Hi, Welcome to my project. For my whole project, I would like to record several different types of classes, such as individual class, group class, and master class. After recording, I will summaries the note about what did the teacher say in this class and what I can learn from this class. This is the last Weekly update.

This week, I have recorded a video to summarize my whole project. Explained why I choose this topic, what challenges I have encountered and how I overcame them, and an overall reflection about what I learned during this project.

Introduction

I have studied guitar for 15 years, and I love this instrument. When I was young, my first teacher is very nice to me and let me want to be a guitar teacher in the future just like him. My mom is a teacher too and she always talks about her experience to me, so I think being a teacher is very fulfilling. Since 2014, I have taught students every summer in my teacher’s studio, and this helps me to gain experience in how to teach students.

Project Results

For my project, I shared the masterclass, studio class, and technique class to your guys. In each week, I have posted a video and summarized the note about what the teacher said in this lesson. These notes make people easier to understand the main point of each lesson and it is better for the audience who is interested in music but not the professional music worker or student. For these people, maybe they don’t have enough time to listen to all the lessons or they cannot understand the musical terminology. This project is for them to save their time and make them get all the points of each lesson.

Timeline

Week 1

Introduced the David Russell’s masterclass and concerts, uploaded the schedule and other information. Listened his lesson and uploaded the pictures.

Week 2

Attended and recorded David Russell's masterclass and uploaded to YouTube. Summarized the notes about what he said and how I have learned from this lesson.

Week 3

Introduced and summarized the studio class, played by Grace and she played Variations on a theme by Sor.

Week 4

Uploaded two technique classes about how to play tremolo and I have summarized some tips for playing tremolo. I also uploaded a video of piece named Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) which is a good piece to practice tremolo.

Week 5

I have uploaded an online masterclass by David Russell, and he taught Una limosna por el amor de Dios (El ltimo Trémolo) which is a tremolo piece in this lesson. This connected to last weekly post and this can further improve your tremolo skills.

Week 6

I have uploaded an online masterclass by Sharon Isbin, who born August 7, 1956, and is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American classical guitarist and the founding director of the guitar department at the Juilliard School. The student played Prelude from BWV 995 by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Week 7

I have uploaded an online masterclass by Zoran Dukić who is a Croatian classical guitarist and he is showing astounding mastery in a wide variety of musical periods. The student played the first movement of Sonatina Meridional for Guitar by Manuel María Ponce.

Week 8

Uploaded Project Final Write Up and introduction video of my project.

Reflection

Through the process of completing my project, I learned a lot from it. I want to be a guitar teacher in the future, so I think I can improve my teaching experience by auditing and summarizing masterclass, studio class, and technique class. At the beginning of my project, I also wanted to audit guitar group class and individual class, but in the process of completing the project, I encountered COVID-19, which led to the total suspension of the school, so my plan was disrupted. In the last three weeks, I audited the master class videos on the Internet, and I just know that I could learn from online masterclasses.

The skills gained from doing my project is 1. In week one, I have learned that I can practice melody and bass lines separately in Bach music to easier understand the musical idea. 2. In week two, I know that I need to do more dynamic even play Bach music. Before this masterclass, I think that Bach music doesn’t need as many dynamic as other period music because Baroque music needs to articulate and trills instead of color changing. 3. In week three, I have learned a way to practice the vibrato, which is relaxing my arm and using the arm power to make the finger move instead of just using the finger. 4. In week four, I have learned new ways to practice tremolo: use A-M-I to play 4 notes on the third string and play the strong beat every 4 notes. 5. In week five, I have learned a new way to practice tremolo: practice melody and bassline separately. I usually practice tremolo with a metronome but never practice separately because it is difficult to separate two parts, but I will try this way when I am practicing. 6. In week six, I have learned some tips which can be used in every Bach piece. 1). When I play the melody on two strings, I need to stop the first one after we play that to avoid the voice crossing. 2). When I consider the slur, I usually put the slur between the first two notes because this will not break the phrase. 3). When I am difficult to connect two notes due to jumping, I can play staccato on the first one to make the sound connect. 7. In week seven, I have learned this week is don't put too much faith in fingering on the score. I need to consider more about the fingering because many scores are arranged by a person who didn’t know guitar well so the fingering will break the phrase.

I also had some challenges when I was doing my project. In week two, I want to record my masterclass, so I asked my friend to borrow a camera and edited the video by using the software. This is the first time I used the camera to record a video for more than 30 minutes. In week three, I wanted to audit the group guitar class but the teacher's class time conflicted with mine. So next time I will make sure I can do this then tell my audience so as not to disappoint them anymore. Due to COVID-19, I cannot do my project as expected, which is a little bit upset. It is more difficult to find a good online class to share with my audience. Because the guitar is a string instrument, if the video quality is not good enough, we cannot hear the tiny sound different, which is different from an in-person class. So, find a good online masterclass became the biggest problem for me. To overcome this challenge, I was listening to more than 3 masterclasses every week and chose the best one to share with my audience.

Through the completion of this project, I listened to many masterclasses and made notes for each class, which is helpful for my future teaching. When I teach students, I can start by imitating others' classes to accumulate my teaching experience. In this case, listening to more classes can let me know more about how to give lessons to others.

Here is the full document:

That's all my project. Thanks for following me. Take care, bye!