My final EDTC post! I didn’t know where to start! How can I summarize everything I’ve learned and practiced? I will start with a quick review of my blog posts

Week 1

• I set my goal of playing “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. We sang the song on my high school basketball team while we were waiting for our trainer to start our workout. It was a really beautiful moment and my goal was to be able to play this song in a similar
  • Link to “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton

Week 2

• I started to learn the keys of the piano. To remember them I started labeling each key on the piano. As I started to get better, I was able to take off more and more sticky notes. The last sticky note I took off was for the Middle C
  • Link to my first piano video

Week 3

• I started playing songs that were more challenging. I went from playing Mary Had a Little Lamb to playing “All of Me” by John Legend. This week I also used the tool Time Lapse. Although I would whole heartedly recommend this tool in the classroom it needs to be used properly. Because I used time lapse my videos did not have any sound. This proves that although the tool is useful, it is not helpful in every classroom area.
  • My take on “All of Me” by John Legend
  • My piano time lapse

Week 4

• This week I used the piano app Simply Piano. I think that there are many apps that can be useful in the classroom. This app was very helpful in my learning process however, the cost was too extreme to pay for a subscription. If the price was lowered or if the app was used in a music class where many students used it, it would be very helpful.
  • The link to Simply Piano app
  • The website Piano Keyboard Guide

Week 5

• I started playing the piano with two hands. The left-hand plays the lower and slower notes on the piano and the right plays the melody.
  • “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disneys Encanto

Week 6

• This week I looked at piano theory. I practiced reading notes on sheet music. This is a skill that I defiantly did not master. When I read pieces previously in my life, I only focused on treble clef so reading music in base clef was a tough transition.
  • Explanation of Trumpet Sections
  • Website for testing your theory knowledge

Week 7

• I played a bunch of different songs this week. There were all at about the same difficulty level. However, the difficulty level was a bit too difficult for me! I solved this problem by using final cut pro to speed up my playing. This is a useful tool, however, something that not all schools have. I think that any tool that can show a student’s progress in a short time would be great for them to see their progress!
  • Link to My Final Cut Pro video
  • Slowed down piano version of “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift

Week 8

• This week I played “I Can Show You the World” from Disney’s Aladdin. I used the voice memo tool to record my piano playing. I will use this app whenever necessary in the classroom. Because you can voice record while using other apps, I was able to record while reading the piano music off my phone. This is great for any students who need to record themselves but have their notes on a separate document on their phones. I also included the importance other apps on my phone like the reminder’s app or the clock app to help with time management.
  • Disney’s Aladdin song “I Can Show You The World“

Week 9

• I started my overall goal of playing “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton! It took a lot of practice and it took me practicing daily to understand one section of the song. I used the Reminders app and the Clock app to help me with my time management.
  • Sheet Music Direct Website
  • Slowed Down Version of “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton

Week 10

For my final learning project, I played “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton!

Thanks for reading, you’re a gem ?

I’ll catch you next time.

Meghan

Update: I went to Costco today and I sat down at the piano and continued to practice the section of the song I remembered.

I know the sound quality isn’t the best, but I am excited to practice whenever I get the chance.

My goal at the beginning of the year was to be able to play “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. This week I started the task. Throughout this semester I practiced different songs building in difficulty until I got to where I am. When I sat down at the piano, I was excited to start learning. Although I tried my best throughout the semester, I was only able to play the song with one hand. I couldn’t train my brain to think about two different hand movements while also keeping time and hitting the right notes! My respect goes out to all the piano players out there because this is a tough instrument to play.

When I started playing this song I found a website called Sheet Music Direct. This website sold sheet music for around $5 unless you got a subscription to the company. I was not keen on spending $10 a month for sheet music so I went for the free trial to test out the website.

Honestly, it was not my favorite site. The sheet music was good, but it gave no context on how the song should sound. This is a debatable concept because if I was good at reading sheet music I probably would have had a better chance of appreciating the website. One part that I did appreciate from the sheet music was the letters shown on the notes. I know where all the keys on the piano are, but reading the sheet music is still difficult and a slow painful process so I am glad the note letters were provided in the music.

So then I had to do some sleuthing. I found a few different videos that taught me how to play this song, but the one I found is from YouTube linked here. YouTube is possibly one of the most useful tools to use when teaching students. There are so many different videos put on the app, so as long as the teacher has an idea of the videos being shown to the class, YouTube is a tool that should be utilized constantly.

With the help of the YouTube video, I was able to play the melody of “A Thousand Miles”! This was a difficult challenge because when I first sat down to play, the song was almost unrecognizable. I even had some of my friends ask if I should choose a different song! I don’t blame them though; it was not going great! I decided to take a break and go on a road trip to Walmart (that store makes everything better)! When I came back, I gave the song another shot. This time I focused on one section of the song, (1:20- 1:55). This part of the song gave me so much struggle! But after a lot of practice (and a few tears), I finally got the section of the song, and after that, I was off to the races!

This was the practice week but be ready for the performance next week!

Thanks for reading!

You’re a Gem

I took a break from piano practicing and let me tell you it was not a good idea! When I started playing again, I became very overwhelmed because I felt like I lost a lot of my skills because I hadn’t been practicing enough. My solution was a very simple one the reminder app on my phone! I asked Siri to remind me every day to practice piano and that is what she did! Every day at 4 pm my phone alarm would go off and remind me to practice the piano.

Then I used the timer of my clock app to make sure that I only practiced for an hour. My struggle was that I wouldn’t practice piano for a few days and then I would practice for 3 hours! I was exhausting myself. When I practiced daily, I was able to improve my confidence in playing, and playing became less of a task and more of an excitement.

I think apps already provided on my iPhone like the reminders and clock apps are very helpful and something that I often take for granted. I think students can benefit similarly from apps like these. When I am teaching in my pre-internship, I always have a countdown timer playing for my students to know how much time they have left in the class. This is a tool I plan on using throughout my teaching career. The reminders app will be useful for my students who have access to phones when they are at home. I could even use the remind app that makes it possible for a teacher to professionally message students for reminders such as “make sure to bring your signed spelling test to school” or “today is track and field make sure you bring your running shoes”. These simple reminders could help students prepare for their day as well as cause teachers less havoc because the students hopefully will use the reminders to bring the necessary materials to the school.

The other tool I used for my piano lessons this week was voice memos. I tried my best to play the song “I Can Show You the World” from the Disney movie Aladdin. The voice memos were SO helpful! Previously I have watched videos or used apps to read my music, so I always had to use a friend’s phone to record my videos, however, the voice memos app is different. If I’m not playing or recording a video, I can use voice memos to track my progress. The voice memos allowed me to look back on my first recording of the day to my last so I could see how much I had improved with an hour of practice.

This was my first try playing the song. It is clear that I am struggling, in this first recording. The last recording I took, although not perfect was much better.

I would use voice memos in my classroom whether it be for the students to use to record themselves presenting or the teacher recording a lesson they teach for absent students; the voice memos app is a great tool!

Thanks for reading!

You’re a gem ☺️