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).

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 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).