Aural Training 1 - "Workshop" #2

 Date for Entry: (Monday 13th November, 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Wednesday 19th January 2022)

Dear Diary,

    The English went really fast and quick, Thank God. The Auditorium was still so very cold. I carried in the baby blanket I use to cover my Tenor pan at home and it came in good use today because my leg gave me some pain. It reminds me of mama when she covers her knees when it's making cold. It was also the last day of the English Plenaries for the semester and that was great news to hear.

    When class ended, I spoke to my lecturer Ms. Denis for the last time on how to do the conclusion. While this was happening I had Justin, Kayla and Chekia waiting in the car. I had to make them wait this time because all semester long I was waiting to see Ms. Denis and ask her questions. She always seemed to disappear so quickly.

    As we got into the yard of my lovely school, I came out today because Mr. Maharaj had asked me last Monday to meet with two certificate students on the pan and help them out with the songs. I came out and wait on the side because the Certificate Brandon was with his friend talking and he said that he admired me for the way I was humble. That was very nice although I was not sure what it means and then the three of us were talking while I answered their questions. Two of the questions that came from the girl were as if I talk a lot and then the other was to know what instruments I could play. He then went back to talking and he said that he would wait for the girl to finish her individual pan class.

    As I sat there near a pole with Brandon and his friend, I decided to take out my “Practice of Harmony” textbook and review some of the topics in it for the second quiz tomorrow in Music Theory class. While I was reading, I saw Mrs. Neaves coming out from the Practice Rooms 2-8 door. She told me “hi” and then asked me how I was doing. In return, I asked her how she was and she said that it was an interesting question and told me that “it was one of the days when everything was all over the place.” 

    As the certificate Brandon was telling Mrs. Neaves what he told me about me last Monday night after class about me being humble, she said that I was on a different level from everyone. I appreciated it but at the same time wondered exactly what she was meant. In the Aural Training class, I got some more quotes from her to the class:

• “Never enter a room thinking that you know everything. You will fail.”
• “Sometimes we like to resolve a chord but nothing holds the tension of the Tritone.”
• “Line up the 7ths to the triads and it will give you the scale of 7ths.”
• “You might have a plan, but do not always look to follow it. Go your own way.”

I appreciated these very much and then also in the Tutorial with Mr. Sadaphal, he as well had another useful piece of information to help me fill more gaps. He said, "The pulse is an accent or change in the pattern of beats." I on the other hand did not know this and I was glad again that I had attended the class to see if I can learn morning things that I did not know. Then again it was a free course for aural music practice that you don’t get all the time so available.

There was a Finale software that Mr. Sadaphal placed upon the projector from his laptop. It had a similar look to Finale so I had guessed it was that. The Brandon from my Degree class was there sitting in the front row on my side. I had to take a middle row today because people took all the right-handed table-and-chairs in the front row. Mr. Sadaphal had us clap out some rhythms which were scored on the Treble staff and they all were done using the pitch of F4. I was glad that I had my tablet in my bookbag to take a picture of the exercise for the journal and also to practice.

    Some of these rhythms I saw in music scores before but they were challenging only into the third bar and the fourth of line four alone. As the class was over my and my Degree Brandon walked over to Studio one. I had to leave him along the way because he was talking to someone. I told Mr. Maharaj good evening as I opened the door and rest my pan as it was hooked to the pan stand and then the bookstand was together with it. Usually, I do this too had all the things together and that I can carry everything at once. The Certificate Brandon and then Eshay looked glad to see me arrived I know that one reason was that I had the music I wrote out for the songs. For the rest of the night, it was the “Mehendi Laga” song and it went quite well for me.

    I still had to teach Eshay and the Certificate Bandon some extra things along the way. I also took them through the parts of this same song today after Eshay finished her individual pan class. It was for a short while because four o'clock came upon us so early that I had to run over to studio four in time for Western History with my Tenor pan. At the end of the Indian Classical class, the Certificate Brandon was asking Mr. Maharaj if the pans were good and he said that it was “very good and when he thanked me I then felt like the job I did today with Brandon and Eshay was successful.

 

Link(s): 

1. Final Examination Notifications - Aural Training 1.
2. Practice Sheet from the Workshop.

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali