Smith,+Hannah

Hannah's Page

Three Goals for my Personal Performance

1. As much as I hate to admit it, I do not practice nearly as much as I should, which is the reasoning behind my first goal. For my first goal, I would like to practice more. I plan to achieve this goal by increasing my practice time to at least sixty minutes per week. This may not sound like a lot, but I am really busy and that is just a minimum to make sure that I do at least that much. I plan to record my progress by keeping a log of how often and for how long I practice.

2. For my second goal, I would like to be able to play my scales better and be able to know the notes and key signature right away, without hesitation. I already know most of the scales, but I have to think about the notes and accidentials that are in the scale before I play. I would like to change that. I plan to achieve this goal by first writing down all of the scales that I hope to be able to know and play immediately until I have a general idea of how each scale is played. Then I will practice each scale separately until I am able to hear what concert scale I am supposed to play, immediately know what note I start on and the notes within that particular scale, and then play it. I plan to measure my progress by having someone tell me a scale to play and then I will play it and measure how much time it took me to determine my starting pitch and the notes in the scale.

3. For my third goal, I would like to be able to use more air support when playing the lower and higher notes on my clarinets in order to achieve a better tone. I plan to achieve this goal by building my confidence, which directly translates to how much confidence I have when I play. If I have more confidence when I play, then I will use more air support. I plan to build my confidence by practicing (goal #1) so that I am able to play the music to the best of my ability. This goal is kind of difficult to measure my progress with, but I still feel that it is vital for me to achieve in order to become a better musician. I could measure it by playing my music for a family member or friend how I normally play it now and then practice to build my confidence. After a bit of practicing, I could play it for that person again and have them judge if my air support and tone quality sound better. I would continue doing this until I feel that I am using enough air support, playing with a good tone, and the person I have been playing for feels that I am playing with good air support and tone.

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 Music has always had an impact on my life, but I had never realized just how much it has shaped my character and how I view things. I have been around music my entire life because both my parents played instruments. Music has played a vital role in my life and it has truly shaped who I am today. ======

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 I have always loved music. I remember when I was younger, I would sit in the car and listen (and when I was older, obnoxiously sing along) to my favorite CD, the Lion King soundtrack. This is my first recollection of listening to and enjoying music. By listening to the CD, I learned many new words and gained an appreciation for music, especially the song Hakuna Matata. I also remember that when I was a little older, I would play my mom’s flute… well sort of. I would ask her to put it together for me and then I would march around my house “playing” it; well to be more exact, singing into the mouthpiece. I truly thought that I was playing the flute and I would beg my mom to let me show anyone who came over to my house my newfound talent. She never discouraged me by telling me that I wasn’t actually playing it; she just let me play, uh sing, my heart out. By “playing” the flute, I gained confidence and patience as I tried to develop new singing techniques that would make different noises. I also remember banging around on the keys of my piano, creating unique songs of my own that I also showed off to whoever would listen. ======

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 Confidence. Some have lots of it, some lack it. I was one of those people who pretty much lacked confidence – until I started playing an instrument (other than the flute and piano J). I remember during the summer before fourth grade, my parents told me that I had to take at least one year of lessons on an instrument. They said that they were going to sign me up for piano lessons, but for some reason I strongly resisted taking them; a decision that I regret today. Anyway, to avoid the piano, I decided to sign up for fourth grade orchestra on the violin. After I had my first lesson, I loved the violin and my teacher. I remember the feeling of pride and accomplishment when I was finally able to screech out Hot Cross Buns. Just by being able to play a simple song, I gained a lot of much-needed confidence. I finally had a skill that I actually wanted to show off to anyone who would listen; over and over again. Unfortunately, at the end of fifth grade, I learned that my violin teacher would be leaving and I really did not want to continue playing. Before he left, he told me to stick it out and see how I liked the new teacher. Well, the first day of sixth grade lessons came along and I quickly realized that I did not like the new teacher… at all. Needless to say, I wanted to quit. However, my parents, being firm believers in not quitting, would not let me quit since I already started and said that I could only quit after the year was over. It was a long year, but I still worked hard to become better. ======

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 The year was not all that bad though because at the time that I wanted to quit orchestra, I was kind of peer-pressured into joining the band. My three best friends at the time were all in band and wanted me to join too; I realize now that it was the best example of peer pressure I have ever heard. For some reason, I did not wish to continue playing the flute and I rejected my dad’s instrument of choice, the trumpet, also. For whatever reason, I had always secretly wanted to play the trombone; likely because I thought that the whole idea of a slide was the coolest thing I had ever heard. That being said, I rejected the trombone too and instead decided on the clarinet. Since I had just started, I was put into fifth grade band, but I hated it. I already knew how to read the music from playing the violin and for some odd reason, playing the clarinet came easily to me, so I was bored and felt like it was not a challenge. I begged Mrs. Ott during every lesson to let me move up to sixth grade band with my friends. I even went as far as to steal Courtney’s music, photocopy it, learn it, and play it for Mrs. Ott to show her that I was able to play the harder music. She finally gave in after the winter concert and let me move up to sixth grade level lessons and the sixth grade band. I was ecstatic. While it sounds like such a small accomplishment to some, it meant everything to me because I felt that I was good enough and my practice had paid off. It gave me a ton of self-confidence. This is another example of how music has shaped my life – it taught me practice, persistence, and showed me that I was good enough to accomplish what I had set out to do. Later, it even showed me perseverance and the importance of not giving up when my all three of my friends quit band, but I opted to stick with it. ======

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 Music has also shaped my life because I have met so many wonderful people through music opportunities, such as festivals and marching band trips. I have met most of my closest friends from playing in the band and I am so grateful to my sixth grade friends who pressured me into joining the band. Music is always giving me the opportunity to travel to new places and have experiences that would have never been possible before. I do not know what I would do without my friends and I never forget that I have music to thank for introducing me to them. ======

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 Music has taught me so many life lessons and shaped my life in so many ways that I could never even dream of when I started playing my first instrument. It has given me immense self-confidence that I am still working on building today, still through music. It has also taught me patience, perseverance, determination, respect, responsibility, and so many other qualities that I value. I have met countless new people through music, some of whom are my closest friends today. Music has immensely shaped my life and I am eternally grateful for all that it has done for me. ======