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Stephanie Casique-Flores Practicing Picture 2

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Practicing Picture 2

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Practicing Picture 1

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Practicing Picture 1

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Okay, let's just say, that improvement was so real. It sounds so much better. We still have a few things to fix with stayed together but for the most part... Wow! We have a few more rehearsals left so I think we can really pull it off.

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Sight Reading Video

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Sight Reading Video

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Well, it's a start... My part is not at all complicated. I have 7 notes in the entire piece. I've heard it before and it sounds really pretty. I think my part is more about tempo than it is about standing out. It was pretty ugly though...

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I am surprised to say that we improved drastically. We knew our parts, we played together, and we mostly stayed on tempo. It's surprising that we spent one month on this piece, and we improved this much! I am very proud of all of us!

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We have improved so much compared to the first time we played it! There were still certain areas where we got a bit off beat, but we were able to come back together as a group by watching, listening, and counting! I am so proud of our group for pulling it together by the end. Not doing so well while sight reading, motivated me to work to get my first violin part better and practicing on my own. Overall, our intonation was pretty good, and I am happy with what we've accomplished with this piece in the past few weeks.

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This was a month ago. Feels like yesterday. - John Choi :^)

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When we first initially sight read this piece, it did not turn out so well. I have played Cannon in D before; however, never this version of it. The piece was written with a lot of slurs and sixteenth notes which was overwhelming to look at it at first. This is why we struggled to stay together, and I personally struggled to play the first time looking at it. I rushed because of the sixteenth notes, but thankfully, Stephanie (cello) was able to keep us on beat with consistent quarter notes. Hopefully, the final result will be better.

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For us to have been gone 10 days without practicing as a group, we did really good. We played out and we stayed together for the most part. I loved this. This was a great experience to not just learn how chamber music works but to play with different people and see how they handle difficult parts. We learned from each other to be honest. Tempo was kind of a bad thing for our group and we kind of hard a time staying together in the beginning but we all pitched in and we eventually kept out tempo steady. I'm really impressed with Fizzah's part in Canon in D thought. It was so beautiful and I think the viewers enjoyed our performance. I lost my intimidation of my group members and I kind of learned to be more social but I definitely learned my potential in a group.

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #3

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #3

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We aren't going to see each other for 10 days and the Tuesday we come back is performance day...! We need to all practice a lottt. I think we spent too much time on Canon in D. We barely looked at Iditorad. Autumn and Clocks sound pretty good but still. We never made a complete run through of Iditorad. Time went by so fast like honestly I have no idea where it went. I hope we can pull it off.

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As expected, we did not play very well on our first try. Everyone was excited to play this song; however, no one was together, and it did not really sound like the piece that we knew. That was when I realized that playing without a conductor is a lot harder than I expected. It motivated me to work harder to make sure our final performance did not sound like that.

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This video was definitely not a good representation of our playing skills and how we sounded at the end of the project. We played much better than this at the library and we should've recorded a better recording. We actually played really well right after this recording when no one was recording. I hope this stage fright doesn't get to me during the performance.

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #2

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #2

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So... we finally have our four pieces. They are all different in some way and I kind of like the selection. Canon in D is our classical piece that I think most people can recognize by just listening to it. My part in this piece is basic but crucial in my opinion. Autumn is kind of like a moody person. Like one minute it sounds all dark and curious and then I feel like when we hit the high notes it feels like daylight. Clocks is a pop song so I think people may recognize it. I have, again, a very basic part but I've always liked playing songs that have originally have lyrics so we'll see how it goes. Iditorad is such a challengeee! This is definitely the challenging piece but it's really adventurous so I like it. We've been focusing a lot on Canon in D so that kind of worries me. Like, I understand the violin 1 part is hard but I think Fizzah can pull it off.

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #1

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Stephanie Casique-Flores Reflective Entry #1

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I'm really scared right now. We can't find good pieces that show our potential. Time is ticking and I hear all these groups that sound great already. The piece we have chosen thought, is Canon in D and I literally only play 7 different notes in the entire piece and they're all quarter notes so yikes! In this piece, I feel like while my part is not supposed to like be the one thing that's most heard, but my part definitely keeps the tempo so my group members depend on me in a way.

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The video was actually horrible. We were out of tempo and we barely even played together at all. But, that was the first time we played together so I guess that that's fine. There's also the fact that there's nothing going well in this video. We really needed to improve in order to feel confident bout the performance and I am proud to say that we definitely did.

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I don't really know my group members so I hope that during this project I not only better myself as a cellist but as a person and how social I am. I think we make a good potential group and if we really work hard we can put it all together. Being in a smaller group kind of puts more pressure on each of us so practicing a lot is definitely a priority. We honestly don't seem like those groups that get off task so working together shouldn't be a problem. I do think we can pull it off. I think we all have potential but since I'm a freshman it's kind of intimidating because they've probably had more years of experience than me.

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Yes. I use an ironing board as my stand.

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We are going to wear black and white with a red accent of some sort. A.K.A COOKIES AND CREAM WITH A CHERRY ON TOP :D

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I feel like this was a very nice, eye-opening experience; however, I also feel like it could have been a lot better. For example, I think the time really crunched down on us and we did not have enough time to efficaciously harmonize and play together. I put a lot of time and effort into trying to master these pieces but all that practice could have very possibly been for naught had we gotten off tempo even slightly. The immense difference between a conductor and no conductor was absurd. I cannot believe how much I relied on a conductor in order to stay on tempo. We even attempted to use a metronome but it could never truly replace the role of conductor. I was honestly dumbfounded. Other than this though, this  was an unforgettable experience. Musicians have hardships throughout their performing careers and it's the rough patches that we have to go through in order to get to the performance that will make or break the performance. Although the road was rough and coarse, the enlightening feeling that I felt from performing and showing off my hard work in this performance was worth the effort.

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Today was the last day before break and we recorded our finished Cannon in D. The recording was quite frankly shameful. We messed up and got lost around the middle and we were all very flustered: In particular, I was very disappointed in myself being unable to handle the pressure of being filmed. Now another fear that haunts me is that we will choke at the performance... Hopefully we will remain strong and stern because our Cannon in D immediately after the recording was amazing. I am so proud of us :^)

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Reflection Entry #2  (3/21/17) John Choi

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Reflection Entry #2  (3/21/17) John Choi

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I am starting to get scared. The pieces we had decided upon are starting to take a toll on us. Well, at least on me. Yet again, the absence of a conductor figure or someone who will keep the tempo for us and help us play as a group and as one sound is really hurting us. Our parts our beautiful, our songs are beautiful, and we are beautiful; this tempo, however, is upright disgusting. I have always had a past of rushing and no one else can cover for me now since I am the only viola. I have to improve.

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Reflection Entry #1  (3/01/17) John Choi

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Reflection Entry #1  (3/01/17) John Choi

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So, we got all of our pieces now and have just sight read Canon in D. To be honest, that was quite atrocious. XD I have always been inept at sight reading and this stigma prevails to this day. I think our individual playing ability is really good. The staying-together part, however, is another story. It is rather difficult to sight read without a conductor. Especially due to how prevalent tempo is in sight reading.

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I believe that compared to violin sections, viola  parts are generally easier. And thus I feel  worse off compared to the violin players since their parts are so flamboyant and flashy. Partially because of this I feel like I am not a good player. I honestly think that there are way more people that can play the viola parts better than I. I think it’s mainly because of focus. I am never able to focus on any one thing and I really hate sitting still or playing standing (good lord I hate standing) so I just want to improve on my own ability to play and focus and play standing.

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This project was a new experience for me. For the first time, I had no conductor that I could rely on to guide me through the pieces. In addition, there is only one person for each part. This means that if one of us messes up, it will be clear, and it will be very obvious. I'm also not the type of person who is comfortable with playing in front of other people, so this was a nerve wracking performance. I had to focus even more on my intonation, tone, and the tempo. All in all, although we may not play the pieces perfectly, I am proud of the progress that we made as a group.

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Reflective Entry #3 (3/20/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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Reflective Entry #3 (3/20/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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Cannon in D is sounding a lot better. My group is finally able to play together, and that is really exciting. I also am super excited to play Iditarod. We have practiced this piece a few times, and although it may be challenging, the piece sounds amazing. For Autumn, the majority of the piece sounds fine; however, there are a few measures that I am worried about personally. I don't want to hold the group back. I need to work more on this piece individually.

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Reflective Entry #2 (3/6/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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Reflective Entry #2 (3/6/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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So far, most of the time, we have focused on Cannon in D. I was relieved to find out that this piece had a slower tempo than I thought. Despite the fact that the tempo is slower, my group seems to have problems staying together. We would attempt to play a specific amount of measures, and we would end at different times. It is so different to play alone, and it is way more difficult than I expected. I am very worried about the outcome.

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Reflective Entry #1 (2/27/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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Reflective Entry #1 (2/27/17) - Fiona Oentoro

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Unfortunately, we have not chosen all of our pieces yet. This worries me since I want to make sure we have time to practice everything. We have looked at a few pieces, but we need to make sure we choose pieces that are challenging yet not extremely difficult to the point where we can not play the whole piece. For the pieces we have chosen, we have only played individually and not as a group yet. Hopefully, this will help us get comfortable with our parts, and when we play together, it will not sound so messy.

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My main goal is to improve my playing abilities as a musician. This project will challenge me to not only become more independent but also more dependent on others. As the only first or second violin, I will need to make sure I play my parts correctly; however, I also need to rely on my other teammates in order to execute the best performance. In order to fulfill my role as a violin, I will need to have efficient and productive habits for when I practice at school and at home. I hope this project will dramatically improve my understanding of music. This will be a new experience for all of us since it will be our first time practicing and performing without a conductor.

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Picture of John Choi in his natural habitat

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Picture of John Choi in his natural habitat

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Reflection Entry #3 (3/28/17) -Fizzah Khan 

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Reflection Entry #3 (3/28/17) -Fizzah Khan 

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Cannon in D is coming along much better compared to the first time we played it. There are still certain areas where we struggle to stay on tempo, but we have improved. Iditarod is improving with each time we play it as well! Autumn sounds pretty good, we are able to run through it without much of an issue now.

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Reflective Entry #2 (3/20/17) -Fizzah Khan

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Reflective Entry #2 (3/20/17) -Fizzah Khan

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We worked on Iditarod today, and I really like this piece! It's so upbeat compared to Cannon in D, and we are able to better stay on tempo with this one. We also ran through Clocks which wasn't all too difficult because we've all sight read this before.

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Reflective Entry #1 (3/6/17) -Fizzah Khan 

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Reflective Entry #1 (3/6/17) -Fizzah Khan 

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We worked on Cannon in D most of the time. I really like this piece; however, we are struggling to stay on tempo. The way my part is written also makes it difficult because it is in sixteenth notes.

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Overall, I learned a lot from this experience! I realized how difficult it was to stay together as a group without a director and without a section to rely on. Without a director or section, I had to really focus on counting correctly to stay on beat, and I had to focus on listening and paying attention to what my fellow group members were playing to keep myself in check. I also had to practice heavily outside of school because being the only one playing a certain part, I had to make sure I was playing in time, with good dynamics, and precise intonation. Additionally, I learned that working with a smaller group is somewhat harder without a director to lead since all of us were learning together. All of us being new to this, we had to work and grow together as a team to achieve what we wanted to achieve with each piece. It was difficult to say the least, but I'm glad I got to experience this!

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I want to challenge myself as a musician and see how well I can play without a director. My goal is to develop better practicing habits because I know my group is relying on me to know my part.  Also, I want to see how well I can do on my own since I will be responsible for my part with no one else to rely on like in our normal orchestra.  I hope to develop better listening skills, improve staying on tempo, and build upon becoming a stronger independent musician. This will in return make me a stronger player individually and strengthen our orchestra as a whole.