Mohammad,+Sarah

=__Sarah Mohammed's Page __=

**//__Goals __//**

 * 1) Improve my music reading skills.
 * 2) Have better aural skills, and be able to identify intervals better.
 * 3) Improv jazz solos better, and be able to play what I want my solo to sound like, without having to fish around for the right note.

I plan on achieving these goals by practicing daily and focusing not only on knowing the notes, but also being able to connect the notes with my fingers/ the mallets. I also intend to practice listening skills on musictheory.net and play around with jazz solos more.

These are very good goals for you! I'm excited to watch you continue to improve!! Keep up the good work!

Very good essay! I'll be interested to see if you change your six words as you continue to develop your musicianship and confidence.

//**__Essay- What Music Means to Me & Six Words that Describe Me as a Musician __**//
To me, music means more than reading notes. Music is something that is able to draw emotion, and paint a picture with sounds. Music tells you that you're not alone, and gives you a sense of self worth. I became a "musician" when I moved to a new school in a different country in the middle of the year, and no one knew me. Everyone had already made all of their friends, so I didn't have a place to fit in. My parents had gotten me a piano for Christmas and I would spend most of my time playing it. I would figure out songs by ear, or watch someone play it on youtube or something. In the end, the keys were there for me when no one else was. Six words that describe me as a musician are shy, inadequate, scatterbrained, dedicated, emotional, and stressed. I say shy because I'm always afraid of solos and parts where I stand out. I play them perfectly (or something like that) when I'm by myself, but when it comes to being in front of people, I get nervous and rush, or mess up pitches. Inadequate and stressed tie into each other, because I'm always pressuring myself to be better. Even if I improve, I still won't be satisfied. Combine that with Hollidaysburg's academic competitiveness and my overall high standard for myself, and I get stressed. For an explanation to scatterbrained, see previous 3 sentences. I say dedicated because I don't give up, even if I think a piece is too advanced for me, if I have to, then I'll work toward it and be ready for the performance. I say emotional because when I listen to a song, I listen to the life behind it, and the story it tells, and that by itself can cause me to smile, cry, or both. Last year in County Chorus, our conductor wrote the women's song, and we were premiering it. He explained the sad meaning of the song, and from that point on every time I sang it, I would tear up at the end, and would have to stop singing. So yeah. Music means a lot to me.

PS, I would love to be more emotional in this, but because anyone in the band can see this....remember how "shy" was one of my words?