imposed on them, until they are able to control themselves, with respect to their addictions. Amy Winehouse should have been monitored very closely, to ensure that she did not have access to any drugs or alchohol. I know it seems like such a regime would have denied her, her “rights”…but, really, who should have a “right”, to destroy themselves, by drugs? In such cases, it would be more humane, and ultimately less painful, to step in and directly prevent the addict from any access to the substances they would otherwise seek out. This may seem at odds with the belief that people should be allowed to live the lives they please – but, in the case of addicts, the lives they please will, most frequently, lead directly to early deaths. Thus, it seems reasonable to intervene, until such time as the addict is no longer an addict and, perhaps, has come to live their lives as if they value them.

It could be said, that drugs alone, didn’t kill Amy Winehouse, but a lack of love, by those closest to her. If they had truly loved her, they would have stepped in and made sure, beyond any doubt, that Amy Winehouse did not have access to any harmful drugs, legal or otherwise. That they did not, or were not effective in doing so, shows that they either did not love her enough, or did not understand the duties that come with that love. Sometimes, those who love another, feel they should indulge them and let them live the life they please. That is fine, only if the life desired, is not a self-destructive one. In all situations in which the loved one desires, consciously or otherwise, to destroy themselves, those who love have a duty to protect the life of the loved one, from harm. It does seem that that this was not done in this case. Amy Winehouse was famous for her inebriated, intoxicated, “shambolic” performances in the latter years of her life. So, clearly, she was not being denied access to drugs, legal or otherwise. Whatever “care” she was under, was not effective – or did not care to deny her what it should have done.

Amy Winehouse was a musician. This makes her loss more acute than a typical early death – for, in dying, whatever music she would have produced had she lived a normal life, will now never be. It is a pity, she was not protected from the most dangerous person in her life – herself.

Rest in peace, Amy.

Posted by Valentine Cawley.

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My favourite Einstein story.

A Berlin music critic in the early 1920s listened to a violin performance, by Albert Einstein. Afterwards, he gave his assessment:

"Einstein's playing is excellent, but he does not deserve his world fame - there are many others just as good."

The critic was unaware that Einstein's fame was founded in Physics, not music!

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

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I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

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Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

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Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

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Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Sensitivity in a child.

Fintan is a sensitive boy. He notices matters of feeling where others would see and feel nothing at all. This receptiveness complements, nicely, his adeptness in social skills – indeed, the two seem closely related, to me.

Long ago, so long that I cannot place a time on it (though I will consult with my wife and see if we can pin it down), Fintan was listening to his mother sing songs, to him, one night.

“Mummy,”, he said, his serious voice emerging from the darkness, “Why do you sing sad songs, at night?”

Syahidah was taken aback. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”, he said, still serious, indeed, somewhat saddened, it seemed. “Rock a bye baby is a sad song, because the baby falls down.”

He had a point. Syahidah fell silent and decided not to sing that song. I don’t know whether she ever sang it again.

This exchange is so characteristic of Fintan. To my mind, there is a great sweetness in being able to perceive, as Fintan does, the tragedy in a lullaby, or the underlying emotions in any social situation, whether personally witnessed, or described to him, in a story or on a TV: Fintan always sees the feelings at work – and the meanings of it in terms of emotional values.

It occurs to me that these are the kinds of perceptions and skills that no school ever teaches. Indeed, they would probably go unappreciated in any school in the world. No-one cares too much for feeling or its perception. Yet, in truth, such perceptions are of great value: they are what guide us in our relations with the world and they are that on which many a work of art, in any media, is founded. For Fintan to see the world in this way, is a blessing that, I hope, he will fully appreciate when he grows up. The question is: will the world appreciate this gift, in him, or overlook it? Will the wonder why he is moved, when he is so? Will people think him overly sensitive? Will they regard that as an asset, or a burden?

Whatever the world might think of Fintan’s ways, I know him to be blessed. For Fintan sees emotional riches in the world that others cannot see at all. That means that Fintan’s world is more alive, more layered and more meaningful than the world of those who do not see, as he does. That can only be a good thing.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html
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To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Carol singing at Christmas.

Singapore is a noisy city - but there is one kind of noise that is curiously absent: carol singing at Christmas.

When I grew up in England, there was a tradition of carol singing at Christmas. Young boys and girls would actually go from house to house, singing carols, at the doors to the homes of strangers, as a means of celebrating Christmas and bringing something beautiful into being.

On occasion, I was one such carol singer. I did so for several years, in the run up to The Year That My Voice Broke. When it did, I stopped singing carols - but until that dreaded moment, I had a treble voice. I used to revel in reaching the highest of notes with ease and in expressing the most exquisitely complex of classical music with deftness. However, it was not to last...when my voice broke, I never sang in public again.

Anyway, I remember one Christmas, in particular, when I would have been about 11 years old, going from house to house, in Wimbledon, with a single other boy and an adult in supervision, singing at the doors of people's homes. I really enjoyed it - and from the smiles, I still remember, of those strangers, looking down at us, as we stood in their doorways, they really enjoyed it too. They seemed to think we were sweet.

It is Christmas, in Singapore, but I don't hear any carol singers going from door to door. I haven't seen one since 1999. There is not that singing tradition here. It is a pity because carol singing always added some unique colour to Christmas, I felt - especially for the singers themselves, for whom it was a chance to express the art within them.

It begins in the schools, in Singapore. There is not the tradition of school choirs. Or should I say, not in the way that I knew it, in England. I have heard a school "choir" here in Singapore - and it was quite the most dreadful noise I have ever heard. None of the kids could sing - and I mean NONE. They were out of tune, raucous, discordant and very irritating. (I could name the school in question, if anyone doubts it, but out of kindness, I do not at this time). It was clear to me, that these children did not grow up singing. They did not learn to sing as primary kids (it was a secondary school) - and so had not acquired the rudiments of holding a tune. Either that, or they were naturally a truly tuneless bunch. Perhaps music is not the common gift of all, around here.

So, I find it strange that Christmas has come, but the carol singers are basically absent. It seems to me that Singaporeans are missing one of the ingredients of a memorable Christmas. More than that, though, in not having a tradition in which school kids are commonly taught to sing, they are missing a vital ingredient of a vital culture. From my point of view, no matter how many classical performances are put on at the Esplanade, if the general population are not singers, then Singapore doesn't really understand music - for it is not in the people themselves.

Another issue is the quality of the choirs that do exist. From what I have heard, they are really not any good. Contrast this with the situation in England, in which the choirs of some good schools were SO good that they received recording contracts and had their music distributed professionally. Musically speaking, it is a totally different world.

Perhaps one day, there will be wandering carol singers at Christmas and school choirs which can really, really sing, in ironically named SINGapore...but it may be many years to come and would require a change of attitude towards cultural pursuits. People here would have to think that the outcome is worthwhile, for them to pursue it at a national level. Unfortunately, the only question on their minds will be, not how can we make Singapore a more wholistic culture, but how can we make money out of a population that appreciates music and can sing? If the powers-that-be can't see the money in a singing population, then SINGapore will never become a nation of singers.

Personally, I see this issue as more about the depth of life that is lived. Those times I went carol singing as a child were immensely enjoyable for me. I still remember them well. Shouldn't all children have the opportunity for such memories? Shouldn't all children have the chance to learn to enjoy expressing themselves musically?

The big question is why don't local children have the ability to sing on the level I remember from my childhood in England? What is missing here, in Singapore? Why can't SINGapore sing? Why is Singapore culturally so muted? (In a literal sense, in this case.) It is not necessary for economic success that one should also have cultural failure. Yet, looking around, one would almost come to believe that it was. Singapore can thrive economically AND culturally...there need only be the will to ALLOW it to be so.

Good luck, SINGapore.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

On Silence and Self-expression.

Someone I know, whom I shall not name, is very keen on silence. That is, as a life philosophy, they prefer the silence of the tongue and the pen, to their use.

I shall explain. I enjoy blogging. I like to write. I have much to say. Daily, thoughts come to me, which I wish to share. So, I write them down and send them out into the world. I find great personal satisfaction in doing this, for it gives me the chance to communicate my world view in a way that did not exist a handful of years ago. Yet, this person would prefer that I stopped writing and maintained a stoic silence to the end of my days.

Now, what would be gained by being silent? Would the world be a better place for my silence? I am not sure that it would, but not for any egoistic reason. You see, everyone who has ever lived, lived a unique life. They came into the world with a unique set of genes and dispositions, they encountered unique circumstances, learnt unique things, experienced things no-one else ever experienced - and came to understand things no-one else will ever understand. This is the story of all humans, from the very first cave dwellers or savannah roamers, to the newest of newborns. We are all undeniably unique. So, what is gained if one of these unique human beings falls silent? Nothing. However, a great thing is lost: a unique set of experiences, world views, understandings and thoughts is never shared, never known and therefore forever lost when the bearer passes away.

Were I to stop writing, all my understandings of the world may as well never have been understood, for they will be lost with me, when my time comes. The same is true for us all. On a personal level we probably only share our thoughts with very few people - but those people, too, are mortal. So, in time, even if we share our thoughts on a personal level, all will be lost when those we shared them with, pass away. Therefore, it becomes our individual responsibility to ensure that we share our thoughts in a permanent fashion, that our world views and understandings become embodied in something more durable than another person's mind.

Different people share themselves - or express themselves - in different ways. Some design buildings, and show their views in how they are constructed. Some manage companies, and do so with a particular personality that shapes those companies. Some paint and draw and literally show the world their viewpoint. There are many ways to express the uniqueness of oneself. For me, it is writing: I express my thoughts in words. Were I not to write, I would feel somehow lessened. For in not writing, I am not speaking, in not speaking I am not communicating, in not communicating, I am not ensuring that what I learn from life has some afterlife, as it were.

I could heed this person's repeated request - to stop blogging. Yet, were I to do so, a particular kind of record, of a particular set of experiences and understandings would be forever lost to the world. However one judges the merit or quality of this contribution doesn't matter - what does matter is its essential uniqueness. No life lived will ever be as the one I know, is. Thus, if it is not recorded, the world is somehow impoverished by that. There would be no record of it - so that if anything I have learnt or understood is of any value, that value would be forever lost.

I don't see any benefit in that. Silence is the kind of outcome that leads nowhere and has no descendants. Silence produces nothing, creates nothing, achieves nothing. Silence is either for those with nothing to say, or too afraid to say it. I come into neither category at this time.

Some of my blog posts have stimulated quite an interesting reaction in the Singaporean blogosphere. I act as an outside voice, whose comments are informed by many years of direct experience. That voice, therefore, has a certain value because it contributes opinions that might not otherwise be uttered. Were I not to write, there are, perhaps, conversations that would never be, ideas that would never form, understandings that would never be understood. It is, therefore, important that I continue to write, for, in my small single-voiced way, I contribute to the ongoing debate that is the Singaporean blogosphere.

Were I not to record my children's antics, I would not have them to hand, when I am old, and my memory is fading. I choose to record them on a public blog, for I feel that family offers the greatest of rewards a human can know and I like to share my pleasure in those joys. Some readers have indicated that they, too, enjoy my tales of childhood. Would the world be better off without those tales of childhood? I don't think so - for while all childhoods have certain things in common, all childhoods also have unique elements, too. My writing constitutes a record of that uniqueness. Again, I don't think the world is better off without it - and my family is certainly not better off without it. This record will be precious to my children, when they are adults, for they will be able to see glimpses of their childhood here.

In all there are many reasons to write and only one reason not to write: because my relative believes in self-containment, rather than self-expression. They believe that silence, itself, is a value and has value. They believe that I should be, as they are - and maintain a silence in the world. Sadly, I think they could not be more wrong. Their world view, if adopted universally, would mean the end of all Art, all literature, all music, all public debate, all culture, all communication between people - and, ultimately, the end of all societies. You see, a society that has people who maintain a silence, among themselves, cannot survive - for without communication, there is no evolution of that society, no ability to grow, to deepen, to understand. It is a society that can only function at the level of clockwork programming and automaticity.

This person believes that it is better to say nothing, than to say anything at all. The act of communication is regarded as to be avoided. I understand why they think this. They value a certain kind of life, which does not admit the idea of a public presence. They believe in not leaving a mark, in not being noted, in not interacting with the public. Yet, that stance is completely at odds with the idea of any public self-expression - be it artistic, or social commentary, or even scientific (for an idea that is had, but not communicated cannot enter the public world of science). The idea of silence as a virtue means the end of all and any career which actually affects the world in any way, at all. To be silent, is not to exist, from the point of view of society and history.

The only effect on the world that is left to those who believe in silence, is to have children. I believe that there is more to life than just creating children. One must also create what one may, oneself. However, the creating of children is of great importance, too. One should ensure that both types of creation are part of life.

If you have read this far, then you must have some interest in the matter of self-expression, or perhaps silence. If so, feel free to express your thoughts in the comments.

I believe that if everyone were to believe in self-expression, the world would be much enriched, thereby, for the uniqueness of us all would leave some imprint upon the world, to be found and read, understood and appreciated. This imprint would mean that mankind could better accumulate understandings, insights, viewpoints and experiences (or records of them, anyway). It would all contribute to the wisdom of Man.

Singapore is one place that has, in recent years, through the internet, discovered this capacity to express itself. I am heartened to see that quite a few voices are contributing their understandings of life, to the global view of Mankind.

Long may it continue - and may silence never befall those with something to say and the means to say it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The signs of a child musician

There are many ways that a child can tell you who they are, by what they do. Even if they are very young, their actions point the way to their inner nature.

In the past couple of months, Tiarnan has taken to interacting with the computer in an individual way. Though he sometimes sits and watches the screen while playing with the keyboard, to get it to do things, he does something else, which is more telling. He ignores the computer, on many occasions that he comes into the computer room and instead plays with the printer/fax/scanner. There is a keypad on it. When a number is pressed a tone sounds. It is this that draws his attention. He plays the keys in sequences of his own choosing and smiles at the sounds it makes. He looks up at me, as he does so, as if to say: "This is what I want."

Tiarnan turns the printer into a musical instrument. He tinkles with the piano too, with an intent look on his face, as he does. He picks the keys out individually, attending to the note each makes. Here, I think, is a child who wants to be a musician.

I know he is young - he is just 24 months old - but it seems from the way he interacts with the world that we shall have to do something about his music before long. My main worry is not his interest - but in the size of his toddler hands. It may be sometime before his hands are large enough to allow him to do what his heart - and ear - bids him. We shall see how long we have to wait.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

It is never too late to live

Today, a searcher arrived on my site with the words: "Can an adult be a music prodigy when they were not one in childhood?"

Whenever I see a search, I can only imagine the context from which the searcher has come. In this case, it seems clear that the searcher is most probably one of musical gift - or knows someone who is - but has ignored that gift, or been unable to address it, until late in life.

I have one piece of advice for anyone with a latent gift: it is never too late to let it live. Don't procrastinate. Take the time to breath some life back into those old, sleeping talents and let them wake, once more. If one is born gifted, one remains gifted, in some way, to some degree, in whatever area the gift may be. One gifted in Art, will always find it easier to draw than one who has no such gift - the same with music, or sport, or any other human attribute. So, if you feel you have a sleeping gift - wake it up and start to use it, again. It will grow once more and flower into some semblance of what it should have been.

No doubt, an adult who does this is unlikely to reach the heights that would have been reached had the gift been expressed in childhood and nurtured through regular expression ever since. Such a person could make a mark indeed. However, that does not mean that late "blooming", is without the prospect of worthwhile achievement. Many are those who did not turn to their gifts until they reached retirement, having postponed them, amidst the everyday rush of life, until then. Mary Wesley, the novelist, for instance, was an old age pensioner before she first began to write professionally. What would she have written had she begun as a child? We will never know...but we know this: that the works that arrived so late were worth the wait - and so, too, can yours be.

Don't say to yourself, "If only...", instead just begin to do what you should always have done. In time, it will be as if you had always written/sung/painted/composed, so assured will your works seem. Old gifts never die - just people do - when they forget to let their gifts live.

As I read that searchers comment I felt touched by it, too, for reasons of my own. I, too, like many of you, have gifts to which I have not given full expression. Life always seems too busy to allow the fullness of oneself to be expressed - yet, do not allow yourself to be defeated. There are ways to begin the expression of that which lies within, once more. In time, the works that effort gives rise to may be worthy indeed.

Yes, of course, it is ideal to begin in childhood, the creative endeavours that fill a life - but that does not preclude the possibility of a late start. Many have done so and left an impressive body of work to the world. So don't regret - just begin.

Good luck.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

A nation of hidden talents: Singapore.

On Thursday of this week, my wife and I went to a strange kind of party, in Singapore. It was a kind of party I had never been to before.

It was held in someone's HDB flat. HDB stands for the Housing Development Board. It is the government provider of public housing to about 85% to 90 % of all Singaporeans. For those of you who have never been to Singapore, most people here live in apartments in towers of twelve or more stories (some are very much taller). So, this was a normal Singaporean home.

Most people sat on the floor, there being insufficient seating for the, perhaps, 30 or so people in attendance. For the first hour and a half, people mingled and talked, getting acquainted. But then, at about 8.30 pm, something unusual began to happen. One by one, the guests got up to stand to one side of the room, and sang.

I didn't expect much from this, for I had seen the Singapore Idol (a local version of the American Idol) and noted that, although they laboured under the belief that they could, most entrants to that show, could not sing well at all.

Yet, I was surprised. The evening passed in a mixture of classical, pop, rock and country songs sang with passion, love and attention. Some of the performers were nervous before an audience, showing both their youth and inexperience. But some were polished performers, very much at ease. Some of them irritated, somewhat, by preening and admiring themselves as they sang. I am not going to speculate on the cause of such behaviour. But others surprised in other ways: by just being damned good.

One girl, in particular, shone. She was of a delicate build - very, very skinny, in fact, and not at all tall. She introduced herself by saying she had "Never sung this song before" - at which everyone laughed a little, perhaps believing otherwise. Then she began. There emerged from her mouth the most assured, powerful, well-pitched and agile voice I have ever heard in live performance. Quite astonishing. The song she sang was a classical one. Clearly, she had practiced this song endlessly - despite her claim at the outset. The ecstatic applause she received was well-deserved.

There was a very tall man, too, who sang classically and rather well.

What I did note, however, was that those who sang particularly well, could only do so with classical music. They were unable to handle pop or rock. (That included the star singer described above - she was much less assured with a pop tune). Perhaps this is why none of them has ever appeared on Singapore Idol. There was one girl, however, who was comfortable with pop: the one who preened.

I learnt something sad, yet hopeful about this particular gathering of singers and musicians. They exist because they are outside the mainstream. They are unable to open the doors to the few opportunities that exist in Singapore for musical talent - and so, they come together regularly, to sing, at these "secret" soirees.

Singapore is a country that, historically, has had few outlets for creative or performance artists, to express their abilities. It has been a society focussed directly on activities that are more certain to produce an economic return. In this manner, it has been, for much of its history, a city without a thriving culture. In recent years, there has been some effort to change this, the government having recognized that, without a healthy culture, there is not a healthy city. The missing aspect of the arts, is something that diminishes the city's allure for foreigners - and locals alike. So, it has begun to encourage the growth of a local arts scene. Yet, there is much work to do and too few real opportunities for those who would follow an artistic career path of any kind. Quite simply, there is not enough work to make a living, for those who aspire to such a life.

Some of this group are, however, working together to launch two musicals, in Singapore, later this year. I wish them well.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, creatively gifted, gifted children, and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

Fintan sings his own songs

Today, I heard Fintan singing a song. At first, I just listened to the overall effect of what he was doing and didn't notice the words. The song was clearly his own: it was a rhyming song, with words that spoke of his love for his family - his mother, his father and his brothers.

What I was struck by was how he managed to make his song both rhythmic and rhyming, even as he improvised it as he went along. It was quite clear that he was inventing the song as he sang: it had that feeling of immediacy and spontaneity as he reacted to his own words and their requirements to rhyme, by simply conjuring the rhyme out of mid-air.

It was touching to note both the subject of his song and the way he composed it. It had a tune, it had rhyme and and it had rhythm. Not bad at all for a musically untrained three year old, expressing himself, as he felt best.

(If you would like to read more of Fintan, three, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and six months, or Tiarnan, sixteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Leonardo Da Vinci: Musician

Someone searched today using the term: "Did Leonardo play a musical instrument?". Knowing the answer, I thought I would reply to them, lest they visit this site, again.

Leonardo da Vinci, 1452 - 1519, had many gifts, but one of them was for music. He composed music, spontaneously, improvising freely as he went - and presumably he recorded some of this. However, no written record of his music survives. So we may never know whether he was, in fact, a good composer, to add to all his other wonders.

We do know however that he had a great reputation for being able to play ANY stringed musical instrument, at first sight, even if he had never encountered the particular type of instrument before. Though, his official instrument was the lyre, he was able to play others, too. Presumably, he was physically dextrous and so comfortable with music as an art, that he could respond to the opportunities and constraints of a new instrument well enough to coax adequate music from it.

So, not only could Leonardo da Vinci play an instrument - he had shown himself able to play any stringed instrument of his time.

Tiarnan and the Piano

Yesterday, when I called home, I heard someone in the background on the piano. It was not an entirely disorderly attempt to coax music from it. Keys were sounded in sequence, from various parts of the keyboard, there was an effort at rhythm at times - and there was a sense of someone seeking the Mystery behind the piano.

"Can you hear Tiarnan on the piano?", asked Syahidah, my wife.

I could, and I listened for awhile. What was clear was that individual keys were being pressed in sequence - and not just whole areas of keys being depressed at once.

"He is sitting on the bench," she continued, "and you should see his face!"

"Concentrated is he?"

"Yes."

I imagined that look in my mind: a look he shared with his brothers when they got something into their heads to interest them. It was like Fintan when he drew art: an intense absorption in the task, to the exclusion of all else. Tiarnan was trying to work out how to play the piano, simply by experimenting with it.

Now, Tiarnan has just turned fifteen months old - and this playing with the piano reminded me of another time, over three months ago.

That time he wanted to go up on the bench, but didn't find it as easy as he did, this time, on his own. So I had helped him up onto it. Then he had picked at the keyboard, key by key, listening to each sound, sometimes depressing the key several times in a row as he appreciated each note. He hadn't just bashed at it: he had systematically studied what sounds it made, whether those sounds were reproducible - and listened to them individually. It was quite a surprising set of actions for a first contact with a piano. He had not proceeded randomly, but had approached it with order in mind - and the need to understand the range of sounds on offer, one by one.

Then, too, he had been very absorbed in the task and very keen to hear each note and understand what it meant to him. When it came time to do something else, he hadn't wished to be dragged away.

Watching him interact with the piano in this way, spontaneously, without guidance, makes me wonder at how much children determine their own path and their own interests. I really am coming to think that the most healthy upbringing is one guided by the child's natural choices and inclinations. Tiarnan seems to be making a choice of music as one of his interests since he seeks out the piano, himself and tries to make music out of it.

The first time I heard him on the piano, he sought to experience individual notes; this time he appeared to be trying patterns, of some kind - trying to make music.

At some point, we are going to have to give him a formal chance to learn the piano, it seems.

Tiarnan and musical nostalgia

It is said that young babies have little memory, but I have many reasons to doubt that. I won't give them all, here, but will just let one story speak on its own.

Tiarnan is thirteen months old, now. Several months ago, he was given a musical penguin, to play with. Everytime a button was pressed it would play a tune. Tiarnan got the chance to play with that toy for perhaps a day, before his older brother, Ainan had an idea for it. Ainan, rather wittily, wanted to know whether the penguin would do well underwater. In particular, he wanted to know if you could hear it underwater. Thus, Ainan took it down to the swimming pool and threw it in the water. Let us just say, this was one penguin that couldn't swim.

That was the last time I saw the penguin in action.

Yesterday, Syahidah, Tiarnan's mother, partly hummed, partly sung a tune. She managed more to capture the rhythm of it than the notes.

At once, Tiarnan looked up and looked around, seeking something. "Toy!", he said.

Tiarnan remembered the penguin toy he had had for a day, before it drowned, some months ago. For the tune on Syahidah's lips was the one it used to play.

Tiarnan got all excited to hear the tune and looked at his mother and said: "Again!"

So, she hummed/sang it again.

It seems that Tiarnan remembers a tune long after it was heard - even though it was heard only briefly. He remembers too where and from which object the tune came. He also possesses a sense of excitement to be so reminded - though it is difficult to identify the source of that. Is it the recognition that excites him? Is it the music? Or did he like the toy and hope that it would be seen "alive" again?

Perhaps I should go quietly to the shop from which it was bought, and buy a dry replacement.

It might be a popular move.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, thirteen months, or his gifted brothers Fintan, three, and Ainan, seven years and three months, a scientific child prodigy, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Tiarnan's sensitivity to music

Tiarnan, eleven months, likes music. He seems to understand it on an emotional level and responds to it with attention.

For the past few months, Tiarnan has had the habit of approaching our home entertainment system and selecting the button that would turn on music, and pressing it. It didn't take him long to learn which of the buttons, out of all of those available, would provide the desired result: pleasant sound. Yet there is a problem for him, which is comical to watch. You see to turn on the music, he must come close to the home theatre system. This means that the speakers are very near him. So, each time he does so, he walks up to the machine, reaches out with one pointed, straightened finger, touches the button - then walks backwards as fast as he can out of reach of the speakers. It is a race, as there is a slight delay before the music comes on and he always wants to be far enough away before the speakers come on, so that it is not too loud in his little ears. If he fails to get away far enough, he burst into tears at the sudden volume (though this is unusual since he usually succeeds in getting far enough away).

A couple of weeks ago, he showed an interesting variation on this. The radio was playing in the background, and a haunting piece of music came on - one which could be described as scarey. Tiarnan's response was to hurry over to the radio and switch it off.

I found this interesting, for it showed that he was able to pick up on the emotional meaning of the music - and decide that scarey music was just not for him. It is the only time that he has ever switched the music off, that I have witnessed: usually he likes it on, so I think that the act was a meaningful one.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan or his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and one month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults, and gifted children in general. Thanks.)