Week 8: 28 May - 1 June 2012

Topic (Theory): Jazz Ensemble Performance
Reflection Question: How was my jazz ensemble performance?

Speaking of the individual performance, I did not really think that my own performance was good. Sometimes my flute did not sound the melody and it certainly harmed the performance; however there was also Agi in my group who also played flute, thus when my flute could not sound the melody, she could cover me since she played as well. The other instruments which are guitar, piano, and violin were played harmoniously together with the flute, so that actually when my flute could not sound the melody, it did not worsen the performance too much. I think my group's performance was better when it comes to improvisation, since some of my group members did so and they are indeed good at it, and also when all of my group members sang some parts of the song, which the other groups did not do. We were also chill when singing the song, so the audiences enjoyed it.

Instrument class

I only had instrument class on Tuesday. The instrument class began with practicing on my own in instrument class. Then, I proceeded to gather up with my group mates and supervisor to practice the jazz ensemble performance. I have improved in terms of a lot of things compared to last week. We also decided to sing some part of the song, which made the performance better.

Practice videos

Practice "Don't Know Why"

Since this is the last week of the music class and the week of assessment, I tried to do my practice as best as I can. I did well in my blowing skill because my flute always sounded the melody when I blew it; however I pressed some notes wrong. I could observe it when I was playing the long notes. I also forgot the ending of the song that was supposed to be on the room 2 bar and supposed to be played 2 times. However, I only played once and instead I continued to play the long notes that actually I was not supposed to play. I think it was because I was in a rush so that I did mistakes. On the next practice, I have to be calm and not to be in rush so I will be able to play the melody correctly and harmoniously. Since my group decided to sing some parts of the song, it would be better if I sang as well on the next practice at home.

Practice "Don't Know Why" (with singing)

This is my last practice before performing for the assessment. To be honest, I feel happy and proud with this practice because I did it without forgetting any parts of the song even though I pressed a few notes wrong. However, I did my blowing technique very well so that the flute sounded the melody everytime I blew it. I did the singing very well too, however I forgot the lyrics on the part "I wished that I could fly away". It is actually alright since it is okay later to read the lyrics from the music sheet on music stand. I hope that I will perform well tomorrow and give my best to myself, my group, and the audiences

Week 7: 21 - 25 May 2012

Topic (Theory): Jazz Ensemble Performance & Music Jingle
Reflection Question: What do you think of your music jingle?

I am satisfied with my music jingle. It was my first time combining 3 instruments in composing the song. It was a challenge for me to do so, thus I made some mistakes on the first draft of my music jingle. However, by the help of my instrument teacher I was able to fix the mistakes. When listening to my music jingle, I felt Indonesian traditional atmosphere. I believe that my jingle can persuade tourists to come to Indonesia if the jingle is used for Indonesian tourism advertisement.

Instrument class
I gathered up with my jazz ensemble group mates and supervisor to practice for the performance. After observing my performance to the song, I felt that it would be better if I did not just play the melody, but also helped the guitar and piano to accompany the melody. After decided to do so, the performance turned to be better. However, I still have not memorized the melody notes and it would make it difficult for me to performance the song well. I need more practices out of music class in order to perform the song better.

Practice videos
Playing "Don't Know Why"

 

 Since this week is a week before the assessment, I must already have improved a lot. It is true that I have some improvements. Usually on the instrument class when I gathered up with my jazz ensemble group I did many mistakes in playing the melody. However, on this video it seems that I only made few mistakes. However, I still had problems in my blowing technique especially when I had to play notes with longer tempo. Nonetheless, I observed that my blowing technique improves day by day. On the next practice, perhaps I have to play the song with faster tempo since on the practices during the instrument class I played the song with faster tempo than the one used on this practice. 

Playing "Don't Know Why" (2nd practice)

 

 On this practice, I played the melody with faster tempo as how I played it during instrument class. In the beginning of the practice, I observed a mistake in the playing. There was a note that I played an octave higher than it supposed to be. Although I did not press the wrong notes, playing the melody in incorrect octave would make the performance sounds bad as well. Thus, I have to provide more time to practice so that I can play the melody with correct octave. Nonetheless, I did not observe errors in my blowing skill as many as the previous practice.

Week 6: 14 - 18 May 2012

Topic (Theory): Music Jingle and Jazz Ensemble Performance
Reflection Question: How was my jazz ensemble group progress?

I have not practiced together with my group this week because I was absent on Tuesday and I had no time to gather up with my group on Wednesday. However, I have tried to be familiar with the song by reading the notes and asking my instrument teacher to play the song using flute. After that I tried to play the first 4 bars. I realized that playing this song is more complicated than the song I have been practicing, Close to you. However, I realized that this time it is difficult for me to play because I have not communicated with my group mates and supervisor thus I do not know on which parts I have to play the melody and on which parts I have to help the guitar or piano for the accompaniment. There must be time for gather up with my group and supervisor next week so I will ask for their help so I will be able to perform the song well and get good mark.

Instrument class

I have not gathered up with my group and supervisor, however I have practiced together with my instrument teacher. Before start playing the song, I read the notes first to be familiar with the song. Then, I asked my instrument teacher to play the song using flute. After that I tried to play the first 4 bars. I was not able to play it fluently since it was the first time I played it, I pressed the wrong notes a lot and my breathing was still too rough. Thus, on the next practice I have to memorize the notes and make the breathing smoother so the voice from the flute will sound better. 

Practice videos

Playing "Close to you"

 

I once again played "Close to you". I felt some improvements on this practice compared to previous 2 practices of playing "Close to you". I did not do mistakes as many as previous practices. Moreover, I was able to control my blowing technique well so I was able to play all the melodies on the correct octave. These improvements I got are perhaps due to the good concentration I had during the practice, that I did not have in the previous practices. Thus, on the next practices I have to maintain this good concentration.

Playing "Don't Know Why"

I just found out that I had to play "Don't Know Why" for the jazz ensemble group assessment. Thus, I practiced playing the song at home. This is my first time playing the song thus I predicted that there would be many errors occurred when playing the song. However, my prediction is wrong. I was able to play it with few errors only. Nonetheless, I still have to improve my blowing technique because my blowing technique on this practice was quite poor. Moreover, since I only played the first 12 bara on this practice, I have to memorize the rest of the melodied on the next practice so I will be able to play the while song.

Week 5: 7 - 11 May 2012

Topic (Theory): Singing a Jazz Tune Assessment
Reflection Question: How did my singing assessment go?

In overall, my singing assessment ended up well. My group missed a member, however we still managed to perform to the fullest. None of us looked forget either the lyrics or melody. Since I like singing, I was able to be confident when performing, and my group mates did not look shy either when performing so I think they were as confident as me. We also managed to sing on the same tempo. None of us sang faster or slower. My group did not provide time to practice other than at music sessions; hence actually my group would be able to perform better if we provided some time for practice out of music sessions. Our performance would also improve if we took it seriously in dividing the voice and pitch control.

Instrument class

I did not have any instrument classes because all music sessions for this week were used for assessment thus there was no time for instrument class. 

Practice videos
Singing "Close to you"

In this video, I practiced singing 2nd voice for "Close to you". I did not know what key I used in this practice since I only used the instrumental audio from YouTube to accompany me in practicing. Actually I performed the singing loud enough, however the microphone on my laptop was not sensitive enough so on the video my voice does not sound loud. I felt that the key I sang on this video was too low for me; thus I have to communicate it to my group mates. Furthermore, I still have not found the second voice for the part "On the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true. So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue". During the warming up session before the assessment, I have to ask for help in finding the voice to my group mates.

Playing "Close to you" (Flute)

In this practice video, I did my 2^nd practice in playing “Close to you” using flute. I observed some improvements on this second practice because I did not take long time to think of the melodies I had to play next. Moreover, I did not make mistakes as many as the previous practice. However, I played some notes with higher/lower octave than it is supposed to be. Perhaps it was because I was not able to control my blowing well. On the next practice, I have to control my blowing skill better thus I can play all the melodies with correct octaves.

Week 4: 30 April - 4 May 2012

Topic (Theory): Singing a Jazz Tune & Music Notation Written Retest
Reflection Question: How does business and industry affect music - makers and users?

According to BTEC Level 3 National specification in Music and Music Technology, there are numerous roles of music in business and industry sector: music as commodity (investment and return, profit and loss); market forces (e.g. trends, fashions, youth culture); economic power of individual (artistic freedom, political use of celebrity status); company (major companies buy out 'indies'); collective (industry lobbying power, control of the market); corporate sponsorship (philanthropy or strategy) expansion of publishing and printing; charitable bodies and foundations; individual and private; non - government funding; amateur music - makers; self - financing.
These diverse roles of music in business and industry show that they generate income for music makers in various ways. As time goes by, industries in music become more developed and vary. Composers sell songs to recording labels for the singers and musicians under them. Singers and musicians sell their recordings to public through music store, either it is physical or online. Furthermore, due to strong competition in business and industry, those music makers who are longing to be the most popular among the users have to work hard to create music that reaches the consumers' demand. However, it is not true that in order to reach consumers' demand music makers must create music with the popular genre at that time. One way to satisfy the costumers might be creating innovative music that have not been made by other music makers, and at the same time being themselves, meaning that they have to use their style in creating music, even though it is not wrong to use different kinds of styles in creating music. In short, strict competition in music business and industry motivates music makers to be creative and innovative.
To music users, due to business and industry, music becomes an expenditure. Most of the time, in order to enjoy music legally music users have to purchase music from either music online stores such as iTunes or physical CD stores. People who are responsible enough to the laws will be probably willing to buy the music/songs legally. However, what happens now is that most people would rather download songs illegally than purchase it, because they think it is worthless to spend money just to listen to music while at the same time they can actually listen to music without having to spend any cents even though it is illegal. Moreover, for some people it is difficult to buy music in online store because there are some complicated steps to be done in buying music online, such as registering user name, credit card, and so on. Actually, it would be better if music makers deliver their music for free. However, music makers have making music as their job so they cannot have any incomes if they do not charge any amount of money to those who want to listen to their music.

Instrument class
I actually did not have any instrument classes. Instead, I practiced singing "Close to you" with my group mates. Guitar instrument teacher accompanied us in practicing the song. I was in charge for singing the 2nd voice. When singing my group mate who sang 1st voice, I still could maintain my 2nd voice, however when the 3rd and 4th voices came I could not concentrate anymore because their voices are similar to the 2nd voices. Thus, I have to practice my concentration so I will not be distracted even though I sing with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th voice. I hope I will be able to sing the song well with my group during the assessment day.

Practice videos
Playing "Picture of You" (Boyzone)

I planned to play the song for my jazz ensemble group assessment; however since I have not found out what song I am going to play, I decided to play another song. In this practice video, I played “Picture of You” (sung by Boyzone). Since this is my favorite song, I thought that I would have no problems in playing the song. However, after the practice and watching the video I could tell that this song is quite difficult to play. There are some parts with faster beat (1/16 notes) and I had problems in playing those parts. Nevertheless, I can still find my strength on this first practice of play the song. I could play the chorus well and I did not sound having problems in my blowing techniques. On the next practice, I will probably have to first play the song slower, and then play it using the actual beat.

 

Playing "Close to you"

I decided not to play “Picture of You” again because I just found out that I was going to sing “Close to you”. In order to be familiar with the melody, I decided to play the song using flute, while at the same time practice my skill in playing flute. On the beginning of the practice, I can observe some mistakes in playing the melody. It is also obvious that I had to stop and took some time to think what the next melodies I had to play are. I also observed some mistakes when playing the part “On the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true. So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue”. I felt that it is understandable because that part has faster beats (using 1/8 notes). The other reason why I did not play it well is perhaps because I was in a rush when doing the practice. Nonetheless, I observed no problems on my blowing skills on this practice. On the next practice, I cannot play the song in a rush.

Week 3: 23 - 27 April 2012

Topic (Theory): Music presentation: "Roles of Music in the Society"
Reflection Question: How have developments in technology changed the ways in which we engage with music?

Music industry is one industry that has been greatly affected by technology. Back then, music producers, artists, and sound engineers did not have enough choices of what equipment that would use to record the music. Mono recordings were only the equipments available during those dreadful days. However, new innovation and the technology that becomes more advance and advance each day make the opportunity of recording music become endless. Nowadays, people who even have no knowledge in music/sound recording can easily record their music using the devices available around them, e.g. mobile phone, laptop, and PC.

It is also due to technology that the development of access to music in the later half of the 20th century has revolutionized to the extent which most people can listen to the music. Internet generates people to be able to access all genres of music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Back then, people need to have phonograph or radio to listen to the music. These devices are not mobile because both of them are too heavy. Thus, people were only able to access music at some occasions. However, nowadays there are so many devices available such as mobile phone, iPod, CD player which people can access music anytime and anywhere.

Furthermore, technology makes music sales more flexible because songs are not only available in (physical) CD stores, but also in online music store. iTunes, the most famous online music store in the world, since its launch in April 2003 has sold more than 600 millions songs.

Instrument class
I did not have any instrument classes because my instrument teacher was absent and I had assessment.

Practice videos
Playing "Back At One" (Brian McKnight) - 1st practice

In this video, I practiced playing “Back At One” (sung by Brian McKnight) using flute. This song has a nice melody thus I thought I would encounter some difficulty when playing it. However, as seen on the video, I did not make many mistakes even though it was my first time playing it. It does not mean that I did not make mistakes at all, however, since I made some mistakes on the verse. I observed that my blowing skill on this video is better than previous practices. In overall, I was able to perform well on this practice. Nonetheless, I still have to learn to play the continuation of the song since on this practice I only played until the first chorus. I also have to be calm so that I will not make mistakes.

Playing "Back At One" (Brian McKnight) - 2nd practice

This is my 2^nd practice of playing “Back At One” using flute. I think this practice was not as good as the first one because I already did mistake on the 5^th bar of the song. I also did some mistakes when playing the chorus. I did not make any mistakes for the rests; however it is more obvious that I could not play the song fluently compared to the first practice. It took longer time for me to think of what the next melodies I have to play. Nonetheless, I did not observe any problems in my blowing techniques. Perhaps because this is a slow song thus I have no problems in taking breathes. On the practice next week, I will probably not play this song since I will have jazz ensemble group assessment in the near future. However, whatever the song I am going to play, I have to memorize the melody well and do the practice harmoniously.