Inmates’ band strikes right chord

The Cape Collinson Correctional Institution Marching Band was established in 1958. It currently has about 40 members - pipers, drummers and brass players. Vacancies arise as band members finish serving their prison term.
 
From Monday through Saturday, inmates have classes on academic subjects such as Chinese, English and mathematics for half the day. The focus shifts to practical learning in the other half. For band members, this is time for music lessons and foot drill training.
 
Correctional Services Department Assistant Officer Tse King-fai, the band’s conductor, said after six to seven months of training, band members are generally able to join outside performances, including the department’s passing-out parades, musical rallies, and other charity programmes. They participate in dozens of such events annually.
 
Scaling new heights
Most band members start with no background in music whatsoever. Besides acquiring instrument-specific training, they must also learn basic music theory to read simplified scores.
 
“The staff taught us ‘1’ is the note ‘doh’, on the musical scale, ‘2’ is ‘rei’, and so on. By singing ‘doh-rei-mi’, we learn a new song by reciting the melody,” said Tat.
 
Sometimes, band members can become quite focused on the task at hand, carrying their rote lessons outside the classroom.
 
“My cellmate once told me that I was singing the melodies while I was asleep,” Tat said.
 
His focus paid off: After a year of training, he can now play more than a hundred songs on the bagpipes.
 
Fellow band member, saxophonist Chun, a pseudonym, was amazed at his own achievement within eight months.
 
“Here I can concentrate on learning music, with no distractions. The staff teach us patiently, and encourage me to overcome difficulties.”
 
Shared experience
A band master with a degree in music is responsible for re-arranging the music scores and conducting the band. Four Assistant Officers who help lead the band, including conductor Tse King-fai and piper Cheung Kai-bong, have had no formal music training.
 
“I also started from zero. The difficulties the band members encounter were the difficulties I have overcome,” Mr Tse said. He learned to play from his predecessor, then passed the lessons on to his young charges.
 
“When I got started, I spent my spare time at home reciting the songs’ melodies over and over again.”
 
Mr Tse joined the CCCI in 2000, and helped manage the marching band. He later taught bagpipe-playing to Mr Cheung, who joined the band in 2003.
 
Valued apprenticeship
Mr Cheung said he did not know how to teach the band members at the beginning as he knew nothing about music and was responsible only for their discipline.
 
Then he learned how to play the bagpipes and studied the teaching method.
 
“By demonstrating the techniques to them, they will listen to you and treat you as a master,” he said.
 
Through this apprenticeship, Mr Cheung taught Tat not only musical techniques, but also how to rebuild his family relationships.
 
Mr Cheung learned Tat’s family seldom visited him, so he asked the young man to write letters to his family.
 
“He wrote a few letters, but didn’t receive any reply. I encouraged him to keep writing, until he did. After he sent more than 10 letters, his family finally came to visit him. And he discovered my advice was useful.”
 
Tat’s most impressive performance to date was a musical rally for the community at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai. More than 1,000 people attended, including his family members.
 
“They came to visit me after they saw me perform, and said it was wonderful. They were grateful that I had acquired useful skills here,” he said.
 
Uplifting lessons
Saxophonist Chun admitted he had never taken learning anything seriously, and his mother always worried about him. She was finally able to relax after watching him perform.
 
Over eight months of musical training, Chun lost his careless attitude and grasped the opportunity to develop a skill. Of the 80 songs he can play, his favourite is My Way. He hopes to continue saxophone lessons after his release from the institution.
 
During a recent training session, Mr Cheung played a bagpipe solo as an introduction to the popular inspirational song You Raise Me Up, with the chorus:
    You raise me up so I can stand on mountains;
    You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
    I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
    You raise me up to more than I can be.
 
“I want to let them know I really support them, and I hope they get the meaning of the song’s lyrics,” he said.
 
“The happiest thing is guiding them to find direction in life and seeing them rebuild relationships with their families.”