Selasa, 25 Agustus 2009

25th August 2009

Today we didn't really have a notation class. Instead, we discussed about the group presentations tomorrow. Our group was pop rock, and I already got the mp3 samples, all that's left was to crop them. After that, we had some of the better players from each instrument to play in front, and they did so without getting nervous. We were reminded of next week's solo performances. Then, Mr Herry told us to put up the reflections in www.blogger.com, and we could also use last year's blog.

19th August 2009

Today at music class Mr John was absent, so the notation class was taken over by Ms Melvina. We learnt about chord inversions, this time for both the triads and the 7 chords. It was pretty clear, all we had to do was to move the lowest note up one octave for the 1st inversions. Some students were asked to write inversions on the board. After some time, we had some more time to discuss about the group presentations. We divided our roles, James, Mark, and Andrew will research, I will get the sound samples, and Steven will compile the presentation. We also brainstormed about popular Pop Rock artists.

18th August 2009

Today we didn't have music class since it was a holiday.

12th August 2009

Today we received the lyrics to "Hari Merdeka" and "Berkibarlah Merah Putih", these were the two compulsory Indonesian songs. It was also in the theme of Independence day, just 5 days away. After practicing a bit, we got some time to plan the group presentation.

11th August 2009

Today we practiced the 7 chords again. We also started on the inversions, but we tried it on triads first. It was quite simple, just move the lowest note up one octave. We were also notified of our group slide presentations to be held on the 26th of August. We drew lots to decide group topics, an I was in James' group with the topic of Pop Rock.

5th August 2009

Today we sang "Heal The World" by pairs for our assessment. At first Mr Herry told us to sing solo, but after we reminded him that he said to sing in pairs before, he agreed. Since most of us memorized the 1st part, we weren't allowed to look at that part, but we could read the second part. The second part had a part in which the range is very high, and it was fun to watch each other try to get the high notes. In the end it wasn't as dreadful as I expected it. I think I can improve my performance by rehearsing more and being more confident.

4th August 2009

Today we studied the 7 chords better. They were exactly the same as their triad counterparts, but for a 4th note added. This note is the 7th note in its corresponding scale. For example, Cmaj7 chord would have the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note of the C Major Scale. At first, I didn't really understand, but after it is explained again, I understood better. We also practiced singing "Heal The World" for tomorrow's assessment.

29th July 2009

Today in music class we started learning about basic notation all over again. We learnt about scales, one by one, starting from the C Major Scale. We formed chords from the notes in the C Major Scale. The chords were of 2 types, Triad and 7 chords, but we mainly studied the triads first. After that, we sang "Heal The World" in pairs. Next week we would have to be assessed on "Heal The World"

28th July 2009

Today in music class we continued learning "Heal The World". We sang the song together as a class. I moved to guitar class and I found out that Bayu also moved. Carlo moved out of music entirely. "Heal The World" was accompanied by piano by Mr. Herry

22nd July 2009

Today in music class we were grouped into different instruments. Firstly, each student was asked what instrument they played/or had at home. This was the initial grouping. However, too many students were in the guitar and the piano group. So, we had auditions to narrow down the better players (just like last year). The new students were really good, and the students who weren't in music last year were also really good. Unfortunately, I got nervous and played the song too fast, and so I was eliminated, along with 2 other students. After that we got the lyrics to "Heal The World" by Michael Jackson.

21st July 2009

Today we had our first music session in the whole year. It was very exciting. We mainly got introduced with each other, and there were a lot of introductions between old students, new students, and teachers. Then the music teachers gave us an overview of the curriculum which lays ahead of us. Unlike last year when we learnt about Classical vs. Popular Music, now we delve deeper into jazz. We will also be taught about the 7 chords. I don't think we did too many activities today, and it was mostly passive.