Student Blog: First Month of the Semester!

Good morning readers! I'm Tati, and I am currently in my last year of college studying music performance. Here is a rundown of what is currently going on for me this semester!

The first class I have in the week is music theory, every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I'm required to take four semesters of music theory, and I'm currently on my third. The classes have mostly been with the same people, and I'd like to think we've formed a pretty tight knit group! In class, we mostly focus on writing, analyzing, and sight singing. I think music theory is very fascinating and I enjoy hearing the debates that unfold in class over the subject.

The next class I have in the week is Latin American history. This is the only class I have away from the music building, which I don't love, but the class itself is amazing. In addition to music, I have a lot of love for history, and I never really got to learn about this subject prior to college. One thing I like about college is that the classes are pretty specific, and I have loved all the history classes I've gotten to take so far, music related or otherwise!

On Wednesday and Friday mornings, I have piano. People in my major are required to take piano and music theory together, and I can totally see why: they both relate to each other heavily. One thing I've noticed is that most students feel a lot more comfortable at one subject than another; personally I'm a lot more confident at the piano, so I'll often play chords out on the piano to help me with my music theory homework. It's been fascinating to learn what my classmates are more comfortable at, and how feeling more confident in one subject over another can affect an individual's thought process. 
 

Later in the afternoon, I have a Contemporary Music class, which goes into the history of classical music from the 20th century, and the key composers from that era. I'm required to pick four music history classes, which I have enjoyed very much as mentioned before. 
 

The last class I have to mention is my private lessons every Thursday morning. Here, I pick out pieces of percussion repertoire to learn throughout the semester, and then build up various techniques. There are a lot of areas where I need to improve; in particular, I'm trying to get better at sight reading this semester! My schedule is pretty tight right now, so every day I try to find some time to practice, even if it's just for a few minutes. I have a chunk of time on Mondays that I typically go into a practice room to work on repertoire. Studying percussion involves working with a lot of huge instruments that I do not have at home, which is why I generally practice at school. At home I will usually just play on a pillow and try to build up speed, or assess my technique and try to find things I can improve on: "Am I holding the sticks too high up?", "Is one hand weaker than the other?" "Am I relaxed enough?" Things like that.

When I'm not in class, I work at the school library, which I have been doing for the past year and a half. I work in the archives, which means I've been exposed to a ton of my school's history: old newspapers, yearbooks, filmed recordings. Occasionally I'll also get to help decorate the library, put away books, and go on other assorted "mini-quests". I absolutely adore this job, and it is something I would love to keep doing after I graduate.

This is the part where I get to talk about musical theatre! I've been involved in the school musicals as an orchestra player for the past few semesters, and musical theatre is on of the things I love the absolute most! This semester we are putting on "The Light in the Piazza". It will be my fourth show here, and I am very grateful that I have gotten to study this art form for as long as I have. Plus, I am very excited that I will get to be with a group of other student bloggers who also adore the theatre. I will definitely talk more in depth about this subject in the coming blogs!

When I am completely away from school (as in, not doing homework, practicing, or rehearsing), I really enjoy nail art! I think the community is made up of incredible and supportive people, plus it's nice to have a hobby outside of your main interests. That's an art form that I've admired my whole life. I'm not sure what inspired this but I also recently took up jewelry, particularly making bracelets for me and my friends. I often have trouble focusing on classes, so I've made some bracelets with the sole purpose of being something I can quietly fidget with, which has actually helped me a lot!

That is all I have for now, but I look forward to talking about different topics this season. Thank you for reading!

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