Helping those with cerebral palsy through music
PETALING JAYA: A group of men and women with cerebral palsy sit in a circle in a room, practising with various musical instruments.
One was playing piano, some were beating the gendang (twoheaded drum), some slapping the kompang while others shook sleigh bells.
As soon as they saw Edwin Nathaniel step into the room, the beat of rhythm became louder. The presence of the 58-year-old man seemed to have breathed excitement into the group.
They started grinning ear-toear and swayed their bodies to the music. It was only until Edwin sat down that one of them called out to his friends to pause.
“Good morning, sir,” greeted 36year-old Lam Choon Yue, on behalf of the group.
Edwin acknowledged them with a smile and a nod.
“What are we playing today? Let’s play a Merdeka song, ‘Malaysia Berjaya’,” Edwin suggested to the group that had assembled at the Spastic Children’s Association of Selangor and the Federal Territory.
The piano was played, followed by the percussions. Edwin conducted the group.
This writer could not help but feel amazed. This was no easy feat for those afflicted with cerebral palsy.
It was evident that it took them special effort to simply play the musical instruments, what more to practice a song.
Many of them were in wheelchairs due to their condition and had such difficulty controlling their muscle movements that they were unable to even correct their posture. Some are able to walk but could barely balance themselves.
However, the rich sounds of the music played belied the difficulties endured by the musicians. It was hard to believe the pianist, Tee Thin Choy, played those fast notes on the piano only by his left hand.
What made them more special was that their group comprised musicians of different races.
Despite their slurry speech and difficulty speaking, they sang to the song with enthusiasm and spirit, ending it with three resounding proclamations of “Merdeka!”
There were 25 OKU (differentlyabled people) playing musical instruments that day. Edwin said that the brilliant performance today was far better than those he had heard in the years before.
“If you heard them in the early 2000, you would have covered your ears. Everyone was playing a different beat.
“Now, they are able to keep to the beat and are even receiving invitations to perform,” Edwin told Bernama proudly.
The group had even had the privilege to perform at the prestigious Petronas Philharmonic Hall at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) in 2015.
They had also gained attention overseas and was invited to perform at Sambhav 2012, an international performing arts event featuring talents of physically and mentally challenged persons in New Delhi, India.
The trip was especially memorable to Muhammad Firdaus Zainuddin, who played the gendang.
“Our trip to India was so much fun. I initially had slight stage fright but started feeling excited when I saw how much the audience enjoyed our performance. They even asked to have their pictures taken with us,” the 29-year-old fondly recalled.
The second of three siblings was born with cerebral palsy and was wheelchair-bound.
It had not been easy for Edwin to train the group. However, he persevered in training them for 17 years until they could perform as impressively as they do today.
What was more impressive was that he did all voluntarily under a special programme called the Rhythm Interactive Special Enabler Programme (RISE).
RISE is a programme under Music Mart, a music school founded by Edwin.
“I am so proud of their achievements. I have taught this special community for over 10 years and I’ve seen them grow, literally. There are some here who are now already 50 years old,” said Edwin.
There was a time when he had wondered whether he had it in him to train the musicians due to the difficulties they have to even master their own movements.
“It all started when my band Aseana Percussion Unit (APU) wanted to engage in a charity programme by teaching these special students music in the year 2000. The programme further developed when I formed a music school and ran the RISE programme.
“However, I have to admit that after the first session, I started to doubt my ability to teach them. Some of them could barely move their hands while some moved so slowly that they kept missing the beat. It was disheartening.
“But I did not give up. I remember when Muhammad Firdaus first started playing the gendang, his hands were weak. Today, he could play it loud and fast,” Edwin recounted.
The same improvements could be seen in Mohammad Izzul Daniel, 22, who previously had difficulties moving and keeping to the rhythm. However, today, he not only plays the gendang well but has even become the coordinator and conducted the group.
It took Edwin a long time to gain the trust of his students and a high degree of patience and perseverance to keep coming back every Thursday to teach them.
There were times when they would yell and hit him, but he kept coming back every week for an hour for 17 years.
It speaks something of a person’s character to commit to something so noble yet challenging, without charging even a cent.
It is therefore unsurprising that his story was selected as one of the inspirational stories on the Negaraku website, under the heading ‘Wira Negaraku’ (My Nation’s Hero).
“What kept me going was the joy radiating from their faces when they played music and the messages I received every week asking whether or not there was class. I don’t know how to explain that feeling but it gives me the strength I needed to carry on teaching them.
“To help them understand, I came up with my own teaching module. Among the techniques is starting with simple beats and sleigh bells before moving over to kompang and gendang,” he explained.
Edwin said that playing musical instruments can help those with cerebral palsy gain confidence and become calmer. It was also a form of physiotherapy for their condition.
The association’s limb rehabilitation therapist David Adam agreed that it helped his patients gain muscular control.
“Beating the gendang, for example, helps train their arms to become stronger,” said the 27year-old.
Edwin intended to continue with the effort for the rest of his life and hoped that many more would come forward to help differentlyabled people. He believed that the knowledge he had was meant to be shared with anyone who needed it.
“Some people have asked me why I am teaching people of all races for free. For me, we are all Malaysians. It does not matter what race we are. If they have the talent and interest, I will share my knowledge with them.
“Music is universal, it brings people together. What I am trying to do is just to bring love and happiness to these special people.” - Bernama