Reflection #3 The activity I chose to do for the team building music exercise is clapping. Clapping can be a great way to make music, especially with large groups of people. During this exercise, some people will be clapping at a faster pace, some at a medium pace, and others at a slower pace. I believe that if everyone contributed, we would all be able to make a good rhythm and keep it steady. It would be similar to the activity that we did in class with Kathleen where we were walking around and then when she told us to stop, we would try to all sing the same pitch. This exercise would be a little bit different though. The class would start clapping random rhythms to begin with, and then gradually start clapping rhythms that contrast. The point of this exercise is not to clap the same rhythms, but to clap different ones that sound good together. This exercise seems simple but actually can be quite difficult. The main focus of it is to listen to those around you. Teamwork is key. The task to listen to the people around you and build a rhythm that is different than theirs can be really valuable for singing in a choir but also musicianship in general. Rhythms can be very difficult to adapt to. This activity would work to achieve a skill that is often overlooked.
Reflection #7 At my most recent studio recital, I felt very frustrated after the performance because I knew that my nerves got in the way of my performing my best. This is a common frustration that I have because performance anxiety is something I struggle with a lot. I feel as though this problem that I have really restrains me from performing with happiness and confidence which is hat a performer should be feeling. Overall, I felt happy with my performance because it definitely could have gone worse, but I still could have done better. Since, it was my first university recital, everyone was congratulating and complimenting me, which made me feel better. Performing is something that can only get better with more experience. One point from the article that really stuck out to me is when “ It is success at noticing when learning is needed; success at seeing what you need to learn; and then success at actually learning.” To me, this means that being successful is not always doing a perfect job, but it is to understand that progress was made and knowing where you want to improve. This directly relates to my experience at the recent studio recital as I knew I could have done better, but I would still consider this a success. It was my first recital so I already cut myself some slack because of that. Also, I knew exactly what I would change in my performance which are details that can be perfected with time and practice.