Sunday, September 28, 2014

Creative Practice Wk 5 - Test-Driving Musical Instrument


The process took me almost all morning to finally be able to play one song. I bought this Vietnamese instrument over 15 years ago because it’s beautiful to look at. This was hard, but rewarding because I bought this Vietnamese instrument years ago but never really tried to take real lessons. Unless I live in Vietnam, it's hard finding an instructor in Palo Alto, CA. I had to do a lot of research online to find music sheets and how to match the notes to the string instruments.

I remember trying to learn a song at least 9 years. Finding a free tuning app on my phone, I tuned my instrument by using a pair of pliers (I’m supposed use the same tool you use for a harp, but I don’t own one). After using the wrong tuner, I found the correct tuning app by looking at the attached layout to figure out how to tune the instrument correctly. 


I found a music sheet online and took a few hours to figure out how to play the song. My mind couldn’t remember the notes, but once my fingers started picking the correct notes, my ears helped my brain to remember how to play the full song. I noticed that when my brain tried to memorize how to play the song, I would mess up, but when I allowed the flow of my fingers and ears to play, I did just fine after the 20th recording.















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