Week 8: May 28 - June 1

Theory Class
Topic: Jazz Ensemble?
Reflection Question: What do you think of your jazz ensemble?

I think the performance of my jazz ensemble went pretty well. I was nervous at first because when we practiced last Tuesday, there are still a lot of things that we still need to improve on especially the ending of the song. However, we were able to play the whole song pretty well and we only made a small mistake towards the end which did not stop us from continuing playing the song.

Instrument Class
Topic: -

We did not have any instrument class today because of the practical assessment.

Practice #14

This is a video of my group and I practicing our song, "The Girl From Ipanema" at Jordi's house. As a group, I think we did well enough. However, we still need to do more practice in order to synchronize better. We also need to practice the ending of the song. However, as an individual, I cannot really asses my playing from this video because the guitar cannot be heard at all here.

Practice #13

This is a video of me practicing my part of the song The Girl From IPanema for next week's jazz ensemble practical assessment. I think I did well on this practice even though I made a few mistakes in playing the part of my solo. What I need to figure out is how to make the sound produced by my guitar larger so it can be heard while the piano, violin, and the saxophones are played as well. I also need to practice more with my group.

Week 7: May 21 - May 25 2012

Theory Class
Topic: Music Jingle
Reflection Question: What do you think of your music jingle?

My partner in this assessment task is Jesslyn and we are to make a music jingle with the theme "Beautiful Indonesia". We chose 3 instruments; flute, violin, and guitar. In the process of making the jingle, we both decided on the chords first, Jesslyn wrote the melody of the flute, I wrote the chords of the guitar and the melody of the violin. The main melody of our jingle is in the flute which makes it more Indonesian. We did not use any pentatonic scale however the music sounds quite Indonesian to me. To be honest, our music jingle makes me a bit nauseous but despite that, I think Jesslyn and I did a great job.

Instrument Class
Topic: The Girl From Ipanema

We were given time to practice with our group during instrument class. My group and I made some progress and we were quite good already. However, there are still a lot of things that need to be improved in order to put up a good performance next week. We decided to take turns in playing solos for the refrain which I think is a good idea. We can already play well alone, however we need to do more practice in order to improve our synchronization.

Practice #12

This is a video of me practicing the chords of the song "The Girl From Ipanema" which is the song my group and I chose for the music ensemble performance. I am not sure whether or not I did good in this practice because the chords sound a little queer to me. I will ask Dio and Mr. John to make sure I am on the right track.

Practice #11

This is a video of me practicing the melody of the song "The Girl From Ipanema" which is the song my group and I chose to play for the music ensemble assessment. My group consists of Sarah, Nico, Jordi, Sake, Richard, Dio and I, which means, 2 pianos, 1 violin, 2 saxophones, and 2 guitars. I did not do very good in this practice because I played most of the notes wrong and I probably read the value of the notes wrong as well. But again, this is one of my very first practices which makes it okay to make a lot of mistakes. I will do more practice in order to play this song better for the upcoming assessment.

Week 6: May 14 - May 18 2012

Theory Class
Topic: Jazz Ensemble
Reflection Question: How was the progress of my Jazz ensemble group?

My jazz ensemble group only made a small progress this week because my group and I were not given enough time to practice. However, we were able to perform the song "The Girl From Ipanema" in front of the class quire well. I will practice the song myself and with my group as well so that we can give a good quality performance on the assessment.

Instrument Class
Topic: The Girl From Ipanema

During instrument class, I asked Mr. John to teach me the melody and the chords of my chosen song which is The Girl From Ipanema. I will practice what he taught me at home.

Practice #10

This is a video of me practicing the song "Etude" which is basically a fingering practice that is given by my guitar teacher. I think I did quite well in this practice because I only made one mistake in the middle of the song. However, I still need to improve my fingering, so I should practice more in order to be able to play songs better.

Practice #9

This is a video of me practicing the song "Romance". I think I did okay in this practice because I only made a few mistakes such as playing the notes late. I was also able to maintain my tempo while playing this song, however, my tempo was a little bit too slow, but again, this song is supposed to be slow. I should do more practice so I can play this song better.

Week 5: May 7 - May 11 2012

Theory Class
Topic: Singing Assessment "Close to You"
Reflection Question: How did my singing assessment go?

We are to sing the Jazz song "Close to You" in groups of 4. My group members are Jesslyn, Adam Bahfen, Dhanes, and I. The assessment went pretty well in my opinion. My group and I were able to cooperate well and we took this assessment seriously, however, we were also able to perform with some expression.

Instrument Class
Topic:-

We did not have any instrument class this week because of the singing assessment.

Practice #8

I did not make any improvements in this practice. In fact, I made more mistakes than the mistakes I made on my last practice. This is most probably caused by my lack of focus during this practice. I did not play in a steady tempo, I slipped up a lot of times and I stopped a lot. I should put more focus during my future practices so I will not make the same mistakes again.

Practice #7

In this video, I practice the same song I have been practicing last week again because we did not have any instrument class thus we did not learn anything new to practice. I think I did okay in this practice. I did not make any major improvements though. However, I was able to minimize my mistakes which is a good sign of improvement. I was also able to play this song more fluently. However, there are a lot of things that I still need to improve such as the dynamics and the picking technique.

Week 4: 30 April - 4 May 2012

Theory Class
Topic: Music Notation and Close to You
Reflection Question: How does business and industry affect music-makers and users?

The business industry helps spreading music that musicians made. Their job is to record the music and make it more popular. It makes the musician's job easier and harder at the same time, because musicians have to maintain a good reputation since they are now famous.

Instrument Class
Topic: -

We did not have any instrument class this week because we have to prepare for next week's singing assessment.

Practice #6

This another video of me practicing "Song of Gypsy". I think I have made some improvements in this practice compared to my last practice. I was able to speed up the tempo a little even though I was not able to maintain the same tempo all throughout my practice. I also only made a few careless mistakes. I will keep on practicing.

Practice #5

This is a video of me practicing the song "Song of Gypsy". I did not do very well on this practice. The tempo I played in was too slow, I read some of the notes' annotation wrong, I misread the notes, and I slipped while playing. I also blanked out in the middle of practicing so I it took me a while to find which line and bar I was on. I will do more practice in order to play this song better.

Week 3: 23 April - 27 April 2012

Theory Class
Reflection Question: How have developments in technology changed the ways in which we engage with music?

Developments in technology have definitely increase our engagement in music. Back then, only rich people are able to enjoy music because music was only available in concerts, but, as technology develops, people can listen to music everywhere. People can listen to music from the radio, TV, mobile phone, concerts, and many more. The developments of technology makes music's audience wider as well. It also allows people to listen to music anywhere and anytime. Therefore, it increases our engagement in music.

Instrument Class

We did not have any instrument class this week due to the Role of Music in Society Presentations.