Welcome to a new school year! We are into our second week of the school year, and by now, the cobwebs are dusted out of even the deepest corners in our brains and the spaces between our fingers. Things forgotten over the long stretch of summer break are coming back to us, and I, probably even more than my students, am excited for the MissAdventures that this year holds for all of us fortnite herunterladen huawei p20 lite!
To celebrate the new year, I am encouraging all of my students to make a New Year’s Resolution. Some of them have actually asked me if they can make two, but I have told them to limit it to one per instrument. I appreciate their enthusiasm, but as I intend to hold them to these resolutions until their completion (or June 2012), I don’t want them to become overwhelmed bewerbungsformulare kostenlos downloaden.
What can one resolve to do on piano or guitar, one might ask? PLENTY! Last week I told all my students it could be very specifically related to their repertoire – I resolve to learn all of “Fur Elise” – or very general – I resolve to finish all the Level 1B books. It could be related to technique – I resolve to keep my fingers rounded always – or related to their brain – I resolve to understand more about chords. I gave them the whole week to think about it, and starting this week, we will discuss possible resolutions and make a game plan for achieving them adobe gratis downloaden.
I feel, though, that this is also a whole lot more than just a New Year’s Resolution (who keeps them, anyway? I mean, besides my students and myself). This is about setting a realistic goal, working towards it, and not giving up. It’s about saying you’re going to do something, and then actually following through. It’s sticking to your word, shouldering responsibility, holding yourself accountable. It’s becoming more self-aware. It’s delving into music on a level that, possibly, some of these kids have never experienced before. There are loads of life lessons wrapped up in this, and also a great way to capture the enthusiasm of the beginning of the school year and stretch it out until the enthusiasm for summer break takes over quake 3 arena kostenlos download.
So much of education for a child is out of their control. They go to the school their parents send them to, do the work that is assigned to them by their teachers. Rules are set up for them, and boundaries are set. But personally, I feel that a student should have a say in those boundaries. Why limit learning? Why not let the child’s own natural curiosity help to lead the way? This is one of the things that I really love about private teaching. The ability of the child to actively participate in the learning process. They aren’t just on the receiving end, but a lot on my end of it all relies on them as well, and I it is my wish that they grasp that and enjoy it. Not to just survive, but to thrive. How often do you hear a student say, “I survived freshman year” or “I survived my high school years?” How does that phrase change when you say, “I thrived during freshman year?” “I thrived during my high school years?”
I know I’m getting off on a tangent here, but I feel like this is an important detour to take. If we want kids to learn, they ought to want to learn. And how better to get them to want to learn, than by letting them set their own goals call of duty spiele kostenlosen?
So. New Year’s Resolutions. Because I like the phrase “we’re all in the same boat” (and that’s not just because I secretly want to be a pirate), I am also making not one, but TWO resolutions (since I do actively play two instruments). So here I go with mine pdf reader download for free german.
1) Fantasy Impromptu in c# minor, by Frederic Chopin. Chopin is one of my faves. If we were alive at the same time, I’d make it a point to go to all of his shows and meet him. Maybe even ask him to jam. I’d buy all his CDs. I’d like him in Facebook (wait, I already like him on facebook). This piece of music is one of my favorite pieces to listen to by Chopin, and also, one of the most technically challenging pieces I have ever had the chance to look at (I mean, I’m sure there are more technically challenging pieces, but I actually already have the music for this one, and it is hands down, the hardest piece I own the music to). And since it’s been awhile since I actually challenged myself to anything on the piano (what with the tendonitis bout a few years back that sidelined me pretty much until this last year), I thought, this would be a perfect project for the 2011-2012 school year. And in case you don’t know what it sounds like, here you go wie kann man tik tok videos herunterladen.
2. Flamenco guitar whatsapp foto niet te downloaden. A few years ago, I said to myself, I want to expand my chord vocabulary. That’s part of the reason why I enjoy playing so many old jazz standards, because they utilized a WHOLE LOT MORE than your standard I-IV-V progressions of today’s rock music games to roblox. And again, I haven’t really challenged myself in the guitar arena in awhile, so I thought to myself, what’s really hard for me right now sims 4 downloaden gratis mac? I’m a pretty decent finger picker, but I could be better. But, I’m not so much a fan of classical guitar. However. Flamenco guitar is pretty darned exciting. I also have a friend who does flamenco dancing (and have a few more who are interested in it), and I thought, this would be a pretty neat way to jam across the lines of art (I mean, I’d be on my guitar, meanwhile they would actually be dancing), so let me take a dive.
Of course, then I learned that flamenco music, is like, WAY HARD. It’s actually hard just to think about, at least for me, at least right now. It won’t just be a matter of learning a few songs, it will be more along the lines of learning a whole new set of theory and technique. I’m down for this. Totally. As it was recently explained to me, you basically have a set rhythm and a set chord progression. Everything else, from the strumming and melodies, to the lyrics and the dancing, is improvised. You learn all the rules and then you play with them (until your hand falls off, because in my case, it might). Here is an example.
Audience Participation Time
I’ve shared my New Year’s Resolutions. What are yours? Do you consider the new school year a time of new beginnings, or do you wait until January 1 to start yours? Do you even make resolutions or think they’re just a pile of lofty goals that are really a waste of time?