Playing Tests!

Dear Reader,

We have done the playing tests a few lessons ago. It was interesting and remarkable to see how people who never played an instrument before, to manage to make some music. They really tried their best and sometimes it worked out. Since I played instruments before, it was easier to play the song for me. I think we really did a good job since although we had the same song "Funky Town", but a different harmony in each group. 

I think it wasn't very difficult to judge other people. I think if you try to play the song you will always get a sufficient grade and payed attention in class. 

I do have to say I did pay attention to each instrument in the group. So not the whole piece together. Sometimes it was a bit annoying that someone went out of the rythm in which the song didn't really fit anymore. But that is the most difficult part of playing a song together I think! 

I also think it felt really good to have (some) "power" over grading. It made me be like a teacher, in which I could give a grade to students. I did it really serious but after all I saw grading isn't that difficult! 

I thought I was fair in grading, because I managed to give a clear grade for each group which after all other students gave too! In this way we all agreed upon a stationary grade for each person!

Although I didn't see the grades my peers gave to my group, I heard that they gave good grades. I have to say that we did a good job and that resulted into good grades my peers gave to me and my group!

I found the rubric not very good. Some part was because it was created by my peers in a short time. That is why it is not very detailed and clear. I didn't use the rubric for grading though, because I just feel what grade the group will fit. I do think that it is therefore easy to use. 

Thanks for reading!

Music Test!

Dear Reader,

Today we had the music test! I think I did well on this one! There were a lot of listening exercises which we already did in class, so I think it was good to do! Now the test-week is over and we can focus on the next-part of our timeline for our music lessons... This includes singing and playing instruments where we will be graded on: my favorite part!!

I hope I will have a good grade for the test and that we will have some nice shows for doing making some music the following weeks!

What Have We Done in Class so far?

Dear Reader,

Here, I have written a logbook that shows what we have done so far in class! Please have a look and search for some interesting parts --> all of them are interesting ;) !!

Monday, 31 August, 2009

Today in the first hour, Mr. Weisser, our teacher, introduced himself to us. He first handed out a year-planner with everything we will be going to and what we will learn. After that we started with some beginning exercises: singing. We used the song 'Baby Just Cares For Me'. We learned to sing polyphonic, which is singing with more voices together. Everybody got his or her own line that he or she had to sing in the way it was written on the sheet. In total we got about four variations in structure. This was really fun to hear: everyone singing together. It was like a rock 'n roll type of church' mass!

The second hour we discussed the year planner. This included the goals of the year, demonstration of the books and dvd-rom. We also started discussing of the music that took place in the Middle Ages.

I think this was a really nice first day to start with our music lessons! As homework he gave us some exercises in the books and on the dvd-rom and he asked us to start up a blog (this is mine!)

Monday, 7 September, 2009

Today we started the lesson with some music history: Music of the Middle Ages. This included types like Gregorian chant and the early polyphony. It gave us a really basic description of how early music was like. In the beginning I thought it was a bit scary to me, these thoughts of those persons. Seeing monks hitting themselves with a stick.

In the second hour we continued on singing 'Baby Just Cares for Me' but also with the jazz song 'It Don't Mean a Thing'. This is a more complicated song, since we really started to play some instruments today. I have tried to do some percussion along with the song! I really enjoyed it, since making music is the best thing you can do!

For homework we got some assignments for our blog and we had some exercises within the books.

Monday, 14 September, 2009

Today, we started the lesson with another favorite part of music for me: theory. Mr. Weisser first discussed some basic theory knowledge that we might have forgotten. This was because in our first year of the MYP we had some music lessons too. But I have forgotten all of this information from those lessons, so it is time to build this up again! We discussed parts like the range, scales etc.

In the second hour we continued on playing 'It Don't Mean a Thing'. As an assignment for today, I personally, had to practice the bass lines of this song. This is what I have studied, so I was well prepared for today! We didn't really pay attention on this though, but it was useful since we had to play several instruments in variation in a group.

For homework we got some assignments that for working on exercises in the books!

Monday, 28 September, 2009

Today, we started the lesson with some history again. We continued on learning about the music in the Middle Ages. Today we started on learning about things like the mass in churches and troubadours. This was really interesting and I learned a lot from it.

In the second hour we started on playing a new song 'Funky Town'. This is a really cool disco song from the eighties/nineties. We were put in groups and played the song with a lot of different instruments.

As homework we, again, got some exercises we had to to in the books and some blog assignments!

Monday, 5 October, 2009

Today, in the first hour, we started with some solfege exercises. This is that you had to put the fragments that were played in the direct order. This is very good for training your theory skills. I think this is also the hardest part of music, when your knowledge is still very low. Since we have not put many attention to this, this might be very difficult for some people. I could figure it out though, since I already practiced this during my music lessons outside class!

In the second hour we started on learning about the Renaissance and its vocal music. Here is where musicians like minstrels and troubadours occurred. This was very interesting!

For homework we again got some exercises in the book!

Monday, 12 October, 2009

Today, we began the lesson with playing 'Funky Town'. We again could practice on working on using the instruments in our groups. We had the basic theme in our mind, so we decided to swap some times. I had played the piano, the percussion and the bass guitar once and it sounded, as far as I know, well!

In the second hour we continued on the last bits of music history. This part we continued on the Renaissance and their instrumental music. Now we had an overview of what music in the Middle Ages was like and how it was different from each other sometimes.

As homework we got another few exercises we could prepare in the books and we had to do some blog assignments that mr. Weisser would send us in the middle of the autumn break next week!

Monday, 26 October, 2009

Today, was the last lesson before the test-week where the test for music would take place. We had both hours the time to study and ask questions. That is why I used these hours very well to do so! I think I am very well prepared for the test that is taking place next week!

I hope I will do well on that test!

Thanks for reading!

Peer Evaluation

Dear Reader,

Today I have looked specifically on the blogs of three of my classmates. I am going to evaluate one of their songs and their choices and the information they wrote down.

• The first person I picked is Andrew. He chose the following songs:

- 'Wheel' by John Mayer

- 'The Last Suppit' by Lettuce

- 'Long Road to Ruin' by Foo Fighters

- 'Big Bird In A Small Cage' by Patrick Watson

- 'Child Song' by Cinematic Orchesta

I like his choices very much. I know every song except for the fourth one. I think his music genre is very close to mine, which is why I can talk with him about music very well. He also has a very wide variation of music genres just like me!

From his five songs I chose 'Big Bird In A Small Cage' by Patrick Watson. Besides that I heard a lot Andrew about this musician, I read the story from him too. This is really an example of a musician I think. He makes music in a very original way, which is unique!! I learned about Patrick's "buckley esque voice" as Andrew mentioned. It is very soft and relaxing so it means a lot to me. I like the atmosphere here where you can close your eyes. I am definetely impressed by him and thanks to Andrew, Patrick Watson has one fan more from now on!

• The second person I picked is Aisha. She chose the following songs:

- 'Wake Me Up, When September Ends' by Greenday

- 'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads

- 'Three Little Birdies Down Beats' by the Chemical Brothers

- 'Fire Coming Out Of The Monkeys Head' by The Gorillaz

- 'Fluorescent Adolescent' by the Arctic Monkeys

I don't know any song she chose except for the first one. After I heard the songs her genre is more focussing to the rock side. I like this very much, because it is one of my favourite genres too. I think it is also becoming more likely for girls to listen to it time by time.

The song that said the most to me was 'Fire Coming Out Of The Monkeys Head' by The Gorillaz. I chose this song to evaluate from her list. I heard very much of this band. I think it is a bit strange band, but it is fun to listen too. The lyrics in the song is like a poem. The vocals are very variated too! In this way it will never be bored! Sometimes the lyrics are just told and sometimes really sang. I don't think I will really pick this song for my 5 favourites since I will not listen to it that often. I think it is just fun to listen to for one time, but that's it for me. It is not clear on Aisha's blog what she thinks about the song specifically. She just mentions the song to be her favourite, and tells some story around it about other things. I do not understand why she likes this song so much!

• The final person I picked is Joran. He chose the following songs:

- 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song' by the Fleet Foxes

- 'Fire And Rain' by James Taylor

- 'Drifting' by Andy McKee

- 'Sailing to Philadelphia' by Mark Knopfler

- 'The Road Goes On' by Toto

I like his style very much, again it is one related to mine. That's why I know all of these songs. It is the same story as with Andrew: I can talk very much about music with Joran too. We often do this with the three of us!

The song that said the most to me is 'The Road Goes On' by Toto. Toto is one of my most favourite bands. Almost every song of them is really good. Especially this song says a lot of me. I like this to listen when I am travelling on vacation. It keeps me reminding on good memories. Even when a listen this song afterwards I can get a bit emotional, about what a good time I had during the vacation. This autumn break, was one of them since I went on vacation! The song has a lot of variation in it as Joran also mentions in his description. It has a very nice build up. I completely agree with Joran's description, so I could join him for a concert to Toto very soon, I hope when they are in the Netherlands.

Thanks for reading!

'Drink' by Fiction Plane

'Drink' is a song created by the English band Fiction Plane. The band is fronted by Joe Sumner, the son of Sting (Gordon Sumner). There are two other band members, a guitarist and a drummer. 'Drink' is one of the songs of their first big album 'Left Side of the Brain' that was released in 2008. The band is active from 2000 until present, so they needed 8 years for their break-through. It is still a band that is not that well-known to most of the people. What I found that special to the band, is that Joe wanted to break-through without help from is father, since he is/was one of the greatest musicians ever. The band made its way to the 'top' all by themselves. Drink is one of their songs that I was impressed of. It is a lovely song that has great harmonics added. It goes from a soft beginning, that is developed, until a rougher end. I don't mean rough in metal or rock, but changes like that the drums are added. The lyrics are great too and easy to understand. It is about love problems, in which the main person tries to flush it away by drinking. It is a dead end, which results in to alcohol problems. Again, the atmosphere makes 'the tune complete'. I could listen hours to this song, once it really impressed me after I went to their concert in Paradiso, 2008.

'Clocks' by Coldpay

I also have 'Clocks' from Coldplay in my list. I think Coldplay belongs to one of the greatests bands ever. It is the third single from their second album 'A Rush of Blood to the Head', which was released in 2002. The first time I heard this song was in the dutch television program Top of the Pops. I was only seven years old when I heard this song and I was totally impressed by it. My father already told me about this song, since he loves Coldplay. I began to listen to Coldplay a lot, and I this song was their 'break-through' to me. I like the piano part, the riff in the whole song, a lot since it supports the song. It gives the atmosphere again a good piece which is really important to me. Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of the band, always write the lyrics with fully attention. I can't really find out what the lyrics try to tell me, but it sounds very good and every word is originally picked to fit in again. I do notice that there are a lot of metaphors in it! I do think that the lyrics in general have to deal with 'time'...

'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' is the oldest song I have in my 5 favorite song list. It is first released in 1979 on their double album 'The Wall'. Pink Floyd is an English progressive rock band made up of 6 former members. It is the atmosphere in the song again that says the most to me. The lyrics have a weird meaning though, that is what covered me the most next to the atmosphere of it. The song is based up on a conversation between Pink, the album's protagonist, and a doctor. The doctor gives him an injection in which Pink is able to recover his mental skills and helps him through his upcoming concert performance. I don't really see the meaning of the plot in the song. It is also the first song where a major guitar solo occurs. This one is played by David Gilmour. I don't think solos have to be difficult to love them, but they have to fit in the song to love them. I love this solo, because every note is just the note that needs to be there! This live version of the song, which you can hear in the compilation below, is very long (8:57), which is great to me, because I enjoy every second of it!

'Breakeven' by The Script

'Breakeven' is the 'break through' from the Irish band The Script. The song was first released on its album in 2008. The band is therefore really 'new' though. The genre is said to be soft rock, which is related to pop music. Although I am not that top 40 music lover, this song was in there in 2008. It meant to me, that this song is really good. I think the atmosphere in total is very well set up. There is a lot of variation in this song, but the theme is still there. Especially the sub part of the chorus where the vocals increase in tone is very nice. The singer has a really soft and clean voice to listen to, in which you think it might be difficult to sing for him. But he can sing really good, so it is really nice to listen to. I haven't linked the lyrics, because I haven't found out yet what it meant. This is not the thing that I focus on, and it will not be an argument of why I like this song so much. It's just again the excellent atmosphere, just like the other songs!

'Slow Dancing In A Burning Room' by John Mayer

This song is written by John Mayer himself that was released to its album Continuum in 2006. This song means a lot to me. I always look at the total song, and not just at one instrument for example. The atmosphere of this song really impresses me. It is like when you close your eyes and hear this song, that it gives you an emotional feeling. John Mayer has used excellent gear when he recorded this song. When you listen to it, you will mention that everything is correct and right to fit in. He worked very hard on this song to make it that special. He always has good lyrics and this time too. His way of writing is very original, since he uses other words in a poetic style instead of just bringing the message in normal language. It makes me feel happy and strong, so the total atmosphere and theme is really good to me! I can listen hours and hours to this song, because it never makes me bored.

My 5 Favourite Songs

Here I am going to pick my five favourite songs. I listen to, really, all the types of music. It is difficult for me to pick only five favourite songs, because my variation in music is very big. I will try to make my top 5 songs variated, in which you can see what type of music I like the most. I have to imagine that I am on an island, only having my iPod, with a capacity of 5 songs, with me. I also will try to bring a bag full of electricity if I could to recharge my iPod! But which five songs would I bring with me? 

My 5 favourite songs:

- 'Slow Dancing In A Burning Room' by John Mayer

- 'Breakeven' by The Script

- 'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd

- 'Clocks' by Coldplay

- 'Drink' by Fiction Plane

As you can see some of these songs are not that well known as you would compare to them with the top songs from the top 2000. This is because I look for more songs than just the most popular ones.

I made a compilation of my favourite songs in this video. Please write your opinion about it as a reaction. Enjoy!

Why do We need Music in the World?

Dear reader,

I believe music is one of the most important elements in our life! Who can live without? I don't think a lot of people can. But why? Music makes me feel comfortable, so when I am not feeling so well about something, music can make me happy. It is 'relaxing'. I think it somethimes gives you adrenaline and a kick which makes you positive about a feeling. This is typical for me at sports. If I'm nervous before a soccer match, music calms me down and gives me the power to play comfortable. Or when I'm running for PE, music gives me that little extra that pushes me over the finish! These are just a few examples of where we need music for. This already tells me that if we don't have music in the world, that I will not be able to live my life comfortable. I'm happy that music will always be there, and that there is still so much to discover about it! This makes it interesting...

Thanks for reading!