Differences in Music Appreciation

On the 5th of August 2009, I had a chance to practice with Melville's school band. It started after school and it was a really enjoyable experience. We played only 3 songs because they will perform next week with those songs for a concert/competition.


The thing that I learnt was how music is appreciated so well that a lot of students can play the musical instruments very well. There are just a few schools in Indonesia that still appreciate music this much. They only teach students music in primary school as an additional subject to learn and they don't even know that a lot of students are waiting for their talents to be discovered. The high school is the same and maybe worse.




The thing that I saw was actually we are not worse than they are. The composisition they played wasn't that difficult. I think the difficulty is the same as I usually play in my school orchestra, the Petra Youth Orchestra and actually I'm just learning to play my flute (the instrument that I played right now) for 1 year so I'm just an amateur. So let music heal your soul. We can do better if we're trying hard to accomplish it.

Language Make Connection

Today, on the 5th of August 2009, we, the Surabayan delegation and year eight students from Melville Senior High School went to the Indonesian Consulate by bus. The Surabayan student delegation sat beside the eight year students. We passed many things along the road. We saw the “Canning River” and the “Swan River”. We also saw great buildings such as “The Swan Bell Tower” and the “Concert Hall”. They are very great buildings. They had a unique structure that will get attention from new-comers.

I was sitting with Keegan. He is a year eight student from Melville Senior High School. He has been learning Indonesian for 2 years. He has just moved from Sydney few years ago. When he’s learning Indonesian, he has some difficulties remembering the words. I have tested his abilities in speaking Indonesian and he is pretty good with Indonesian numbers. He and his family, planned to go to Indonesia (Bali Island). He would love to go to Indonesia sometimes. That is the same as me, as I would like to come back to Australia, especially Perth.

He loves to learn Indonesian and even though he finds some difficulties with it, he would love to learn some more of the language. His spirit to learn Indonesian is the same as me, as I love to learn English and improve my English. I found this as a connection between me and Australian people.

Music as Universal Languange

Music as a universal languange

On the fifth of August 2009, we went to the Indonesian Consulate. We went there with year 8 students from Melville Senior High School. The main program at the consulate was to learn how to and try to play the gamelan and angklung which are traditional music instruments of Indonesia.

Besides that, this occasion was about the Indonesian consulate staff wanting to welcome us. That was so amazing!!

We played the instruments together and we enjoyed it very much. Do you know why? Because music can connect people in its own way. Melody and harmony are things that are really beautiful and connect people from different cultures. In the Indonesian consulate we had to play the gamelan and angklung together. Students were divided into 2 mixed culture groups. The first group would play the gamelan, and the other group would play angklung. We played "Manyar Sewu" on the gamelan and "Twinkle-twinkle little star" on the angklung. So that is why I say music is a universal languange.

This excursion will never be just an excursion. This is an excursion which has connected us; the Surabayan students and Melville students. Surabaya and Perth are sister cities connecting Indonesia and Australia in friendship. So, guys! play music, enjoy music, and keep our good connection. Thank you.

Starting our connections

Welcome to our new blog. We will write about our experiences, discoveries and actions while studying in Melville, Western Australia.

We hope you will enjoy exploring, building, and connecting with us.