Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Presentation Comments
Overall, my presentation went as planned and I tried my best, so I was pretty happy with my presentation. I would give myself 28/30 because even though I had my speech memorized verbatim, I did not use as much dramatic emotion or hand gestures as I had hoped to do. I also didn't really connect with the audience's emotions, like make the audience laugh/cry. (For these reasons, -2 points for enthusiasm) I was really proud of the way I was able to memorize my speech. I have never really done anything where I had to memorize a speech that long before, so I personally think I did very well for my first time! But to do that, I just took my own advice: practice makes perfect! I also liked the way I was able to interact with the audience, like have them pat on their legs to demonstrate the difficulty of playing two separate rhythms at the same time. I liked the animations and transitions in my power point because I thought they added some excitement instead of just going from one picture boringly to the next. I liked how I was able to project my voice so everyone could hear me (at least I felt like I projected my voice...no one told me they couldn't hear me, so I assume I was loud enough?) because speaking loud enough is something with which I often have difficulty in big presentations like this one. Finally, I liked how I sincerely tried my best and presented as well as I possibly could. I literally told myself before the presentation that I already know the speech and the power point is already made and "I know this. Why am I scared?" After I told myself that, I was able to just present, and put everything I personally had into my presentation. (For these reasons, +28 points for everything else).
Monday, April 1, 2013
My Final Notes
Overall, I thought this project was a success. Even though I had some obstacles and everything didn't go exactly as planned (like I wasn't able to play with my left hand), I really did learn a lot. I learned how to read piano music, and I learned where the notes are on the piano, and I learned things like the history of playing piano and the history of the songs I played, and I learned about sharps and flats and about the black keys on the piano, and many more things. Without this project, I never would have put in the time or the effort to learn all that I did about the piano, and I am really happy that I did put in all that time and effort. Even though I didn't always feel like practicing (like on the days I had so much going on that the only time I could practice was at 1 am before I went to bed...), I always did practice, even just for five minutes or a quick scale or two. And I'm glad I did, because practice makes perfect, and as I learned through this project, that is so true.
I really liked this project for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I was able to choose a project unique to my individual interests. I really enjoy music, so I liked how I was able to incorporate my passions into a school project. The second reason is that I was able to have fun and walk away from the project with a skill that I will keep forever and hopefully improve upon in the future. It is not often that I finish a school project and I keep doing whatever I had to do in that project even after the project is finished! But that goes back to the first reason I liked this project, because I will keep playing the piano because it is my passion and I enjoy doing it. Before this project was assigned, I would never have thought to teach myself to play the piano. I have a piano at my house, but it doesn't, well, didn't, frequently get used, and I have a busy schedule, so I never thought that teaching myself piano would come as a priority. But once it became a school project, it was kind of forced to become a priority, yet it was an enjoyable priority. I cannot say that I have too many enjoyable priorities in my life! I often found myself procrastinating on my other homework so I could go practice the piano, using the excuse that practicing was part of my homework too!
Now that this project is over and I no longer have deadlines by which I must be able to play songs, I will most likely not be practicing as frequently. But I do hope to find time somewhere in my day to play, but most importantly, I hope that I will continue playing for many years to come. And who knows? Maybe I will even be a piano prodigy someday!
Here is a clip of my final product, Fur Elise by Beethoven:
I really liked this project for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I was able to choose a project unique to my individual interests. I really enjoy music, so I liked how I was able to incorporate my passions into a school project. The second reason is that I was able to have fun and walk away from the project with a skill that I will keep forever and hopefully improve upon in the future. It is not often that I finish a school project and I keep doing whatever I had to do in that project even after the project is finished! But that goes back to the first reason I liked this project, because I will keep playing the piano because it is my passion and I enjoy doing it. Before this project was assigned, I would never have thought to teach myself to play the piano. I have a piano at my house, but it doesn't, well, didn't, frequently get used, and I have a busy schedule, so I never thought that teaching myself piano would come as a priority. But once it became a school project, it was kind of forced to become a priority, yet it was an enjoyable priority. I cannot say that I have too many enjoyable priorities in my life! I often found myself procrastinating on my other homework so I could go practice the piano, using the excuse that practicing was part of my homework too!
Here is a clip of my final product, Fur Elise by Beethoven:
I Can't "Handel" It!
(In case you didn't get the pun in the title, Handel is a famous composer who was famous for his operas and other compositions).
Over spring break, I practiced SOOO much! In fact, my brother said, and I quote, "Arielle, stop playing that stupid song! You've played it a million times! Can't you play something else?" And the answer is no, I can't really play anything else. I have focused only on Fur Elise. I can sight read some popular songs, like from Les Mis or Wicked or some Green Day songs, but that's because I already know how they are supposed to sound, and I do not play the piano accompaniment lines, I play the singing parts (mostly because they are only one note at a time and they are relatively easy to play...). It is cool, though, because I can sight read the notes and know where they are on the piano. Despite the progress I seemed to be making, I do not think I have become that good. I still cannot play with my left hand. The good news is, the right hand (the hand I can play with) usually has the melody of the songs, while the left hand (the hand I can't play with) usually has harmony for the songs. This is the case for Fur Elise (my end product) so it is not so bad that I do not know how to play with my left hand. The song is still identifiable if you were to hear me play it (and if you know the song...). I have been working a lot on that song but despite my efforts, I cannot play with my left hand! It really doesn't make sense, because I play with my left hand for viola, so it shouldn't be that different! I just can't "handel" it!!!
Since I am so close to my TED Talk, I have not done much more research on pianos. Instead, I have focused on practicing. And practicing. And practicing. Also, I cannot think of much more information I could obtain that would affect my playing of the piece, or my playing of my piano in general. No questions have come up during my practicing that have sparked some interesting research (which is what has happened for my past research).
Over spring break, I practiced SOOO much! In fact, my brother said, and I quote, "Arielle, stop playing that stupid song! You've played it a million times! Can't you play something else?" And the answer is no, I can't really play anything else. I have focused only on Fur Elise. I can sight read some popular songs, like from Les Mis or Wicked or some Green Day songs, but that's because I already know how they are supposed to sound, and I do not play the piano accompaniment lines, I play the singing parts (mostly because they are only one note at a time and they are relatively easy to play...). It is cool, though, because I can sight read the notes and know where they are on the piano. Despite the progress I seemed to be making, I do not think I have become that good. I still cannot play with my left hand. The good news is, the right hand (the hand I can play with) usually has the melody of the songs, while the left hand (the hand I can't play with) usually has harmony for the songs. This is the case for Fur Elise (my end product) so it is not so bad that I do not know how to play with my left hand. The song is still identifiable if you were to hear me play it (and if you know the song...). I have been working a lot on that song but despite my efforts, I cannot play with my left hand! It really doesn't make sense, because I play with my left hand for viola, so it shouldn't be that different! I just can't "handel" it!!!
Since I am so close to my TED Talk, I have not done much more research on pianos. Instead, I have focused on practicing. And practicing. And practicing. Also, I cannot think of much more information I could obtain that would affect my playing of the piece, or my playing of my piano in general. No questions have come up during my practicing that have sparked some interesting research (which is what has happened for my past research).
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Vlog
Here is my Vlog, in which I talk about my inspiration, research, etc.!
Arielle G. Vlog from A G on Vimeo.
Arielle G. Vlog from A G on Vimeo.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Back to the Bass-ics
This week I started learning how to play Fur Elise. So far my right hand is pretty good, and my left hand is okay if I think about it hard enough, but when played together, that is a DISASTER! Fur Elise is German for "for Elise". I, as the musician, would assume that this piece, most likely a love song, should be played sweetly, gently, beautifully, maybe even played with the right notes... At the moment, however, my playing of Fur Elise would scare away whomever I am playing it for instead of portray my love.
I was curious about the true meaning, purpose, etc., of the song, so, like all curious young thinkers should do, I did some research! I learned that there are many theories as to whom the Elise is for whom the piece is written. Some researchers believe that Elise was really Therese Malfatti, a woman with whom Beethoven (the composer of Fur Elise) was in love. Beethoven supposedly proposed to this woman, but was rejected. In that case, my version of playing this song (very badly, if you didn't catch that earlier) is probably not that different from how Beethoven imagined it being played due to how he was feeling at the time it was written...Other researchers believe that the song is written for Elisabeth Röckel, an famous opera singer. The two musicians are documented to have met and become good friends a few years before Fur Elise was written. It is also documented that Elisabeth Röckel went by Elise, which matches the title of the piece For Elise. Finally, even more researchers think that Elise was used as a general term for sweetheart during Beethoven's time period, and that the song was just written for a random, unspecific love in Beethoven's life.
When I started playing this song, I was surprised at both how good I was and how bad I was. I thought I was pretty good because I could read the music, and pretty much sight read the song (it might help that I already know how the song goes but...). I thought I was pretty bad because my playing of this song was absolutely terrible! Just to put this into comparison, I would probably have rotten fruits and vegetables thrown at my head if I performed this piece anywhere! However, I am overall happy with my progress, especially my leap from playing silly childish songs to playing this "real song"!
When I started learning Fur Elise, I had to learn new notes that weren't in the childish songs I played before. I also had to relearn where my fingers go for each note for this specific song. Even though it is boring and tedious to go through these same aspects again, I think it will really pay off and help improve my playing in the future! I can't wait to keep practicing, and have a beautiful performance of Fur Elise ready for my TED Talk!
Sources:
Fur Elise." Fur Elise (For Elise). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.forelise.com/about>.
I was curious about the true meaning, purpose, etc., of the song, so, like all curious young thinkers should do, I did some research! I learned that there are many theories as to whom the Elise is for whom the piece is written. Some researchers believe that Elise was really Therese Malfatti, a woman with whom Beethoven (the composer of Fur Elise) was in love. Beethoven supposedly proposed to this woman, but was rejected. In that case, my version of playing this song (very badly, if you didn't catch that earlier) is probably not that different from how Beethoven imagined it being played due to how he was feeling at the time it was written...Other researchers believe that the song is written for Elisabeth Röckel, an famous opera singer. The two musicians are documented to have met and become good friends a few years before Fur Elise was written. It is also documented that Elisabeth Röckel went by Elise, which matches the title of the piece For Elise. Finally, even more researchers think that Elise was used as a general term for sweetheart during Beethoven's time period, and that the song was just written for a random, unspecific love in Beethoven's life.
When I started playing this song, I was surprised at both how good I was and how bad I was. I thought I was pretty good because I could read the music, and pretty much sight read the song (it might help that I already know how the song goes but...). I thought I was pretty bad because my playing of this song was absolutely terrible! Just to put this into comparison, I would probably have rotten fruits and vegetables thrown at my head if I performed this piece anywhere! However, I am overall happy with my progress, especially my leap from playing silly childish songs to playing this "real song"!
When I started learning Fur Elise, I had to learn new notes that weren't in the childish songs I played before. I also had to relearn where my fingers go for each note for this specific song. Even though it is boring and tedious to go through these same aspects again, I think it will really pay off and help improve my playing in the future! I can't wait to keep practicing, and have a beautiful performance of Fur Elise ready for my TED Talk!
Sources:
Fur Elise." Fur Elise (For Elise). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.forelise.com/about>.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Some Major Progress
This week I got very far along in my learn to play piano book. As you can see in the video below of me playing the piano, I have learned to play seven more songs. In fact, I am relatively close to the end of my book! Anne R. told me that I could borrow some of her beginner piano books when I finish the book that I currently have. Even though it seems like I am making a lot of progress, in real life, I have only played all of the songs I have learned so far in one octave. And there are seven octaves total on the piano...and most songs don't just happen among the same seven notes of the one octave I learned! I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself to be a real piano player, who can play real songs. The good news is that this project is helping me to take a step towards becoming a real piano player, and if all goes according to plan, I should be able to play a real song (Fur Elise, which is my "goal song") by the end of this project! My friend Sun K. plays piano and she showed me how to place my fingers correctly for some scales. It really helped to have a real live person show me how to put my fingers instead of just look at pictures from sources on the internet and from my learn to play piano book.
In addition to playing the piano, I also did a bit of research about the history of the piano. I actually found out some pretty interesting things. The piano is based off of the harp. In the olden days, they had the harp, but they could not control the dynamics of it. They needed to invent an instrument on which they could control the volume, so they could put expression into their music and performances. Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori fixed this problem by inventing the piano in his harp shop in Italy in 1709. One of Cristofori's original pianos, from 1720, is currently on display in Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (see picture below).
Overall, I feel like I have made a lot of progress this week, and I can't wait to keep improving!
Sources:
"History of the Piano." Pianonet. National Piano Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. <http://pianonet.com/all-about-pianos/history-of-the-piano/>.
"How to Place Your Fingers Properly on Piano Keys." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. <http://www.wikihow.com/Place-Your-Fingers-Properly-on-Piano-Keys>.
Piano Playing for Week 3 Blog from A G on Vimeo.
Like I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the fingerings still really confuse me. It is hard for me to get adjusted to them, but I guess that is expected since I am learning piano for real for the first time. I was really wondering about why it matters where you place your fingers. I asked my mother (who plays piano) and she said that where you place you fingers helps you play the notes the easiest/most comfortable way. But if the where you place your fingers is supposed to be the easiest/most comfortable way and that way is not the easiest/most comfortable way for me, does it really matter with which finger I play each note? One thing I noticed is that my stronger fingers, such as my pointer finger, play notes louder and stronger than my weaker fingers, such as my pinky finger. My thoughts on why the fingerings matter is that maybe the composer wanted to accent or emphasize certain notes, so it would make sense to assign those notes to the stronger fingers, while the weaker fingers could play the notes that the composer wanted to be played softer. After all, dynamics are the main reason why the piano was invented!In addition to playing the piano, I also did a bit of research about the history of the piano. I actually found out some pretty interesting things. The piano is based off of the harp. In the olden days, they had the harp, but they could not control the dynamics of it. They needed to invent an instrument on which they could control the volume, so they could put expression into their music and performances. Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori fixed this problem by inventing the piano in his harp shop in Italy in 1709. One of Cristofori's original pianos, from 1720, is currently on display in Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (see picture below).
Sources:
"History of the Piano." Pianonet. National Piano Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. <http://pianonet.com/all-about-pianos/history-of-the-piano/>.
"How to Place Your Fingers Properly on Piano Keys." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. <http://www.wikihow.com/Place-Your-Fingers-Properly-on-Piano-Keys>.
Friday, March 1, 2013
My Key to Success!
This week I learned three songs from my learn to play piano book. (Watch the video below!) So far, the songs are pretty easy for me to learn. But this may be because I played these three songs when I was really little and tried to learn how to play the piano...I learned in the brain unit for enrichment that the connections made as a young child are very important and can help you to learn something more easily in the future. As I have just learned, this is true, and because I tried to play the piano when I was very young, the piano isn't as hard for me to learn now! This is a very exciting realization because maybe there is some hope that I can learn the piano quickly and well...and maybe even be a piano prodigy some day!
Piano Playing for Week 2 Blog from A G on Vimeo.
Speaking of piano prodigies, I did some research about Christina and Michelle Naughton. They are twenty four-year-old identical twins who have been playing piano since they were four! Although they originally started out as solo pianists, now they are duet pianists. They play their songs together. Sometimes, they play on separate pianos, but they also often play together on the same piano. In fact, I saw them perform at the Kimmel Center a few weeks ago (that is how I know about them) and they played one song where their arms were all crossed over each other! It was so cool! I do not think that I would have enough patience to be able to practice with someone like that, especially not a sibling! Also, after watching some videos of the twins, I noticed that with all the swaying, emotion, etc. that they put into their music, if I were doing that, I would probably bump heads with my partner! There was a question/answer part of the concert that I went to, and someone asked the twins how long they practice each day. They replied that they practice for hours each day, varying slightly on the availability of a piano when they go on tours. They also mentioned that when they started playing the piano when they were four, they practiced only for ten minutes each day, because it was important to have consistent practice to form strong connections in their brains, but it was unrealistic for a four year old to be sitting at a piano for hours each day. They also didn't become duet pianists until they were in college; they played singly until then. Here is a link to a video of the twins playing; it's amazing! http://youtu.be/R9qBu7TVOHg (I am sorry that it is a link to youtube, but I could not find a video of the twins on Vimeo or anywhere else that is not blocked on the school computers...)
I am still having difficulties with the numbers representing different fingers, and I also often have my left hand one key too far to the left, because in the book I have, it has both thumbs on the middle C, but that is uncomfortable for me because for the songs that I have started looking at for next week with two hands, I do not know where to put my second thumb so it is not in the way of the first thumb! I think that to overcome this difficulty, I will just have to continue to practice.
Sources I used:
"Christina and Michelle Naughton Biography Pdf Free Ebook Download from Www.chambermusicdetroit.org." EbookBrowse.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://ebookbrowse.com/christina-and-michelle-naughton-biography-pdf-d404980105>.
Christians, Lindsay. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pianists!" Madison.com. 77 Square, 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://host.madison.com/entertainment/music/the-sisterhood-of-the-traveling-pianists/article_c75ae01e-c443-5b78-ae16-28239f307eb1.html>.
Malpass, Monica. "Take Note: Twin Piano Prodigies." 6abc.com. Action News, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6698434>.
Piano Playing for Week 2 Blog from A G on Vimeo.
Speaking of piano prodigies, I did some research about Christina and Michelle Naughton. They are twenty four-year-old identical twins who have been playing piano since they were four! Although they originally started out as solo pianists, now they are duet pianists. They play their songs together. Sometimes, they play on separate pianos, but they also often play together on the same piano. In fact, I saw them perform at the Kimmel Center a few weeks ago (that is how I know about them) and they played one song where their arms were all crossed over each other! It was so cool! I do not think that I would have enough patience to be able to practice with someone like that, especially not a sibling! Also, after watching some videos of the twins, I noticed that with all the swaying, emotion, etc. that they put into their music, if I were doing that, I would probably bump heads with my partner! There was a question/answer part of the concert that I went to, and someone asked the twins how long they practice each day. They replied that they practice for hours each day, varying slightly on the availability of a piano when they go on tours. They also mentioned that when they started playing the piano when they were four, they practiced only for ten minutes each day, because it was important to have consistent practice to form strong connections in their brains, but it was unrealistic for a four year old to be sitting at a piano for hours each day. They also didn't become duet pianists until they were in college; they played singly until then. Here is a link to a video of the twins playing; it's amazing! http://youtu.be/R9qBu7TVOHg (I am sorry that it is a link to youtube, but I could not find a video of the twins on Vimeo or anywhere else that is not blocked on the school computers...)
I am still having difficulties with the numbers representing different fingers, and I also often have my left hand one key too far to the left, because in the book I have, it has both thumbs on the middle C, but that is uncomfortable for me because for the songs that I have started looking at for next week with two hands, I do not know where to put my second thumb so it is not in the way of the first thumb! I think that to overcome this difficulty, I will just have to continue to practice.
Sources I used:
"Christina and Michelle Naughton Biography Pdf Free Ebook Download from Www.chambermusicdetroit.org." EbookBrowse.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://ebookbrowse.com/christina-and-michelle-naughton-biography-pdf-d404980105>.
Christians, Lindsay. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pianists!" Madison.com. 77 Square, 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://host.madison.com/entertainment/music/the-sisterhood-of-the-traveling-pianists/article_c75ae01e-c443-5b78-ae16-28239f307eb1.html>.
Malpass, Monica. "Take Note: Twin Piano Prodigies." 6abc.com. Action News, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6698434>.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Check out these blogs!
For week two, I have posted on Kara M.'s blog, Sun K.'s blog, and Ian W.'s blog.
For week three, I have posted on Anne R.'s blog, Sun K.'s blog, and Julia K.'s blog.
For week four, I have posted on Kara M.'s blog, Jessica S.'s blog, and Anne R.'s blog.
For week five, I have posted on Kara M.'s blog, Jessica S.'s blog, and Sun K.'s blog.
For week six, I have posted on Julia K.'s blog, Anne R.'s blog, and Becca H.'s blog.
For week three, I have posted on Anne R.'s blog, Sun K.'s blog, and Julia K.'s blog.
For week four, I have posted on Kara M.'s blog, Jessica S.'s blog, and Anne R.'s blog.
For week five, I have posted on Kara M.'s blog, Jessica S.'s blog, and Sun K.'s blog.
For week six, I have posted on Julia K.'s blog, Anne R.'s blog, and Becca H.'s blog.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Introduction Notes
In addition to learning the basics about playing the piano (like which finger plays which note, etc.), I hope to be able to play Fur Elise by Beethoven by the end of the project. Originally, I wanted to learn how to play Moonlight Sonata, which is my favorite classical music piece, but after looking over the music, I decided it was much too difficult and long for a beginning pianist like myself. Hopefully, the skills I learn from this project will eventually help me be able to play Moonlight Sonata in the future!
For the first week of this project, I will practice scales and fingerings. For the second, third, and fourth weeks, I will learn three songs each week from the learn to play piano book that I have. Each song will be more difficult as I progress through the book. For the fifth and sixth weeks, I will focus solely on learning Fur Elise, which will be my end product. I will also be practicing a little bit of Fur Elise each week so I am not crammed in learning to play an entire song in just two weeks.
So far, I have read A LOT of different music that I was thinking about playing for my final product. Reviewing this music also helped me to get familiar with general piano music, and familiarize myself with the clefs, the notes, etc. I have also read some learn to play piano books and tried to complete some of the lessons to play the simple song for that lesson. These readings have helped me to get a basic idea of piano music.
Overall, I am really enjoying this project so far, and I cannot wait to continue and watch myself progress as a piano player!
D'Auberge, Alfred. The Alfred D'Auberge Piano Course. N.Y.: I. E. New York] : Capri Music :[c19., n.d. Print.
Schirmer, G. Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics: Preparatory Exercises. Vol. 434. N.Y.: n.p., 1922. Print.
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