Category: Music

Well, today’s the Big Day! Time to put together all the skills that we have learned from January until now. Did the musical goals and practice schedule that I set for myself pay off? Yes and no. Although I most definitely improved, I honestly had hoped to be better by this point. That being said, I found it a lot harder to stick to my musical goal plan than originally anticipated. When I was younger and taking lessons I was practicing around 1-2 hours per day, except for those times when I shirked practicing and ended up cramming a weeks worth of practicing  into the hour before my piano teacher would arrive for my lesson. I’d be lying if I said that hasn’t happened at times this term. I wish there were a way to be able to have extra classes scheduled in at U-Vic specifically for practicing. It would help someone in my position have some dedicated time away from home in which to practice without disruption. For example it would be great if there could be one music class per week in the class room and one specifically for  practicing. I think this would have really benefitted everyone. I definitely find it difficult to maintain a regular practice schedule. To be honest, this point in my life is pretty much one of the last moments in which I would take up learning anything else. I am finding I rush through most of my assignments for all of my classes already, so finding extra time at home to practice is not easy. I actually hope to take up piano in the near future partly because I think it will be a valuable and fun skill to have in my classroom, but also because I would love to learn to play well again.

This week, my practicing was coming along very well, until the 18th when I became increasingly concerned about my other assignments and all but stopped practicing. Having all of the kids home, (including the older ones who work and are home social distancing), even though I love it, is making it challenging to find quiet time to both practice and get my other assignments done. I find I am having a TON of interruptions. Until I actually looked at the final assignments from my other class and the realized the amount of time they would require, I was feeling fairly confident about timelines. I also assumed that everyone would be equally as focused on their group projects for all classes, but that hasn’t exactly been the case.  My husband works for school district 62 and thankfully will be off for a week starting the 23rd. He has big plans to put the kids to work in the yard, which will keep them out of my hair for a few solid hours in the day and will give me more time to keep practicing. Although I haven’t stuck to my practice schedule this week as strictly as I had hoped, I am still working on the things I need to. If I don’t concentrate, my finger work goes right back to where it feels comfortable and not where it should be. Although playing the song itself is sounding better, I am still working on this. One week to go! Practice! Practice! Practice!

My learning goals and my action plan for our Musical Growth Assignment for the first half of the course was not what I had originally planned for myself. I found it harder to get in regular practice time given the busyness of our family life. Although I knew if I didn’t practice regularly, I wouldn’t improve the way I had hoped and planned, yet I still pushed practicing aside in favour of the needs and interests of my family as well as my other assignments. I was determined to get back on my original plan of practicing every day, so I established set practice times every day after school whether anyone was home or not. If the kids were taking lessons, this is exactly what we would have to do with them, so why not for me?! So, I followed my plan and, not surprisingly I got better…quickly. Regular practice makes all the difference, however, I still find that I needed to slow myself down to focus more on my finger placement. This is something I had struggled with back when I was taking piano lessons as a child. I have a tendency to find ways to compensate, but I know if I am going to take up playing again, to get better in the long run, this is something I will have to do. For the following week, I will continue with my daily practice, focussing on my finger placement.

This evening, while half of the house was out, I attempted to record myself playing the song, Part of your World, and was pretty disappointed with the results. However, I have a plan! It’s not the most solid plan I have ever had, but nonetheless, it is something. Actually,  it’s more of a Last Hope, Hail Mary kind of wish/prayer. Tomorrow is Wednesday Feb. 26 2020, and my MusicEd video has to be uploaded and sent off by tomorrow evening. Between my student teaching for P.E. and my EdTech fieldtrip, I should have about 4 solid hours of uninterrupted practice time. I plan to go full bore! Part of me wonders if I should be admitting this and part of me feels it is only fair to be honest about this assignment. I realize, for my music plan, that I was planning to be a lot more organized and a lot less distracted. (Actually this seems to be the same for all my courses this semester. I’m not sure why, but I am finding it difficult to manage my time and stay on track and task this term.) At the beginning of the semester, I was actually more excited about my music class and music assignments than I was about any of my other classes. I was looking forward to having an “excuse” to be able to play the piano again. However, as we get further into the term, I find I am really struggling with the work, school, life balance. Technically, I was physically busier last semester, but didn’t feel as heavily burdened. Everything I do feels like “work” and I want to figure out how to find enjoyment in my classes again. That being said, I really enjoyed our last class, and look forward to continuing playing with the Orff instruments. A part of me wonders if I shouldn’t have chosen a simpler instrument to learn, but part of me still wants to prove I can learn to play again. I guess the key to this is to really buckle down and practice when anyone is home, and practice through the distractions. I had originally planned to make appointments to ask for help from my professor, and it looks like I will need to actually follow through with that for the next part of this assignment. Learning from you tube is alright for some things, however, it is no substitute  for getting feedback in person. The rest of my plan is to pick up from the midterm point and follow my plan. That, along with communicating better with my instructor,  is the only way I am going meet my goal of playing the song with confidence and fluidity.

Well, there are two days left before I have to provide video evidence of how my music journey is going. If I am being truly honest, I am not entirely where I had hoped to be. I find some days sound better than others. Although I am solely working on playing the song, Part of Your World from the little Mermaid, and pretty much have the timing and tempo down, I still find I get tripped up with my finger positioning. This is something I used to try to compensate for as a child, but would always get admonished for by my music teacher. (Rightfully so!) I have a tendency to do things the way they feel right for me and I have always been able to compensate. However, I do know that I won’t keep improving without using proper techniques. I think part of the reason I quit playing the piano when I did was partially because I didn’t want to have to put in the work needed to get even better.  I definitely regret that now.  I also have found it difficult to find extra time these past few weeks to practice. Reading break was not much of a break and I did not get a lot of extra practice done. I feel like I was definitely more productive the first few weeks of this assignment. I know there were a couple of opportunities to practice at school, but I don’t find it easy to concentrate when there are other people around. As well, there are few areas to be able to practice piano that aren’t already booked. There was one session when Holly and I practiced together, but the room was booked for another’s use, so we had to leave. Luckily, we met up with Aria and Claire who shared their piano room with us. It was ok, but between the four of us it didn’t leave much time for individual practice. Another time Brit and I went to the music storage room where I practiced on the keyboard. It was ok, but again, I find it difficult to concentrate when there is excess noise or distractions around me. I originally chose the piano as my instrument in part because I thought I would be able to make extra time to practice at home in the comfort of my own living rom. However, distractions abound!  I am not sure how I am going to make more time to practice…or minimize distractions.

Starting out, I have to admit that I am very glad I decided to scale down my original goal of playing Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy for my music assessment. Instead, I had chosen to learn Part of Your World from the Disney Musical, The Little Mermaid. I remember playing Clair de Lune as a child and thinking it was such a lovely piece. However, that was when I was practicing for at least 1-2 hrs per day. There is just no possibility of me finding long enough or even consistent periods in which to practice, given my busy schedule. I almost feel a bit embarrassed that I won’t be able to play like I once did, but that is just a reality I will have to get used to. On a positive note, I am looking forward to playing it while my son sings along. It hasn’t been very long since I started practicing, but already I am feeling challenged finding time to practice when few people are home. I have been doing 10-20 minute stretches and seriously wonder how on earth I practiced for the 1-2 hours per day I did as a kid.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy learning and playing music, but I definitely remember it being much easier back then.  I find myself feeling silly not being able to blow through the beginners books like I thought I would. Some are pretty easy, and some are not, likely because I am not as familiar with the timing and how the song is supposed to sound. It’s funny how I now understand what my old piano teacher and former examiners were talking about when they said that they couldn’t understand how I was able to play so well. I still kind of have no idea what I am doing, but can somehow figure it out. (No prodigy here, that’s for sure!) I think, as far as my musical growth plan indicates, I am fairly on track.  Moving forward, I think I will have to try to make better use of the limited time I have in which to practice, and I will likely have to seek some help from my music professor with regards to understanding the timing of the music. I know we have been given good information in class to help me understand this, but for me, I sometimes have to hear/feel how the music is intended to be played.