Song-Writing Competition: An Interpretation of Chuangzuo

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SONG-WRITING COMPETITION: AN INTERPRETATION

, OB CHAANGZIIO ON TIIE STAGE

Chow Ow WeitChan Cheonglan2rZahid Emby3, Lam Ming IIue/

12,aMusic DeparknenttDepartment of Social Science & Development

Faculty of Human EcologyUniversiti Putra Malaysia

Keywords: Chuangzuo, composition, song writing, youth culture, popular culture

ABSTRACTSong-writing competitions are only apart of chuangzuo cultural form, in which youths seek afteridentity construction, and also a settlement for their enthusiasm in their engagement in chuangzuo.It is undeniable that they are keen on the pursuit of music cultivation with the approach in theirengagement. On the other hand, they manifest a language of 'transnational culture', which isbelieved to grow in many parts of the world.

INTRODUCTION

Multi-cultural society of Malaysia hascultivated local music, seemingly, towardsmany directions and many possibilities.Urban areas act as important incubation sites '

in accommodating musical activities,serving as a space of interactivity forpeopleof related interests. Logically, urban areas

are highly sensitive to changes oflifestyles,despite being highly tolerant, and serve as

places where new trends originate.

There is an interesting phenomenon aboutthe music for young people today. Manyyoung people seem to have sought after a

way to engage themselves actively withmusic. There is a series of behaviouralpattern that can be traced in activities thatare, directly or indirectly, related to theirengagement with music. Generallyspeaking, these young people normally workinteams. Some involve in song composition.Some compose lyrics. Some deal with musicarrangement. Some are identified as theinstrument players or performers as

interpreters ofthe music on stage. In anotherwords, these young people are actuallymaking andperforming music oftheir own.People often characterise this kind ofmusicas chuangzuo yinyue, ot chuangzuo music

[referred as chuangzuo hereafter]. A generalsituation about chuangzuo isthat chuangzuo

is seldom separated from stage perfiormance.

Active youths always make their musicpublic through public performance. Fromtime to time, they are to make a 'songpresentation' during some occasions. These

occasions are very specific [and customaryI shall mention]; instances are socialgathering, institutional artistic event, song-presentation concert, music camp and annualor occasional song-writing competition. Inaddition, heightening accessibility ofrecording technology has offered a fairoption for young people to produce DIYcompact discs at private home, keeping theirsongs in permanent form of storage.Distribution of songs is made possible byselling the compact discs or uploading the

songs on Internet web sites, as their onlyhope is to catch attention from recordcompany that normally provides promisingstandards of engagement.

This apparent trend has begun to beckon the

urban life more than a decade. It is believedthat when intensely affected young people

engaged with chuangzuo, and they appearto create something 'new' and'original', interms ofexpression of ideas and engagementin music. In this paper, I only focus onchuangzuo in one ofits specific events, i.e.

song writing competition. I will discuss thisevent in terms of the organisation ofcompetition, youths' engagement with

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42

chuangzuo, and the products of in the nextfew sections.

ObjectivesThe main objective of this paper is todescribe chuangzuo as presented il song-writing competition, particularly from theobservation as an audience. Specificobjectives along this notion are as thefollowing:. To clarify the organisation of song-

writing competition in chuangzuo.. To analyse chuangzuo products [style,

performance, texts and people] of thegiven events.

. To draw an initial ground ofunderstanding on youths' engagementwith chuangzuo.

FieldworkThis investigation is rendered throughobservations. I have witnessed five song-writing competitions and also two song-presentation concerts within four months'time. In each relevant event, I had two tasksto accomplish: to observe as an audience;and to record the event on digital tapes.

DESCRIPTIONS

The EventsI have been an audience to five song-writing @)competitions, which are organised by fourdifferent units. Here is a brief account oneach event:

(1) "The Sth Golden Frontier Awards -Song Writing Competition 2002"[Final]

Often more familiar as "Jing FengJiang". Organised annually by BeiGongZan since 1994. This is a long-running competition-based chuangzuo- activity. Contestants must be validmemb ers of allie d g o n gz u o fa n gs ttnderBei Gong Zan. First-round contest washeld shortly after submission of theentry form. 16 short-listed finalistscompeted in the final.

(2) "The 2nd Malaysia Inter-varsity

Chinese Song Composing Contest"

[Final]

Also referred as "Quan Chuang".Organised by The Wanderers of USIr,I.Contestants consisted of students ollocal colleges, universities and othertertiary instihrtions. Like (1), first-roundcontest was held shortly aftersubmission of the entries. 24 short-listed frnalists entered the final.

"The 3rd National Halo Song WritingCompetition" [Yunlo/Senior Category

- Semi-finall

Organised by Halo Productions (M)Sdn. Bhd.. a local production companyfor Chinese popular songs andchuangzuo. Contestants of this categorymust be students of STPM, diplomalevel or higher. Other local ethnicstudents or overseas students at localinstitutions were also eligible to thecontest. A11 entries were initiallyjudgedthrough demo tapes [or compact discs],score and lyrics [hard copies] submittedby contestants. This assessment servedas the first-round contest, where 25entries are short-listed for semi-final,whilst in the semi-final pres entation, 12

finalists were qualified to the final.

"The 3rd National Halo Song WritingCompetition" [Qinglo/Junior Categoryfor Northern Malaysia Semi-finalsl

Also organised by Halo Productions

04) Sdn. Bhd. This category was openfor students of SPM, UEC, 'A' Level,'O'Level or lower. Other condition ofthe proceedings is similar to (3).However, there was a slight differencein short-listing entries of this category.Entries were classified according to 3

regional settings - Northem, Centraland Southern Malaysia and 14-16contestants were selected to the semi-finals, which were held in Penang

fnorthem], Kuala Lumpur fcenhal] andJohor Bahru [southem] respectively. 3-5 finalists were then selected from eachregion so that they would qualifu forthe top prizes in the final at the nationallevel.

(3)

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(5) "The 5th 'Voice of the Square' SongWriting and Singing Competition"[Fina1]

Organised by Qing Guangchang.Terms, requirements and the flow of theevent are very similar to (1), except thegongzuo fangs where contestants attachmust directly associate to QingGuangchang. A singing competitioncategory was added to an extent whereattributes ofkaraoke singing contest ofpopular songs were strongly displayed.10 finalists of each category wereselected to contend in the final.

A11 events, except (3), were held at DewanSri Pinang, a well-functioning auditoriumwhich regularly caters art-performing eventsin Penang. Event (3) was held at ChineseAssembly Hall of Kuala Lumpur, which isanother renowned venue for art and culturalevents.

The making of a song-writing competitionis very conventional. There are l) executivespianning and monitoring the whole event;2) production crews responsible for logistics,equipment and hardware facilities; 3)publicity crews responsible for design,publicity and ticket promotion; 4) stagingcrews managing the stage settings for eachperformance; 5) technicians supervisingelectronic instrumental equipment, the PAsystem, video cameras, iighting system andmultimedia production; and 6) many workforce dealing with calculation of marks,prizes, refreshment, transportation,publications, and so on.

At most events, judges are invited frommusical related fields in regards of theirprofessions and reputation. Many attain theexperience as composers, lyricists,musicians, recording artistes, albumproducers and radio deejays. Instances areZhangYing Kun, Hong Rui Ye, Chen Hao,Peng Xue Bing, Chen ShaoAn, Zhang WenHui and Li Zhi Cheng. Normally, panel ofjudges [normally 3-5] is renewed in everystage fround] of the contest. It is believedthat subjectivity in judgement would bemore or less avoided.

43

Usually 2 masters of ceremony [MCs]conduct the flow of the event, usherparticipation of the audience and keep upthe mood of the atmosphere. They areessential as communicators betweenperformers and the audience. Other than thecontestants, the most conspicuouspersonalities will be the guest performers,who are the highlights of the event. Mostly,these performers have a chuangzuobackground in the past experience, and sincethen they developed their career into therecord industry as new bright artistes.Instances are Penny Tai, Baby, Chen Yi Wen(CYW) and newcomers Ah Jia.

The flow of programmes is ratherpredictable. The event normaliy begins withspeeches by the chairperson of theorganising unit and representatives from thesponsors. The opening ceremony proceeds.After that, the MCs come inro view,warming up the mood of the evening whilethey briefly explain the regulations of thecompetition. The judges are introduced andthe competition is initiated immediately.After all entries are presented, marks aresubmitted and the judges take leave fordiscussion. To fill in this 30-minute slot,guest performers take their tum to provideentertainment. Before the result wasannounced, all judges are invited to give ashorl commentary session on stage.Announcement ofresult indicates the climaxofthe evening. This will conclude the eventwith an average duration of 3-4 hours.

Prizes are given away for grand winner, firstrunner-up, second runner-up, 3 outstandingprizes and lastly consolation prizes for therest of the finalists in each category.Moreover, 4 principal awards are aisoavaiiable for 'Best Music', 'Best Ly,rics','Best Music Arrangement' and 'BestPerformance'. Value of prizes depends onthe budget ofthe organiser and the sponsor.In some events, the total value ofthe prizescould gross as extravagant as RM30,000

[event (3) and (a)].

Musical stylesMany similarities were visible in themechanism of the performance. Mostchuangzuo products were influenced by

'.. fil

44

Chinese popular culture, as awareness ofbeing 'new' and'original' was perceptible.As required by the rules of the competition,the quality of remaining bendi chuangzuo(localised) must be met, while the materialmust not be published previously.Contestants could perform in a group orindividually.All entries were performed livein the format of unplugged or plugged.However, MIDI programming was stronglyprohibited in stage performance, andapplication of karaoke mode was definitelyout of the question [unless in singingcompetition where applicablel.

Malaysian youths showed diversity ofcreative potential in chuangzuo. Iexperienced a multi-coloured repertory ofchuangzuo in five spectacles, as if I waspatronising a 'world music' caf6. Musicarrangement and orchestration of songs werebound to unlimited possibilities in creativity.Distinctive styles were associated in thefollowing examples: ballad as in <YourDeparture> (4), reggae as in <The FrogPrince> (l), a cappella as in <Heart Link>(2), rhythm & blues as in <Angel Of BrokenWing* (1), rappop as incEveryTime> (i),China rock as in <Ravaged Candle> (2),Latin pop as in <If Everything's Fine> (3),local folk as in <Beach. Bar> (1), folk rockas in <Parasitie (3), new age as in <Lie On>(I), jazz as in <Stars> (1), fusion jazz as in<Don't Tell Me The Truth> (2) and rockband as in <Moon River> (1, 4).

Various kinds of musical instrument werebrought on stage, forming creativeensembles like that of akaleidoscopic fiesta.These instruments mainly included guitar,violin, piano, keyboard and drum set, butrecorder, trumpet, sitar, erhu, xiao, glass

bottles and even laundry-washing boardwere also noticeable.

Basically, the making of a chuangzuoproduct is regulatedwith 2 workingmodels:1) Music composer, Iyricist, music arranger,instrumentalist and performer are differentworking persons, who usually work togetheras an active team. In some cases, the tasksare shared. This inter-relationship iscorrmon in a gongzuo fang, and this modelis followed by most contestants, such as

<Don't Tell Me The Truth> and <Beach .

Bar>. 2) The tasks of music composer,lyricist, music arranger, instrumentalist andperformer are 'centralised' in one or twopersons. The roles of composer, lyricist,music arranger, instrumentalist andperformer are obscured with the versatilityin young people. Meanwhile, chuangzuoproducts are therefore rich in personalvision. Examples are <Ravaged Candle>and <Love Poison> (1).

However, there are some interesting pointsin the making of chuangzuo that are worthto highlight. The connection between music,text (lyrics) andperformance, in most cases,

is loosely fabricated. Youths, especiallythose who customise the first workingmodel, perceived their contribution in a team

as an 'assignment' to complete the bigpicture. In some examples, a composer was

'assigned' to compose a melody to a set oftexts completed by a lyricist, who totally hadno idea about how the words would beexpressed or musically designed. Therefore,I somehow failed to be impressed that theseyoung people knew how their colleaguescarries out their parts, or they understoodthe overall cft uangzuo product they investedin.

Moreover, the casting of an ensemble is

another interesting point. As mentionedabove, the roles of composer, lyricist, musicarranger, instrumentalist and perfoflner were

sometime intersected within a workinggroup. This is a typically complimentaryteam spirit. In some cases, music,Irrangers,instrumentalists or performers were'borrowed' from other working units. Iwould suggest this was an act in pursuit ofperfection and professionalism, althoughsuspicion may correlate atactic rendered ina competitive situation.

It was obvious that music were scored. There

was not much room for spontaneousimprovisation in performance which wasrather fixed with certain pre-set limits. Asdiscussed before, chuangzuo products are

normally presented in public during specificevents. The songs can certainly be re-arranged to suit another performer foranotherpresentation in another event. Music

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makers can also store their music in compact

discs or the Internet for the purpose ofdistribution. However, it is hard to predict

the 'durability' of a chuangzuo product.

Successful examples are often the ones

which surpass the commerciai market and

become people's favourite. This factor willdetermine whether the music will beperformed [or remembered] by futuregenerations.

Song texts

Ethnomusicologists Titon and Slobin (1996)

indicated that "any song with words is an

intersection of two very different andprofound human communication systems,

which are language andmusic". They furtherillustrated that sometime texts and melodies

lead independent lives, coupling as theperformer desires. For a convenientapproach, I will look at the texts [languagesystem] by itself. In the course ofmanifesting chuangzuo, the texts would be

the maior tool representing the core ideology

Begin to change, cry not for youBegin to change, know no sweet talksBegin to change, learn to say goodbyeto youIt's time to leave

Scared, no words to saY to YouScared, we lack a Promise for both

Still many scary things there are(how could I explain)

of the music. In most situations, the message

of a chuangzuo product lies in the words. Ifound that by understanding the words, I am

able to understand young people's life to an

extent.

Overall, the texts reflect topics that encircleyoung people's daily life. Understandably,

they are students of secondary and tertiaryinstitutions and mostly originate from aChinese cultural background. Being

45

generally referred as xin xin renlei, they

accumulate experiences and are bound to

dilemmas in relation to their lives. I took

notice that romantic affair is the topic which

youths are most concerned about. Love

f<What Love's Like> (3)], obsession

[<Love Poison>], Yearning [<YourDeparture>], secret love [<The FrogPrince>], confusion [<Don't Tell Me The

Truth>], helplessness [<Heart Link>],sorrow [<Angel With Broken Wings>] and

separation f<Goodbye, Goodnight> (5)]

were the themes domrnating the atmosphere

in all events. More concrete evidenceproclaimed that 17 out of 25 entries at event

(3) and 10 out of 14 entries at event (4)

matched this topic. Therefore, I wouldalmost argue that romance is the matter that

bothers young people most. Here is a typical

example:Exceptional cases were also present. They

were perceived as if providing visuals and

description to the music: <Ravaged Candle>

depicted miserable life of courtesans in

It's time to leaveIt's time to say goodbyeIt's time to say goodnight, everybodYNow I leaveNow I say goodbyeNow I say goodbye, everybodY

There's only a little sPace for usDon't wanna waste timeDon't wanna follow your waYAnd lose my own shadow, that'swhy...

ancient China; <Beach ' Bar> painted the

fun and delight in a bar by the beach; <The

Green Kingdom> (3) raised environmental

concems; <Parasitic> explored the idea ofescaping from the hectic urban ecosystem;<The Wind And Coffee> (2) imagined the

conversations between two characters of the

title; <Childhood Dream> (3) remembered

the scenes from chiidhood; <The Christmas

Diary> (4) evoked the sentiments towards

fairy tales. A discursive style in the writings

Figure 1 Translation ofthe song text of<Gooodbye, Goodnight>

[Words by Chcn Yi Lunl Music by Zeng Jun Hong; tcxt in original language prescnted in the APPENDIX]

46

intensifies imagination of an atmosphere, as

in <Beach . Bar>. Adaptation of Englishwords is noticed, adding a soothing flavourto the rhymes. The term 'mongnalisa'somehow stirs up curiosity:

However, the lack of literature study inducesflaws in many chuangzuo products. Judges

comments that love songs in the presentationlacked 'the quality of being poetic', whilecontestants who were too concerned with

Walking on the beach alone, my feetfeelthe lazeI look up to the skyCan't find my starsThe wave strikes the shore, thefeeling is blue

Music catches my eyesMy heart flies with a charming tune

The phone's ringing, it must be youAt midnight, it's only you, so jerkyHow annoying, you must have beenheartbrokenWanna throw a tantrum, and so yougot me

'originality' would lose'genuineness'somehow. Repetitious' love themes' blockedthe diversity in potentials, despite otheraspects of life that would inspire the musicalcontents. Within this context, I wouldsuppose that young people are not interestedin poems, or aesthetics in literature. Theyare rather concerned with the ability toexpress thoughts and feelings in a moredirect way like everyday speech. The bestexample to suppoft this argument would be

<Sick ofYou> (2). It has a strong characterof expressing a youth's annoyance towardspeople around him/her:

DISCUSSION

Amain impression about youths' chuangzuoin song-writing competitions articuiatesdiverse, creative and amusing ideas as seen

in their engagement. They may not possess

That bar tender's name is Ali BabaThat guitar music comes from that barSwinging light brightens that bar

That Ali Baba gives me a cup ofMongnalisaOh, Mongnalisa tastes so niceSuddenly lfall into relishOh, Mongnalisa looks so enigmaticCaptivating, mesmering(Mongnalisa's mesmerising)

Sick of you, your brain is stuckSick of you, never learn to comfort meYou're so jerky, my ears need peaceand hear no fightsCurse your mouth, but can donothing with youTake a somersault, or walk up sidedownAnyway, get lost now!

abundant life experience to reflectgenuineness in their works, but their powerof imagination is unquestionable. I wouldreason that these pluralistic features wereinspired through unlimited sources ofinformation that are available at largenowadays. Tan (2000b) indicates that thedevelopment of 'new types ofcommunication' in the 1990s had urged "atype of Chinese transnational culture" thatrapidly dominated major parts of Malaysia.

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Figure 2 Translation of the song text of <Beach . Bar>[Words by Huang Wei Ni & Lin Yu Hui; Music by Ye Han Fu and Zhou Wen Jie:

text in original language presented in the APPENDIXI

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Figure 3 Translations ofthe song text of<Sick ofYou>[Words & music by Lin Son Jin; tcxt in original language presented in thc APPENDIX]

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The discharge of ideas comes in the formsof Internet, mobile phones, satellitetelevision, cineplex, rnusic video (MV),karaoke, compact disc (CD), video compactdisc (VCD), digital video disc (DVD), minidisc (MD), MP3 music and media activities.Meeting no border and limit, the new'travelling' transnational culture is shared

globally by Chinese all over the world (Tan

2000b).

It is evident that local youths are morefamiliar with foreign popular stars like LeeHom, Jay Chou, F4 fTaiwan], Nicholas Tse,

Kelly Chan [Hong Kong], Vicky Zhao Wei

fChina] and Stefanie Sun Yan ZifSingapore]. Taiwanese dramas <My FairPrincess> and <Meteor Garden> elevate theactors into stardom. Prornotional activitiesrun throughout the year, enabling local fans

of gangtai celebrities to engage actively as

they can approach stars they admire. Despitesheer entertainment, Taiwanese food cultureis also influential to the taste of Chinese.Paomo hongcha [red bubble teaf and cenzu

naicha [pear1 milk tea] are easily availableat major Malaysian shopping malls. Cha

fang and minge canting are alternativeplaces to dine out. ln addition, interactivityof Chinese societies continuously brings ar1-

performing troupes from China to localstage, such as Chinese Acrobatics,xiangsheng, Peking Opera and SzechuanMask Theatre. Zhangzhou drummers ofChina were also noted (Tan 2000b).

However, I would suggest that this cultureis 'exchanged' instead of 'shared'with otherpart of the world. Despite Malaysian-bornactress-producer Michelle Yeoh set offto the

international platform, more and morechuangzuo -based singers-composers like AhNiu, Michael Wong, Victor Huang andPenny Tai have been widely accepted byChinese listeners in Mandarin-speakingregions. Ah Niu, in particular, epitomisescountry folk songs that remind the listenersof the village commr.mity (Tan 2000a). Heindulges in a back-to-nature style thatattributes a simple, natural pattem in hismusic. His songs have been recorded byTaiwanese and Hong Kong artistes. (Tan

2000a) Furthermore, the opening themesong to <Meteor Garden>>,<Qing Fei Deyi>

/n+t

that captivates notjust young people but also

matured listeners, is actualiy a bendichuangzuo contributed by local composerZhang Guo Xiang.

On the other hand, Japanese popular culturegreatly affects the lifestyles of Malaysianyouths. Japanese popular music, susftl,manga [comic] and dorama [televisiondrama] have been long assimilated into locallivings. Being available at large, instancesof Japanese culfural icons are many: newage composer-performer Kitaro, pop divaHamasaki Ayumi, television personalitiesKimura Takuya and Matsushima Nanako,doramas <GTO Great Teacher Onizuka"and <Long Vacation>, manga-based cartoonseries <Doreamon> and <Pok6mon>, fiLms

<Spirited Away> and <Dark Wateo.

Besides, Korean culfural products advancedMalaysian land in recent years as Koreanfilms and television series immediatelystimulated affinity of local admirers. Dramassuch as <Winter Sonata> and <A Tale InAutumn> screened on local televisionchannel evoked public conversational topics.Modern comedy film <My Sassy Girl> andthe works of actor Jang Dong-Gun alsogained notable attention.

Not forgetting to mention is the Westempopular brands that are continuously beingimported through the information media.

Starbucks Coffee, McD, Nike, MTV Nokiaand David Beckham's haircut areubiquitous, being apprehensiveiyinseparated from youths' daily life.Information and merchandise of Westlife,Eminem, fucky Martin, Jemifer LopezandLeonardo DiCaprio are easily accessible.Western arts and culture is also promoted atthe national level. Evidence are theestablishment of Malaysian PhilharmonicOrchestra (IvIPO), and also foreign culturalcentres, such as The British Councii,Ailiance Frangaise and Goethe Institute,which functions as cultural promoters ofother countries.

As to fuither illustrate the situation, I wouldrelate an interesting part in the course of asong-writing competition. After a

presentation, the MCs invited a

48

representative of the contestant for a briefinterview as not to keep the audience bored

while preparation for the next perfotmance

carried on. On being asked where the

inspiration of chtrangzuo came from, the

most common answers were "on the street

while travelling", "in the bathroom","within the campus environment", "apersonal experience", "a friend'sexperience", and there was a ieast expected

one _ ..Astro!"

Multiple talents were strongiy exhibited inenergetic perfornances. Some of them attain

evident training in classical rnusic or irt jazz

performance. However, a large amount ofthe team members, interestingly, remains

untrained in music or literature discipline.

Some of these young composers knownothing about the system of musicalnotation, while some lyricists, suspiciously,can only construct simple sentences. They

are more inclined to compose songs and

texts based on individual artistic training.

Life experience of young people is always

the main source of inspiration, as admitted

by most composers during the interview.

Similarly, most performers articulateunskilled musicianship. As observed, many

aspects of performance such as performing

styles, vocal training, costumes, appearances

and body language, are yet to establish likeprofessional performers.

However, I do not intend to categorise these

young people into amateurs and

professionals, as there are stiil many who

do not fit in both categories. Moreover, Iwould question the idea of 'absoluteprofessionalism', as I am looking at

chuangzuo as 'another'genre that deserves

abroadvision and fair criticism. The qualityof being skilled or professional has to be

reapplied within this context. A furtheranalysis is needed as to denote chuangzuo

as a musical genre.

I still have a good reason to watchchuangzuo on the stage, if choosing not to

appreciate the talents of young people.

Whether trained or untrained, youthsengaging with chuangzuo have a general

understanding that links them together.

Chuangzuo has a seemingly imperceptible

power, with which youths are devoted to

serious participation in events like these. The

reason is nothing else but the infiniteenthusiasm young people persist in theirperceptible world.

CONCLUSION

Where does youths' enthusiasm inchuangzuo lie? One might inquire howyoung people would maintain this passion.

Being a typical example of chuangzuo

singer-composer, recording artiste Penny Tai

seemed to have revealed a clue to explain

this situation. On sharing her thoughtsduring her first enrolment in a song-writing

competition, she recalled that experience

was'exceptionally incredible'' She

described herself being 'amateur' and'unsophisticated' as then a 'simple' vocalist-guitarist.'Fascination' and'affectiveness'struck her on seeing Young PeoPle'sinvestment and efforts in the competition.Though not a top-prize winner, she moved

on to invest her career as a chuangzuo-based

artiste, not forgetting the' affectiveness' that

motivates her undertakings all the time.

On the other hand, the living of modem day

youth as xln x in renlei is diverse in resources

and fast in accessibilify. I would conceive

of individuality' and 'freedom' as the

themes in present mainstream. It is a time

when personal preferences are freelyaccented at every comer, and, seemingly,

every decision made is a matter of multipleoptions available at the fingertips. Young

people seemed enjoying the idea of being'exceptional', or directly speaking, 'being

oneself'. This is a culture that comes in the

package of 'a new type of communications'as mentioned above. Alternative fonns ofthe identity begin to develop. They comprise

mobile phone number, e-mail-address and

ICQ number, whilst mobile phone ring tone,

desktop theme, 'skin' and accessories formobile phone characterise the user. The

ideas of 'what I belong' and 'what belongs

to me' are often perceived a process ofidentity construction. Williams (2001)indicated that music has been used as an

important element in identity construction,as a site for the 'investment of identities' and

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as 'something peopie identify with'. Sheclaimed that young people in particular usemusic to build identities based on'difference' for'individuality'], especiallywhen distancing themselves from theirparents.

As we have a diversity of options inresources, identities are often reworked inthe personal or cultural contexts. Tan(2000a) indicated that even thoughMalaysian musicians do not subscribe acommon notion of a Malaysian identity, theyrework ethnic identities with the applicationof 'world beat' in music compositions,which is a collage of fusion music followingthe social contents they grew up in. Throughtheir music, they are creating new Malaysianidentities of different ethnic and religiousbackgrounds, Southeast Asians, Asians andcitizens of the globalised world.

On negotiating an identity out of a world ofmany options, however, youths signal thelost of disposition. On the stage, it appearedto me that most contestants were trying todemonstrate their individuality. Theymanifested their individual capabiiity ofcreation and expression in many ways.konically, I would come to believe that theirfashion was applied in reference tocompositions and perfonnances of popularartistes after witnessing these chuangzuo-related events.

As I correlated these chuangzuoperformances with other popular musicworks, I recognised some components thatwere analogous to foreign characters, suchas Stefanie SunYan Zi's singing style [<ThePast> (1), <The Christmas Diary>1, FayeWong's performing style in the early 1990s

[<Mansion Of Sonow> (3)], Zhang ZhenYue's rap character [<Every Time>], DavidTao's R & B touch [<Angel With BrokenWings>] and Santana's compositionalfashion [<Paralytic> (l)]. In another words,I would suggestthat chuangzao on stage canturn out to be a parody show sometimes. Aquestion about 'originality' is somewhatargtrable over the degree of 'being similar'to an existing archetype in music makingand performance.

49

An article further illustrates the dilemma ofyouths engage withya ogun yinyue in China(Zhuo 2000). Recently young rockers seemto understand one reaiity behind thesplendour: music, no matter in any form, hasbecome more and more commercialised.Their eariy motion of 'delinquency' has beeneroded, as they do not know where they aregoing. The most influential person inChinese yaogun yingyue (Huang 2001), CuiJian, laments over rock music in China:

"Yaogu.n has come to an end. Nowyaogun in China is very, very out-dated. So, you don't have to con-cem too much with any present 'suc-cessful' music, because there isnothing worth to vaiue. Under-ground music has coliapsed, and allare bound to formulation. It is un-derground for underground'ssake...There is a price and pain be-hind every creation, but ironically,once a successful creator achievedwhat he wants, he would shift hisdirection into something else, stopcreating and start 'growing fafty tis-sues"'. (translated from Zhuo 2002)

An interesting question in relation to theideas above is raised: are youths so keen todevote to chuangzuo for chuangzuo's sake?Are there other agendas in this engagement?To understand the chuangzuo scene, afurther study should investigate youngpeople's life in present Malaysia, identitymusic trends in the presence and the future,identify negotiated in the current reality, andhow conventional music education hasaffected younger generations of Malaysiansociety.

Song-writing competitions are only a partof chuangzuo cultural form, in which youthsseek after identity construction, and also a

settlement for their enthusiasm in theirengagement in chuangzuo. It is undeniablethat they are keen on the pursuit of musiccuitivation with the approach in theirengagement. On the other hand, theymanifest a language of 'transnationalculture', which is believed to grow in manyparts of the world.

50

The knowledge produced is partial and stillcan not be used to deduce a.thoroughunderstandin g ab oat chu an gzuo culture and

youths' engagement in chuangzuo.I can see

there is no reason to stop reasoning howchuangzuo influences young people tochoose a living, and what they are attempting

to become. Further empirical research isrequired to investigate the origin ofchuangzuo, to examine chuangzuo as an

independent cultural form, in addition tounderstand how conventional musiceducation has affected younger generations

of Malaysian society.

REF'ERENCES

Bei Gong Zan [Online],1999. Available:h@://www.rhmedia.com/ngc 12002,May 31.

Huang, H. 200 1. Yaogun Yinyue: RethinkingMainland Chinese Rock 'n' Roll,Popular Music 20(l): l-ll.

Tan, S.B. 2000a. Negotiating Identities:Reconstruction the 'Local' in Malaysiathrough'World Beat'. Perfect B eat : The

Pacffic Journal of Research intoContemporary Music and PopularCulture 5@):3-20.

Tan, S.B.2000b. The ChinesePerforming Arts and Cultural Activitiesin Malaysia. In Lee Kam Hing and Tan

Chee-Beng (eds.), The Chinese inMalaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford Univ.Press, pp. 316-341.

Titon, J.T. & Slobin, M. 1996. The Music-Culture as a World of Music. In Titon,Jeff Todd (gen. ed.), Worlds of Music:An Introduction to the Music of theWorld's Peoples.3rd ed. New York:Schirmer, pp. 1-16.

The Wanderers of USM [Online),2001.Available : hup : //www.rhme dra. corr,l ngc /ngc0 I lindex.html [2002, August I 1 ]

Williams, C.2001. Does It Really Matter?Young People and Popular Music.P opul ar Mus ic 20 (2) : 223 -242.

Witzleben, J.L. 1999. Cantopop andMandapop in pre-postcolonial HongKong: Identity Negotiation in ThePerformances of Anita Mui Yin-Fong.Popular Music l8(2): 24I -257 .

Zhuo, Y.H. 2002.Is It Spring or Winter forYaogun Yingyue in China? News article.'Young Power' Section in Sin ChewDaily,24 October.

GLOSSARY

bendi chuangzuo Local composition; localproduction.

chafang Chinese restaurant thatserves a variety oftea.

chuangzuo Composition; creation.DIY (Abbreviation) Do-it

yourself; regarding aprocess which involvesoneself to completewithout assistance of an

expert.

-fong A place with enclosure.gongzuofang (or chuangzuo gongzuo

fang) Chamber orassociation establishedfor chuangzuo group

jiangkaraoke

works.Awards.A popular recreationalactivity where vocalperformers are

accompanied withprepared music which isplayed through aelectrical source.Folk song.minge

minge canting Restaurant where folk-song entertainment isavailable.

MP3 Digital music fileswhich are downloadableand uploadable.

renlei

xin

Humanbeings; people ora community.New; fresh.

yaogun ying,ue (or yaogunyue) Rockmusic.

51

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Notes

1 Jing Fong is the chinese designation of Golden Frontier Holdings, the sponsor of the event.

2Anabbreviation ofBeimaGe GongzuofangJiaoliuZan, orbetterknown as Northem Groups ofComposer [NGC]. This alliance of gongzuofalags was formed in 1993 and currently is adminis-tered under Guang Ming Daily, Penang. The number of allied gongzuo fangs is 3 1 to date [No-vember 20021.

3 An abbreviation of Quanguo Dazhuan Huayu Gequ Chuangzuo Bisai. The first of its kind wasinstalled in 2001 by The Chinese Language Society at MultimediaUniversity MMUI, Malacca.An organising committee [Quan Fang] was then formed by gongzuo faags of various tertiaryinstitutions, as it supervises activities related to Quan Chuang and functions as promoter ofchuangzuo in the campus. Members of Quan Fang will vote to determine the organising unitlgongzuofang] ofeach year's Quan Chuang.

aAn activegongzuofang at campus ofUniversity Science of Malaysia tUSMl. It is allied to BeiGongZan.

s Also known as Hailo Xin Yun Jiang. This irregular occasion is the third endeavour since thefirst instalment in 1992.

6 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia; an examination system practised at govemment schools inMalaysia.

7 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia; an examination system practised at government schools in Malaysia.

8 Unified Examination Certificate. It is a recognised examination system practised at Chineseprivate schools in Malaysia.

eAn abbreviation of Qingsaonian Chuangzuo Guangchang. Qing guangchangalsomeans 'greensquare'literally. This is another alliarrce of gongzuofangs.It was formed inl997 and is currentlyadministeredunderKwongWahJitPoh, Penang. This alliance consists of9 gongzuofangsfSep-ternber 19991

i0 Also known as 'world beat' in the United States. This is a marketing term describing popularmusic that fuses musical elements from the West [NorthAmerica and Western Europe] and 'theRest' [predominantlyAfrica and the Caribbean]. (Tan 2000a)

11 Freshies; a popular term to describe today's youths.

54

12 Commentary on texts by Peng Xue Bing, a judge for event (2) and (3).

13 Commentary on texts by Chen Shao An, a judge for event (4).

taAbuilding fusually a shopping complex] which allocates numerous cinema screens that offer

many choices in films as a mean of entertainment.

rs Gangtai, or gantaiyue (Iluang 2001), is a contraction of the Mandarin pronunciations of HongKonglXiang-gangf andTaiwanfTai-wanf, indicating matters or people of Hong Kong and Tai-wanese origins (Witzleben 1999).

16 Ah Niu or Ah Gu ['bull' in Mandarin and Hokkien respectively] is the nickname for chuangzuosinger-composer Tan Kheng Seong after his hit song *Ah Niu and Ah Hua". Rscorded by Tai-wanese company Rock Records and Tapes, he is known for his country-folk songs that take thelisteners back to nature and village community, which seems to be breaking up as a consequenceof modemity. His songs have been recorded by Taiwanese and Hong Kong artistes. (Tan 2000a)

17 A well-known local recording artiste. In 1994, he formed a duo with Michael Wong calledMichael & Victor, or better known as Guangliang Pinguan after their names. Both originatedfrom chuangzuo background, Michael Wong and Victor Huang recorded their first album,<<Zhanpin [<<Palm>], at Rock Records and Tapes in Taiwan. They gained popularity ever since,exempli$uing as the most successful Malaysian chuangzuo artistes in Mandarin-speaking re-gions. They were the only Chinese artistes invited to perform at the opening ceremony of 16thCommonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, 1998. The duo split for individual career developmentin 2000. Their songs were also recorded by many local and foreign commercial artistes such as

Tarcy Su, Rene Liu and Liang Jing Ru. Michael V/ong is now a composer-producer.

18 Refers to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and also other Chinese societies ofthe world.

1e Also known as <<Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi>>. Written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, itis the highest grossing film in the history of Japanese cinemas. 21,000,000 Japanese were at-tracted to the cinemas since its opening in 2001. The worldwide release continues. [IntemetMovie Database: http://us.imdb.com/l l7 Novermber 20021

20 Also known as <<Ilonogruai Mizu No Soko Kara>>. This horror film is directed by NakataHideo, the creator of the acclaimed horror saga <<Ring> f<,Ringu>>f and <<Ring 2>> l<&ingu 2>>1.

Presented in original Japanese language version, it remained in Malaysia's Box Office Top TenChart for 7 consecutive weeks since its release on 19 September 2002. [Cinema Online: http:/lwww.cinemaonline.com.my/charts/] [7 Novermber 2002]

21 Indicates the process oftransit as in daily life ofyoung people.

22 A Malaysian satellite broadcast television network established in 1996.It has now 37 televi-tisa sfoannels featuring intemational, regional and local programming and 16 music channelsthat run 24how in digital format.

23 This is part of the contents of an interview done when she appeared as a guest performer inevent (3). She won a consolation prize in the 2nd National Halo Song Writing Competition,1996. In 1999, she advanced her engagement with music in Taiwan and recorded her debutalbum. Her recent achievements include winning 9 awards at the bianmral Music Awards by theEntertainment Journalists Association of Malaysia, 2002.

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55

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