Chapter: To Express Yourself
Tip # 56: "Learn to Play an Instrument" (Jenkins 124)
For me, learning to play an instrument seemed like something that would really benefit my cognitive abilities. I played the piano and clarinet when I was in Elementary School, and lost interest in music once I moved to middle school. The book that I am reading describes 97 activities that teenagers should do before they graduate, and the express yourself chapter seemed like a good place to start because I have had a saxophone sitting in my room for a while and I still remember a little about playing the clarinet, a cousin instrument to the saxophone. The instructions I was given on the saxophone were the simple notes and the positioning of the fingers. The hardest part about playing was definitely getting the correct sounds to come out. The notes that were in the middle of the ledger were easy to play because they are "average" middle notes (Jenkins 124), but the very low notes and very high notes seemed to squeak quite often when playing. Among the songs that I learned to play in the 4 hours that I practiced on my first day of learning to play the saxophone, happy birthday and jingle bells were the easiest to learn and my favorites.
The note that I am playing in this picture is a C. For reference, this would be the "Day" in "Happy birthday to you". Blowing into the saxophone was much harder than I thought it would be because in 6th grade, playing the clarinet was easy when it came to blowing into it, but the saxophone is much more challenging.
Through and through, learning to play the saxophone will be a long process, and this was only the beginning. Continuing to play the saxophone is something that I would seriously consider pursuing past the IRP Q 2 assignment. I know that playing an instrument is great for your memory and this would be really good as I go through high school. I know that spending 4 hours on a Saturday wont turn me into an expert, but the saxophone was a fun instrument to get introduced to and would recommend to anyone who is thinking about learning to play an instrument!
This is a very quality post. A+
ReplyDeleteThis is a very quality post. A+
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool, Connor! I had no idea that by playing an instrument, you can improve your cognitive abilities. I, too, lost interest in playing music during middle school. I enjoyed reading about your experience with the saxophone and playing music. Good luck with the rest of your activities! :)
ReplyDeleteI never knew how much playing an instrument could help you in highschool. Improving your cognitive abilities will help you learn information a lot easier which is essential in getting good grades.
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