Sep 17, 20191 min read

Sound Lab Reflection One

This is my Graphic Score and a recording to go along with it. This was a very fun experience and it was great for helping me think...

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Sound Lab: Blog2

SOUND LAB REFLECTION TWO

From our class on Monday, we talked about our points of balance and the proper alignment of our bodies. This really inspired me to think more about my body and how I have aligned my points of balance. It feels as if my back is out of place and Monday’s class has made me think about what I can do to improve it.

I had a jazz rehearsal on Tuesday and I noticed that I put all my weight on one leg when I play my instrument (trumpet). This puts out the whole balance of my body. Putting all the weight on my one leg does not allow me to move freely. According to the article What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body by David Smith, “if movement is free and easy, our sounds will be free and easy”. By loosening up and being able to move properly while being supported properly, I can play more easily.

I frequently get comments on the support of my sound, and how I need to put more air into my sound. After my rehearsal and reading the article, I made a conscious effort to think about the structure of my body and continue to body map my points of balance. I learned that with me putting all my weight on one foot, my torso collapses in. This compresses the space my lungs have to fill up with air. When I spread my weight evenly, my diaphragm can straighten out more, and I breathe better. I would not guess that the weight on my legs would have anything to do with how well I can breathe, but it makes sense when you think about the support needed.

I had another jazz rehearsal and sectional on Thursday. My section leader was already commenting on my “fuller tone” and “better musicality”.

I am going to continue mapping my body in hopes to continue improving my musicianship.

Sound Lab: Text

SOUND LAB REFLECTION THREE

Group Leadership Exercise Proposal

Students will take turns clapping, tapping, snapping, etc. the rhythm and accents to a popular song. The rest of the class will communicate with each other and try to figure out what the song is. If the rest of the class is struggling, the student tapping the rhythm will start to give hints.

I will start by clapping a very distinct rhythm, such as the opening to Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 and having the class guess what it is.

I will slowly start to reveal more information about the piece if necessary. This can be in the form of more non-verbal rhythm clues or verbal hints to the song.

I will then ask the students if they made any observations and if they would like to share.

After that, I will start looking for students to lead the next song.

Once it is time to wrap it up, I will ask for final observations.

I will explain why I chose to do this as the following:

During this exercise you were asked to determine a piece of music without actually hearing the different pitches. This is an exercise to help practice listening and focusing on other parts of the music. When trying to figure out the song, your brain is going through many different “files” stored away and looking for similarities. The more you think about the music as a whole and less about just the melodies and harmonies, the more you will be able to think about when it comes to performing. This also helps practice listening skills and teamwork skills. As you try to determine the song, you are also working with the other members of the class to share ideas.

Sound Lab: Text

SOUND LAB REFLECTION FOUR

Body Percussion

Sound Lab: Video

REFLECTION #5 AND 6

A Tribe Called Red is a very influential, modern group from Canada. They are First Nations people and are known for being a great resource for First Nations youth of Canada. They are also big activists for Indigenous and First Nations rights and awareness. One of their songs, “We are The Halluci Nation”, is a great piece that brings light to social justice issues. This song is inspired by a Native American rights activist named John Trudell. I learned, from this song, more about the identity of indigenous people. The Halluci Nation strive to “define their identity on their own terms”. I think it’s important for people to understand that we don’t get to define who other people should be. In the future I am definitely going to be more sensitive about how I perceive others. The laid back grove brings a sense of familiarity to the listener. It is similar to popular music on the radio today but it stands out enough to draw attention to the topics.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 7

All through high school I played in our senior jazz band. I played lead trumpet for two years and got many opportunities to solo. In my final year of high school, I got a solo in a tune called Canteloupe Island. The written solo was not difficult and I sight read it during our read through. My teacher didn’t say anything until one week before our competition. He asked if I was interested in “lifting” the Fredddie Hubbard solo from the recording. I took on the challenge and learned it. I was feeling really good about it. When it came time to perform my solo, I completely bombed it. Nothing came out right and I was very disappointed with myself. Even though people told me it was fine, I felt like I ruined the piece and our performance. I was very sad.

Connections to the articles:

The Gorman article, Failure is Hard, but Learning is Easy, relates in a lot of ways to my experience. This article talks about the perception of failure. Something that I find interesting is the reoccurring point that we often use the word failure when we aren’t happy about something. When we look at why we are unhappy about it, we can often realize that beauty in our creations. While my solo was not exactly what I practiced, I still played and I did not give up. The notes I played-for the most part- worked well with the underlying music.

The Lightner article relates in a similar way. The article talks about changing your interpretation to match the feeling you are looking to have. I was very upset after my solo, but if I changed my interpretation of how the solo went, I could have felt a lot more joy.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 8

The target practice approach to learning a new skill is a great way to visualize your goal and not get hung up on the immediate “success”.

Target Practice Method:

1. Intention

I decided to learn how to throw popcorn and catch it in my mouth.

2. Do

I started throwing popcorn up and seeing what happened… I missed a lot.

3. Asses or Locate

Initially, I noticed that I was not throwing the popcorn high enough. On my proceeding attempts, my brain definitely adjusted the height. I was throwing too high and again my brain adjusted it lower. I then noticed that I was throwing the popcorn too far back. My brain adjusted accordingly. Something interesting I found was when adjusting a new part, the old parts that I had already worked on suffered momentarily.

How close did I come to my target?

After many throws, I began to be more consistent with my attempts. At the beginning it seemed that any successes I had were random. As the process continued, I was getting successes at a much higher rate.

Specifically what didn’t I like and what do I want?

I did not like how light the popcorn was, it was very hard to control the force I used in my throws. I want to try to complete this task with grapes instead.

Clarify and specify the new, revised intention and repeat

I am now proud to say that I am very competent in throwing grapes (and popcorn now) and catching them in my mouth.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 9

Today I am going to play louder in jazz and see if how that might affect my accuracy of the notes.

We just got new repertoire for the jazz ensemble and it significantly more difficult than our older repertoire. I am often being told to play louder in Jazz but there seems to be a mental block that I put up. I think I am nervous about playing wrong notes and being heard. This evening I decided to approach the new pieces with more confidence and presence. We started off by playing one of our older pieces, Symphony in Riffs. There is one part that I frequently trip up on. By playing it louder tonight, I think I tricked my brain into believing that I was confident on the part. I played it well and it felt good. Whenever we get new pieces, I usually spend the first few run-through’s listening a lot and playing very minimally. This time I just gave it my best. The phrases “loud and proud” and “strong and wrong” were going through my head. I am very surprised by how many notes I actually played. I did not make nearly as many mistakes as I anticipated I would.

Today I am going to practice standing up and see how that might affect my tone quality.

I often sit when I practice and doing this assignment has me wondering why. I always perform standing, so I feel like I should practice standing. I predicted that standing will improve my tone quality… which it definitely did. What I did not think about before hand was why. Standing helped me take much bigger and better breaths. I was also able to control my air with more ease than sitting. I also think standing helped me become more focused. I made the connection with standing and performance and when I stood while practicing, I was treating my practice with the attention of a performance.

Today I am going to sing through my pieces before my lesson and see how it affects my ability to play the pieces in my lesson.

I was hoping that singing my pieces will solidify my knowledge of how my pieces go. Perhaps it did, but I played poorly in comparison to how I usually play in my lessons. I was very unsure of my fingerings and I did not pay much attention to my articulations and dynamics. I think this is because when I sang through my pieces, that is all I did. I did not play any part of them, I simply warmed up on my trumpet and sang through the pieces. I think singing is an excellent tool for practicing, but it should be used in addition to playing.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 10

The two articles by Dr. Nick Drengenberg and David Gorman provide a unique view on intention. It is very interesting thinking about the “same” activity with different intentions added to them and how that changes everything. I have a very uncomfortable couch in my living room. If I am sitting on it for the sake of sitting on it, I take note of the discomfort fairly quick. I will notice how my back hurts from the back of the couch being so low. I will feel how the cushions are hard and lumpy and how that hurts my legs. I rapidly will decide to move elsewhere. However, when I sit on the couch because I’m doing a specific activity related to the couch, I do not notice my discomfort. If I am watching TV, my focus is on the TV and not the couch. When I am sitting and talking with someone, I again do not feel the couch. I think my body alters how I sit for each activity.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 11

Coming into my first year of university, I had many goals or expectations of how I will treat my time. I wanted to become more efficient with my time. I was a lot more aware of what needed to get done than when I was in high school. My awareness has helped me get closer to finding some sort of rhythm to get into with school work.

My goals changed focus fairly quick. I was very hung up on the education part- which is very important-but I had to readjust my view to focus more on my physical health. I have intense jaw pain and I needed to spend more time figuring out how I can better help that.

My jaw has become increasingly worse since coming to Western. This is likely due to higher stress levels. When my jaw hurts, I cannot sleep or find the motivation to get out of bed. I have been prescribed pain medication and sleeping pills, but it is not always possible for me to take them. For next semester, I am going to have medical documents submitted to the University to allow for leniency if I physically cannot complete something.

Don’t wish for it, work for it.

Sound Lab: Text

REFLECTION 12

Brene Brown: Daring Classrooms

Brene Brown’s talk on Daring Classrooms is very eye-opening and inspiring as a future educator. I have started to make connections with things that I have noticed going wrong in my education and the points she is bringing up. I have always understood that there is a sense of vulnerability for many when it comes to playing in front of people. I, myself, have experienced with being hurt when I didn’t get as-good of a mark that I was hoping for on a playing test.

Education is an inherently vulnerable experience. Students from kindergarten to grade 12, for the most part, are required to be in school. This growth from childhood and adolescence into adulthood is scary for most people. We, as humans, do not understand why we feel the way we feel, and because of that, we are often self-conscious. Children and teens (and everyone of every age), need to be told that they are not alone. They need to have a place to be vulnerable. School is a great place for that… especially if teachers have the proper training to help guide children through their individual journeys.

Sound Lab: Video