Thursday, February 23, 2012

Fourth Interview Questions

1) How do dynamics work in a piano composition?
2) Where does harmony come into play in a piano composition?
3) Where does melody come into play in a piano composition?
4) During a performance, is it wise to have accompaniment instruments?
5) What is the biggest piano performance you have ever done?
6) How long have you been playing the piano?
7) Have you ever played in a different country?
8) What type of music do you like to play the most?
9) What type of music do you like to play the least?
10) Was the piano your first instrument?
11) Would you reccommend having a lot of body movement during a performance?
12) How can you make yourself appealing to the audience?
13) Where should the piano be located during the performance?
14) How much practice should one have before a performance?
15) What type of activities would you give to people trying to learn the piano?
16) Do you prefer to play up tempo or slower songs?
17) Do you enjoy playing as an accompinament instrument?
18) Does having a succesful piano performance necessarily mean you're the only one performing?
19) Do you watch over videos of older performances to see what you did wrong?
20) What do you do when you make a mistake during the performance?

Monday, February 13, 2012

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

1) for my independent component 2, i am going to continue taking private piano lessons to further enhance my piano playing ability and help me reach my end goal of mastering Claire de Lune by Debussy.

2) I have already 10hours for this independent compopnent because i take a 2hour weekly class plus recitals which also counts for hours.

3) this independent component relates to my EQ because private lessons teach me many techniques to pull off a successful performance, and will have a big impact on what i present for my 2hr.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Independent Component 1

Link to log of independent component hours: Independent Component Log

Evidence:  Mastery of first composition of independent component 1River Flows in You by Yiruma
                Somebody to Love cover at Talent Show

Literal
a) I, Ryan McConnaughey, affirm that i completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
b) Throughout the 30hours of work i spent during my independent component, i completed the mastery of an entirely new composition which was "River Flows in You by Yiruma".  For my independent component, i started taking private tutoring lessons after a 1 year break from piano.  Due to my 1 year break, i obviously forgot many old compositions I had learned years ago.  During the first couple weeks into my independent component, my piano tutor helped me regain all my compositions such as "Ordinary People by John Legend", "Maybe by Yiruma", "100 Years by Five For Fighting", and much more.  Since i plan to continue classes through independent 2, i am learning an extremely difficult composition from the Romanticism Era of music which occurred during the late 1800's to early 1900's. This piano piece is called Claire De Lune by Debussy.  By the end of independent component one, i am now able to play through all 7 pages of sheet music.  When i continue through independent component 2, my piano teacher will help me clean the piece so it sounds fluid as I work on memorizing it. The last thing i completed was a performance at the talent show where I collaborated with two other seniors in performing a song.

Interpretive
There are many things that have demonstrated my 30hours of work.  For example i have mastered one full song, recovered 4 songs from taking a one year break from piano, began learning a difficult classical composition, and finally performed at the Ipoly High School talent show.  These are all the most significant parts of my component because they show how dedicated i am to Piano and that i was willing to put in the time and effort to complete them.

Applied
Since most of my Independent Component consists of taking weekly 2hour classes with my private piano instructor, she was able to give me great advice on what to do and what not to do.  When i asked her "What is most important to having a successful piano performance?", she gave me a full on answer about how showing your emotion, using the dynamics correctly, and proper finger movements can guarentee a successful piano performance.