LANGUAGE: Well, the year is coming to an end and I think I can successfully say that I have accomplished my goal for French. In my two reading test at the end of this year I have averaged a 97% comprehension rate. I do have one more test planned for next week so I can have a three score average to more accurately rate my ability. Additionally, I feel pretty comfortable in conversation in French and feel as though I can express myself pretty well. I am very pleased with the last eight months of work in French. Admittedly, I was not always as consistent in my work as I would have liked to be, but it provides me with goals for the coming year.
2012 brings in an entire year devoted to German for me. My system will be similar to what I did for French, since it seems to have been the most effective for me. This includes working through Michel Thomas, Assimil and LingQ on a daily basis during the work week, taking the weekends off from studying to allow things to work themselves out subconsciously. In addition I will again be consulting my friend Ernest for conversational practice beginning early on in the process. My goal for the coming year is to be more consistent in my studying - making sure that I get in all three phases of my work, five days a week. Based on the results I saw with French after only eight months, I am hoping to be even farther along in German by this time next year with the extra four months of work.
MUSIC: This has been an enlightening year for me musically. I have grown much as a singer and artist, however I also encountered some setbacks that varied from minor annoyances to things that made me step back and think about what it is I am undertaking. Overall I am better for all of my experiences as they have led me to discover new interests and paths in which I can explore my own artistry.
The most difficult part of this year was the culminating recital, my first as a tenor in nearly ten years. I had some successes and some failures throughout the performance which I meant to talk about here but never got around to it until now. The positives from the recital were that I made it through all of my repertoire without feeling fatigued at the end or ever really feeling in danger of cracking. The negatives were that I never really loosened up during the entire performance and thus my singing came out pressed and my artistic performance suffered for it. I blame these issues mostly on nerves from not singing that high in public in many years. I remember as a baritone that I had similar issues for a number of years until I had enough performances and faith in my voice through performing that I no longer suffered from the fright.
The other challenge this year has been that I do not feel I have progressed as much as I should have this year. I take the sole blame for this and have already begun to plan how to address this issue in the coming year.
After my recital, I began to contemplate if this was really the field for me to focus on and began taking choral conducting lessons with the plan of going to grad school for choral conducting. Much to my delight, I have found that I really enjoy the study of choral conducting and have found myself doing what I do when I become truly interested in something: researching and absorbing as much information as I can about the subject. Ultimately this has not pulled away from my desire to perform and performing is still my primary goal, but I am still considering a MM in choral conducting, since an MM in vocal performance is not necessary for my goals.
For the coming year I really need to focus on more directed, intensive practice. Difficulties abound due to my schedule, namely that I work overnights, however I have to figure out ways to be more productive and push myself if I want to make my dreams realities. It is a challenge only being able to have lessons once every couple of months, but I cannot let that be an excuse for my not progressing. This year I truly have to take my fate in my own hands and constantly remind myself that achieving my goals is a responsibility that rests solely on my shoulders and nobody else.
I am looking forward to 2012! I can already tell that it will be a year of great growth for me as a person and artist. Highlights of the coming year include planning a recital for the fall and my wedding, as well as figuring out where I will be relocating to in 2013. Have a happy holiday season and I will be back in January!
Showing posts with label Method. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Method. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Barefooting It!
Recently I had grown tired of constantly having shin splints while running. Upon inquiring about this on facebook I was referenced to the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. After reading the book I was convinced to try barefoot running and see if this could cure what ails me. I proceed from that book to Jason Robillard's Barefoot Running Handbook which I found in e-book form through the Runner's World Barefoot forum. Now I am currently reading Barefoot Running Step by Step by Ken Bob Saxton. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have the tendency to go nuts when I find a new thing to be interested in. After a few weeks of trying out various things and reading and trying to internalize what I have read I finally was able to go out on the track today and run 200 m. without experiencing any shin pain. My only casualty was a small blister on my left foot, which leaves me with more technique things to work out, namely lifting my foot instead of pushing off. I always appreciate acquiring new skills.
I have noticed that sill acquisition is a kind of crosstraining for the brain. It seems to me that the more skills we attempt to acquire the better we are at acquiring skills. My first real experience in conscious skill acquisition was a long time ago when I first set out to learn to play the saxophone. As time went on I learned skills such as basketball, billiards, darts - mostly physical skills. I noticed however that a large uptake to my acquisition speed was when I began to learn languages. It seems that there is something about developing a process of learning on my own that has enabled me to know how to approach other skills now. There is a saying that the more languages you learn, the easier it is to learn more languages. I always thought that this was due to common structures, vocabulary and such; however, I am beginning to think that while those things are helpful, the real key is that you know what your process needs to be.
Being a research minded individual I found as many different methods of language acquisition as possible during my initial 10-month cycle. By going through in a sort of trial and error fashion I learned what worked well for me and what didn't. Now, I have developed a method for myself that has enabled me from being at an A2 level in French to a solid B2 if not a lower C1 level in a matter of four months! Applying that to other areas, when I decided to give barefooting a go, I found a couple of highly recommended books and studied them thoroughly then fused a method out of the books to make it my own and now I am looking down the barrel at actually being a runner like my parents were. I didn't really know where this blog post was going to go, but I feel like the moral here that I want everyone to take away is this: Develop your own method! I believe that there is much we can learn from others, however at the end of the day we have to make our skills our own. This is what separates us as artists and as human beings - our sense of self.
I have noticed that sill acquisition is a kind of crosstraining for the brain. It seems to me that the more skills we attempt to acquire the better we are at acquiring skills. My first real experience in conscious skill acquisition was a long time ago when I first set out to learn to play the saxophone. As time went on I learned skills such as basketball, billiards, darts - mostly physical skills. I noticed however that a large uptake to my acquisition speed was when I began to learn languages. It seems that there is something about developing a process of learning on my own that has enabled me to know how to approach other skills now. There is a saying that the more languages you learn, the easier it is to learn more languages. I always thought that this was due to common structures, vocabulary and such; however, I am beginning to think that while those things are helpful, the real key is that you know what your process needs to be.
Being a research minded individual I found as many different methods of language acquisition as possible during my initial 10-month cycle. By going through in a sort of trial and error fashion I learned what worked well for me and what didn't. Now, I have developed a method for myself that has enabled me from being at an A2 level in French to a solid B2 if not a lower C1 level in a matter of four months! Applying that to other areas, when I decided to give barefooting a go, I found a couple of highly recommended books and studied them thoroughly then fused a method out of the books to make it my own and now I am looking down the barrel at actually being a runner like my parents were. I didn't really know where this blog post was going to go, but I feel like the moral here that I want everyone to take away is this: Develop your own method! I believe that there is much we can learn from others, however at the end of the day we have to make our skills our own. This is what separates us as artists and as human beings - our sense of self.
Monday, March 14, 2011
It Is the Process That Is Important
I have halted my Arabic studies for the time being. I burned myself out right around the 60 day mark. Even though I am burned out on Arabic, I am still very excited to get back to Italian, and I may even start working on Italian again earlier than I had prescribed.
Vocally things are going very well. Singing above the staff gets easier and easier as the weeks go by.
Methodology Minute
In all skill areas there are generally different methods which are touted by different people, all claiming that theirs is the best and/or only way to learn. These beliefs can, and often do, lead to arguments or at the very least heated discussions. I am going to fly in the face of these people today and say that at the beginning of one's study, any method will work. Until a person reaches a level where they need to begin to refine their skill the act of doing something will achieve results. If we are discussing this in terms of language study, there are hundreds of books, CDs and software programs available targeted at beginners. Any of these will give the learner an insight into the language of choice and any one will get them to at least an upper beginner level of use in the language.
At the beginning of studies, the most important thing is exposure to the language. Once the learner has a strong grasp of the basics of the language, then they can begin to direct their studies toward their particular weaknesses. A person does not know what their weaknesses are until they can at least use the language somewhat. Personally, I have used different resources to begin my studies on every language I have worked on. What I have come away with is that as long as I have something to look through and study I have progressed to a similar point in every single language. So my advice is to find inexpensive resources at first for your language studies, once you understand what your weaknesses are, then you can begin to delve into the wealth of strategies that abound for language acquisition.
This also can be applied to other skill areas as well. In most skills, the basics are the same across the board so learn the basics the least expensive way possible. Then it will be possible for you to refine your skills with the best resources available later on.
Vocally things are going very well. Singing above the staff gets easier and easier as the weeks go by.
Methodology Minute
In all skill areas there are generally different methods which are touted by different people, all claiming that theirs is the best and/or only way to learn. These beliefs can, and often do, lead to arguments or at the very least heated discussions. I am going to fly in the face of these people today and say that at the beginning of one's study, any method will work. Until a person reaches a level where they need to begin to refine their skill the act of doing something will achieve results. If we are discussing this in terms of language study, there are hundreds of books, CDs and software programs available targeted at beginners. Any of these will give the learner an insight into the language of choice and any one will get them to at least an upper beginner level of use in the language.
At the beginning of studies, the most important thing is exposure to the language. Once the learner has a strong grasp of the basics of the language, then they can begin to direct their studies toward their particular weaknesses. A person does not know what their weaknesses are until they can at least use the language somewhat. Personally, I have used different resources to begin my studies on every language I have worked on. What I have come away with is that as long as I have something to look through and study I have progressed to a similar point in every single language. So my advice is to find inexpensive resources at first for your language studies, once you understand what your weaknesses are, then you can begin to delve into the wealth of strategies that abound for language acquisition.
This also can be applied to other skill areas as well. In most skills, the basics are the same across the board so learn the basics the least expensive way possible. Then it will be possible for you to refine your skills with the best resources available later on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)