this is my 2nd attempt at playing the full song for our assesment. to reflect upon what i did, i think i improved pretty well and managed to reduce some mistakes. i think it will sound much better after combining all the instruments because of the harmonious melody it makes. however, i should keep practicing in order to achieve the maximum score.

after performing my ensemble in front of the whole class and teachers, i percieved some feedback. since there were 2 people who are playing the piano, which is me and karin, its better that we divide our tasks. meaning that one of us should focus on playing the chords/accompaniment while the other play the melody instead of both playing the same thing. so i decided to play the chord/accompaniment part and there were some mistakes and hesitations while playing.i should improve by practicing more. 

this time, i practiced with an intro that Mr John made for us. i think the intro is a plus for our group because, it will increase our creativity of the music and make it our "own". i have to admit, im glad i made less mistakes during this practice. only some chord errors but practicing more will decrease the chance of getting it wrong again. 

im practicing the song for our assessment on wednesday. this song is called "Fly me to the moon". now i can play with both my left hand and right hand. although, i made some mistakes and i should practice more in order to minimize  those mistakes.

Week 7 May 21 & 23

Subject/topic: Jazz ensemble and practice jingle
reflection question: what do i think about my jingle?

Mr Herry assigned us to make our own music jingle according to the theme, Beatiful Indonesia. we were allowed to work in partners and we had the freedom to choose the tones, notes, tempos, rhythms, instruments, etc to ou rliking. also, we were assigned to create a video compilation of pictures which is attached to the music. i think our jingle matches with the theme and it is good enough to attract the audience.

in instrument class, we practiced our jazz ensemble with my teammates and Mr.John, and he gave us some useful advice to make it better, he also added an intro before starting the actual song because that'll increase our mark. i think that we need more practice to achieve the maximum score.

Week 6: 15 & 17 May 2012

subject topic: practice jeazz ensemble
reflection question: how is my progress in jazz ensemble?

pur jazz ensemble progress is quiet impressive, because we improved alot. i am sure our playing is more clean and fluent with less mistakes. also, mr John added a closing so the song will sound more catchy by adding our own creativity in the song. although, our teammate tanja is sick so we couldnt spend time practicing together efficiently. i think we will be ready for the assesment if we pracitice more.

i was absent in this instrument class because i attended my friend's mom's funeral

all in all, i believe that my overall singing assesment went well as we achieved to percieve some positive comments from the judges. although, there are some difficulties that i had to go through during this assesment. first of all the singing assesment was different from the average assesmentss we had since this singing assesment involves 1st voice, 2nd voice, 3rd voice. and my role was the 2nd voice and i found it hard to stick to the 2nd voice with everyone else singing different tunes.

in instrument class, we practiced the borken arpeggio of the dominant chords from C until the necxt C which is one full octave. the purpose of this is to practice our fingers so that it will be easier for us to remember because these chords are frequently used in popular songs

music in the business industry is very popular nowadays. buisnesses needs music makers to make thier music that is going to be inserted in the advertisements. music in advertisement is very important because it increases the people's demand into buying the certain product. because the music attracts the audience and it will encourage them to buy the product

in instrument class, we were assigned to go in groups of 3 and sing a jazz called close to you. my group consists of myself, karin, and evan. the main purpose of why we are assigned to sing in groups is so we would have a wider range of voices, including the 1st voice, 2nd voice and 3rd voice so that it will create a harmonious melody

this is my 2nd attempt at playing the broken arpeggio of the dominant chords in 1 full octave. this time, i've made less mistakes and i should keep practicing in order to play it more fluently

this is the broken arpeggio of the dominant chords from C until another C which is 1 full octave. the purpose of this is to improve my skills of playing the dominant chords and to remember them since they are useful when playing pieces especially jazz

this is me singing Close to you for the assesment. im singing it in the 2nd voice because i assigned to. i think i sang it quiet well and on pitch, hence i should practice combining the three other sounds with my friends, karin and evan

this is me practicing singing the song close to you. i was chosen to sing the 2nd voice of the song and the harmony sounds slightly different from the original.

this is the 2nd attempt of playing Close to you. this timee, i've made several improvements by minimizing the mistakes, keeping the tempo steady, and add more notes on the right hand.

this is me playing Close to you. i've practiced several times of this song and in my opinion i've made an improvement in my playing. although there are some mistakes and i should minimize those mistakes by practicing more frequently.

23&25 April

how have developments in technology changed the ways in which we engage with music?

nowadays, technology have become much more advanced. it is obvious from the new gadgets such as ipad, iphone, etc. now its much easier for us to listen to music through youtube/itunes while long time ago they didnt have that technology so they had to listen through discs. maybe in the new generation/coming years ahead, there will be a hologram of an artist singing , who knows?

in instrument class, we continued to practice each of our jazz songs and i have elaborated my right hand by giving some additinal notes. moreover, he taight me how to play the chords muc simpler as in we didnt have to press that certain note if its already played on the left hand

19 April & 16 April

what are the functions of music in society?

there are various of functions of music in the society. some of us may be unaware of the great amount of music present around us and also the fact that we apply music in our daily lives. in class, we discussed the functions of music and came up with these answers: entertainment, business, expressing emotions/feelings, advertisement, education, and more. so, to conclude i believe that music is a very important aspect in our life as it is useful for living.

this week, i practiced my jazz song which is "Close to You". mr herry evaluated my performance and sait it would be better if i had more variation in my right hand such as playing 3-4 notes instead of just 1-2. because that way, the song would sound much more proffessional and enjoyable.

this is my 2nd attempt of playing the song with both hands and in my opinion i gained more progres. not that i played fluently with less mistakes, but i was also able to elaborate and improvise my right hand by adding more additional notes. but again, i need to practice more to improve

now this is the combination of the melody and the bass played by the left hand and the right hand. in my opinon, it sounds alot better compared to when it was played seperately. although, there are several conclusion to be drawn by watching this video and that is; minimize the mistakes, each note should be played more clearer, and add more notes on the right hand instead of just 1-2 so it will sound more lively

this is me playing the bass part of the song which is played by the left hand. these chords are composed of the chords i learnt in class. the chords are as follows: major chords, minor chords, major 7 chords, minor 7 chords, dominant 7 chords, 9 chords and more. in fact, those are the typical jazz chords so i need to be able to memorize how to play it so it would make my life easier in the future when having to learn a new jazz song

this is me playing the melody part (played by the right hand) of the song called Close To You. this is the method   i usually apply when learning a new song which i'm unfamiliar with. so firstly i have to practice the song seperately, right hand then left hand. i find this method very beneficial to me as it helped me to improve my playing by playing it precisely and fluently. next i have to practice the same with my left hand.

9 & 13 April 2012

what is the role of music in your life?

music is one of the most important role in my life, because it allows me to have fun and enjoy it. without music, my life would be very dull and boring. music is a spark that lights up in my life. also, music helps me to realize that there is some music talents in me and i am confident to show it. i will keep playing music for the rest of my life to show my passion and apprecition for music

we practiced our jazz songs while mr herry evaluated our playing. i believe i have made a progress of my playing as mr herry mentioned the right way of playing it. we were given a time to practice it at first, then we were assigned to keep practicing at home.

12 bar blues + improv

this is the combination of my 12 bar blues and improvisation of my creation. i think it sounds good and catchy and hopefully it will grab the audience's attention. i think i am ready for the assesment and i hope i will get a satisfying score

improvisation 12 bar blues

this is the final improvisation of the 12 bar blues of my creation. i think my improvisation is quiet creative, and i mixed the rhythm so it will sound catchy. i need to practice more so each notes will sound clearer and the rhythm feel will also sound louder. 

12 bar blues

since we have an upcoming assesment this wednesday i practiced my 12 bar blues and reduced my mistakes. and i folloed mr herry's advice too, as he stated that i should fix the rhythm in the last bar because it doenst match with my finale.  

12 & 14 march 2012

rehearsal

reflection question: how is my understanding of improvisation especially in blues?

improvisation is an important part of blues music. without applying improvisation, blues music wont sound so lively & interesting because the improvisation plays an important role. it also helps to develop the artists to improve their skills. after learning the 12 bar blues, now it has been clearer to be that improvisation creates a great impact to blues music. alongside with walking base.

in instrument class, we learned how to play walking base. walking base is another technique when playing jazz music. the reason why they call it walking base is because the notes are composed of ascending-descending notes. and, we also learned the various chord progression applied in the walking base

walking base

this is me playing the walking base technique using only one of the frequently used chord progression for this particular technique.  i played it step by step so it will be much easier to play rather than playing it all directly at once. i think i played quiet well and understood the technique as well.

improvisation 12 bar blues

this is my first attempt at trying the improvisation using the blues scale for the 12 bar blues. i played this spontaneously, meaning i had not prepared to play before. i think this is an okay improvisation, not that good, so i need to practice more.

chord progression on walking bass

as i have learned the dominant chords for the walking bass, turns out there were various of other chords we can apply to the walking bass technique. here are some of the famous chord pregression used by famous musicians

blues scale

this is me playing the blues scale. the blues scale is similar to the normal scale which is the combination of acsending and decsending notes. the only thing that differ between them are the notes. these notes ca be used for improvising a jazz piece for example, a 12 blue bar piece

5 & 7 march 2012

12 bar blues


reflection question: how does the blues influence jazz in its early development?


the blues, perhaps more than any other music, is jazz greatest influence. From the time when jazz evolved from the sounds of the Mississippi Delta a century ago right up to the modern jazz of today, the blues has been a benchmark for jazz musicians. from the perspective of musical structure, jazz as we know it would not exist without the blues. The twelve-bar blues chorus, with its familiar harmonic structure and narrative form, was the single most popular template for early jazz improvisation, the walking base were the major impact blues had affected to jazz music. without blues, jazz wouldnt be so special. 


in instrument class, we rehearsed our 12 bar blues as an ensemble and accompanied the other instruments playing, also, we developed our 12 bar blues using the blues scale. we also learned the technique of walking base. this is used in the bass instrument, but it is also often used in piano for the left hand. 

27 & 29 february 2012

12 bar blues

reflection question: how is my progress playing my own 12 bar blues?

now that im already fluent at playing my own 12 bar blues, we expanded our skills and played it as an ensemble together with the rest of the piano students. in order to make it more challenging, we took turns on playing each of our own parts and combined all our compositions at the end so it'll be more variative. i think that our ensemble is already quiet good although we should remember to keep the tempo steady.

in instrument class, we practiced our 12 bar blues alone with the headphones. i think i've done pretty well since i have minimized and fixed the errors. i should improve my playing by adding accents and a jazzy feel to it.

12 bar blues

this is me playing my own composition of the 12 bar blues. in this version, i attempted to improvise a little on the 2nd part of the song which i though was not that bad for a first try. next time, i should practice more to improvise

12 bar blues

this is me playing the 12 bar blues. obviously, this song has a total of 12 bars. i created the melody depending on the chords. i also made the rhythm into a form of 'swing' since its a typical jazz song. i think i need to practice more and learn to improvise for the 2nd part (repetition of song). 

13 & 15 february 2012

12 Bar Blues

reflection question: how is my understanding learning blues and applying it?

my understanding of blues is quiet clear, since now i know that the blues has a relation with jazz music. or in other words, blues is a part of jazz because long time ago, since the 12 bar blues concept is played/performed by jazz artists today. i am able to apply it by creating a composition of the 12 bar blues.

today in instrument class, we made our own composition of the 12 bar blues. i learned before jazz was invented, blues was found at firsthand and thats when they created the 12 bar blues. in my opinion, creating a composition with the 12 bar blues is challenging because the rhythm is different from other songs, it includes imprivisation and syncopation. we also practiced with the provided accompaniment.

6 february and 8 february

12 Bar blues, Singing Assesment

Reflection Question: How does my understanding of jazz develop after previous assesments?

based on the previous assesments i accomplished, it is sure that u've learned more about jazz. because i chose to write an essay about improvisation, now i know new things about how to play an improvisation and how improvisation is significant in Jazz music. thus, after the singing assesment, i was able to leanr about how to sing 'A Wonderful world' and how jazz song sounds like.

in instrument class, i reviewed the chords to fly me to the moon we learned last week. we played it both all together and seperatley. next, we also learned a simpler way to play, or a "trick" so its easier for us to play the song. next, i have to practice it at home.

fly me to the moon chords

this is my 2nd time on playing the chords. i feel that i've improved from the first try and i was able to play it fluently with less errors. next, i should practice these simpler chords all the way till the end of the song, not just the 1st 8 bars

fly me to the moon chords

im playing fly me to the moon chords on the piano, but this time im playing it much more simpler bacsue i dont have to move my hands that far apart like last time. mr. herry taught us a better and quicker way to play and i believe the chords are better off this way

FLy me to the moon chords

my 2nd attempt on playing the chords on the piano was better i thought.because i did less mistakes and i didnt hesitate alot. so next time, i should learn how to put some more variation.

Fly me to the moon chords

this is a video of me playing fly me to the moon chords on the piano, and i finsihed playing the song until the very end. i thought i did quiet well although i made a few mistakes which i have to correct. 

30 January 2012 & 1 February 2012

Since i've learned alot about the history of jazz, jazz music, and other jazz-related topics, i belive i was able to grasp the concept of jazz itself. i find this topic quiet easy to stud since i understand everthing we studied so far. so far, i've learned about the history of jazz, glossary of jazz, jazz songs, how to play the jazz songs on the piano(improvise), and how to sing some jazz songs.

in instrument class, i was introduced by one of the famous songs in jazz history called 'Fly Me To the Moon'. i learnt on how to play the correct chords for the songs on the piano, thus now i am familiar about the various chord symbols that are present in the song. i think i need to practice more.

fly me to the moon chords

this is me playing the chords to fly me to the moon. i added a little variation with this one in order to feel the jazz vibe in the song. i hope mr herry will teach us on how to improvise better during the next music class

fly me to the moon chords

these are the chords to the song 'Fly me to the moon'. Mr Herry taught me how to play these chords and i  was able to play it fluently

25 January 2012- How did you learn 'The beginning of jazz?' lesson?

i learned about the beginning of jazz from the handout we recieved from Mr.Herry. from reading the text i am sure i've obtained alot about the beginning of jazz. thus, i find the history of the big band era interesting to study. i've learned about how jazz developed throughout the years.

in instrument class, we discussed about the chords to 'Fly me to the moon' how to play it, what notes it consists of, what does the symbols represent, etc. from the lesson, i'm able to grasp the knowledge and apply it while playing the piano.