Cassidy Roger's Portfolio

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)

For this blog post, I wanted to discuss a few things before submitting my final blog post and video! I have had a few major breakthroughs this week by following my positive mindset goals as discussed in my last blog. After things fizzled out a bit in terms of figuring out my finances due to the COV-ID madness, I was able to up my practicing to a few minutes each day. From here, I started to figure out which notes I felt most comfortable with, and those that I struggled with. I realized that I was able to play notes that required my thumb, first, second, third, and fourth fingers(A, B, C, C#/Db, D, G, etc) but struggled with the notes that required my fifth, sixth, 7th, and 8th fingers (C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb,  E, F, F# /Gb, G#/Ab, etc). Additionally, notes that required half of a finger on the hole seemed to be a challenge.

I started to think of ways to help myself remember the fingering for each note I struggled with, so I wrote out each note on 8 little circles and one thumb circle to represent my fingers for the song of “O Canada”. This helped me immensely, as I have no musical background and was honestly quite lost when trying to learn to read music. This was a great way to push me forward and start to bring the song together. It took a few hours and a lot of patience, but I was determined to get this project done (hopefully successfully!).

I hope that I can incorporate the recorder in ways that can enhance many different lessons and subjects. I believe that integrating music into other subjects, as discussed this semester, is a great way for students to gain more motivation in class and ultimately learn more in the process. I really enjoyed the unit listed in our textbook on whales that incorporates music and science. I would love to use this lesson in my future classroom with the help of the recorder to play easy songs that educate students about whales and oceans. This would also be a fantastic gateway to teach students about eco-friendly practices to save our oceans which is something I am extremely passionate about. Through this breakthrough of teaching myself the recorder in my own way, I am confident that I could pick up other simple songs that my students would enjoy!

Currently, I am trying to master O Canada on the recorder, and did not realize that it would be as challenging as it is for me! That being said, I am really trying to focus on the consistent practice instead of mastery. That way, I can begin to see my small improvements and keep up to pace with my Musical Growth Plan.

One of the difficult parts of the recorder if maintaining proper fingering, pressure, and breath, to avoid the squeaks! I wanted to look into tips and tricks to help get a smooth and pleasant sound when playing, and was surprised just how helpful they were! So of the tips that helped me most were as follows:

• Avoid “overblowing” – too much breath and pressure can make the recorder sound squeaky. You have to practice being gentle enough to avoid this, but still, have enough breath to produce a clear sound. A trick that was advised is to act as though you are blowing a bubble but don’t want to pop it! This was a really great visual for myself, and also solidified the importance of using language like this in my future classrooms.
• Proper hand placement – I have learned that this is extremely important to the sound you will get out of the recorder. You need to make sure that your hands are properly placed (right hand on the bottom) in order to get a clear sound. This is because your fingers need to be completely covering the holes. In order to do so, you must make sure you are applying light and gentle pressure to play the notes properly, but aren’t applying to much pressure to hurt your fingers and make transitions difficult.
• Positive energy! – this for me was a must when playing. As I have listed in my blogs previously, this journey has been difficult for me! Once I started to look at it as a fun activity rather than homework, I found that I could pick up the recorder for a few minutes here and there without as much anxiety. My work and school schedule make me a very busy person and it is easy for me to get overwhelmed. When I allow myself to relax and focus on the positives, I am grounded back to the commitment I have made to school to better my future no matter how difficult it may be at times. It often helps to envision myself as a teacher using these tools and I know that have basic skills on the recorder will help me. Not only could I bring songs into the classroom, but it will also allow for another platform to bond with students on as they are practicing an instrument that I am familiar with.

Thank you Anita for your patience and the opportunities you have given me in class!

Throughout this process I have been trying my best to keep up with the pace! A few weeks ago a discovered that taking time to get familiar with your resources will save you time and stress in the long run!

Youtube is a great tool that has helped me throughout this process. When I first came across a series of videos that give tutorials on recorder songs, I thought what I great idea! When I started with “Happy Birthday “, it was a much easier experience than my second chosen song, “O Canada”.  Because of this, I felt very discouraged and wasn’t sure why the video was playing so fast! I couldn’t keep up with note transitions and I kept feeling frustrated that they wouldn’t slow it down for beginners to learn. Then when we had a Personal Growth day, I was with Lauren in the learning commons practicing my notes. She asked if she could join in to play “O Canada” with me and I said of course! Once the video started to play I was trying to keep up to speed and she informed me that the video slows down after the song plays through once. Imagine that… All this time I had been rewinding the video back to the start because I could never master the first 2/3rds of the song!

So from this, I have really resonated with the FPPL: learning takes time and patience. From this, I have realized that if I were to have reached out to my resources (my peers) in class who were also playing the recorder, I may have learned some tips and tricks earlier on. With more patience, I also would have been able to do one full run-through of the video before playing to really get familiar with the notes, the transitions, the song, and the resource (the YouTube video!).

In moving forward, although I am nowhere near perfect, my note transitions and my speed have improved! And more importantly… my patience!