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Syed Ahmad: The Energetic Educator
Unlocking new perspectives through diverse artforms
Syed Ahmad is a Singaporean music and artistic director, composer and educator. He is most well known as the founder of Bloco Singapura, Singapore’s first Carnaval collective. Inspired by his sojourn in Brazil, the group reflects his deep passion and mastery of Brazilian rhythms, combined with his eclecticism and verve.
Under his leadership, Bloco Singapura had the opportunity to perform in various musical festivals and shows locally and internationally, including New York, Mumbai, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bali, Timor-Leste and Coburg, Germany for Europe’s biggest samba festival. Syed has been teaching music for 16 years to learners ranging from primary school students to tertiary students, teachers and corporate groups.
How did you get into teaching?
It was really a desire to share what I’ve learnt as a musician. It started with curiosity and passion, and a sense of responsibility to express a cultural heritage in the proper context.
I travelled to various parts of Brazil and introduced myself to different drum masters and learnt under their tutelage. Most of them remain dear friends and collaborators to this day. I continue to learn more from practitioners about their rich cultures and rhythms, even now.
Can you describe your teaching practice?
I teach mostly Brazilian Carnaval rhythms and African diaspora music. This includes performance, concepts, vocabulary and ethnomusicology. I teach various demographics, from primary school to tertiary students, and also conduct workshops for teachers and corporate groups.
Brazilian Carnaval rhythms and African diaspora music are a niche artform in Singapore. What can Singaporeans learn from it?
Singaporeans can learn so much from such a rich artform—things like cultural expression, ethnomusicology, socio-politics, secular adaptations of ritual and spiritual music, syncretism, dance, choreography and much more. So much of pop and contemporary music is influenced by it, though most people don’t realise it.
In a nutshell, the more you understand other cultures, the better you understand your own.
You can watch my TED Talk for a more in-depth discussion on this topic.
Have there been challenges in your teaching journey?
Of course there have been challenges such as being generally misunderstood, budgets, pandemics, plagiarism and many others. I know this might sound cliché, but it’s really the passion for my music that has pushed me through it all.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
"It is really about the relationships I foster
with the students, and the reciprocation of
energy and ideas. On top of all that, it’s about
moments of epiphanies and the infectious
grooves."
What are your hopes for every batch of students you encounter?
On a basic level, I hope that they enjoy the lessons and the rhythms I share in class. I also hope that they can find some kind of appreciation for all of it in depth.
Lastly, I hope that they develop their sense of curiosity, a keen cultural awareness and confidence in their self-expression.
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