by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Feb 17, 2019 | Grade 9, NYAA Healthy Living, Youth Achievements
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NYAA: Healthy Living
January Progress Report
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After the long December break, it was difficult getting back into the swing of things, especially because this month I think that there were a lot of setbacks to working towards my goal.
Challenge 1:
One of the first challenges I went through was having my piano exam for G6 canceled. I was looking forward to this exam as I thought that it would give me more experience dealing with stress, but it was canceled because I couldn’t register in time. Since it would be a long time before the next exam period, I moved onto G7.
However, there were some good things that came out of this setback. Firstly, now I can start playing higher level pieces, including one of my favourite pieces of all time. I also realised that when I really love a piece, it’s a lot easier to play it in front of others, and I think that this can lessen performance stress. There will still be nerves, I know, but playing a piece I’m familiar with musically and also one that I really enjoy playing will help my performance anxiety.
I’ve also started lots of new pieces, helping to build up my skill, and also new scales and techniques that will allow me to become more confident. I’ve learned that being less stressed goes hand in hand with practice, and the more I practice, the better I will get and the less nervous I will be.
Challenge 2:
This month in Piano Masterclass, we watched a documentary on being a concert pianist. The documentary is linked here. What I found really disheartening about this documentary was the idea of natural talent, that talent is something fixed that cannot be changed, and since I already have really bad performance anxiety, I never thought that I could become a concert pianist. I don’t even know if I want to be. This is completely putting me off performing, and I realise how much I actually dislike performing in front of others, so much so that after I finish high school, I want piano to become a completely solitary thing for me.
This just worsens my performance anxiety, because the people in the documentary didn’t seem all that nervous while performing, and it just made me feel more isolated. This stresses me out even more.
However, one of the ways that I’m working on lessening my stress is actually perming in front of others and practicing in front of my family, and I know that I can continue pushing on because music is meant to be shared. Music is different for everyone, and this documentary also helped me realise that. Music continues to de-stress me, and watching one documentary isn’t going to change that.
This month was a difficult month, but I know that I can push through it and continue working towards my goal. I’m learning lots of new pieces, and have a performance coming up in March to look forward to.
As always, thanks for reading!
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Dec 3, 2018 | NYAA Healthy Living, Youth Achievements
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NYAA: Healthy Living
November Progress Report
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My Healthy Living Goal: To reduce and find better ways to deal with my stress through Music.
Why have I chosen this goal?
I personally am very invested in Music and it is the one creative art I take solace in. Playing the piano and listening to a lot of music are things that I do regularly, and I want to bring this into the award as it is something that I am very passionate about.
How I have been achieving this goal:
This month, I’ve had another performance, and I’ve also done some really beneficial work in Piano Masterclass. As I’ve said before, performances really help me learn about my stress, even though they are a cause of a lot of it, and performing a lot helps me build confidence and find things that make me more comfortable performing in front of others. This month, I participated in a recital held by the ITP department.
The ITP department holds regular recitals, and I used to take part in them regularly. However, for the past two years, I haven’t attended any because of performance anxiety, so starting to take part in them again is a big step for me. I also got to see how this familiar environment affected my playing, and I think that surprisingly it had a big effect. I felt a little more comfortable in this situation because of how much I’ve been exposed to it in childhood. I think that I’ve definitely discovered a viable and safe place for me to practice my performance skills.
I’ve also learned that other people’s playing doesn’t affect mine. Even if someone playing Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu plays before me, I won’t be bothered. This means that my stress isn’t caused by comparison to others. This discovery has helped me narrow my strategies to deal with a performance down to mainly calming myself.
Here’s the video of the performance.
Another thing that I’ve been learning is the difference between practice and performance, but also the similarities. Often, when we practice, we are familiar with our surroundings, and that makes us more comfortable. This means we can make mistakes and refine our pieces without qualms. However, in a performance, there are people listening to you and watching you, and your surroundings are completely different. This can be another cause of performance anxiety.
However, to deal with this performance anxiety, we can make our practice space a little different every time, to resemble a performance. We can also invite friends or family to listen to our practice sessions and provide feedback at the end. This addition of a friendly audience can really help lessen stress and feelings of nervousness.
What have been some setbacks?
So far, I haven’t had many setbacks, however, I’ve recently received the news that I won’t be taking my G6 exam in February, rather, I’d have to take it in July. Since I’m practically prepared already, I feel that it would be a waste of time waiting until July, so I’m progressing onto grade 7. In all honesty, I feel that this might be a missed opportunity, since preparing for exams is a really good way to learn about your habits, but I think that Grade 7 piano poses an adequate challenge, and I look forward to playing more challenging pieces. This may also benefit me because I will most definitely perform those pieces sometime, so it’ll definitely help me build confidence.
What am I looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to starting Grade 7, and starting to branch out and build my Piano repertoire. So far, I’ve practically only been playing exam pieces, so I look forward to exploring other genres and developing my skills. I have another performance in March for International Women’s Day, and in Piano Masterclass we’ll be looking at ways to deal with difficult parts in pieces, which I think will definitely help me with my performance anxiety.
That’s all for November! Thanks for reading!
Link to my tracking log
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Nov 8, 2018 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive, Me
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Grade 9 Targets
8th November 2018
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This year, I’ve definitely been working on setting goals. (In some places, I actually question such an excess, since it doesn’t seem like a lot of goals will really help me as much as just focusing on one goal, but I’ll try it out.) For now, I’ll reveal my three goals for Grade 9 and High School, and what I’m planning to do to achieve them.
Goal 1: To reduce and find better ways to deal with stress through music.
This goal is one of my goals for NYAA. I feel very strongly about this goal, and I’ve fully explained it in this post right here.
Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Further progress will be documented in the ‘Youth Achievements‘ category of my portfolio, and some updates are already posted. I will be posting monthly.
Goal 2: To strengthen organisational skills through service.
I want to become more responsible and develop my self-management and group-management skills. In Ladakh GC this year, we’re looking to hold some sort of event, or be a part of an event, and I think that I can really improve my organisational skills. I can not only learn more about self-management, but also collaboration, as events take a lot of time to work out, and it takes teamwork to deliver a successful experience to the rest of the student body.
A success indicator would definitely be actually having participated or created an event this year, and a promise of future involvement. I also want to review on how successful the event actually was, and what impact it created. At the end of the year, I also want to feel like I have used skills that apply in an academic context in a service context.
Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Ladakh GC has already been thinking about being a part of one of the school events this year rather than creating our own. Personally, I think that it would be better to invest our efforts in a Ladakhi cultural event, because of our goal. I’ve talked about Ladakh GC and my first impressions here, and I think that it would be worthwhile looking into Ladakhi culture and organising an event that coordinates with a cultural festival of some sort. This not only would spread awareness of our cause, but also teach people of Ladakhi culture.
However, it seems as if we’re going to try and participate in one of the already existing school events, like ‘Run for Rights’. I have no objection towards this, and hopefully there will be a chance for teamwork and some chance to improve my logistics skills.
Goal 3 (Long-term): Finding a passion or cause in which I feel very strongly about.
For me, I’ve always wanted to find a passion or some sort of cause that I can dedicate my life to. There are so many issues in the world right now, whether environmental, social or political, and I think that more people need to work towards these goals. However, I’ve been finding a lot of trouble finding one thing that I am passionate about, so I’ve been trying lots of different things. However, nothing’s seemed to stick, and I don’t think I’ve found the right people yet. So, I want to focus my high school career into finding something that I am truly passionate about.
It’s a career aim for me to get a degree in science, and use it for good. In an ideal future, I’ll use my knowledge of the natural world to explore it even further while working for a social enterprise of some kind. However, that means I need to find a cause, and passions aren’t always that easy to find. This is a built-in success indicator.
Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Well, I’ve watched this TED Talk, and I’ve tried a LOT of different cause groups at school.
Firstly, I’ve joined Ladakh GC since I’ve worked with humanitarian groups a lot in the past (Children’s Shelter Foundation and Moving Mountains), and I think that this could definitely be something that I could work towards. However, work there is difficult, and it is also important to keep my options open.
Last year, I participated in an event called COP21, learning more about sustainability in an event that brought students from lots of different schools together to learn about the SDGs and what we can do to improve our lifestyle to become more sustainable. I feel strongly for the environment, and I know that there are lots of options in science to work towards this, so I think that this is probably my most feasible option.
However, I’ve also joined a focus group: Voices for Refugees. Someday, I’d like to volunteer in a refugee camp, because this issue is pressing the globe right now, and in alignment with the Human Rights, I feel that this issue needs to be solved as soon as possible. So, I’ve joined this focus group, and hopefully I will continue with it to build a passion.
I think that from a starting point, I’ve picked things that I am interested in, but I want to have consistency throughout my high school experience, and I think that consistency and dedication is what’s going to build my passions.
Thanks for reading!
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Nov 1, 2018 | NYAA Healthy Living, Youth Achievements
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NYAA: Healthy Living
October Progress Report
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My Healthy Living Goal: To reduce and find better ways to deal with my stress through Music.
Why have I chosen this goal?
I personally am very invested in Music and it is the one creative art I take solace in. Playing the piano and listening to a lot of music are things that I do regularly, and I want to bring this into the award as it is something that I am very passionate about.
How am I achieving this goal:
Despite having a two-week break in the middle of the month, I’ve made a lot of progress towards my goal.
Firstly, I had my Grade 5 Theory Exam on October 6th. I’ve learned that Music isn’t just about playing, it’s also about listening and comprehending, even on 2 dimensional surfaces. My G5 Theory exam not only helps me to learn more about music, but also the fact that it’s an exam helps me. My goal is to find better ways to deal with my stress, and having a big exam helps me understand the way I perceive stress and what I can do to help myself deal with stress better. I found out that repetition is one of the main things that helps me, and I have devised strategies for me to study that can definitely be applied elsewhere. I used Quizlet to study important vocabulary, and did lots of practice tests to prepare for my exam. I tried to make visual, real flashcards and maps, but I found out that those things don’t really help me, so that helped me find what ways I could learn best, through quizlets and practice questions and tests rather than the more unsustainable yet visual flashcards.
Here’s my confirmation slip – I haven’t received the results yet, but when I do, I will make sure to update this post with the results.
Secondly, on the 31st of October (just recently), I performed at Esplanade with my peers in the Piano Masterclass. I haven’t performed in a really long time, so this experience was the first proper performance I’ve had in two years. I tend to be really nervous when it comes to performing, and so this is part of my goal to become more confident (this requires a lot of good stress management). I learned a lot more about what my nerves are like now, and I tried out a lot of strategies to try and calm myself down for the performance, some of which include talking to friends and family, taking deep breaths, and trying not to think too much. I’ve found out that telling myself “it’s okay to make mistakes” really calms me down, even though I doubt it afterwards.
I’ve also watched a TED Talk linked here about how your body language can actually change your mind, and I tried some of these strategies to calm myself down. My aunt has also given me advice to play from your core, rather than your heart or your brain. This not only makes sure my brain doesn’t focus on every little mistake I make, but it also quells the feelings of nervousness in my chest. I think that I still want to practice playing from my core, because I feel like one experience isn’t completely enough to tell whether it works for me or not.
Reflecting on the actual performance itself, I think that for someone who hasn’t played on stage like that for two years, it was good. Even though I made mistakes, my piano teacher who was there said that I played well, and I also felt somewhat good about the performance after it was over. It was definitely a meaningful experience, it taught me a lot about my nerves and what I can do to manage them better. And the more I perform, the more confident I get.
Here’s a video link to the performance, and a photo of the program is below.
What am I looking forward to?
I have a lot more performances coming up, a piano recital, the Grade 9 Going Solo performance and also the International Women’s Day performance with the Piano Masterclass in March. Not to mention, I’m emceeing a guitar showcase, and might even be playing something there too (to be confirmed). I’ll also be very busy in the upcoming future with more Piano masterclasses, and my G6 Piano exam is coming up in February.
So that’s all for October! Thanks for reading and I’ll be back next month!
Link to my tracking log
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Oct 3, 2018 | NYAA Healthy Living, Youth Achievements
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NYAA: Healthy Living
September Progress Report
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My Healthy Living Goal: To reduce and find better ways to deal with my stress through Music.
Why have I chosen this goal?
I personally am very invested in Music and it is the one creative art I take solace in. Playing the piano and listening to a lot of music are things that I do regularly, and I want to bring this into the award as it is something that I am very passionate about.
How am I achieving this goal:
Currently, I participate in an activity called ‘Piano Masterclass’, and in this class I learn a lot about not only playing actual pieces of music better than I already do, but also side tactics to enhance things like performance, skills and control.
So far, I have learned about creating a better warmup when starting my practice session to prepare my fingers for the pieces I am playing and to make playing a lot more comfortable for me. However, one of the main highlights of this month in Piano Masterclass has been working together with Marianne from the music group ‘Crossing Borders Music’ who visited our school and our piano masterclass specially to work with some of us on improving one of the pieces in our repertoire. I was one of the lucky few working one-on-one with Marianne herself, and the experience taught me so much.
Firstly, I learned a lot more about attitude when performing, to not let myself be so nervous and to pretend that everything is going as I want it to. Not only will this lessen my own stress when performing, but it will also lessen the people around me’s. Secondly, I learned about touch and control, leaning more weight into separate fingers to create chords that have one dominant note among a harmony, but only using one hand. This practice has helped me become a better pianist, and I know that further practicing this skill will allow me to play more of the pieces that I love.
I also got to listen to Marianne work with other pianists, and that experience also taught me more about technique and performance attitude. However, sitting and listening to others play and improve also taught me more about other composers like Brahms, Beethoven and Chopin that I haven’t had a chance to play yet, and I think this information will further help me define my preferences in music.
Overall, this experience helped me to develop further my growing passion for music, and I think that this passion will provide me comfort and good mental health in the future, providing me with an important escape when the world gets too stressful.
Link to Marianne and her group’s website: http://crossingbordersmusic.org/
Link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CrossingBordersMusic/ (you can see some photos from the event here!)
What am I looking forward to?
Well, upcoming at the end of October is another recital where I must perform at Esplanade, in a concert called ‘Bach to the Future’ linked on the Esplanade library website here. I think that this experience will further develop me as a pianist and a performer especially, so I am looking forward to it!
I am also looking forward to International Women’s day in March 2019, and the jazz piece that I will be playing there. Attached below is an image of the sheet music that I recently received for the piece. I have lowered the quality as to avoid copyright claims.
That’s all for September! Thanks for reading!
Link to my tracking log
