week 7 video practice

Week 7

                                                     This is the video of my jazz ensemble practicing our song 'Don't Know Why' taken by our teacher, Mr.Hery. This is approximately the second time we have practiced together in class session. In this video practice, we have not done playing the whole song, we just practiced 50% of the song and we had a trouble to play at the same tempo during the practice. I am in charge of playing the chords and I often made mistakes during the practice. I need to practice my part and also practice with my group. We actually improved after a few practice afterwards and we could play better that what we did in this practice video.

May 2012

Week 4
Subject/Topic: Notation Review
Reflection Question: How does business and industry affect music-makers and users?


                    People buy cd albums from the shop that sold it, not from the manufacturer. so, actually the manufacturer is doing business with the shop that sold the cs. the business will affect music makers by giving the benefits from both manufacturer andshop. Moreover, music is also being used in either tv or radio advertisement, called jingle.This brings advantages to the music makers since they got paid for creating this music for a particular product. 
                     For instrument class, we are divided according to our group. We started to practice singing for our group assessment next week, which is singing 'Close to You' in a group. We prepared by asking some guides from our vocal teacher, Mr.Hary. He actually accompanied us and sing with us together. Then, he taught us how to do 2nd voice, et. The time ended so fast so we had to keep on practicing by ourself.


Week 5
Subject/Topic: Group Singing Assessment
Reflection Question: How did your singing assessment go?


                       We have finally done with our singing assessment. I think we did not do it pretty well. Our group members come from different classes and one of our friends was absent twice so we faced this obstacle to practice together. We were not prepared well so we could not actually figure out the different voices. but I think we were confident enough and we tried our best. My part was to sing the original one with Shafiera. We did our part pretty well. but the second, third and forth voice was not pretty good because we lack of practice. We were tried our best though to get a good result.


Week 6
Subject/Topic: Jazz Ensemble
Reflection Question: How is my progress in the jazz ensemble?
                       
                          For music lesson this week, we are divided into 4 groups to form a group of jazz ensemble. My group consists of 6 person, 2 students who play piano and flute and each player for the instrument violin and guitar. We got to decided what song that we want to perform for the assessment later. We have reached and agreed a decision to play a song called 'Don't Know Why' because according to my group mates, the melody of the song is nice and it is easy to play while actually I have never heard of the song. Since there are 2 piano players, we divided the job and I need to play the chords only while my partner play the melody of the song. I listened to the song and I actually improved on the second day.
                             In theory class, we completely wasted the time to practice with our jazz ensemble group. We decided to choose our teacher to guide us and we chose Mr.Hery. So at first, we were told which part to play and practice it one by one. Then, after a while, we tried to play it together. On the first day, I could not play it fluently but on the second day, I have improved because I have been practicing at home. We are also told about the assessment about jingle music, which is due next week. So, I better finish it fast. 

Week 7
Subject/Topic: Jingle Music Submission

Reflection Question: What do you think of your jingle music?

                       

                          I think my jingle music that I made with my partner is really interesting. This was the first time we have ever made a jingle and it was different since we had to use 3 instruments for minimum, which makes it more challanging. It actually sounds nice and interesting because it sounds like a traditional music which gives extra credit for us. We used theory session to practice with our jazz ensemble. Today, we have done the whole song but we still could not play it with he same rhythm. So, we have to practice more to play our song as a group. 

practice videos

   Week 1

                                                 This is my first practice video for term 4. I decided to choose the jazz song 'Smile' because I am familiar with it. In this video, I started to play only the melody for 8 bars. I will continue playing the next bars.

                                           

                                                  In my second video, I showed that I continue playing the next 8 bars so I actually play 16 bars for total, which is half of the song. I will try to finish it.

                                       

                                                                           Week 2 

                                     

                                                  In my second week, I have practiced to play the melody for the whole song. I could already play my right hand fluently. I need to practice my left hand starting next week.
                                                     

                                                  For the second practice, I even played it more fluent. I played only the melody for the whole song in this video. I might try to play it with more dynamics.


                                                                           Week 3

                                                  In my third week, I started to practice on my left hand. In this video I tried to play the first 8 bars. I could play it all but still not fluently. I need to practice more because I think that the finger position of few chords is a little bit difficult.

                                           
                                                  In this video, I started to play with both hands, both melody and chords at the same time. I just played the first 8 bars and I think I could play it well. I need to continue practicing it.

                                                                           Week 4

                                                  I continue doing my practice during the 4th week. In this video I practiced to play with both hands for 16 bars. I could not do it well, I think I made a lot of mistakes because I am not familiar to the chords (esp. the last one) I will try to practice the fingering and play it over again.

                                         
                                                  For the second practice in week 3, I played both hands for 16 bars. I still could not play it fluent but I played it better from the previous video after a few practice. I made a few mistake but not a fatal error, I think I made a progress but I still played it very slow. I will try to play it faster for the next practice video.
                 
                                                                            Week 5

                                                     In this video, my partner Shafiera and I started to compose the melody for our music jingle. The theme that we are trying to make is traditional. We practiced the melody for our first instrument, which is piano. Actually, the song is not finished yet, it is almost done though. But we think the melody is good enough so far.

                                                      For my second practice video this week, I practiced my melody for jingle alone without my partner. We decided to give different tasks in need to complete the assessment on time. I am responsible for the jingle music and this is me practicing the melody for the first instrument. I changed some of the notes and play it faster to test whether it sounds nicer this way or not. I just need to make it in finale. I need to make another 16 bars for the second and third instrument.

                                                                            Week 6

                                                           This is my first practice for this week. In this video, I played the chords of the song 'Don't Know Why'. My jazz ensemble group have decided to choose this song because we think that it is a nice and easy song to be played. I have made some mistakes in this video and I did not play it fluently. I need to practice more and try to not make mistakes.

                                                        This is my second practice at home this week. I have practiced to play the chords and I think I have an improvement here. I did a fewer mistakes that the previous video that I recorded. I will try to play the chords until the end of the song.

April 2012

Week 1
Subject/Topic: Music notation and chords
Reflection Question: What is the role of music in your life?
                   
                     The role of music is very important in mu life. I listen to music every single day. I think music as an expression in my life especially for me as a teenager. Music can provide me with relaxation just like friends, it also teaches me knowledge and gives me encouragement. It gives entertainment and release my pressure.
                      I chose one of the jazz song that has been compiled in one booklet. I decided o choose 'Smile' because I like that song and it is the most familiar song that I have heard before than the others. So it is better for me to choose this song in need to make it easier for me in the practices.


Week 2
Subject/Topic: Notation written test
Reflection Question: What are the functions of music in society?
                     
                      Nowadays, music is very beneficial to the society. It gives relaxation and international understanding. Since it uses universal language, it makes us learn and understand better. Music tells stories of past, present, future, dreams and hopes. It gives an outlet for emotions, communication and enjoyment.
                       I have given the chords for the left hand for the song that I have chose in previous session, which is 'Smile'. I played my right hand first then tries to play it with both hands. It was not fluent though, I need to practice a lot at home.

Week 3

Subject/Topic: Presentation

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

         

                      Technological changes have had a great deal of impact on the development of musc. From the invention of electricity and when recording techniques were first used. It is clear that the creativity of scientist and engineers has been just important as that of composers and performers in changing the face of music.

                       For theory class, we gathered together o discuss the subtopic that we waned to discuss in the presentation for the following day with our group. We divided he task so that i  wont be confusing for us and so it is fair for every team member.  

                     

Walking Bass

                                       practice #1:  After the assessment finished, we learned a new lesson in the instrument class, which is walking bass. This is my first video to practice the walking bass. Actually, there are many ways to do this. In this video I did the second way. I still made mistakes.

                                       practice #2:  This is my second practice video. I have improved, I could play it more fluently and did it without any mistakes. 

                                       practice #3:  This is my third practice video. I actually did another way on how to play walking bass. I did not play it fluently, I think I made mistakes on the third chords. I need to practice harder. 

                                       practice #4:  This is my last practice video for this term 3. I played the walking bass. I could play it better from the last time I played it in the previous video. I could play it more fluently, faster and also without any mistakes. 

12 bar blues

                                       practice #1:  This is me practicing again my own composition. In this video, I started to play with the introduction which is the 4 chords That I have to play exactly like for the last 4 bars. And in this video, I started to play the chords completely (1,3,5,7)

                                       practice #2:  This is the same like my previous video, me practicing the whole 12 bar  blues. I think I already can play it well it was just a little bit messed up with the tempo at the last bar so I need to practice it again. 

                                       practice #3:  This is my third practice video to play the whole composition and this is also my last practice video before the performance (assessment). I think I did it well already and I am ready for the assessment. I hope that I can get a good result

12 bar blues (both hands)

                                           practice #1:  In this practice video, I have played my 12 bar blues with both hands, so I played my melody as well as the chords. For practicing, I still play the chords only the 1st and 7th. Until I play it really good, then I will play all the notes in the chords. In this video, I still made a little error at the end. 

                                           practice #2:  This is my second video practice playing with both hands. I have improved. I played it better by playing it with faster speed but I still made mistakes at the end so I still have to practice. 

                                           practice #3:  This is my third practice video. I played it even faster. But I still need to figure out a solution to play the last part fluently so I do not have to make mistakes like I did in my past 3 videos. 

                                           practice #4:  This is my fourth practice video. I am very excited that I can finally play it without any mistakes. I can play the last part fluently also with faster speed. What I need to do next is to play the accompaniment (chords) completely. 

                                           practice #5:  This is my fifth practice video. I could play it really well in the video. So i just have to do the next step to play the chords with complete notes.

12 bar blues melody

                                            practice #1:  I am done with my 12 bar blues. This is my first practice video to play my own composition. It was quite good. I need to ask feedback from my teacher in the next instrument session

                                           practice #2:  This is my second practice video for my own composition. I played it well. I just did a little mistakes. I got feedback that I have to change my last bar because it does not sound really good. So, I will change it and practice it. 

                                           practice #3:  This is my third practice video. I played my own composition and as you can see I have changed the notes for the very last bar. I already got the approval to change it to make it sounds better. I also changed the fingering in the second set so that I can play it more fluently and it really worked. 

                                           practice #4:  This is my fourth practice video. I  can play my own composition really well. I did not make any mistakes. I could play it with a good tempo in the video. I think what I should do next is to play it with both hands. 

12 bar blues chords

                                       practice #1:  This is my first video of my practice. I have not done my composition so I am starting to play the chords. Actually 12 bar blues recognized from consisting the 3 chords (1st, 4th, 5th) like I did in the video, which are C7, F7, and G7. I realized that I still play it really slowly so that I wont make mistakes.

                                       practice #2:  This is my second practice. My 12 bar blues composition is still in progress so I am still practicing to play only the chords, which are C7, F7, and G7. I think that I can play it faster in my second practice but still I play it slowly anyway. So I need to speed up the tempo.

                                       practice #3:  This is my third practice video. My own composition still in progress. This is me playing the 3 chords (C7, F7, and G7). I can tell that I play it faster and also better from my first practice. I also did not make any mistakes, so I have improvement. In the next practice, I want to try to play it really fast, to see whether I can do it or not later for the performance.

                                       practice #4:  This is my fourth practice video. My 12 bar blues is almost done, I just need to do a final touch with it. In this video, I could play the 3 chords (C7, F7, and G7) good enough. I think it went really well because not only the fast speed but I could do it fast without making any mistakes.realized that I still play it really slowly so that I wont make mistakes. I noticed that I only played the 1st and 7th notes of the chords for the past 4 practice. Now that I can play it well, I want to play all the notes including the 3rd and 5th.

March 2012

27 Feb-2 March (Week 7)


                   I was absent on tuesday and wednesday because I was sick. Although, I have practiced my melody on weekend. I played the chords first and practiced to play it fluently. Then, I tried to play both hands including my melody. I could play it well. Unfortunately, I could not practice on school days because I was sick. 


5-9 March (Week 8)
Subject/Topic: 12 Bar Blues Rehearsal
Reflection Question: Explain how the rules of blues in development of early jazz!



                    The Blues was an important influence on the development of jazz. Highly expressive, blues songs expressed the stories of African-American at the beginning of 20th century. it is recognized by a 12 bars performed with the chords progression consisting of 3 chords with the 1st, 4th  and 5th chords like we did for our 12 bar blues. 
                     Today, we used theory class to rehearse our composition. We performed in front of the class and we did some kind of a collaboration together. I could play it well and I need to practice it again. 


12-15 March (Week 9)
Subject/Topic: 12 Bar Blues
Reflection Question: How is my understanding now about improvisation especially in Blues?


                     Now, I can understand about improvisation and also in Blues after hearing all of my friends blues composition and improvisation rehearsal. I think improvisation is important because it is a part of the jazz blues performances.
                      In instrument class, we practice our 12 bar blues in a group. We chose the members for our group. Then, we practice to play in a colaboration. I played my third one and then play the whole composition. Mr. Herry's feedback is to play it more like jazz by plating it with accent. 


19-23 March (Week 10)


                      Today, we used both theory and instrument session to do our assessment, which is performing our 12 bar blues. We did it as a group in a collaboraion. I think my group did it pretty well and we did not make any mistakes. Fortunately, all of the groups could perform and finish the assessment today. 

February 2012

30 Jan-3 Feb (Week 3)
Subject/Topic: Essay on the beginning of Jazz, melody "All of Me"
Reflection Question: How did I do my first essay?
                                How does it affect my learning in jazz?

             I did my first essay pretty well by researching on the internet and also from the handouts given. It was easy for me because it was only 200 words. I had an improvement in understanding the background of jazz better.
             For instrument class today, I learned the melody of the song called "All of Me". Then we looked for a partner. One of us played the chords and the other played the melody, actually it sounds quite good.


6-10 Feb (Week 4)
Subject/Topic: Singing assessment/rehearsal
Reflection Question: How do you understand the learning of jazz through your assessment tasks done till now?

              Today was the submission for the second essay. Then we reviewed another handout about jazz. After that, we had a rehearsal for our singing assessment tomorrow. We determined the key for our singing assessment.
               Today was our assessment for the singing assessment. I sang "What A Wonderful World" with my partner. I think by singing this song, I can notice that the styles of jazz song are different from the typical /pop song. I can recognize by hearing the rhythm and the style of the music.


13-17 Feb (Week 5)
Subject/Topic: 12 Bars Blue
Reflection Question: How is my understanding of blues and applying 12 Bars Blues?

                We learned how to compose a 12 bars blues. First, we received the accompaniment (the chords) given by Mr.Herry. Then I made my 12 bars blues. This is the first time for me to create blues. I understand that the rhythm is different from classical song. It is more fun and contain more dotted notes. I understand it better now.
                 For instrument class, Mr.Herry played my melody and I played the left hand to show us how to play with both hands on the piano. I should practice with both hands and change my last bar to make it sounds better.

20-24 Feb (Week 6)

                  I have sent my email for the finale 12 bars blues. I have not printed it out and I will print it at school since I am having problem with my finale. I was absent on wednesday because I was sick, so I could not submit it on wednesday and have a practice at school.

           

January 2012

16-20 Jan (Week 1)
Subject/Topic: Introduction to Jazz, "All of Me"
Reflection Question: How did you find the beginning of jazz?

          I found jazz is a really interesting music. My teachers, each instrument teacher presented it really well by performing a jazz song and show the example of improvisation. We had some group activities to write questions that we want to know about jazz and something about jazz that we already knew.
          In instrument class, I received the chords of the song "All of Me". We actually figured out and studied the chords first in theory class so we can be more familiar with it and can play next time.


23-27 Jan (Week 2)
Subject/Topic: Roots of Jazz, chords "All of Me"
Reflection Question: How is my progress in learning the jazz?

          My progress in learning the roots of jazz is going well. It was pretty confusing at first but after studying it, I can understand it better. Now, I know how to read the chords and as well how to play it with my instrument. I will practice it in the instrument class.
          For instrument class, I already did the chords yesterday. Today, I practiced the A part or the first part of the song called "All of Me". I could do it well but I will practice the second part for the homework.