Assignments
Graphic Score
Body-Mapping
Over the course of this week, I have focused more on body-mapping and developing a better sense of my balance. As a trumpet player I have never really spent a lot of time looking at how my body interacts with my playing other than my breathing and mouth etc. I noticed something substantially different when I focused more on finding my centre points, especially near my knees and ankles. I have also been practicing my playing while standing more often now as it gives me a better sense of strength under my body so that I can play to the best of my ability. While I was practicing this exercise this week, I noticed that I tend to shift my weight forward on to the fronts of my feet instead of standing comfortably in the centre. Also, I realized that my shoulders tend to be really tense when I play, which is something I need to work on because the shoulders are one of the points of balance that help control my body. Body-mapping is something I had no previous experience with in the musical world, and definitely did not relate it to the specific instrument I play. I am glad that this class is teaching me these new important techniques to knowing the body that the music comes from and being able to practice and play even better with the new knowledge I have learned.
Over the course of this week, I have focused more on body-mapping and developing a better sense of my balance. As a trumpet player I have never really spent a lot of time looking at how my body interacts with my playing other than my breathing and mouth etc. I noticed something substantially different when I focused more on finding my centre points, especially near my knees and ankles. I have also been practicing my playing while standing more often now as it gives me a better sense of strength under my body so that I can play to the best of my ability. While I was practicing this exercise this week, I noticed that I tend to shift my weight forward on to the fronts of my feet instead of standing comfortably in the centre. Also, I realized that my shoulders tend to be really tense when I play, which is something I need to work on because the shoulders are one of the points of balance that help control my body. Body-mapping is something I had no previous experience with in the musical world, and definitely did not relate it to the specific instrument I play. I am glad that this class is teaching me these new important techniques to knowing the body that the music comes from and being able to practice and play even better with the new knowledge I have learned.
Leadership Exercise
For my leadership exercise, I want to focus on trust. This meaning that I want to do some trust exercises. To start, everyone will find a partner and I will explain the idea of a trust activity. This will include a trust fall, which is having your back to your partner and leaning back enough so that they can catch you. Once this is successful, it will segway into a trust circle. This could work either as everyone holding hands and leaning together without breaking the circle, or one person being in the middle and leaning on everyone else for support and keep from falling. The purpose of this exercise is to teach everyone the importance of being able to lean on each other for stability. As musicians, we tend to focus on the individual self instead of all the other people that are going through the same thing or playing the same part. If we learn to find trust in those around us, then we will be more successful on our own but also in the band setting we will succeed better as a team. While trust is a substantial strength to have in most aspects of life it can be contributed well to the musical world.
For my leadership exercise, I want to focus on trust. This meaning that I want to do some trust exercises. To start, everyone will find a partner and I will explain the idea of a trust activity. This will include a trust fall, which is having your back to your partner and leaning back enough so that they can catch you. Once this is successful, it will segway into a trust circle. This could work either as everyone holding hands and leaning together without breaking the circle, or one person being in the middle and leaning on everyone else for support and keep from falling. The purpose of this exercise is to teach everyone the importance of being able to lean on each other for stability. As musicians, we tend to focus on the individual self instead of all the other people that are going through the same thing or playing the same part. If we learn to find trust in those around us, then we will be more successful on our own but also in the band setting we will succeed better as a team. While trust is a substantial strength to have in most aspects of life it can be contributed well to the musical world.
Body Percussion
Link to youtube video: https://youtu.be/Jhc32ZGfu3A
Link to youtube video: https://youtu.be/Jhc32ZGfu3A
Indigenous Song
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5neft4S0nr0
For the Indigenous song assignment, I have chosen “Ukiuq” by The Jerry Cans. It incorporates multiple genres of the traditional tribal throat singing, folk song, electronic, reggae etc. to form one unique and memorable song. While researching about this song, I came across a website that helped to explain the meaning behind why it was written. It states, “the track features lyrics in both Inuktitut and English, pieced together to capture and convey the brutality and hope that come hand-in-hand with long cold Arctic winters”. The band goes on to explain that they created this song to try and give a spark to people in spite of the cold and darkness with the Northern winters. That spark is talked about in the song as the northern lights because they are one of the world’s biggest beauties. The Jerry Cans are trying to express the life of living in Iqaluit, Nunavut because although the land is spectacular it is very hard on the people living there and has high poverty and suicide rates. It was important to show awareness of the aspects of where this group is from because it sends a message to us viewers that people in our own country are still struggling and a lot of it goes unnoticed. Overall, the song creates the image they were looking for because the music video expresses the beauty of the Northern province and yet the words, “make sure they are warm, I used to love them” are also expressing the sense of loss and sorrow from how dangerous it can be to live there sometimes. It was a good balance to create a good message and educate other people. From this song, I have learned that living in the province and country that I do now is a small bubble compared to the rest of the world especially when it comes to different cultures. This is because before watching this music video I had no idea that Iqaluit had such a strong Indigenous representation or what throat singing was and I am now very interested to learn more about the people we share a country with and am very glad this assignment has been able to help me open my eyes more to the world around me.
References
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_jerry_cans-ukiuq_video
Response System Reflection
For this reflection, I remember a rehearsal I had right before I had to play my first masterclass performance with my accompanist and was not warmed up properly so then I was not performing my best. This meaning that my breathing was off, and I was pinching to reach some of my higher notes and felt really frustrated with myself. I was feeling this way because it is really discouraging when I have days that are not my best when I know I can be better and I put even more pressure on myself instead of just realizing that it is okay to have bad days. More specifically, when I tried to reach a high Bb on the trumpet and it sounded pinched I just stopped playing and then made myself feel like the performance was going to go bad because of the off rehearsal. In relation to the two articles discussed in class; I can relate to the idea in the section with David talking to Ghislaine about feeling like I’m not going to succeed because something is lacking, however not looking at the musical elements that are present in the piece makes me seem like even more of a failure even though there could be really successful parts in my playing. I also agree with the fact of stopping when I notice the negative things and putting all of my energy into that area and do not always see them as a learning situation but more as a lack of ability in myself. I think in the future it is important for me to take David’s advice when he states, “is it failure if you haven’t learned how to do it yet?” because it just means that those issues need more practice instead of feeling unaccomplished and giving up. The article discussing response systems can also be applicable when playing music. This is because everyone has a particular idea of why things are the way they are because of their own experiences. In terms of my own life, I had a parent who pushed me really hard in terms of practising my instrument and going over the things multiple times until it was right. This also made it, so my playing was not always an enjoyable experience because if I got stuck on something very challenging I would not be able to walk away from it until there was progress. My own response system has made music sometimes be a hard job but yet still fulfilling when those pieces are played well. This can be very different to someone else’s experience of just making music for fun and not understanding the importance of hard work paying off. I also lastly agree with the article discussing that you cannot blame someone else for your feelings because it is my own response system that is responsible for how I react to situations. This assignment has made me realize the importance of recognizing emotions and understanding how those emotions can be explained by my own experiences.
Learning Styles
When I was in grade 7 I joined a figure skating club and began skating in competitions and working towards skate Canada dances as well. I began to learn certain patterns and jumps to use in my solo and the target practice approach from the Adaptation article best describes how I was able to understand the right coordination to make the jumps better. I remember working on a jump called a Lutz and you have to take off from the back edge of your skate blade and jump in a backwards circle. This started out with me just practising a back spin but when I started to incorporate the jump I got nervous and would spin out or fall down. I knew this was not the target I needed in order to be successful, so I made sure my balance was centered and adjusted my system so that I could land the Lutz. Having fallen down so many times it was a good building block as to where I was going wrong so that my brain could process what needed to be done in order to fix it. I believe target practice is a very effective learning strategy for people to learn by their own mistakes and then feel even more accomplished when they can complete the task at hand.
When I was in grade 7 I joined a figure skating club and began skating in competitions and working towards skate Canada dances as well. I began to learn certain patterns and jumps to use in my solo and the target practice approach from the Adaptation article best describes how I was able to understand the right coordination to make the jumps better. I remember working on a jump called a Lutz and you have to take off from the back edge of your skate blade and jump in a backwards circle. This started out with me just practising a back spin but when I started to incorporate the jump I got nervous and would spin out or fall down. I knew this was not the target I needed in order to be successful, so I made sure my balance was centered and adjusted my system so that I could land the Lutz. Having fallen down so many times it was a good building block as to where I was going wrong so that my brain could process what needed to be done in order to fix it. I believe target practice is a very effective learning strategy for people to learn by their own mistakes and then feel even more accomplished when they can complete the task at hand.
Experimenting
In my first experiment on Tuesday November 12th, I focused on telling myself to play as loud as I can for any section I was working on. This typically is avoided because we are always taught that takes away from your best tone as a trumpet player. However, I found that it encouraged me to use more of a bigger presence in general for playing because it is important. Since I was so used to play the cornet all the time it takes less air to produce a big sound and it was a good change to not put pressure on myself for quality of sound during my rehearsal time today.
For my second experiment on Wednesday November 13th was focused on looking less at the music that I played and looking at a wall to see how much I really understood what I was playing. As musicians we are always taught to read what is on the page and try our best to perfect whatever piece we are working on but I found it really interesting that even after just a short while of working on a new piece how much you already retain and do not even need to look at the sheet music anymore. I think I will continue to use this idea in the practice room so I can focus more on my sound and expression and not get caught up in the technical aspect of my playing.
For my final experiment on Friday November 15th, I worked on going easy on myself in terms of being very picky about my playing. Being in a music school it is all about the details and fixing mistakes and it can take away from the fun of music making. It was a nice change to just play for fun and not be worried about making mistakes because it helps me to remember all of the reasons why I love to be in the program that I am and loving what I do. Taking the ‘practice’ element out of playing this week really made it more memorable for myself and I also think I developed a few new goals for my playing in the future.
In my first experiment on Tuesday November 12th, I focused on telling myself to play as loud as I can for any section I was working on. This typically is avoided because we are always taught that takes away from your best tone as a trumpet player. However, I found that it encouraged me to use more of a bigger presence in general for playing because it is important. Since I was so used to play the cornet all the time it takes less air to produce a big sound and it was a good change to not put pressure on myself for quality of sound during my rehearsal time today.
For my second experiment on Wednesday November 13th was focused on looking less at the music that I played and looking at a wall to see how much I really understood what I was playing. As musicians we are always taught to read what is on the page and try our best to perfect whatever piece we are working on but I found it really interesting that even after just a short while of working on a new piece how much you already retain and do not even need to look at the sheet music anymore. I think I will continue to use this idea in the practice room so I can focus more on my sound and expression and not get caught up in the technical aspect of my playing.
For my final experiment on Friday November 15th, I worked on going easy on myself in terms of being very picky about my playing. Being in a music school it is all about the details and fixing mistakes and it can take away from the fun of music making. It was a nice change to just play for fun and not be worried about making mistakes because it helps me to remember all of the reasons why I love to be in the program that I am and loving what I do. Taking the ‘practice’ element out of playing this week really made it more memorable for myself and I also think I developed a few new goals for my playing in the future.
Learning Methods
Through reading the two Learning Methods articles I was able to find a lot of interesting information about my own body when it comes to coordination and using my system as a whole. I found it useful to think about the idea in the first article where David is asking Marion questions about her singing and she talked about being able to step outside of her sound. I think that this could be helpful in the practice room when it comes to my own playing because it would give me a new sense of sound while playing. I also enjoyed the idea of recording yourself playing and listening back to it so that you can hear where you went wrong and be able to improve on those weak points. With the second article it was interesting to learn about the separation between body and mind and how much it can really affect our everyday lives. I believe that music can also relate to this because if you see yourself as two separate things then you will never be as coordinated, and you will not be able to produce the sound that you are searching for. Being able to see yourself as one entity can be a difficult task yet is one of the most vital aspects of playing music. Overall, I enjoyed reading both of these articles and want to add more focus to my coordination system as well as looking at different ways of achieving the sound that I want so that I can continue to make myself a better musician.
Through reading the two Learning Methods articles I was able to find a lot of interesting information about my own body when it comes to coordination and using my system as a whole. I found it useful to think about the idea in the first article where David is asking Marion questions about her singing and she talked about being able to step outside of her sound. I think that this could be helpful in the practice room when it comes to my own playing because it would give me a new sense of sound while playing. I also enjoyed the idea of recording yourself playing and listening back to it so that you can hear where you went wrong and be able to improve on those weak points. With the second article it was interesting to learn about the separation between body and mind and how much it can really affect our everyday lives. I believe that music can also relate to this because if you see yourself as two separate things then you will never be as coordinated, and you will not be able to produce the sound that you are searching for. Being able to see yourself as one entity can be a difficult task yet is one of the most vital aspects of playing music. Overall, I enjoyed reading both of these articles and want to add more focus to my coordination system as well as looking at different ways of achieving the sound that I want so that I can continue to make myself a better musician.
End of Term Reflection
For this semester, I made the goal with myself to be as organized as possible because with university comes a lot of assignments, projects, tests etc. that can be very overwhelming but when I can write out everything that needs to be done and see things get checked off of that list it helps me to be less stressed and set out time everyday makes it easier to get things done. I believe I have grown quite a lot to this goal because I went and bought a planner on the very first day of classes and have been using it every day and when I feel worried I can look at my list and see what I have done and know that I can continue to work hard and check things off. For this semester my biggest challenge has been having a lack of motivation to practice. I find when I have a lot of important playing things coming up, I tend to avoid the practice room. I think this is because I want to act like these are not important until a couple days before and I realize how much work I need to do to get ready. In order to work through this, I usually talk to my peers about not feeling motivated and they encourage me to keep pushing through and this tends to help because a lot of other people have told me they have felt the same at similar times. For next semester I definitely want to keep pushing towards a longer practice routine everyday as it will help me be a better musician and one thing that I can feel more confident about my playing. I can try to remember this through the next term by using the phrase:
A Practice every day keeps the bad marks away.
For this semester, I made the goal with myself to be as organized as possible because with university comes a lot of assignments, projects, tests etc. that can be very overwhelming but when I can write out everything that needs to be done and see things get checked off of that list it helps me to be less stressed and set out time everyday makes it easier to get things done. I believe I have grown quite a lot to this goal because I went and bought a planner on the very first day of classes and have been using it every day and when I feel worried I can look at my list and see what I have done and know that I can continue to work hard and check things off. For this semester my biggest challenge has been having a lack of motivation to practice. I find when I have a lot of important playing things coming up, I tend to avoid the practice room. I think this is because I want to act like these are not important until a couple days before and I realize how much work I need to do to get ready. In order to work through this, I usually talk to my peers about not feeling motivated and they encourage me to keep pushing through and this tends to help because a lot of other people have told me they have felt the same at similar times. For next semester I definitely want to keep pushing towards a longer practice routine everyday as it will help me be a better musician and one thing that I can feel more confident about my playing. I can try to remember this through the next term by using the phrase:
A Practice every day keeps the bad marks away.
Ted Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVD8YRgA-ck
I quite enjoyed listening to the Brown Ted Talk as it gives more guidance to the future teacher that I want to be. Her first point about courage really stood out to me because the idea of being able to teach it so someone was never something I had thought of before. Having an open and safe environment for students especially in a music classroom can make this possible and be able to step out of the comfort zone and perform in front of peers. Brown’s discussion of Pillars of Courage is also useful because it helps me to understand how to be able to influence on other people. The next point made in the talk also stood out to me and that is the idea ‘if you are brave you will fall’ or in a music setting fail and make a mistake. We get so uptight in ourselves in the classical world that we forget it is okay to make a mistake and I think that bravery can help keep a clear mind. Vulnerability is very tricky in a musical world because it is being open in a classroom with people and sharing your abilities and taking the feedback. As an educator, almost every student I will have will be vulnerable in some ways and it will be important to acknowledge that bravery when students perform in front of peers. Her thoughts on shame were also influential because it means having a classroom where students can feel loved and appreciated and that might be the only space in their lives where they have that connection. Brown’s talk was very inspiring to listen to and has ended off the term with a lot to think about as a future educator.
I quite enjoyed listening to the Brown Ted Talk as it gives more guidance to the future teacher that I want to be. Her first point about courage really stood out to me because the idea of being able to teach it so someone was never something I had thought of before. Having an open and safe environment for students especially in a music classroom can make this possible and be able to step out of the comfort zone and perform in front of peers. Brown’s discussion of Pillars of Courage is also useful because it helps me to understand how to be able to influence on other people. The next point made in the talk also stood out to me and that is the idea ‘if you are brave you will fall’ or in a music setting fail and make a mistake. We get so uptight in ourselves in the classical world that we forget it is okay to make a mistake and I think that bravery can help keep a clear mind. Vulnerability is very tricky in a musical world because it is being open in a classroom with people and sharing your abilities and taking the feedback. As an educator, almost every student I will have will be vulnerable in some ways and it will be important to acknowledge that bravery when students perform in front of peers. Her thoughts on shame were also influential because it means having a classroom where students can feel loved and appreciated and that might be the only space in their lives where they have that connection. Brown’s talk was very inspiring to listen to and has ended off the term with a lot to think about as a future educator.