REGAL ORCHESTRA AND ITS TRANSFORMATION IN CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA CHIN YEE WEI CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University of Malaya 2017 REGAL ORCHESTRA AND ITS TRANSFORMATION IN CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA CHIN YEE WEI DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PERFORMING ARTS (MUSIC) CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA UniversityKUALA LUMPURof Malaya 2017 UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: CHIN YEE WEI Matric No: RGI 130002 Name of Degree: MASTER OF PERFORMING ARTS (MUSIC) Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”): REGAL ORCHESTRA AND ITS TRANSFORMATION IN CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA Field of Study: ETHNOMUSICOLOGY I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM. Candidate’s Signature Date: UniversitySubscribed and solemnly declared before, of Malaya Witness’s Signature Date: Name: Designation: ii ABSTRACT This research examines the transformation of Regal Orchestra through the concepts of glocalization, hybridity and other factors concerning both cultural and commercial factors. Regal Orchestra started as a classical Chinese ensemble which focused on Chinese popular music, then changed its focus to provide diverse music and commercial event management services. This qualitative research is mainly based on a naturalistic inquiry approach that includes observation, interviews, virtual fieldwork and analysis on performances. Findings reveal how the group was gradually branched into diverse musical bands including fusion band, live band, jazz band, all girls crystal band, Muhibbah music band; whereas drum groups such as Tang Ren Gu, Muhibbah drum and LED water drum due to commercial influence and market demand. Due to its business nature, performances are catered according to the client’s musical taste where shidaiqu remains a favourite genre among the mid-aged and older Malaysian Chinese. Local demand of other ethnicities is answered through supplying Muhibbah drum and music performances which are by chance aligned with the 1Malaysia concept. As a summary, the study reviewed how Regal Orchestra and its changes reflect the change of tradition, political influence and as a commodity. University of Malaya iii ABSTRAK Kajian ini mengkaji transformasi Regal Orchestra melalui konsep-konsep glokalisasi, hibriditas dan faktor-faktor lain yang berkaitan dengan kedua-dua faktor budaya dan komersial. Regal Orchestra bermula sebagai ensemble Cina klasik yang memberi tumpuan kepada muzik popular Cina, kemudian mengubah fokusnya untuk mempersembahkan muzik yang pelbagai dan memberikan perkhidmatan pengurusan acara komersial. Penyelidikan kualitatif ini adalah terutamanya berdasarkan pendekatan inkuiri naturalistik yang merangkumi pemerhatian, temu bual, kerja lapangan maya dan analisis mengenai persembahan. Hasil penyelidikan mendedahkan bagaimana kumpulan ini secara beransur-ansur bercabang kepada band muzik yang pelbagai termasuk band gabungan, band live, band jazz, band kristal gadis, band muzik Muhibbah; manakala kumpulan gendang seperti Tang Ren Gu, gendang Muhibbah dan gendang air LED disebabkan oleh pengaruh komersil dan permintaan pasaran. Oleh kerana sifat perniagaannya, persembahan yang disediakan mengikut citarasa muzik pelanggan di mana lagu Mandarin oldies kekal sebagai genre kegemaran di kalangan kaum Cina Malaysia pertengahan umur dan lebih tua. Permintaan tempatan daripada kumpulan etnik yang lain dijawab dengan membekalkan gendang Muhibbah dan persembahan muzik yang secara kebetulan selaras dengan konsep 1Malaysia. Sebagai ringkasan, kajian ini mengkaji bagaimana Regal Orchestra dan perubahannya yang mencerminkan perubahanUniversity tradisi, pengaruh politik dan sebagai of komoditi. Malaya iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I thank the Lord for giving me the perseverance and strength to successfully completing this dissertation. With His support and love, I was able to move on and be resilient in achieving this outcome. Secondly, I pay my utmost gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Loo Fung Ying, who has been diligently guided me throughout the whole research study. My gratitude and appreciation to her relentless support while going through all the challenges. Thirdly, I sincerely thank Mr. Alan Lam Kee Leong and all interviewees of Regal Orchestra for their invaluable time, acknowledging that, this study would not have been possible without their cooperation and assistance. In addition, I am very grateful to my beloved parents and lovely siblings who have supported me wholeheartedly on my wellbeing and sustained me financially throughout my course of study. Thanks for their understanding and concern all these years. Lastly, I would like to thank my best friends who have provided great encouragement and company during my difficult times. I definitely appreciate and cherish our friendship. University of Malaya v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................iii Abstrak ............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables.................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background of Research .......................................................................................... 2 1.3 Justification of Research .......................................................................................... 9 1.4 Problem Statement ................................................................................................. 10 1.5 Conceptual Framework.......................................................................................... 11 1.6 Research Objectives............................................................................................... 12 1.7 Research Questions................................................................................................ 12 1.8 Limitation of Study ................................................................................................ 14 1.9 Organization of Study ............................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 16 2.1University Introduction............................................................................................................ of Malaya 16 2.2 Ethnomusicology ................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Chinese Performing Arts in Malaysia.................................................................... 19 2.4 Commercialized Chinese Orchestras ..................................................................... 24 2.5 Chinese Popular Music .......................................................................................... 28 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 30 vi CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 31 3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 31 3.2 Qualitative Research .............................................................................................. 31 3.3 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 32 3.4 Naturalistic Inquiry ................................................................................................ 32 3.4.1 Participant Observation ............................................................................. 33 3.4.2