12-bar Blues #2

Reflection:

This is the second video of me playing my own composition from the 12-bar blues improvisation. I think I played better than the first practice video, but I still feel that I can improve my playing. I will practice more so I can play my composition better.

12-bar Blues #1

Reflection:

This is my 12-bar blues improvisation practice for the first time. I composed the improvisation all by myself, and I am satisfied with the output. I played it well, although I feel it is still not good enough yet. I will continue to practice it so I can play it better.

Week 5: February 13 & 15

How is my understanding in learning blues and applying it?

On Monday, we were introduced to the 12-bar blues improvisation. We were expected to compose 12 bars of blues notes. On Wednesday, we were given the task to notate our compositions in Finale, and we discussed our compositions as a class. I learned blues and understood the lesson well. I made my composition as one of my applications on blues, and I made my composition well.

On Monday, we practiced our compositions during instrument class. With the help of Mr. Herry, we can play our own compositions well. On Wednesday, we practiced our compositions again and received feedbacks on our melody progressions and playing techniques.

16-bar Fly Me To The Moon Inversions #2

Reflection:

This is my second practice video on playing "Fly Me To The Moon" chords in inversions. This time I played it while avoiding the mistakes in the previous practice and I am starting to get used to playing the inverted chords. I will practice more of this song to familiarize myself to chord inversions.

16-bar Fly Me To The Moon Inversions #1

Reflection:

This time, I played "Fly Me To The Moon" chords in inversions. I found out that playing chords in inversions are easier, but I am not used to it yet so I made a few mistakes while playing. I will practice more to be familiar with inversions and avoid the mistakes.

Week 4: February 6 & 8

How does my understanding of jazz develop after previous assessments?

We finished the essay-writing and singing assessments so far. From these two assessments I understood jazz more. I learnt how jazz is related to America from the essay and what jazz songs sound like from the singing assessment. We had a general rehearsal for the singing assessment on Monday and the actual assessment on Wednesday. We also submitted our essays on Monday.

On Monday, Mr. Herry taught us how to play "Fly Me To The Moon" chords in inversions. We practiced the first 8 bars of the chords and we need to practice 16 bars of it.

16-bar Fly Me To The Moon #2

Reflection:

This is my second time practicing 16 bars of "Fly Me To The Moon". I slipped on the first part of the piece and again towards the end of the piece. At least I think I did better than in the first video. I will practice more of the song.

16-bar Fly Me To The Moon #1

Reflection:

This is my first time playing 16 bars of "Fly Me To The Moon". It is just a continued version of the previous practice videos. I sort of slipped towards the end of the piece. I will try to avoid the mistake in my next practice.

Week 3: January 30 & February 1

How is my progress in learning jazz?

My progress is so far so good, as I began to learn more things about jazz. I found jazz interesting to learn. But I came to class unprepared, because I don't have time to practice playing the song "Fly Me To The Moon" and practice singing for the upcoming singing assessment. Aside from learning jazz, we received our task booklets on Monday. On Wednesday we received a task to write an essay about the history of jazz.

All of us practiced playing "Fly Me To The Moon" at first, then we played the chords one by one while Mr. Herry accompanied us with the melody. I still can't play the chords fluently because I didn't have the time to practice at home. Our task is to play the song (first 16 bars only).

8-bar Fly Me To The Moon #2

Reflection:

This is my second practice video playing 8 bars of "Fly Me To The Moon". Again, I think I played this piece perfectly with no mistakes. I will continue to practice playing the chords of the song to improve my skills.

8-bar Fly Me To The Moon #1

Reflection:

This is my first practice video playing 8 bars of "Fly Me To The Moon". I think I played this song well with no mistakes, since the chords are pretty easy to play.

Week 2: January 25

How did you learn the beginning of jazz?

The lesson about jazz is very interesting for me. I understood the history on how jazz came to be from the handouts given in class and the oral summary. I also learned some of the examples of jazz songs, such as "Fly Me To The Moon". We were told to write a short 200-word essay about the beginning of jazz, which will be due on next Monday.

In the instrument class, we discussed the chords of "Fly Me To The Moon". The chords are a bit complex since it mainly consists of 7th chords. That's why I wrote the notes above the chords. Then, our task is to practice 8 bars of the song at home.

Week 1: January 16 & 18

How was my jazz class delivered?

During the theory class we discussed the music genre jazz. Within these two days, I learned a lot about jazz thanks to the group discussions and explanations by the teacher. I understood the topic well, and it means the class was delivered well. We learnt about the origins of jazz and famous jazz musicians.

In the instrument class, our music teachers played the song "Autumn Leaves" with their respective instruments. I found their performance very breathtaking. They made a lot of improvisations in the song. After seeing them perform, I want to learn how to improvise a jazz song.