Srikandi Cintaku

It's a job well done and congratulation is due to Akmal for the wonderful piano accompaniment of this equally wonderful and 'haunting' song that is synonymous as a tribute from sifu M Nasir to his beloved wife.

I think Akmal was fantastic with the piano. In fact, I think as a whole the SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Orchestra did an equally great job. It is a better job than the 2008 effort during the Merdeka Day show which Arif was a lead violinist and Amal a guitarist.

Akmal may be partially hidden in the screen capture above, but his piano intro resonates that night in the hall, as shown in this video clip below.

Listen to intro especially. I love it, and I am sure you would too. In fact, I think I like this better than the original version by Bloodshed. Call me biased, if you must - and I would accept it gleefully, but I think this intro by Akmal has an element of improvement in the melody continuity. Obviously he has the benefit of hindsight here.

And lotsa listening to YouTube.

Here, listen carefully to the intro especially as he was on piano solo during this period, backed up by the vocals. In fact the piano is prominent throughout the song.

I think Cikgu Nazeri, who is the band leader, did a good job guiding these kids. It is a mix of students from F1, F3, F4 and F5 which have not seen from my time in the 70s. I think our band during those days basically comprised of players from the same batch.

Anyway here are the players that night for Srikandi Cintaku.

Piano - Akmal Hariri

Drum - Aiman

Guitar Bass - Aiman Rahim

Rhythm - Rais

Violin 1 - Hanani

Violin 2 - Trisya, Azwan, Puteri

Backup Vocal - Adhwa, Shafiqah, Annies, Aliyah

Percussion - Fadhul

Here is Akmal during a practice session on his piano - we bought the electric piano for the SRJK(I) Lenggong school reunion last year and it is being fully utilised for this concert. I am not sure of his fashion sense though.

I think Akmal and Arif are competing with each other to become the de facto piano player in the family and I am all for them competing. Akmal is fast becoming a versatile player and can play it the classical way i.e. reading notes and by ears.

Who do you think is the better player - from this piece played by a 16-year old Akmal and Go the Distance by a (then) 14-year old Arif?

Caption: This is the band playing another song that night.

Caption: Ambience during the Malam Pautan Kasih held at the Youth Centre in Bandar Tun Razak. It was held to solicit funds for SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn's activities.

Here are some of the orchestra members during a practice session at our home. Obviously since the piano is most non-portable instrument, it had to be done at our home since Akmal is the piano (and keyboard) player.

I like the fact that they have included non-traditional instrument for this gig. Obviously 3 guitars and a drum would normally be enough to start a band, but they have enlisted the violin players and piano player like Akmal into this band.

I think band/orchestra should continue to practice for other event during the year, but I am not sure if I would like Akmal to be involved again. It takes him away from his studies quite a bit and I don't want this to become a norm.

But I think it is good for him to sharpen his skills playing and jamming with his friends especially in modern music. At times I thought he (and Arif) was a bit too much on the classical that they are neglecting the modern genre.

But with him playing a prominent role in both composing the music and playing it, I think he would do well.

Did I tell you that I just love the intro to Srikandi Cintaku?