1. Get over it. Yes, I am the oldest student in the class. I spent a remarkable amount of time getting dressed for class on the first day (do I wear professional clothes because I'm an adult? jeans and a t-shirt because I'm a student? sweats because that's what I'm used to working from home?). When I got to class, I realized that I just need to let go of my self-consciousness and instead worry about learning. You know, the thing I'm here to do. By day two, I stopped caring and started listening.
2. Time for homework! Oh wow, had I forgotten about this part. When I registered for classes, I set aside time for class. Rearranging my work day and workout schedule to make way for class time. I totally forgot about homework time. And I'm an incredibly slow reader, so doing 20-30 pages in a night takes forever. Plus, there's listening homework, too. I need to revisit my schedule to carve out homework time. And practice time for piano.
3. I know stuff! Hey, did you know that I know stuff? Who knew? On Day 1 in Music Appreciation class, I was able to identify that a song we were listening to only had strings. So that was validating. In our first piano class, I already knew the notes on the keyboard and basic rhythmic notation. Whew.
4. I don't know stuff! As I read my Music Appreciation book, I find myself overwhelmed with descriptions of music - dark, rich, brilliant, piercing, warm, expressive. These are kind of foreign words to me at this point. I recognize that interpretation is really left up to the listener, but I feel like I've got a lot to learn in choosing words to convey what I hear. That is, of course, the point of the class. So I'm in the right place.
5. I'm already learning stuff! I've never thought about five-finger patterns before. (Ask me what they are when you see me.) I'm learning to play them for all the major keys. With both hands. My left hand doesn't like to keep the beat, I find. It's not used to using all the fingers independently. I've also learned there are instruments in the orchestra that I've never heard of. Including an English horn, which is neither English nor a horn. And ways of playing instruments that have formal names I've never heard of, like pizzicato (again, ask if you want to know). And a pick, guitarists, has another name. I also learned that notes have set frequencies. Something tells me I'd enjoy a science of music course.
So far, so good, friends. Thank you for the continued support. :)
This post makes me so happy, and your new adventure sounds exciting! In response to #1, there will ALWAYS be someone younger, more talented, better connected, and better equpped when it comes to fields of music, so spending even a second worrying about that is a second you'll never get back. As for #4, the point is to listen and enjoy and appreciate (or decide you don't like), not to try to articulate all of your thoughts and feelings -- the vocab will come more naturally once you have experienced many different kinds of musical works as an active listener. I'm soooo bad at music theory (analysis) but the science of music is fantastic! As is pizzicato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDJo07n65ak
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are enjoying it, Anne. I'm a bit surprised at some of the things you've noted that you don't know: You are such a wonderful musician that I assumed you'd had more musical education than is actually the case, I suppose. You've got the great musicianship down, and I think the rest will come naturally to you! Have fun!
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