Hi!
Welcome to your class blog. By 2:00 AM on Friday 8/24, write at least two paragraphs discussing your experience in our FYS class today and what ideas the learning goals in the syllabus have sparked in you.
I'm particularly interested in seeing you share with each other your ideas and dreams for the work you hope to do after college, and how the work we do together this semester can help you plant seeds and lay groundwork for that.
When you add your response as a comment, be sure that it is clear who you are, either from your Blogger name or by signing your comment.
--EE
The class on Wednesday was awesome. The way we all let go of our inhibitions while beating the drums, the creativity of the rhythms, and the feelings that were released in the midst of the chaos was inspiring. It was fun watching the people who typically keep to themselves dancing around and clapping, as well as discovering a new way to channel stress into a productive activity.
ReplyDeleteI plan on being a choral director in the future, so to answer the question of "how do we engage young people in classical music without compromising artistic standards?" I started thinking about ways in which I could use choir to accomplish that goal. Part of the solution is getting kids involved in choir, and instilling in my students the same love of choir that I have. Another potential solution is by weaving in some modern music with classical music, allowing my students to learn to appreciate both, not just the modern stuff that they hear on the radio.
I love your thought provoking question. I've always been of the opinion that music is not meant to be kept for one's own well being, but must be shared, for it is the nature of the art. Music is about relationships, both human and not. Either way, it is not a solitary journey and the question you pose is so very relevant to that theory. We have the ability to share our passions with everyone, and NOTHING should ever be able to strop us.
DeleteMo, I really appreciate what you said about music not being "a solitary journey." I kind of needed to hear that, actually. I always want to be communicating with something greater than myself when I am making music, however you want to look at that. But I believe it will help me to remember your words while I am shrieking away, alone in a practice room. :)
DeleteClass on Wednesday was not only fun, but it was also unique and very illuminating. The improvisational element was especially interesting because using a pitchless instrument without instructed rhythms had a very foundational or "earthy" feel to it. Beginning with instinct before instruction is something that music students likely haven't encountered often, since the general process of learning a piece begins with sheet music and since skill honing tends to have a disciplinary aspect to it.
ReplyDeleteI would like perform in opera as a career. While improvisational opera isn't really a thing right now (tell me when it is, because it sounds AWESOME), I'm sure this class will give me many skills to prepare for that goal, including musicianship: while we don't get to choose WHAT we sing in an opera production, we do get to choose HOW we sing it--with help from the director. Instinct comprises a huge part of interpretation. The time we share together in FYS will be valuable to us as we draw energy and inspiration from each other. I can't wait for Friday.
If only the world operated more like our seminar...
ReplyDeleteI felt that the energy and communication we all experienced was both invigorating and inspiring. Launching into a process that was completely foreign to most of us should have led to a confused and awkward encounter; however, we came together and found an instant connection. If someone tried to tell me that beforehand, I wouldn't have believed that our inhibitions, barriers and defense mechanisms could be abandoned so completely. Now that I have experienced it, I have a newfound respect for our group and myself.
I don't have any specific aspirations for life after college at this point. My hope is that my time spent at DePauw equips me to successfully navigate wherever the universe leads me. I do know that in everything I do, I try to find meaning through music's response to life's questions. As our seminar boldly does just this, I can tell that it will impact the way in which I share my ideas with others. As musicians, we understand and appreciate what happened in our seminar Wednesday despite the sad reality that our peers would not. Hopefully throughout this semester we will discover ways to share this joy with them. If we can, then perhaps we can help shape a world that does operate more like our seminar; embracing a mutual, open and uninhibited human dialogue.
I love the way you talk about barriers. The inhibition with which we ALL live our lives is one of, if not the biggest, roadblock to success. This seminar, while it could be termed "silly" is really just an exercise in breaking through emotional barriers. It's no wonder you are an honors scholar!
DeleteComing into our first seminar class, I really did not know what to expect. Drums, yes. Improvisation, yes. But I didn't know to what degree each would be used, or how exactly they would be used. Reflecting on our experience, I realize how incredible it was. We all began rather timidly, too wrapped up in self consciousness. But as we all began to relax, together we found a pulse that all of our individual rhythms easily fit into. Being able to let go, even if it was just a little bit, allowed me to truly experience and digest all that was going on around me. Reading the syllabus, something that really stuck out to me was that a focus of the seminar would be to develop our self confidence. This is something that I hope will really have an impact on me, because I feel that I need to be able to open up more, and be confident in all that I do.
ReplyDeleteIn a perfect world filled with successful orchestras, I would love to get a gig as a clarinetist in one of these orchestras. But times are tough and, as I saw firsthand with the Louisville Orchestra, orchestras are having an extremely hard time staying afloat. If I do manage to land a gig despite these hardships, it will be in part because of the self confidence that I will hopefully gain through this course. And once in an orchestra, it is important to be able to work as an ensemble to find your pulse. However, other aspects of this course will hopefully help me learn to be creative and innovative when it comes to finding work in the musical world, leaving me with plenty of options.
First of all, I LOVE the percussive arts. I think it's a natural human instinct to hit things, and drums provide the perfect outlet, in contrast to people, for example. As a stress reliever, playing drums releases tension, both physically and emotionally. In college, everyone could use a drum circle every once in a while. With that said, I truly enjoyed Wednesday's class period and am extremely optimistic about the rest of the semester. Additionally, the syllabus really sparked in me a passion to bring classical music to people who don't understand the fuel behind our fire.
ReplyDeleteThe capstone unit seems to be all about how we can connect our peers to our passion and love for music. And we as humans strive for people to understand us. So in sharing our our livelihoods, we share our souls with the people in our lives. By helping others understand what makes us tick, we begin to understand ourselves as well, which most people consider to be a lifelong quest. So summarily, this class is really an intro to finding yourself. Perhaps that is a far-drawn conclusion, but one that seems "bloggable".
As far as my intended career path goes, I would like to become a high school or college band or choir director, ideally. However, I would love to sing in an acapella jazz group, where the group collaborates on transcription and composition. I have no doubt this seminar will prepare me for any of these career paths. In self discovery, I have no fear that my future will be bright.
I thought our seminar on Wednesday was amazing. Percussion is something I think that is usually pushed to the side and being able to experiment with it was really cool. Not only were we able to do that, but we also did it in a way I'm sure none of us expected. The learning curve was fascinating, and the way we all worked together was unreal. The idea of all creating something independently and yet having it all connect was really interesting. What I was always taught during jazz lessons was how musicians share music and ideas with each other but then make it their own, a sort of music paraphrasing that leads to further creation. And that's kind of what happened in class, although we were all playing at once we were able to create our own ideas and use the other beats around us to lead to more evolved ideas. I believe that this seminar will truly help us propel forward to become better musicians and help our own respective fields.
ReplyDeleteAfter DePauw I hope to become a high school band director. Music has been something that affects everyone in their day to day lives and without someone teaching music we could see a severe downgrade in music quality. Unfortunately, I never realized how much a band director can affect someone's life until my middle school band director passed away junior year. I saw how he had followed what truly made him happy and changed the lives of thousands. Senior year I took band much more seriously and was able to find it to be my true passion. While teaching, I hope to work on play/musical writing and composing. I don't want to be famous, I don't care if my shows never make it out of the school. I just want to spread music to the next generation and write entertaining shows to keep building the strength and love of music.
First of all, I am sorry to hear that you lost someone so important to you - especially one of great influence. However, reading your post helps us see a gratefulness and thankfulness in you that has stimulated passion for something worthwhile. You really are cutout for this ;)
DeleteOur seminar is awesome. I love the different environment that we have. The relaxed setting and the drumming takes me away from all the everyday stress of life. I have never been one to do improvisation well. I know that no one can technically do improv. wrong, but some do it better than others. The first day of classes is always the awkward moment when you have to meet your teacher and the rest of your classmates. This class wasn't like that. We sat in a circle and banged on drums and danced. I can honestly say that I have never done that before on the first day of class. This seminar is defiantly going to be my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of making things happen instead of waiting for them to happen to you. As a singer, you have to put yourself out there and make people hear you. Having that initiative can really help you in the "real" world. Having this class can teach us how to show people that music can still be fun! Even classical music. An improvisation class can help performers loosen up and really perform for their audience. I think that is one of the problems for the decline of classical music. Everyone thinks it's so boring! It is one the most amazing genres of music in my opinion.
Isn't life all about putting yourself out there? Timidity is no way to live a life. Music just happens to be a constant demand to expose our inner-workings. This class is an introduction into fearlessness: letting down your guard. It's our job to let loose, work hard, and share our love for music.
DeleteYesturday in FYS, it was a new experience for me and for the rest of the group, I'm sure. Once we had all began to drum on our drums, we weren't a group of very distinct individuals. We had began to form a body that pulsated, breathed, and reacted to every part of its being (the individuals). Our pulse and beat were one in the same. Once the beat had started, we abandoned out worries of self-conciousness and became more out going and at ease with one another. But within that common boundary of similarity, we expressed individual beats, rhythms, and variations of tones to create a driving song that could be expressed by our body. A way to describe this feeling and action is tribal and primitive. It was a nice change to stray away from the formality of strict music and just express what I felt at that moment instead of what some composer felt nearly 200 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI plan on being a high school band director or a college level professor of horn or some sort of music class. I am seeking this profession because one day, several years ago, someone lit the spark of music in me and let the blaze burn. I want to be that spark in someone's life or if it is already there, to help it grow and lead it toward a greater level. I took private horn lessons from Brian Kilp of Indiana State University and how he worked with me inspired me to want to work with college aged kids. His want for me to be my best touched me and I will never forget what he has taught me nor the impact he has left on me. Someday, I wish to be that impact and to show people the way to true passion for music and expression.
I like your personification of our drum circle's qualities. I think it very appropriately captures the nature of the kind of music we made. Instead of an abstract idea, the drum circle really became an entity onto itself.
DeleteThe first seminar session on Wednesday was something spectacular. From the moment that first beat rang out I could see new and hidden sides of people emerging. In a world that is filled with constant pressure from media and social roles it is extremely liberating to be the one who creates and controls your atmosphere. Even more so, wordlessly uniting with people you have just met has a root in something very instinctive. Class on Wednesday was so interesting and wonderful for me because I do feel some of the most basic forms of human interaction are being replaced or are now considered taboo (interacting with strangers, working as a human team to design and build etc.). As a side note, I do think that the capstone project may attract more students if a public drum circle were featured. Banging straight quarter notes on a drum is a basic joint function, not entirely exhausting no complex thought is needed yet the greatest satisfaction can be achieved from it. Thank you sincerely for sharing this, I know that it is a bonding technique that I will definitely use in the future.
ReplyDeleteFor now, I think that my plans involve becoming a high school orchestra teacher, to share my love of music in the best way I know how. But who really knows where things will end up? I openly admit that I am also interested in becoming a professional pit musician because I believe that live shows can often times spark a light in humans that I just couldn't stand to not be a part of. I have interest in environmental science and in psychology as well, but I know that music is the first path for me because it a universal language and it gratifies me in a way that only those who have experienced it can truly understand.
First off, I am in complete agreement that we should have a drum circle as part of our capstone - GREAT IDEA. More importantly, it's special to hear about your absoluteness in our field of study. As we are all starting to realize, without a great deal of passion, the pursuit of a musical career would be near impossible. I can't wait for more great discussion!
DeleteI'm in agreement about the energy created in a pit band setting. I think there are a lot of aspects of improvisation in that environment that don't exist in many other realms of music. Whether you're playing down for mic issues or skipping ahead for vocal cues that came a little early, playing in a pit demands so much communication just to make it through the song together. In the end, it's that connection between so many different factors that makes the experience so uniquely rewarding.
DeleteMy experience at our FYS class was very different than I thought it was going to be. I did not imagine so much jumping into using the drums and being as loud as we were. It made the class have a sense of friendship among all of us. I felt comfortable with expressing myself through the music in front of everyone, which is something I sometimes struggle with. The way we all played a different rhythm but had a common beat that held us together relates us to our lives outside of the class. We all have different likes and dislikes, but we all are connected by our deep appreciation for music.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the syllabus, I am confident that this class will help me to become a much better musician all around. Learning to be more creative through improvisation will help me to be able to be more comfortable standing in front of a classroom. The task of creating an event to showcase classical music in a way that will draw a crowd of students is one that will help me to come up with ways to intrigue my future classrooms that I hope to be teaching in front of someday. Overall, I am excited to be a part of this FYS as I begin the journey towards my Choral Music Education degree.
I had a wonderful time in our first FYS class. As a bit of a "late arriver" to the group, my experience was certainly interesting, and I think somewhat unique. Jumping into free expression exercises my first day on campus, with a group of people I had never met before, I THOUGHT would be stressful. On the contrary, the experience was completely stress-relieving and set a great standard for "being" that I hope to carry through my entire DePauw experience. Learning that, really, the only way to make it through something as scary/foreign/demanding as a performance-based degree is just to jump right in with everything you have and not let your fears or insecurities be a hindrance to your own success. Because of this correlation, I believe the freedom of improvisation will teach us a skill-set invaluable to all performer-people/people-performers.
ReplyDeleteMy dream is to become an opera singer. I kind of don't have a "Plan B" in regard to another serious life goal. I will probably work my whole life to be successful in that one arena. Supporting myself is a different matter, because singer work is so fickle and hard to come by. I do have extensive "practical" experience performing and making money with my violin, so I imagine my living will end up coming from an interesting combination of sources. With both instruments and both musical "paths" it is important that I learn how to market myself and how to be creative in finding/creating work opportunities. I am really looking forward to that aspect of this class, and to diversifying my musical experiences, so that I may become THE consummate musician, which is the best hope for all of us in this crazy endeavor. :)
It takes a lot of courage to tell people that you want to be a musician. This summer, a friend asked me what I want to do and I replied "play music." When she asked what my backup plan was, I said "..um I guess I don't have one." Without skipping a beat, she said, "Well then, you've got to make it."
DeleteI think that's a great attitude to have because if you know what's important, then you'll figure out the rest. With newfound confidence from this course, I'm hoping to tell people my goals without worrying that they think I need a "Plan B".
The FYE was something very new to me. I am rarely that social. It was fun and it felt good to relax. As introverted as I am it helps that I am getting a push. I wouldn't let myself otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSince I am wanting a degree in sociology, I find some of the points about less people going to high arts interesting. It really is right up my alley. However the creativity is something I am not looking forward to. I lack good creativity. I can play and I enjoy it but improv is not my thing. It will still be good for me to try. Hopefully I am better than I think I am.
I want to graduate with a degree in music and a degree in sociology. I want to get a good job playing trombone. I don't care what it is as long as it can stay steady. Eventually I want to play in a major orchestra. I realize it would be a lot of work and thats why I want to do it. If I can't get a musician job right out of college my degree in sociology will hopefully save me. If I loose my dream of music with a good sociology job then i won't complain but I will try my best to get back into music.
I found our first seminar session incredibly stress relieving and freeing. During student orientation we have all been experiencing the stresses of various amounts of details such as auditions, our first private lessons, adjusting to a new environment, etc. and because of this, I feel as if everyone has been extremely on edge. When we were all sitting in a circle, forgetting about the worries of our lives and banging on our drums the stresses that seemed to have been weighing on everyone's shoulders seemed to be lifted off. We all seemed to just be living in the moment and somehow melded together to create these amazing rhythm patterns. There was an incredible wall of sound that was surging through the room which induced our creative sides. When passing people in the building, as I carried my drum, I saw their expression and the spark of excitement they had when they commented things such as "The drum circle!!! It's so much fun!" This definitely intrigued me and got my amped up for what was to come, and I must say, I was not at all disappointed. I loved that we were forced to step out of our comfort zone and unravel our security blanket, especially when we had to individually go up to each person and greet them and then stand in the middle of the drum circle and yell "Look at me!" I'm a particularly shy person until I am comfortable with the person, group, or whatever it is, and not only the drum circle but the open discussion we had about how the appreciation of the fine arts are dwindling really made me step out of my shell.
ReplyDeleteThis may seem like a childish dream, but deep down in my heart I've always wanted to be a concert pianist. I want to, one day, be performing for hundreds of people at Carnegie hall. Letting the walls of the concert hall echo the wonderful chords of Chopin's A-flat Major "Heroic" Polonaise, Op. 53. In my opinion, there is no feeling in the world that could amount to the wave that goes through your body as you let the last notes of your piece ring out. You stand up, squinting out into the audience and then it hits you. Thundering applause. The pleasure and smiles that people display as you bow. You can see the happiness and joy you have provided for these individuals. Obviously, I have a backup plan which is why I'm also pursuing a degree in music education, but piano performance has my heart. I do believe that everything that we learn in FYS will not only be valuable in our musical pursuits but also just life in general because ideas that we have discussed such as the "What We Know We Don't Know", "What We Don't Know We Know", etc. can apply to any situation that we are encountered with. During orientation, we were told how "DePauw will prepare us for life", and from what I have seen so far, I couldn't agree anymore. In general, I am incredibly excited and intrigued by this seminar and I cannot wait to learn and experience more!
You all did a great job on the comments for this post! I appreciate your openness and honesty about your own goals.
ReplyDelete