My fondness for music originates from my father. My Dad has to be the greatest enthusiast when it comes to good music. I have grown up listening to Rock and Roll, Jazz, classical, country, pop, musicals and rap. In the beginning, however, I didn’t understand the melodies and could barely make out the lyrics. Even so, I admired the joy I saw in the players while playing their instruments. I coveted their joy, and I couldn’t wait any longer to get my hands on music. So, I took up Guitar, as a part of AS. I learned the basic seven chords, tried barre chords, learned songs on Guitar, explored how to play by ear, recognised chords by ear, a little about singing, and did lots of practising.
My learning lasted for one academic year. In which, twice each cycle I had a 50-minute class with my music teacher. All the other time I practice on my own, at home. A month after I started classes I got myself a Guitar and Capo. My one-year experience with Guitar was very fun. My personality is such that if I don’t see progress quickly then I get frustrated and demotivated. So, mastering an instrument takes up years of practice. It was quite a challenge to make myself understand that progress takes time and commitment. Some of the LOs associated with this are as follows:
LO 1- Identify my strengths and develop areas for growth
My strength was listening and observation. I would pay explicit attention to the fingering, strumming, strumming pattern, chord formation, and melody of everything my teacher taught me. One of the things I struggled with was the math part of it. As an illustration, sometimes I was so caught up in the counting of strumming that the tune sounded almost inordinate. Slowly, with time I got more loosened up and flexible with my palm and fingers.
LO2- Demonstrated that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
In the beginning I remember the first layers of my fingertips were shedding away which was uncalled for. I was told by my teacher that practising every day for even 10 minutes would help me stay motivated to sustain myself throughout the year and not fall out of rhythm. I failed to meet this expectation on several occasions which resulted in the increased amount of time it took me to learn a song.
LO4- Show commitment to and perseverance in the CAS experience
Learning an instrument was no joke. I was determined to accomplish my goal, so after struggling to find time to spend at least a good hour with my Guitar. I thought of dividing the hour into four parts and then throughout the day complete my practice hour. It was sometimes very hard and tiring when you’ve been playing a song but I needed to perfect it until I started with a new one.
In conclusion, I learned a lot and enjoyed enough to appreciate the art of music that the talents of our world have created for us. The only thing I regret is quitting the school AS this year and not starting to play guitar way early in my life. Other than that, this AS activity has a high probability of continuation in the future.
