At the expiration of sixth grade year, my piano teacher ceased giving lessons. I’d been taking piano since second grade; I wasn't ready to give it up. My mother said she would look into a new teacher, but ninth grade rolled around and I still had no teacher. That Christmas I got a box, similar in size to a microwave oven that contained a manila envelope. Contained in that envelope was a letter saying that guitar lessons would be every Saturday from noon to twelve thirty. This was my mom’s solution to finding a piano teacher. “Thank you for the lessons mom, but I think they made a mistake. This letter says guitar lessons when it should say piano.” “No, it’s correct; you’re taking guitar lessons.” “I thought you said I couldn't attempt another instrument until I was proficient at piano?” “Yes, I did, but as I couldn't find a teacher within a reasonable distance, I decided to let you try another instrument. Guitar seemed like one that you’d like, and I already have one.” “That’s great!” Saturday came, and my lesson began. My teacher opened with the notation used in sheet music. He moved on to guitar tab after finding out that I already read music. I found tab to be simple, so we moved on to a beginner’s song book after about five minutes. I would play the notes, and he would play riffs, rhythms, and occasionally bass to go along with my part. After playing a few different variations of a song, we moved on to another selection. Before we knew it, the time was eight till one; the lesson was supposed to end at twelve thirty. Other than that, everything had gone perfect. I had learned the whole first chapter of the book plus a few songs in the second. The next couple lessons went just as satisfactory as the first. At about the thir... ... middle of paper ... ...r the opening guitar, I would've missed my part. As soon as I hit the first chord, an E minor, the spectators were gone. It was just the band, my guitar, and me. The sensation of nausea evaporated, and I had a blast. Introducing each song with cleaver prologues, the singers were great at interacting with the crowd. For me, the end came much too soon. At the following guitar lesson, my teacher said he was pleased with the performances. He told me that he was aware that the songs were difficult and that the other musicians were of a much higher caliber than I was. He purposely “threw me in the deep end of the pool” to see if I would sink or swim. I feel that my playing improved faster in that setting because I couldn't fail. If I did, that would've let the others down. This coming summer, I hope to try it again, but this time, I will take on more challenging parts.
June’s mother wants her to become a successful piano player. The problem with this is that June possesses no talent or determination to do so, so she doesn’t practice. Her mother cleans an old deaf piano teacher’s apartment in exchange for June to be taught piano, but the teacher can’t correct June when she makes a mistake, because he cant hear. June’s mother encouraged her to practice and would always brag about how good she was to everyone. June’s mother enjoyed having pride in her daughter, as she thought her daughter was a representation of how successful she was herself. June did not appreciate this at all. After making a fool of herself at the talent show she vowed to never play piano again. Her mother’s wishes for her success were mistaken for her mother’s selfishness. June thought her mother was only pushing her to find something in her daughter that was not in herself.
A little over a week ago, I was hopping into my car to drive home following an intense cross country workout. Too caught up in pondering my splits for our three mile time trial and how proud I was of the effort I had put forth, I had completely dismissed that I had a thirty minute piano lesson at 5pm immediately following my cross country practice. After turning on the car, I glanced down at the digital clock completely unaware of my predicament...5:04. I immediately realized that I was in trouble. Not only would I be late...I would surrender half of my expensive lesson time.
Over the course of these 14 weeks I would have probably answered these questions differently. I didn’t know the importance of the teacher and the responsibility we hold. I would have probably put all the responsibility on the student and say if the student wants to learn it is there responsibility. That is the wrong way to look at things and I am happy I took this class with Dr. Artis to understand how much power a teacher has. I learned that we may not be able to change the world as a teacher but we have the ability to change the lives of our students for many years to come. I hope to build on the knowledge I received in this class with my future education courses and become a teacher who can make great changes in the lives of my student!
Romulus smiled and shook his head. He turned to Roderich. "I'm sure you know what to play."
“I don’t want to try anymore, the only thing I will try to fulfill my dream as a flutist. Because, you know, flute is life.” I said proudly.
The next goal in the lesson was to get him playing the first five notes. I utilize the Brass Method’s book a lot because they had
It seemed like a normal day when I entered Mrs. A’s AP Language and Composition class, but little did I know that she was going to assign a very important project that was going to take forever. I took my seat and wrote down what was on the board. Then I sat patiently and waited for Mrs. A to come explain what we were doing today. When the tardy bell rang, Mrs. A glided into the room and gave us all a stack of papers. She then proceeded to discuss our upcoming assignment, a memoir. As she explained the very important assignment, I wondered whom I would write about. No one really came to mind to write about and I thought for sure I would never be able to get this thing done on time. I finally decided that I would write in on my mother, Kari Jenson. I knew I would probably put the project off until the very end and do it the weekend before even though it would get on my mom’s nerves. Putting work off was just how I did everything, it worked for me. When I arrived home from school that day, I told mom about the project. I told her I would most likely write it about her and she was overjoyed.
All of the students seemed to agree that my lessons were fun, interesting, and taught in a way that they could understand them. Since I know that 95% of the students will never study for a test at home, I try to repeat the information several times in various ways. I
For the sake of conformity, I had to accomplish this task so that I could put a smile on my parents’ faces, even though I despised that guitar with all my heart. I went week after week to the instructor, and week after week, I would come back distressed and tired of the lessons and of the incredible amount of practice hours required.
Without warning, the lights went dark. This was the moment I had been waiting for. My adrenaline went through the roof. The time had finally come that I would get to see and hear my first live concert.
Ever since the age of three, the 88 black and white keys have traveled along me on an amazing journey throughout my high school career. From escaping reality to performing in front of thousands, the musical expressive tones have truly been a prominent avocation associated with my life. The fourteen year journey - something I found as just a hobby - allowed me to find what I am truly passionate about despite what others have to say. The wonderful learning experience piano has taken me over the years has taught me many valuable lessons.
After finishing the teaching part of the lesson, I realized that not everything goes according to plan. For example, in our lesson plan, we had the explain portion detailed and outlined to teach students the technical terms of what they were seeing in the stations and other activities and make it a collaborative effort within groups to work with the vocabulary words. However, the teaching of the plan was not well executed. Also, I learned that teaching a topic does not have to be boring or just full of worksheets. Fun, engaging lab stations and interactive activities can fulfill the standards and requirements just as well, if not better, than basic worksheets and PowerPoint lectures. Lastly, I realized that lesson planning and teaching require a great deal of effort and work, but it is all worth it when a light bulb goes off in a students’ head and they learn something new and are excited to be learning and extend their science
After the show had ended, I felt slightly empty. I had waited years and months for that night, and it was over in the blink of an eye. Although I was sad that the show was over, I felt completely content. Now, when I hear their songs, I get to remember what it felt like to hear the band perform them live. I can watch the videos and try to wrap my mind around how it was real. Going to my first concert was an unparalleled experience that I will always cherish. The ambiance, the band’s performance and the unity the audience
While teaching my first lesson, there were several things I did well and I’ll admit several things I need to work on. During the lesson, I feel I did a good job in using the proper terminology we had taught the students the day before class. I felt they needed it because they all looked a bit scared when I started teaching without the refresher. I also feel I did a good job of going over the tools they need and explaining the steps in simple enough terms for them to follow.