Week Four

8/26/2019 0 Comments

Over the past two weeks I have been continuing to consolidate the chords I already knew and working to expand my repertoire of chords, including Bb, A7, E7, and C7. I find bar chords absolutely impossible to play and have a lot of trouble putting enough pressure across all the necessary strings, so I have been looking for alternative fingerings for chords like Bb, F (which I am having a bit of trouble with) and Gm. Luckily, www.fender.com has some awesome solutions and alternative fingerings and inversions for a series of chords.

Macy, D. (2019). How to Play the B Chord on Guitar. Retrieved from https://www.fender.com/artices/how-to/learn-to-play-the-b-chord-on-guitar.

I decided the second option provided was probably the best for me, as it lets me use most of the strings without resorting to the use of a bar chord. Also, in an emergency I could probably just use the three stringed option as well. I ended up using this same chord shape for my G minor chord, as both options provided on the website required barring. Most of the 7th chords have been pretty easy to learn, as they usually only require a single change, whether it is taking away one finger (E7 and A7) or adding one (C7). However, I found the positioning of the G7 really difficult - my hand just doesn't bend that way!! Its quite hard to shift to from pretty much every chord (including G major), but I haven't found any alternative fingerings that are easier, so I am going to have to learn to work with it. Unfortunately, a lot of my chords are coming out quite muted and fuzzy because my fingertips are still SO SORE, but hopefully this will improve with time. To assist in my learning of 7th chords, I enlisted in the help of Billie Holiday and Eva Cassidy with their versions of Stormy Weather and Danny Boy​.

Stormy Weather - Billie Holiday Seljer. (2019). Stormy Weather chords by Billie Holiday. Retrieved from https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/billie_holiday/stormy_weather_chords_737196

Danny Boy - Eva Cassidy Philhf45. (2019). Danny Boy chords by Eva Cassidy. Retrieved from https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/eva-cassidy/danny-boy-chords-2604696

Danny Boy Recording

https://josephinebreretonmusiceducation.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/9/7/129796048/danny_boy.m4a

Stormy Weather was great for practicing the shift to G7 (which will hopefully get easier over time), however I did have to simplify some of the chords in my own version (such as the Em7b5, which became Em7). Danny Boy was a lot easier for me, as the shift from C to C7 is pretty easy (one extra finger). Because these two songs are in different styles (Jazz and Folk) I also got to try out some different strumming patterns which was awesome, as I've been practicing them as well. I still find it really difficult to maintain my strumming pattern and sing along, but I think this will get easier as I practice it more.

Macy, D. (2019). How to Play F Chord on Guitar. Retrieved from https://www.fender.com/articles/how-to/learn-how-to-play-f-chord-on-guitar Wallace, D. (2019). How to Play G Minor Chord on Guitar. Retrieved from https://www.fender.com/articles/how-to/learn-how-to-play-g-minor-guitar-chord

Week Three

8/19/2019

This semester we have begun learning about the Kodály Method. My theoretical understanding of Kodály by week two is that it presents a more rigid and structured program than that of the Orff approach and once you complete one stage, you progress to the next in a sequential fashion. However in practice (at least in the context I have experienced Kodály in), it seems to be Orff with Curwen hand signs. I understand that the similarities between these two styles are numerous, but I think for the Kodály Method to be truly understood and appreciated, it has to be observed in its entirety as a method. Understanding the central principles of the Kodály has been quite useful to my understanding of the method and I find myself in strong agreement with most of them The Central Principles of the Kodály Method

1. Music should be taught from a young age.

2. Music should be taught in a logical and sequential manner.

3. There should be a pleasure in learning music; learning should not be torturous.

4. The voice is the most accessible, universal instrument.

5. The musical material is taught in the context of the mother-tongue folk song.

I agree entirely with these principles, although I do believe that learning songs from all over the world in various languages is not only beneficially to a students understanding of music, but also of different cultures, a factor I think is very important in our increasingly multicultural world. However in saying this, I do understand that much Kodály's purpose in developing his philosophy of music education was to preserve Hungarian culture in a time of political unrest, which most certainly influenced the significance of folk music in the mother-tongue in the Kodály method. While I appreciate the Kodály Method and it's principles, I'm not sold on its rigid structure and still need to consolidate exactly how students move through the stages and sequences of the Method. Musical U Team. (2019). What is the kodály method? | musical u. Retrieved from https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-is-kodaly-and-how-does-it-relate-to-ear-training/#

Week Twelve

5/30/2019

This week I found that the reading really demonstrated the importance of music in our lives. Music is more accessible than ever and we listen to it wherever we go. The reading states the importance of music to teenagers, who use it as a source of identity, use it to manipulate and reflect moods and emotions and use it as a coping mechanism. Despite this, music education is not experiencing the same popularity, as James highlighted in our lecture. During this lecture we were asked to defend music education and validate it as a significant part of the school curriculum, and while the importance of music is clear to us as music students, we were able to understand that it might seem irrelevant to people focused on achieving results through standardised testing on STEM subjects. However, I think that music education is only further validated by the importance of music in society today, however the ways it is being presented in classrooms might not be suitable or engaging for students. Hallam, S. (2015). The Power of Music. Great Britain: International Music Education Research Centre