The Final Countdown

Well, readers... it looks as if this will be my last blog. I can't say that really disappoints me though, for two reasons:

1) I have very little progress to report each week, so I end up discussing the same things--which is quite depressing and probably makes for a very uninteresting blog

2) I have really not enjoyed thinking about what to blog about every week (although I appreciate everyone who reads my rants :) )

So, there are a few things that I should probably cover before I peace out... (AKA these are things I need to discuss because Mrs. H. wants me to):

Initial goal: To learn the basics of the cello, and to teach Elaina the basics of the flute. In this, I was hoping to be able to learn enough "beginner stuff" to be able to continue teaching myself over the summer.

What ended up happening: I memorized a couple of beginner's songs, such as Hot Cross Buns and Mary Had a Little Lamb, but I wasn't anywhere near being able to read cello music by myself (which is necessary to continue playing, especially once I start sight-reading).

Roadblocks: time, Time, TIME--not enough of it!

Lessons learned: The cello is hard :) Patience was a vital part of this project--I had to take things slow and learn things correctly the first time around so that if I want to continue playing, I wouldn't have to fix anything down the road.

Overall success: I may not have made as much progress as I would have liked to, but I would say the fact that I had an awesome time is a success in itself.

A big thanks goes out to the wonderful Mrs. H. for allowing us to take part in such an amazing project, and for encouraging us to pursue things we are genuinely interested in.

It looks like this is it! Thanks for following me in my progress :)

Emily

ANSWER TO THE SCAVENGER HUNT

Post #5

Sorry for the unoriginal title... My laziness has reached an all-time high.

Well, it's been a while since the 20-time fair, but I haven't blogged since we had it. Overall, I'd definitely say it was a success :) I played the classic "Hot Cross Buns" for passerby and people were surprisingly impressed; I guess I hadn't realized how much progress I have made. Although HCB is probably the easiest song to play on virtually every instrument, it is pretty cool that I've been able to pick up the cello and learn a few things in a matter of weeks. At the fair, I also was able to hand out a good amount of business cards-- good thing I have no idea how to use my BlogSpot and check to see if my page views increased...

Since the fair, Elaina has been able to teach me a few more things, and I finally learned a new song: "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (we're making progress guys!). As always, she is practicing at home a ton (as I probably should, but don't...) and is continuing to impress me with all that she's taught herself. At the fair, she was able to play "Let it Go" for a few people, which obviously got the crowd goin'.

This blog is realllllly late (Sorry Mrs. H), so you'll be hearing from me again this week for the next blog turn-in :)

Upcoming 20-Time Projecr Fair..eeek

Soooo... as I mentioned in last week's post, this time of the year has been absolutely crazy for me. It's hard enough to balance all of the homework and projects and practices and studying, so adding "learn a new instrument" to the list is understandably difficult. At this point, my biggest challenge is time management. Mrs. Hechlik talked about how if some people are not putting time into this project outside of our 1-hour/week classtime, then they probably weren't all that interested in their topic to begin with; for me, that's not the case. If I had the time, I would eagerly give up a little time each day to dedicate to practicing the cello. I'm getting frustrated because I feel like I haven't made any progress, so I'm really hoping that I have some time this next week to practice.

Speaking of this next week, our World Lit class and a Spanish class are getting together and hosting a 20-time project fair for family/friends/mentors/etc. You could say I'm a little nervous... (Considering I can only play a scale and Hot Cross Buns on my cello at this point in time). However, Elaina and I came up with a great idea last Friday: we decided that we'd set up our stations next to each other and play a duet with our new instruments, and then switch and play a duet with our own instruments. I'm excited for that :)

Slow Start...

Sadly, I don't have much progress to report from this past week. The end of the year assignments and projects are kicking my butt, and I haven't had nearly as much time as I would like to have to practice my cello. I talked to Elaina, and she completely agrees-- it's difficult to learn a new instrument with only one day a week to work on it. Hopefully things slow down and we can start making a significant amount of progress.

My goal for this next week is to learn how to play a simple song from the beginner's book. I know a few fingerings and am working on a scale, so I don't think that it will be too difficult... Hopefully I'll have more to report back with next week!

Mission Accomplished: Cello Acquired

Friends, it is with a happy heart that I tell you... I got a cello! And because I finally got a hold of a cello, Elaina was able to teach me techniques/fingerings/how to hold the darn thing in the time we had. Even though I've barely played it, I know it's going to be a total blast learning how to play and I'm so excited :)

Elaina taught me a scale, showed me how to play the classic "Hot Cross Buns", and sent me home with a couple of beginners books (which I have yet to crack open... I'm determined to master H.C.B. before I do so). I knew that playing a stringed instrument was obviously going to be different from playing a woodwind instrument, but it's such a dramatic change; I'm hoping that with more practice I become more comfortable with the cello and don't have to look at my finger placements in-between every note (it's a painfully-slow process to watch).

Sadly, we ran out of time on Friday before Elaina could show me what she worked on with her flute over spring break, but I'm sure it was perfected-- she's seriously a natural!

I'll try to remember to post a picture of me with my cello next time. I'll hold off posting a video until I get better... Trust me, I'm doing you a favor.

First Blog: Hollllla

To be quite honest, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to address/who my audience is/what I'm actually doing so... Here we go :)

Well, not much progress has been made in my knowledge of the cello since the 20-time project officially started last Friday. It was kind of a disaster, actually. First, we figured that in order for Elaina to teach me how to play the cello, we'd have to acquire one. We made the journey down to the orchestra room... and 20 minutes and two arguments with the administrators later, we were still empty-handed. It turns out that students are not allowed to take any instruments out of the room (even though it had already been cleared by the orchestra teacher earlier that day... Yes, I may still be a little bitter). So, yeah. I should probably get my hands on a cello sooner than later.

In other news, I was able to rent out a flute for Elaina and get her a couple of beginners books a couple of weeks ago. Let me just say, SHE IS A NATURAL. You have to know that it is very rare for someone to make a sound out of the headjoint the first time they blow in to it, and she got a nice sound out of that sucker. A week later, she was able to play the B-flat scale, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Yankee Doodle. You could say I was born to teach (or Elaina taught herself everything... either is fine).

So, I'm really hoping that we can get a hold of a cello soon... time is ticking. Also, I'm just really excited to get started learning how to play a stringed instrument :)

#BandandOrchestraUnite