Blog 4

Going into the Keyboard Orchestra class, I did not know what to expect because my origins in music started off with the drums. I was familiar with music notation, such as rests, half notes, sixteenth notes, etc., but familiarizing myself with musical notes, ABCDEFG, proved to make the transition from drums to piano difficult. The class moved at a face pace, and I lost footing early on. In the beginning, I had difficulty with reading sheet music and translating the notes to keys on the piano: in a fashion that stayed on pace with the piano piece’s timeframe. However, through repetition I could gain confidence with each sheet of music. I admire the way Mr. Lansang and Dr. Fletcher play the piano because they read the music without looking at the keys. As an amateur player, I want to continue gaining experience with the piano, so I can also read music without looking at the keys on the piano. I remember Mr. Lansang telling me that playing the piano is similar typing on a computer keyboard because through repetition you will naturally be able to type without looking at the keyboard.

What I really liked about the Keyboard Orchestra was its balance between playing music and learning about music. Dr. Fletcher did a great job demonstrating confusing concepts in ‘How Music Works.' Before this class, I never thought what went into making instruments sound the way the sound or how sound is produced, but because of Keyboard Orchestra, I am confident that I knowledgeable on some musical concepts.

A disadvantage of the class was its scarcity of resources. Most pianos had to be shared and this led to limited practice time. Hopefully, in the future, students will not encounter this problem.

As an individual who often listens to Hip-Hop, I liked being able to hear instruments that I do not often hear in my regular music playlists. Huge shout out to Dr. Fletcher and Mr. Lansang for being able to transcribe their own sheets of music because by diving the parts into different instruments, we were truly able to play as a Keyboard Orchestra.