Pick up free songwriting tips from local veterans Xiaohan and Eric Ng in virtual open house

Circuit breaker (CB) or not, Singaporeans are still living life as best as they can. We meet up with friends over Zoom, binge-watch K-dramas and reality shows (the trashier the better, it seems), and lap up all the free concerts and music performances online.

But now that we will be staying home for a much longer CB period, there's no better time to pick up a new hobby or skill. And if you've always harboured a musical dream, there's a free virtual open house this Saturday (April 25) that you might want to bookmark.

FM Pop Music School — established in 2005 by local songwriting veterans Eric Ng and Xiaohan — is offering free virtual classes on writing lyrics, composing melodies, and music arrangement during the open house from 10.30am to 5pm.

Eric — a songwriter, producer, and arranger — as well as lyricist-author Xiaohan are behind classic Mandopop hits like Sandy Lam's Paper Aeroplane and Tanya Chua's Deep. This Saturday, Xiaohan will host the Step-By-Step Lyrics Writing session, while Eric will host the Step-By-Step Melody Composing and Step-By-Step Music Arrangement sessions.

ALSO READ: AsiaOne's Circuit Breaker Survival Guide

Each 90-minute session will cover basic tips and tricks. "We will also be sharing how we started out and our experiences. We hope these simple tips are enough to open the minds of stay-home music enthusiasts to get started and take this time to explore their interest," Eric said.

The music school is also launching online crash courses on signature songwriting, music arrangement, performance vocals, as well as playing and singing on the keyboard, guitar and ukelele, with course fees ranging from $39 to $119.

The course curriculums are planned by Xiaohan, Eric, and the school lecturers, and taught by a team of instructors who have worked with well-known Mandopop singers such as Shin, Freya Lim, and Ding Dang.

On the online courses, Eric said: "We are now 'borderless', where our sharing and teaching can go beyond our shores.

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"This circuit breaker situation has enabled our students to allocate more time to their interest in music learning, with guidance from our teachers and extra learning materials. We are thankful that students are flexible and supportive to adapt quickly to technology. Some are surprised to find they have more focus and have improved their skills."

Xiaohan added: "In the past, we had to turn away enthusiastic learners based overseas in China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Now they are able to take my online classes. Students don't need to travel and hence punctuality as well as attendance is 100 per cent."

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kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com