What is life without music? For many of us, it plays in the background, a soundtrack to our daily lives. This Father’s Day, two fathers who work in the arts reflect on actively raising their children to love and even make music, and how it has helped them to forge bonds across generations.

Riduan Zalani, composer, percussionist and drummer; co-founder of Nadi Singapura

Has two daughters, Oula Sabitah and Omera Bayu

“I think it all began while my wife Nor’Ain was pregnant. She actively attended my shows and sat in during rehearsals and classes, so they’ve been listening to music since they were in the womb. After my wife completed her maternity leave, I took care of each of them for 18 months, like a stay-at-home dad. I held music “classes” occasionally and that’s where they were introduced to music and performance. 

I noticed their interest in music as both of them would try to imitate the things I did. Each of them had their own interpretations of the drumming sequences they heard, or the melodies that were sung by my ensemble. At home, I used little songs and music to accompany their daily activities, and to motivate them to do certain actions like shower or go to sleep.”

“During the pandemic , I felt compelled to pick up a new instrument while I was stuck at home. Before that, I actually didn’t know how to play any melodic instruments, only rhythmic ones. I bought a little ukelele and learnt it overnight. I used it to sing nursery rhymes with them, jumping in with my instrument while they were humming songs. That's how I came to have an arsenal of songs to sing with them in their daily life.  

After a while, I talked to my wife and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we just make it into a song and release it online as a memory for our family?’ My daughters gave me the inspiration to do this and contributed by singing certain lines, and that’s how we came to have our album Senda KeluarGah, with songs like Mandi Mandi Mandi (Shower) and Tidurlah Kekasih Hatiku (Sleep, My Love).”

“As a father, I know that parenting is an endless road of discovery and learning. I try my best to create a safe environment for them to explore and express themselves. Music and the arts are part of our life and if they are able to embrace it and make it a part of theirs, life will be more colourful.

Fatherhood gave me another perspective on my responsibilities, on how I can enrich the lives of my children. I have always shared with my daughters that we should aim to leave behind something good for the world, to do something meaningful. I think that’s the reason why we have interactions across different people and places, to enrich our own perspectives and theirs. Music helps us to achieve this as well, and it’s also how we enjoy life!”

Desmond Chew, Producer at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Has a son, Davien 

“We played a lot of classical jazz music for Davien when he was in mummy's tummy. As he grew, we noticed that he is pretty sensitive to music and has good ears! He also has a good sense of rhythm and is able to move his body to the beats and tempo. Of course, he also enjoys singing along to nursery rhymes, and we expanded his playlist to include classics by bands and artists like Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Beyond, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and even trending hits on TikTok like 乌梅子酱 (Li Rong Hao) and Flower by Jisoo.

“Music is a really important tool for bonding for us. Our latest father-and-son bonding activity is cycling and playing songs through the phone. Davien sings along to the songs while I cycle and makes song requests during our ride. When we are listening to music at home, I also teach him how to identify the sounds of various instruments like the guitar or piano.

Arts and music have always been an integral part of my life growing up, even though I was exposed to music only later in life when I joined the band in secondary school. Now as a parent myself, I’m always looking for interesting activities and programmes to expose my child to the arts. During my childhood, I didn’t have access to all these activities, so now I make up for lost time by letting my child experience what I could not.”

“I believe the arts can encourage creativity and self-expression in children. It is an outlet to nurture positive traits in children, and is important aside from academic pursuits. It expands awareness, increases empathy, and develops an array of social soft skills. Most importantly, it engages children and brings them a lot of joy.”