Week One

Thus far in my journey into piano composition I:

-got a piano teacher, albeit on YouTube

-learned where each key is on the keyboard

-thought of names for said keyboard

-decided on Ken Kesey

-learned how to draw a treble clef

-made flashcards for half of the notes on a staff

-learned the intro to an Adele song

-mastered the thumb-leap technique

-played the gamelan

The last bullet didn't actually have to do with piano. But it has to do with music.

This is a gamelan. It is a type of Indonesian orchestra. Most instruments included in the ensemble are idiophones, meaning their sound rings out from the vibrational resonance after being struck.  The only exception is the membranophone seen above. Basically a drum, it produces sound from being struck on its membranous covering--which is a disgusting way of saying "top."

The xylophone-like  instrument I first played taught me about notes and scales. The "saron" had 7 plates available for  hitting, but instead of the 7-note C-scale I was used to seeing on the keyboard, it consisted of the notes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 1, and 2. The second 1 and 2 are an octave above the first couple of notes.

Playing with the gamelan provided me with some much-needed practice in rhythm and beats. With the keyboard, like any other instrument, it's not just finger placement and melody-memorizing that makes a piece worth listening to. The pulse of the song must be regular and steady. In my case, this requires a silent but constant "one-two-three-four" to be playing  in my head while I strike the keys.

After mallet-ing the xylophone for a few verses, I moved on to the "bonang," seen at the foreground in the picture above. Their sound is generally used to accent the melody produced by the sarons. By experimenting with the bonangs, I was able to hit them on the rhythm's "off-beat," or in the period of time left silent between sounds. This embellishment of the rhythm gave the song a more dynamic feel.

Hopefully, I will be able to translate the rhythmic timing I felt in the gamelan room back to my bedroom in my apartment with the keyboard sitting in front of me expectantly. I'll keep you posted...

Sites Deserving of a Shout Out

Zen Habits
 The first place I went searching for a New Years Resolution this year was Zen Habits. Hailed by Time Magazine as the #1 blog of 2010, this how-to blog is dedicated to helping people make the least out of life. Author Leo Babauta's message is one of simplicity--do more by having less. The wisdom he dispenses ranges from "Recipe for a Flat Stomach" to, most recently, "Learning to Sit Alone, in a Quiet Empty Room." Although some of his counsel seems counterintuitive, such as striving to be goal-free, his posts address the audience's probable resistance and provides a rationally-sound explanation of his way of thinking.

Instructables
Recommended to me from my best anti-mass-production friend Taylor, Instructables is a DIY website. From chicken pot pie recipes to "How to make and use the arduino as an ISP for an ATtiny 45/85," Instructables has got it all.

LIFE

For days when literacy seems too tedious, Life Magazine has a relatively comprehensive collection of photos from around the world. The photos are updated daily and has many other interesting slideshows (i.e. Writer and Musician Suicides, Dr. Seuss: A Tribute, etc.).

Hyperbole and a Half
Hyperbole and a Half is the humorous diary blog of Allie Brosh. Simply put, I like her style. Some posts straddle the line between genuinely funny and over-reaching, but for the most part, our senses of humor play nicely together. I also appreciate her use of MS Paint images to complement the posts.

StumbleUpon
I have a love/hate relationship with Stumbleupon. It is an amazing tool for exposing yourself to a plethora of information about your interests. However, it's basically the internet version of T.V. I can be entertained for hours without much to show for it. Although it's a chance to learn more about what you love, the STUMBLE button at the top of the page is like kryptonite for my short attention span. I am constantly surfing the pages for something better, or more interesting. That being said, it remains one of the best methods of broadening your horizons on the web without too much fear of being bludgeoned with viruses.

Overture

ABOUT ME:

My name is Faith. I'm a 21-year-old reporting major/creative writing minor. I'd also consider myself a Holocaust minor, but UNC probably wouldn’t.

After a nasty divorce fragmented my home-life, my older sister and I were raised in Salisbury, NC, by our single mother. I went to a Catholic school until seventh grade when our tuition money ran dry.  I switched to a public school. After learning how to use a combination lock and several four letter words, I was well-adjusted.

In high school, I was a co-anchor for the morning news, a proud member of chess club and was elected student body president my senior year.

Now days, when I'm not procrastinating by making lists of things I'd rather be doing than homework, I can be found: reading metaphysical  books I've promised high school teachers I would get to eventually, dumping ingredients into a crock pot, writing for pleasure, writing for the DTH, writing for class, or attempting to think philosophically.

ABOUT THE BLOG:

Thirteen years ago, I stared at the thick mustache of the man sitting beside me in my basement. On a weekly basis. As we sat on the miniscule piano bench, he corrected my hand position on the keys. I wondered what he would sound like with a French accent.

As a chronic day-dreamer in my youth, my mind tended to sort out any useless information, like the order of the months, how to read an analog clock, which direction is left, and why exactly Every Good Boy Does Fine.

I wasn't particularly bad at piano, I learned what I needed to know to pull off a modest din at recital--and not much else. When my mustached mentor became too expensive, I was left on my own with the piano in the basement. Which means it sat untouched, collecting dust for the next decade or so.

Since those days, I've always considered music a language I can comprehend but not speak. When I listen to instrumentals, my soul becomes an eavesdropping mute, taking in the musician's sentiments but unable to articulate anything in response.

Eventually, 'learn an instrument' kept ascending the queue of my bucket list and the guilt of not acting towards it began to grow. My best friend, a guitar virtuoso and maven of all things musical, didn't mind augmenting the guilt in hopes of finding someone to play with.

I casually began surfing Craigslist, looking for a keyboard under $50. After a few rejection emails, winter break came into view and the search was abandoned. After making the trip home for December, I spent most of my time helping Mom box up her belongings to move to a smaller place a few roads away.

One fateful afternoon of moving ended my Craigslist scanning for good. Up against the new house's garage wall leaned a dingy keyboard left by the last inhabitants. The landlord happened to be at the house when I saw the dismal instrument. Luckily, he honored my call of "dibs."

So now there's no excuse. I'm going to learn on my own, or possibly with the help of a few friends, how to make music, the language of the world. The purpose of this blog is to document my progress as well as hold me accountable for following through with this project.