Journal 2

This week was very different than last week. It was a lot of fun. This week, we learned the difference between a steady beat, and rhythm. We practiced these in class, with rhymes we made over the weekend. After that, we learned the first few notes of the recorder, and even learned our first song. It was difficult at first to play the notes correctly, since I had never played before. But soon, after the class practiced together a few times, I got the hang of it, and can now play the song almost perfectly.

The steady beat was taught to us by practice. Anything dealing with music is difficult if you don’t practice out loud, so you can hear your mistakes. The recorder was taught by sight. We looked at what the teacher was doing, and how she was placing her hands, and then imitated that. I also looked at other people, to see how they were doing it. Then, to play the notes, we listened. We needed to listen as we played to hear if the notes were coming out correctly.

I think that learning these skills will be important later in life because it involves using all of our senses. It trains us, and will help younger students, to use not just sight as a means of learning, but also hearing, and doing. Music is also a means of expression. Any musical instrument can be used as an escape; to just “become” the music, and wash everything else away.

I think that if students have the opportunity to learn music, or to sharpen their skills, they should try it. It can help calm them down, or give them something to look forward to during school. It can also be helpful to learn how to use their different senses while learning. Learning things young is the easiest, and best, way to learn something new. On the list given to us, I am not familiar with any of the songs.