Taking up a 3-month Online Keyboard Course – CREATIVITY

I had always wanted to learn a musical instrument and learning one during these lockdown days seemed too good to be missed. So, I checked up on the internet for online keyboard courses and found one. I took up the three-month course and learnt the key concepts like about the chords and also began with the two-hand practice on the keyboard which I had always wanted to learn. Learning to play on the keyboard with both the hands takes up a lot of focus and determination and the will to continue and not give up whilst practicing. 

The following are my learning outcomes under this activity-

 LO1  – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

When I began with my online keyboard classes , the teacher gave me a set of basic chords that I had to practice and also learn to locate them on the keyboard with only my right hand. Gradually , when I started progressing and could play it smoothly , my sir gave me the next instructions to play the chords with my left hand. I could always break in the middle when practicing with my left hand . here i noticed my weakness that playing chords with the left did require a lot of practice and focus at the same time. While on the other my strength was to be able to learn and play with the right hand quickly. During the process I felt that it was important to be aware of my strengths and weaknesses since strengths would motivate me to keep on going and weaknesses will test my dedication and focus level and how hard I could work upon them to improvise them . Finally , with the guidance and practice I could improve my weakness at the end and could learn a great deal about the instrument.

LO2  – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

To begin with , the challenge was to improve my keyboard playing skills with both the hands and also with the help of chords. My teacher gave me a challenge to identify the chords of the songs that I regularly listened to and try playing them on the keyboard.

As per the task given to me , it was challenging initially to (a) play the keyboard with both the  hands and (b) identify and play the chords of the songs that I listen to on the keyboard with the method of ‘trial and error’

(a)The only way to accomplish this challenge was to practice my skills as much as possible and for (b) to start with , I began with the easy songs whose chords i could recognise and then try playing them on the keyboard , it did take a lot many hours and patience to continue with this challenge but at the end of the day , it was all the learning and progress that mattered.

LO3 – Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience –

For this CAS experience , I had designed a plan where I had scheduled all of my keyboard learning classes well in advance and correlated them with the sir. Moving forward , I planned with thorough practice sessions at my personal level and gave the music time to learn to be able to learn and comprehend it well enough . Planning this activity made tasks simpler for me to a great extent which included regular attendance to the sessions and consistent practice sessions as well . Planning helped me to improve and enhance my skills on the keyboard .

LO4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Under this activity , daily practice could only brush up my skills and was the only way with which I could play chords,songs and compositions with both the hands and also let me compose any song with the help of the knowledge of it. It was a slow process to learn and get equipped with the needed skills to play the musical pieces on the keyboard. It definitely required determination and dedication to continue with the process for a long period and I had to be persistent with my daily hours of practice. And it was not easy for me to keep on practicing daily with the same will , but being persistent and determined was necessary at the same time.

But i still managed to practice and improvise on my weakness and was able to play some of the songs taught with the chords and could also identify and try to compose a song with the help of the chords.

LEARNING ATTRIBUTES – The learning attributes with which I could identify myself with are as follows :

Inquirers – During this activity , I used to have a ton of questions to the teacher about music and keyboard , keys and rhythm which always made me curious about this instrument and music altogether . I would always inquire the teacher about anything related to the instrument which I was learning , and would also search tutorials , new pieces for beginners and other interesting facts about the instrument .

Principled – By attending the regular classes , I had to be punctual , active and responsive to the classes and the teacher due to the nature of online classes where I couldn’t loose my concentration and focus but had to be principled and firm with myself to learn the instrument with curiosity and eagerness.

Balanced – Music and learning instruments may not be included in the rigorous academic curriculum but they are a very important aspect of a good well being since it allows one to express him/her powerfully , or even makes a person calm and stress free. Music soothes some people and their minds which is an important part of mental well being and by taking care of it , one actually looks forward to a balanced perspective of life.

EVIDENCE