That view changed a bit when I joined the school band, and played John William's score for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which incidentally, was the very piece I had set myself to play if I joined the band. The Imperial March however, remains an unachievable dream.

Other than John Williams, the only true classical pieces that I enjoyed were Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No.1 Suppe's Morning, Noon and Night, and Suppe's (again!) Poet and Peasant (which was incidentally, the first true classical piece I attempted to play when I first joined the band, and the last to play before I left the band). By the way, I played the tuba.

And even after playing all that, I still thought the epitome of music could be signified by the playing of Warrior's Suite from Rurouni Kenshin. It took an entire Japanese live action drama series to make me realise how thick I actually was about my music preferences.

The first thing to hit me immediately about the series was the music. The classical music! When we tune in to the live action series, the opening is none other than the "climax" of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony no.7. Admittedly, this would not be my first obsession with a classical piece. That honour belongs to Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 in D minor, Op.125 (yes, I was obsessed enough to memorise the Opus number and the key it was in), where I memorised the entire German lyrics after watching the final episode of Gunslinger Girl. In fact, if I wanted to, I could probably organise a sing-along workshop to the 9th.

Back on topic, the 7th Symphony was no longer a number after the first live action episode of Nodame Cantabile. It was now an inspiring, touching, and ultimately enjoyable orchestral suite from the most accomplished composer to date. The piece still gives me goosebumps, even though I have listened to it more than 500 times over the past two years.

For reasons known to just about anyone who has watched the drama, this scene still brings tears to my eyes. For finally making me understand what classical music means, something 5 years in the high school band couldn't teach me, I am forever grateful.

Nodame Cantabile also brought back a wealth of memories from my school band life. From the times when we really screwed up in practice, to the endless days of practice, especially during the holidays, to the performances that somehow or other, would always turn out right. Classical music would no longer be the same, because I had learnt to understand the meaning behind every note. The context of the music. Why would someone long dead place a note here, or repeat a phrase there?

Suddenly, everything fell into place. Nodame taught me to view music, not just listen, but to actually see the story the composer was trying to tell with his wordless masterpiece. Prime example: Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no. 2, another spine tingling, tear inducing experience.

For me at least, this was IT! It symbolises everything Nodame Cantabile aspires to be. An expression of art so universal, that no matter who or where you lived, no matter your background, if all you did was just sit still and listen quietly, you will get it.

It is that simple. By the way, from that Rachmaninoff piece, I came to hear a tale of hope arising from despair and darkness. What did you feel the music was trying to convey?

So in a short span of 11 live action episodes and 23 anime episodes, I had been transformed from someone who couldn't tell the difference between Beethoven and Mozart, to a classical music buff who could tell which piece belonged to which composer even though I would be hearing it for the first time! (It happened with Ravel's Alborda del Gracioso in the first episode of Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen)

Nodame Cantabile is more or less an accurate representation of what Dr. Karl Paulnack of the Boston Conservatory says about music, that "...serious music, the kind your kids are about to engage in, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with entertainment, in fact it's the opposite of entertainment."