When I was younger, I was mesmerized by my sister’s friend, who came over and could play the piano. My kindergarten teacher, grammie, and mom all played for me, all people I looked up to. I played for about five years, but honestly did not have the patience the practice on my own. I enjoyed playing songs that I knew, but for most of the years I played, my teacher focused on more classical foundations, which made it hard for me to engage with. This experience demonstrates to me that, as a future educator, I will be more successful by learning what my students are interested in and letting them decide on their own topics.
For week one of getting back to playing I…
- Identified all treble and bass clef notes on sheet music (by reviewing mnemonics I learned in lessons)
- Reviewed scales for each note
- Reviewed the meaning of sharp and flat notes
- Practice reading simple sheet music and playing along super slowly with just the right hand
- I reviewed playing a few songs I learned years ago, and was surprised how some of it was still muscle memory. But, this also made me frustrated when I remembered exactly how a part of a song was supposed to sound, but couldn’t remember how to play it
- Practiced finding chords faster by playing along to ukulele music I also had from years ago
- Finished learning Je Te Laisserai Des Mots by Patrick Watson, which I’ve known for about two years now, but never got around to finishing the ending. I found the same sheet music from when I first was learning it, and after practicing it a few times, I got it down pretty good. I recorded what I’ve learned so far to look back on my progress in the future, when I can play it fluently, and add pedal.