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Intention: I want to grow the Capability Element of outcome greater than individual parts. Developing this element would be meaningful because my future pathway relies a lot on effective collaboration and a supportive environment. To support growth in this element, I plan to develop the skill playing guitar in a band with my friends, so I can foster a supportive environment and show that an outcome is greater than one's personal contribution.

Milestone: By the beginning of Term 4, I aim to be able to play a full set of 3 songs with my band, by practicing both individually and as a group to upkeep a supportive environment and have a successful performance.

Practice: The micro habit I'll do 2-3 times a week is to practice guitar for 30 minnutes individually, and have a weekly meet up with my band to practice together.

Anticipate Obstacles: Things that could get in the way of achieving my goal include absences of people in my band including myself which may disrupt our practice schedule as well as personal practice times disrupted by schoolwork and extracurricular commitments. If these happen, I will communicate effectively with my band to decide on catch up days or taking extra time in my personal rehearsals to catch up to any I've missed.

Check-In Plan: Every 3 weeks, I will check in on my habit consistency and improvement on my personal skills as well as our dynamic as a band.

Check-In 1: I plan to be able to play one-two songs by myself on guitar in full, and also play one song in full with my band.

Check-In 2: I plan to learn all the songs in our set by myself and finish our second song as a band

Check-In 3: I plan to be able to play the full set of 3 songs by myself as well as with my band

Transfer: At the end, I will show my growth by reflecting on our rehearsals (with evidence) and our collaboration as a band and how the outcome of our performance was greater than our individual parts.

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Positives

Our first practice was partially productive for a few reasons: we experimented playing different songs as a group and found songs that were only mildly and realistically challenging to play as well as easy to sing. This was very useful as playing the songs and singing in individual practice to choose songs would not reflect the band dynamic and how it would sound when we played together.

Negatives

Despite our productivity, we noticed that we could have made more progress with choosing our final set of songs. We did a lot of experimenting and finding songs in rehearsal which could have been done earlier, as sitting down on our phones trying to find songs to play isn't a productive use of the limited time we have together.

Improvements

To further improve this, I would suggest focusing on pre-planning for our collaborative practice sessions more so that we can get straight into practice and use our time together effectively.

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Interview with my Accountability Buddy (Elly)

Compare your original plan with the actions you actually took. What patterns do you notice and if there were differences, why?

In our original plan, we planned to spend an hour playing but we often got distracted and wasted our time. It is also inevitable that humans make mistakes during a song that we have to accept as we can't help nerves and slip-ups. A pattern I notice is we practice well together and don't disagree too much.

Can you identify causes for any challenges or setbacks you faced?

Playing on time - disrupted by not memorising chords and having to scroll on the screen when we are playing the chords

Confusions with strumming patterns - both guitarists play different strumming patterns and sometimes we get confused and start playing each other's.

What feedback do you think is most valuable at this stage?

Pointing out other's mistakes and helping them get better by playing their part properly for them and allowing them to learn by being patient and providing continous support until they get it right.

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On a seperate collaborative Padlet, my bandmates and I brainstormed song options to be part of our set and eventually shortlisted three songs we would play as a band.

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Check in 1-

Create plans and goals

Make a rough list of songs which we could perform

Brainstorm ideas

Had at least 1 or 2 practice sessions

By the end of check in 1, we should have created a list of plans and goals for our band to grow. Made a rough list of songs which we want to perform/play. Brainstorm any extra ideas which we may have along the way. And, have completed at least 1 or 2 practice sessions.

Check in 2-

At least have 2 songs down

Main list of songs finalised

Changed up the sounding of songs/created new versions of it

By the end of check in 2 we should have at least two finalised songs which we can play from start to finished. Have a list of songs which we want to perform finalised. And have changed up the sounding of songs or created new versions of it.

Check in 3

At least 10 practice sessions

Completed planner with evidence

Finished and recorded personalised songs

By the end of check in 3 (our final check in) we should have completed at least 10 practice sessions. Completed our finalised planner including evidence from practice sessions. And, finished and recorded at least one personalised song as a band.

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This photo from one of our first band practices show us getting prepared by warming up our voices (mainly our lead singer), tuning our guitars and checking song chords of what we would play. This quick preparation also gave us the time to discuss how much of the song would be played at once (whether the whole song or until the chorus, etc.) as well as decide whether we would stop after any mistakes to correct ourselves or just keep going until the end of the song to test the difficulty throughout its entirety.

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My accountability buddies are my bandmates Elly and Lana, who will provide feedback on my individual growth as a guitarist and a bandmate.

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Collaboration: Outcome Greater Than Individual Parts

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Collaboration: Outcome Greater Than Individual Parts

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I chose to develop the element of outcome greater than individual parts within the capability of Collaboration. I felt that this element resonated with me the most in terms of what I wanted to do in the future. During the Semester 1 Holidays, I did work experience at Priority Pediatrics, a health clinic for children and families, where I got to see the work of doctors, staff, receptionists, and many more in a professional setting as well as see how patient care is handled in an array of ways. Through one of my conversations with the head doctor, he taught me the importance of teamwork in the medical field. He said that all communication between doctors and their patients were mediated by receptionists, and that their importance is often overlooked. He said that to create a successful outcome in the medical field, it is extremely important to work as a team. From his story and advice, I decided that I wanted to develop this element further through high school so I would be preapred when entering uni to hopefully study Medicine, as well as the future where I would be working similarly in a medical field.

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Working individually to develp my guitar skills a few times a week to prepare for weekly band rehearsals.

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Rehearsing as a band to develop a dynamic through our different skills and instruments during weekly practice sessions.

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Capability chosen: Collaboration

Element chosen: Outcome greater than individual parts

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This guitar tutorial was quite easy to follow as the teacher would speak in between each step, ensuring that each finger was in the right position to play each chord and allowing me to play without have to constantly pause and replay the video. I used this about twice to learn all the chords and strumming in my individual practice rehearsals.

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Coldplay "Yellow" SUPER EASY Acoustic Guitar Lesson + Tutorial | Chords & Strumming w/ Visuals

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Positive: During our first lot of rehearsals, we were all really enthusiastic and contributed tot he "song finding" aspect really well. Though we are good friends, we have never played any instruments together before so being really supportive of each other during this time was important, and something we did.

Feedback: We spent quite a lot of time on our phones trying to pick songs, which we actually could have done during the pre-planning stage when we were in class or during our own time, instead of wasting valuable practice time to do so.

Improvement: An improvement to better use our time would be to plan the songs we want to try ahead of the rehearsal, whilst still giving ourselves some time to choose new ones on the spot if anything good comes up.

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Positive: Everyone is motivated and committed during their rehearsals (a big improvement from Check In #1, where our "breaks" dragged out too long as we got distracted by our phones) and we support each other well if someone needs help.

Feedback: We spend too much time learning one song trying to perfect it instead of trying to learn other songs as well.

Improvement: To better use our valuable practice time as a group, it would be good to just play a song in whole about 3 times over, then work on our individual flaws in our own time to catch up to standard. This way everyone is on the same page and skill level whilst still maximising the limited time we have to practice as a band.

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The teacher was very upbeat which made the video more engaging overall, and his lessons where quite easy to follow as he repeated himself many times and gave me time to practice playing the chords rather than constantly pause the video to do so myself. I used this video just once to get the chords, and twice to understand the strumming pattern he was using.

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Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag Guitar Lesson + Tutorial

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This video was my first practice of Yellow by myself, which is why the chord switching was quite slow as I was quite unfamilar with them. My strumming was also out of time slightly with the song as I had not listened to the metronome (86 BPM) and was trying to get it from the song but kept losing track. Additionally to my chord switching and the timing of my strumming, I would also suggest that in the future I press down on my chords more so they don't make any hard metal-like sounds that may be unpleasant to listen to. Overall, this first practice was not that bad as I was only trying to get a feel of the song, however more practice is required to truly nail it in one go.

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This is a video of one of our first practices as a band playing Teenage Dirtbag. As some of the chords and the strumming pattern had intermediate difficulty, it can be seen that I had to follow my other guitarist band mate quite often, looking at her as she switched the chords so I could keep up. As we progressed in rehearsals, I started relying less on her help and was eventually able to play the chords individually.

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Here I have some footage of my more experienced bandmate teaching me chords on a guitar. This was a really key experience in our band rpactices as it meant we started using our time to help one another and overcome challenges, instead of continuing to play with challenges present, making the rehearsals less productive.

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Chord Difficulty: Easy

This song has no bar chords, which makes it easy for my fingers and smoother for my transition in between chords.

Strum Difficulty: Easy

The strumming in this song only goes down, which means I don't have to be hyper-aware of my strumming as I play and I can focus more on the chords.

Overall Practice Required: Minimal

Easy chords and strumming means that I can focus less on practicing this song in my individual rehearsals and shift my focus more to the harder songs.

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Chord Difficulty: Intermediate

All the chords were quite simple except the bar chords (B and C#m) which would need more practice to ensure that I press down on the strings enough so that they don't sound muted and hit the right note.

Strumming Difficulty: Easy/Intermediate

The pattern was a mix of up and down strumming, but after the intro and the first verse its pretty easy to get used to and keep in time.

Overall Practice Required: Average

This song would need more practice than Yellow, as the chords and strumming aren't as straightforward and a lot more focus is required to stay in time with the strumming and switching of the chords. However, with the right amount of practice this would be a really fun song to play.

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FOR THE VIDEO FOOTAGE BELOW

We interviewed some peers in our grade who have had experience playing in bands multiple times and have performed as bands on stage. Two of our interviewees have also won the GIHS Infinite Echo two years in a row (2024 and 2025).

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Good job Sanemi! Taking initiative and collaborating with your bandmates learning to work with each other well congrats

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Interview with my Acocuntability Buddy (Lana)

Looking at your evidence, how can you differentiate between what shows genuine growth and what shows gaps?

From observing the evidence we have collected, most of the videos only show our well-put together rehearsals rather than the ones that we make mistakes in (for example, "bloopers"). Including this could strengthen evidence to show our genuine growth over time, however our videos from the beginning of rehearsals until now have shown improvement over a longer time period.

From the evidence you’ve collected, which piece would you defend as the strongest demonstration of your growth?

I think the videos of us collaborating both individually and as a team best represent and reflect on our group dynamic and strongly demonstrate our progress and growth.

Based on your feedback and reflection, how could you design a new approach for the next check-in that improves on this one and designs better growth?

Next time, filming outtakes or "bloopers" of us messing up will show natural mistakes and help us look back on the footage and focus on how it can be improved further.

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As a guitar student at Learning Through Music, my teacher makes lessons extremely interactive as he gives me and my classmate the opportunity to take turns and choose what songs we get to play. When given this chance, I suggested the two songs my band focused on the most - Yellow by Coldplay and Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. He then watched me play these songs and taught me how to improve my strumming and my chord pressing, advicing me every week as I advanced in my band practices as well.

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Positive: We implemented our previous feedbakc from Check In #2 really well - we are now spending less time trying to perfect a song together and instead working on our flaws within the playing individually to catch up to the expected standard, allowing us to work on other songs when we are together.

Feedback: We need to show the "bloopers" or "outtakes" of our practices in our video footage as right now we are only recording the good songs we play rather than the mistakes we make that could show genuine growth once fixed.

Improvement: Next time, filming a video of our entire band practice rehearsal to capture both our good and bad moments will help show our progress realistically and show growth more strongly.

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Final Interview with both Accountability Buddies (Lana and Elly)

Can you identify causes for any challenges or setbacks you faced? What factors contributed most?

I think the reason for some of our setbacks were that our rehearsing times were inconsistent. We had to manage uncertainty when we had to skip a band practice due to unavailability as well as people going away on holiday, etc. This inconsistency put us off a bit as a group and took up our valuable practice time trying to catch up for lost time.

How would you critique the strategies you used so far? Which would you recommend continuing, and which would you abandon?

We think the least effective strategy is just playing the songs at every band practice and individual rehearsal. For future practices, we recommend starting by practicing chord switching, timing with metronomes, etc before jumping straight into learning songs. This will waste less time trying to switch chords easily and stay on beat.

What feedback do you think is most valuable at this stage, and how would you justify its importance?

The most important feedback so far is of our performing stances. We are seated most of the time and should ideally improve our posture, etc but it would be great to have someone externally share their thoughts on how we look whilst performing.

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I can clearly see evidence of you changing your thinking, reflecting to improve and working past setbacks effectively.

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An example of how my band and I managed uncertainty is when we decided to change our last setlist song last minute to "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande. We only got a few practice sessions of this song, and as it was very fast paced when switching chords I found it quite difficult to play. However, we played it once in full and it was not as bad as we hoped, and our support for each other definetely helped get through this unfamiliar task.

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The first song we played was Yellow by Coldplay. I had done some individual rehearsal for this song as shown above, however as this was my first full run of the song I kept looking at my other guitarist bandmate to keep up with the chord switching. However, as the video progresses it can be seen that I am becoming more comfortable with the chords and simple strumming pattern and hence start relying less on my bandmate's help.

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What tips do you have for everyone in a band motivated and commited to rehearsals and performance?

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What tips do you have for everyone in a band motivated and commited to rehearsals and performance?

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Upon interviewing our peers, they spoke about tips on how to keep everyone in the band motivated and commited during rehearsals and performance. They highlighted the importance of choosing songs and genres that all members would like to play to ensure everyone has the same motivation to contribute to the band. Also setting realistic goals and rehearsal schedules, as our band as already done, would help keep everyone committed to their individual and collaborative practices.

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In order to commit to purpose and create an outcome as a band that is greater than our individual role, all members in our band set regular practice goals for themselves to ensure we keep track with each other's skill and progress.

Lana: 30 minute singing lessons every Monday as well as an hour choir rehearsal at the end of the day. I practice half an hour outside of school every week and this amounts to two hours practice every week. Band practice will add another hour to this time, thus I will be ensuring I am practicing my skill while getting ready for the next meet-up

Sanemi: Practice 3-4 times a week. Guitar lessons for 30 minutes a week, and band practice once a week for an hour

Elly: I practice playing guitar at home every single day from 10-30 minutes. Also practicing every wednesday with the band for 1 hour. This will allow for me to develop my skills as a main guitarist at home, then practice as a band altogether.

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What are effective ways to split up the various responsibilities of being in a band (e.g. song writing, promotion and booking gigs)?

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What are effective ways to split up the various responsibilities of being in a band (e.g. song writing, promotion and booking gigs)?

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For the following question, two different answers were provided to suit different needs and scenarios in a band space:

1. Choosing responsibilities where your skill sets lie, which ensures everyone is contributing and enjoying being part of the band equally

2. Trying new roles and responsibilities to add variety and make rehearsals and the band dynamic more interesting

Both responses were highly useful and shifted my perspective on how band dynamics are formed during rehearsals and with responsibilities.

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Though we did not participate in Infinite Echo 2025, watching each performance and the dynamic between bands was very useful and rewarding to see it under the lens of live performance for audiences and shifted my perspective on communicating and collaborating as a band. It also gave me a greater appreciation for music and how it brings communities together.

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In this later rehearsal of Teenage Dirtbag, it can be seen that I am no longer relying on my guitarist bandmate to guide me through the chords and strumming of the song. I am more confident in my playing and we were able to make it through a full song with nearly no mistakes.

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What are some common mistakes you see bands make and how can they be avoided?

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What are some common mistakes you see bands make and how can they be avoided?

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The main point of discussion for this question was that many bands have been seen communicating well backstage before and after playing, however their communication onstage is limited and poor. This can disrupt the band dynamic and open way for mistakes during the performance. To avoid this, it is important to communicate by simply signalling to each other onstage to call cues and keep in time, as well as talk briefly in between songs to make sure everyone is on track and on the same page before moving on or finishing.

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I was away on holiday for a few days during the break between Term 3 and 4, which meant I couldn't practice individually as much as I wanted to. To leviate the matter, I communicated with my bandmates to ensure we were all on the same page with knowing where we were all at, and together we sketched out some plans as to how I would catch up in my individual practice sessions.

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Here is some footage of us practicing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," although we did not use this in our fina setlist, we enjoyed taking a break from practicing our setlist songs repetitively, and the chords and strumming for this song were very simple and enjoyable.

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Bloom's Taxonomy is a hierachy in which we focused on the top three processes of creating, evaluating and analysing. All the questions I asked my buddies in the feedback loops are related to the contents on Bloom's Taxonomy.

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Engaging in these deep questions related to Bloom's Taxonomy in each of our three Feedback Loops allowed me to commit to deep learning and build greater understanding of my progress through my accountability buddies.

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We got feedback that our sitting positions were quite close and crammed, causing our guitars to hit. Our singer was also seated when she should have been standing to achieve the proper singing position in performance.

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We improved by spacing out more when playing our instruments, and our singer fixed her standing position, making our performance look better and more professional overall.

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At the start of this project we established timelines and progress markers to keep us committed in our band (listed in the blue section under the post "Collaborative Timeline for Check Ins")

Check In #1: Met all progress markers and even had an extra band practice session than we had to

Check In #2: Was supposed to finish 2 songs, however as we spent too much time trying to perfect one song we only just started the other one. Improvements for this discussed in Check In #2 include that we spend less time trying to perfect a song in our limited time together as a band and instead work on it individually

Check In #3: We were supposed to have 10 practice sessons together, however some of us were sick, away on holiday and too busy so we only had 8. However, we were still able to finished learning our full setlist of 3 songs.

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This song was added to the setlist due to its simplicity in both singing and guitar playing- making it a great starting song.

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We wanted to play an upbeat song that had intermediate difficulty to challenge us musically and vocally, and we thought this ticked all those boxes.

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The photo above shows our collaborative planning that we did for each of our band practice sessions. This was made to ensure that we stayed on track and got all our songs practiced on time.

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1. Which observable behaviour do you think you were demonstrating before this task began, and how are you displaying that element now?

The main observable behaviour of outcome greater individual parts was creating better outcomes with others by contributing individually. This behaviour was evident in my videos as I played individually and in a group, and over time our individual practice improved which contributed to creating better outcomes as a group. Actively collaborating and supporting each other have also helped us create better outcomes as a group.

2. How did the feedback from your accountability buddies help drive your learning throughout Task 2? What is one key piece of feedback did you receive that impacted your learning and how so?

Getting feedback from my band members about our dynamic as a band and my skill as an individual was highly useful in shaping and improving my guitar playing overall and my contribution to the band. One piece of feedback was pre-planning our ideas more to utilise our band practice time well as it was very limited, and hence valuable.

3. What other elements did you develop through this process?

Some other elements were committing to deep learning, managing uncertainty and committing to purpose, which have been singposted throughout my Padlet.