Intermediate Assessment & Music Theory Office Hours

 Date for Entry: (Wednesday 25th October 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 18th January 2022)

Dear Diary,

    Today I went to my nice school with a cross-chain around my neck that I bought from PAX at Mount Saint Benedict. I took out a Tenor pan from the school’s storeroom as soon as I got inside of the Pan Theatre and ran through my pieces once more because today was our assessment for the Intermediate Steel Ensemble. I did not have a class with Sharma this morning because he had to cancel it and we decided to do the makeup on Friday at ten o'clock. Me, Kayla and Chekia started off to practice and then we invited the others inside to join the song with us if they wanted. Soon Mr. Manette came into class and then he told us that the examination was out of thirty points. 

    I was third to do my assessment. We had a choice of doing it in groups or solos. For me, I did my assessment alone because usually, Chekia wanted me to do the assessment with her. I felt good to come out of the room feeling successful. I came out waiting and then when the group after me came out. I asked sir to take my bags to go and visit Mrs. Ramlal for her office hours. It was time that I went to ask her for some help in my Music Theory and to get to understand it better.

    I took my purple briefcase with me up inside the new building which was carrying my nice and newly photocopied Music Theory Textbook. She was happy to see me bringing in my textbook in the briefcase so that it did not get damaged and she then laughed out and showed me her book. When I told her what kind of help I needed she took out a sheet of manuscript paper from her book and we worked through the three different types of primary triads in the second inversion (the three types of six-fours), after going through first  inversion triads and the figured bass for them verbally. When I told her about the process I first do she told me to forget ninety percent of that and that I was giving myself too much work. 

    It felt like a really long time working with Mrs. Ramlal. I knew it was over an hour in there because when I came back out and went to Studio four, Mrs. Neaves class for Aural Training was about to start. There was about half an hour to forty minutes remaining. Some of the important points I collected from Mrs. Neaves today were:

 

Ø  The whole tone system is one that you must learn to hold the tension even how dissonant it may be (Page 8).

 

Ø  The heart always goes into the rhythm of whatever you are doing. (Page 21, exercise 37).

 

Ø  As a singer, you sight-read and sing at the same time but at the same time, they are both different. It is a skill (Page 26, Exercise 51-60).

 

v Sight-Reading – Instrument

v Sight-Singing – Pitch & Rhythm.

 

Ø   Music is always flowing. It does not stop. It's either you’re on the bus or not (page 31, Exercise 7).

Link(s): 

1. Manuscript page from Office Hour Meeting.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali