WEEK 7 VIDEOS

VIDEO 13

In this video, I played the song Close To You given by Mr Herry in the booklet he gave us. This is the intro of my ensemble. Mr Herry suggested this intro. I think it sounds really great. I am going to play the intro then my friends will start playing Close To You while I played the chord. 

VIDEO 14

In this video, I played the song Close To You given by Mr Herry in the booklet he gave us. I played the chord only in this video. It would take around 2-3 minutes to play the whole thing and I decided to only tape the first part of our ensemble performance. During the performance, there will be a little singing and improvisation. I think it sounds really good. 

Week 8 28-1 June

How is my jazz ensemble performance?

I think the ensemble went really well but we definitely need more practice because playing in a group takes a very long time to make the harmony together and we only have a couple of weeks to practice the song Close To You with the whole team mates and it makes it more difficult. I just hoped we get a good score enough to pass the passing score because we all practiced really hard and we all deserved a good score.

We did not have instrument class on Wednesday. But on Tuesday, we discussed the chord and notes we are going to do tomorrow on the assessment day. I think we did a great job but if we have more time, we'll probably get a higher score because we need a lot more practice.

Week 7 21-25 May

What I think about my Jingle?

I think my jingle sounds really good. The pictures of Indonesia are really good and the music sounds awesome. Me and Jessica did a really great job doing this project. I have to learn how to use iMovie first though and its quiet easy to operate iMovie after making a couple of mistakes. I think we both did a fantastic job doing this project and I hope we get a good score.

Me and my group practiced the song Close To You and it sounds pretty good. We need more practice though because its really hard to play it together. We just need a lot of practice and I just hope everything went really well on the assessment day.

WEEK 6 VIDEOS

VIDEO 11

In this video, I played the song Close To You given by Mr Herry in the booklet he gave us. This song is not hard but I am not used to play the chord and thats what makes it hard for me to play. Its easier for me to play the notes just like the other players but my supervisor and Mr Herry told me to play the chord so the other players can play the notes like the violin players, guitar players and woodwind players.

VIDEO 12

In this video, I played the song Close To You given by Mr Herry in the booklet he gave us. I played this song a little longer than the previous videos and this is the best video I've uploaded for the song Close To You. I am going to practice more and more since the assessment is next Wednesday. I really do think we need to be given more time because Mr Herry gave us a couple of weeks to play this song we've never played before in a group which makes it more difficult because all the players needs to co-orperate on the song and I have to be loud because I am going to play the chord.

WEEK 5 VIDEOS

VIDEO 9

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. I played better in this video and it sounds better than the previous videos I've uploaded. 

VIDEO 10

In this video, I played the song Close To You given by Mr Herry in the booklet he gave us. I am going to play this song with my ensemble mates. My team consists of one piano player, two violin players, two guitar players and two woodwind players. I think this group is great and I think we can do the song perfectly if we have longer times to practice the song. 

WEEK 4 VIDEOS

VIDEO 7

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. I played the song longer than the previous videos uploaded and I made a lot of mistakes. The version my teacher gave me is pretty hard and I am going to practice more so I can play the song with no mistake. 

VIDEO 8

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. Its quiet hard and its definitely harder than the version Mr Herry gave us but I am going to try playing this song because this song sounds really good. 

WEEK 3 VIDEOS

VIDEO 5

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. I played the song longer than the other videos because I have practiced a couple times on the weekend and it sounds good. I still made a couple of mistakes playing this song though. This song is really hard. I hoped I could play it. 

VIDEO 6

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. For me, this song is the hardest out of all the other songs in the booklet given by Mr Herry. There are lots of notes and this song has to be played fast and its hard because there's so many notes and symbols we have to recognize while playing.

WEEK 2 VIDEOS

VIDEO 3

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema. This was not the version Mr Herry gave me. I asked my private piano teacher for another of the song and she found it. So I played this version in front of Mr Herry and he said I can play this version. This is my first time playing the new version of The Girl From Ipanema and it sounds good but it doesn't sound great.

VIDEO 4

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema given by my private piano teacher. In this video, I made a couple of mistakes while playing this song because its my second time playing the song and I haven't got the time to practice that much. 

WEEK 1 VIDEOS

VIDEO 1

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema from the booklet given by Mr Herry. It was quiet difficult because that's the very beginning of my practice of the song The Girl From Ipanema. I made a couple of mistakes playing the song and it doesn't sound really good. 

VIDEO 2

In this video, I played the song The Girl From Ipanema from the booklet given by Mr Herry. The song is difficult because there's a lot of notes and the song has to be played fast and this is my second time attempting to play the song. I made a couple of mistakes playing the song even though this one sounds better than the previous video (video 1).

Week 6 14-18 May

What is my progress in the jazz group?

Me and my team mates are practicing the song Close To You. For me, the chord is really hard to play since I dont have any experience playing chord. For the two violin, two guitar and two woodwind players, they only play the notes given. I think this group will do a really great job on the day. I just hope the time is enough for us to practice.

I asked Mr Herry for the chord to the song Close To You. Its pretty hard because I have to play all the chords and some of them are really confusing to play but I will practice at home to make sure that I can do the assemble good.

Week 5 7-11 May

How did my singing assessment go?

My singing assessment went really well for me. I still and I think will always have stage fright but I wasn't feeling nervous at all because my friends are singing along beside me. It felt really good because singing in a group is so much fun rather than singing alone or two.

For this instrument class, me and my team mates practiced the song Close To You. The flute and the guitar players did not practice though because they did not have their instruments with them. I think this will work very well if we have longer time to practice.

Week 4 30-4 May

How does business and industry affect music-makers and users?

Business and industry affect music makers by telling them to make good music so more users will pay to listen to the song or to be downloaded. In an album, there has to be a hit song or two or else no one would buy it. The business and industry may increase the price of the CD by adding special features of the artist and the users will buy them because of the hit song(s).

We sang Close To You. We did not have instrument class. Me and my group sang the song first because some of the students are absent. I think we sang incredibly and everyone did a fantastic job.

Week 3 23-27 April

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

Technology helps music develop around the world. With technology, music spreads around the world faster. iTunes, piratebay or 4shared provides music to be downloaded free, and sometimes not. Especially piratebay, people can download music fast and free!

We did not have instrument class today. On tuesday, we did our music presentation with the group we're assigned. On wednesday, we did the presentation of what we did yesterday.

Week 2 16-20 April

What are the functions of music in society?

Music is like a universal language. Everyone understands music, the purpose of the song and the meaning of the lyrics. Music helps people get to know each other and gathers people together. Music is also comfort to some people. That is why music is always played in malls, stores and restaurants for relaxation.

I practiced the song The Girl From Ipanema and its really hard especially the chord. But my (private) piano teacher gave me another version of the song The Girl From Ipanema and I am going to play that version.

Week 1 April 9-13

What is the role of music in your life?

The role of music in my life is very important. I listen to music everyday and it makes me happy. Mostly, I listen to pop or pop rock genre because those type of songs really made me cheerful and energetic. I always listen to music before and after school in the car with my iPod.

I picked the song The Girl From Ipanema to play. The song is pretty hard to play because of the fast melody and the chord of the song is pretty complicated. I am going to ask my piano teacher (private) to help me though.

Videos (cannot be embed)

Video 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQzBX4aR1kw&feature=g-upl&context=G20d3f1cAUAAAAAAAAAA

Video 4:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZjfoSdi4Kg&feature=g-upl&context=G2746e3aAUAAAAAAACAA

Video 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--t8d86iocI&feature=channel

Video 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zScrSZYJkx0&feature=g-upl&context=G2ed82ddAUAAAAAAADAA

Video 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT2m5dsJ9vc&feature=g-upl&context=G2ccae57AUAAAAAAAMAA

Video 19:
-coming soon-

Video 20:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uatZIxEdQ5s&feature=g-upl&context=G295cf6aAUAAAAAAAEAA

video 13

in this video, i played six bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 14

in this video, i played six bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 15

in this video, i played 6 bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 10

in this video, i played four bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 11

in this video, i played four bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 17

in this video, i played the whole 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 12

in this video, i played the eight bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

video 16

in this video, i played three bars of my 12 bar blues with the chord.

Video 18

this is me playing the whole 12 bar blues with the chord. I did make a little mistake while playing though.

YouTube username

http://www.youtube.com/user/mstudmuffin

(Videos will be uploaded to blog.com ASAP)

videos p. 3

video 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--t8d86iocI&feature=channel

video 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5umTIUjiT4&feature=channel

videos p. 2

video 12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOrFERcUvJU&feature=channel

video 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axnULOIY38E&feature=channel

videos

video 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT2m5dsJ9vc&feature=channel

video 13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0r1CKxEl-M&feature=channel

video14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMyMp6zQl6A&feature=relmfu

video 15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CefXOlPGx2U&feature=relmfu

video 16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY81WutkMZw&feature=channel

video 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5V8zS3iM5A&feature=channel

video 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axnULOIY38E&feature=channel

video 9

this is me playing one bar of my 12 bar blues with the chord. I only practiced this bar this week and I did not make any mistake while playing the one bar in this video

video 7

in this video, I am playing the whole 12 bar blues without the chord because I havent practice playing with both hands.

VIDEO 3

This is me playing the first bar of my blues without the chord. I want to practice the song step by step so when it comes to the last bar, I can play it with no mistake.

VIDEO 2

This is also me practicing the chords: C G and F for the 12 bar blues. I made some mistakes in the first video so I made another video of me playing the chords again.

February 27 - March 2

Reflection Question: How do I practice and apply my 12 bar blues at home?

Subject/Topic: 12 Bar Blues

At the moment, I have a lot of homework from other subjects which makes it hard for me to play piano even to practice this jazz piece. Its really hard to keep up with all the work and assessments because most of the works are going in the report card so I have to do my best with them first then finish the rest of the homework. I will do my work faster so I can practice my song and update my blog even if its once a week.

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: 12 Bar Blues

We all practiced our 12 bar blues. We also played our song in an order. So whenever someone is playing their solo, the others will play the chord. It is quiet confusing because there's four of us and we did not know what bar we have to play. 

February 20 - February 24

Reflection Question: Did you face any challenges working on your 12 bar blues?

Subject/Topic: 12 Bar Blues

I dont really have a problem with creating the 12 bar blues but I do have a problem with the application used, Finale. I can't crack the application so I have to do it on my friend's laptop. And because I was doing it in school, I have to bring the file home and print it. I tried downloading Finale Reader but its not read-able because my friend's Finale's version is 2011 and I can only download the 2008 Finale Reader version. So I have to screen shots the whole thing and paste it on word. It makes the notes hard to see but I'll work with it. 

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: 12 Bar Blues

I practiced my 12 bar blues with the help of Mr Herry. Its quiet hard to play the left hand because the right hand itself is hard to play so its very difficult to concentrate on both hand to play the right notes, especially with the flat, dotted notes and rests added to the song.

February 13 - February 17

Reflection Question: How is my understanding of blues and applying 12 bar blues?

Subject/Topic: 12 Bar Blues

I still don't get the blues because Mr Herry only showed us blues in piano and its quiet hard to understand. The blues is also hard to play because there's a lot of rests and dotted notes involved which changes the whole melody of the song. I think the song is played pretty well even though we can only three different scale (C, G and F) to make the whole song.

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: 12 Bar Blues

I practiced my left hand part of my 12 bar blues while Mr Herry played the right hand part. I think my song sounds pretty good. I definitely need more practice on my left hand though. 

February 6 - February 10

Reflection Question: How do you understand the learning of jazz through your assessment tasks done until now?

Subject/Topic: Singing Assessment (I Got Rhythm or What A Wonderful World)

I think I learn a lot about jazz with all the assessments I have done now. I didn't even know "What A Wonderful World" is a jazz song until I have to sing a jazz song and Mr Herry let us choose between "What A Wonderful World" and "I Got Rhythm". I definitely am more interesting in jazz after doing all the assessments and researches. 

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: The Blues

Mr Herry showed us how to play the chords and introduced to us Blues. Its really difficult to play it. 

January 30 - February 3

Reflection Question: How did I do my essay and how did it affect me when learning and applying jazz?

Subject/Topic: (Introduction of) Jazz

By doing more research about jazz for my essay, I know more about jazz. I was doing the essay in a hurry so its only about 250 words. It is still difficult to apply jazz in real life and because of that, I am still learning how to play it better.

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: Singing Assessment Practice

We practiced singing the songs "I Got Rhythm" and "What A Wonderful World" for the upcoming assessment. 

January 23 - January 27

Reflection Question: How is my progress in learning the roots of jazz?

Subject/Topic: (Introduction of) Jazz

I think I learn more about jazz after being given handouts about jazz. Before this discussion, I didn't really know anything about jazz. After learning the introduction of jazz, I now know the history of jazz, the big band era etc.

Instrument Class:

Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: Music Piece: All of Me

We all learned about the chord progression last week from the song 'All of Me' and we also learned about the 7th chord. After practicing along with mr Herry, I write my reflection. 

January 16 - January 20

Reflection Question: How did you find the topic of jazz and how did the teacher do it?
Subject/Topic: (Introduction of) Jazz

At first, Im not a really big fan of jazz but since my teacher showed all of us different kinds of jazz, it sounds pretty good. I think the teacher explains it well and with the teacher giving the students handouts about jazz helps us even more to appreciate jazz.

Instrument Class:
Topic/What I learnt in instrument class: Chord Progression

All the piano students learned the music piece "All of Me" with the chords. All of us did not try to play the piece along with Mr Herry because we ran out of time.