On that particular day we were picking new music for me to learn. I have sung in many different languages and in many different styles but for some reason Italian is one of the harder ones for me to do. My coach wanted me to learn a beautiful French song and an English song, they were both relatively easy and so we started looking for a Third song. We passed over the song Se Florindo e fedele many times before I realized that it was the perfect song to learn because I could use it as my extension project as well.
On the first day all we did was go over the words. We went over pronunciation and meaning of the words. She played to tune for me so that I could at least hear it and then my lesson ended. On the second day we practiced the melody and I tried to add the words to it. Day after day we practiced this song. I did not feel like I was making much progress on the words because I kept messing them up or slurring them together because of the speed of the song. Now almost 10 weeks later I have memorized the music and we are working on polishing the song. The words still give me trouble sometimes but I really think that committing myself to this song helped me improve my Italian singing.
In the beginning I thought this assignment was ridicules. Now I am glad that we had to do it because otherwise I might have given up on this song.
| Date | Time Practiced | Total Time |
| January 27 2009 | 30 Minutes | 30 Minutes |
| January 29 2009 | 30 Minutes | 1 Hour |
| February 3 2009 | 30 Minutes | 1 Hour 30 Minutes |
| February 5 2009 | 30 Minutes | 2 Hours |
| February 10 2009 | 30 Minutes | 2 Hours 30 Minutes |
| February 12 2009 | 30 Minutes | 3 Hours |
| February 17 2009 | 30 Minutes | 3 Hours 30 Minutes |
| February 19 2009 | 30 Minutes | 4 Hours |
| February 24 2009 | 30 Minutes | 4 Hours 30 Minutes |
| February 26 2009 | 30 Minutes | 5 Hours |
| March 3 2009 | 30 Minutes | 5 Hours 30 Minutes |
| March 5 2009 | 30 Minutes | 6 Hours |
| March 10 2009 | 30 Minutes | 6 Hours 30 Minutes |
| March 12 2009 | 30 Minutes | 7 Hours |
| March 17 2009 | 30 Minutes | 7 Hours 30 Minutes |
| March 19 2009 | 30 Minutes | 8 Hours |
| March 24 2009 | 30 Minutes | 8 Hours 30 Minutes |
| March 31 2009 | 30 Minutes | 9 Hours |
| April 2 2009 | 30 Minutes | 9 Hours 30 Minutes |
| April 7 2009 | 30 Minutes | 10 Hours |
I'm glad that the experience you had ended up being a positive one and that the external motivation could at least lend a little bit of persistence to the mix. As you were learning this song, a piece that required you to go beyond your own comfort level, what did you learn about yourself as a learner that relates to what we discussed in class? For example, I see some goal orientation as well as self-efficacy sources inherent in your choices. From a cognitive standpoint, there's also a utility-value aspect to your motivation that I could see.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I would love to hear some of your music. Is it available anywhere to listen to?