Do you think you can write songs?
Do you think you can do good music?
If your answers to the above is yes, I suppose you are a talented musician and maybe just do not know how to start your music career. It is always a great pleasure when your works are heard and appreciated by the public. I believe it is a musician’s dream to write or produce successful songs and to be recognized as a successful songwriter or producer.
It had been quite a tough path for me in the past, especially when I started doing covers (music arrangements and productions). By copying the original arrangements I attained bit by bit the arrangement and production skills and fortunately I got a chance started doing original arrangements. At the same time I thought I could also write good songs so I tried and several of my works sold which motivated me to write more. Most of my learning was through listening to all kinds of music, sharing thoughts with other musicians at that time, trying hard to write and produce good songs (mainly mandarin pop).
I felt great when some of my works were successful, for example 阿杜 《坚持到底》，some commercial jingles like “UIC”, “Adonis” ,”Comfort Taxi” which were quite well known that time. There were no professional song writing or production course at that time in Singapore, so I think the new generation is fortunate that we now provide the professional songwriting and music arrangement course with experienced qualified teachers to guide you along the way. There are many roles in the music industry. You could end up being a songwriter(composer or lyricist), music arranger, a producer, a sound engineer or you might even end up doing all the roles. I believe after the entire course, you should be able to know your forte and interest and hence decide better which role to take.