The time has finally come to post my final demonstrations! I want to first off thank Anita for a week extension that really allowed me to put in the extra practice. From this, I was able to get myself to a place where I felt more comfortable playing and submitting my final product. I did not want to give up and submit something that I wasn’t proud of. This taught me that reaching out for help and letting your instructor know where you are at is very helpful. People cannot help you or understand what you are going through unless you tell them or ask!

According to my Musical Growth Plan, I wanted to be able to play the song the Bear Necessities by this time. Unfortunately, I was unable to master O Canada to start, forcing me to revise my plan. I was able to master a happy birthday first and scaffold my learning in a way that made more sense for my skill level. I felt proud that I could make this revision, but also a little disappointed in myself as well. Moving forward, I wanted to focus on playing O Canada in a fluid way that had clear notes and sound. I found it difficult to get that sound when the notes were played with only have a covering. I hope that this video proves that some of these kinks were sorted out!

I found that when I slowed the song down I could focus on getting the right sound and now the right speed. For me, this helped because I was getting a successful result and sound, and the speed was something that I could develop and work on overtime. I spent 10-15 minutes practicing every day and found it easier each time. By going through this process and blogging along the way I was able to critically think about the errors I was making and what notes and factors seemed to be the most challenging at the time. This gave me the ability to reflect and revisit these areas, which ultimately allowed me to highlight my successes when they were had! I enjoyed reading back on all of my blogs today as it really does take you on a journey of musical growth.

My final is not perfect by any means, but it is leaps and bounds from where I was a few weeks ago! I hope you can see my efforts (please disregard the second to last note)!

P.S. My wifi was not strong enough to upload the file from my computer (because of where I live in Metchosin our connection is very weak) so I recorded it on my phone and have uploaded it this way. I hope that this works and apologize for the quality. Thank you again for your kind extension Anita – it helped me so much!

Video (1)