• Chew Yu Xiang

• A189694

• 128/2024 until 18/8/2024

2. Your progress so far

Looking back to the objectives i had set at the beginning of my posting, i would say my progress has been great as i had mastered the basics of electric guitar with the help of my instructor. Highway Star was indeed a very good song for finger exercise since it involves a variety of techniques such as palm muted strumming, lead playing and power chords. In week 3, my instructor introduced me a song called In Too Deep, again it is a fast paced song and it helps with my reaction time as i would have to quickly switch chords during the chorus of the song or i should say almost the entire song. After practicing this song for some time, i realized some part of my brain finally clicked and i was able to react faster in switching chords. Although my improvement is not that big of a leap this time round, it is still rewarding to be able to have little improvements.

3. Your feelings and thoughts

It's a shame that i did not get to learn guitar at a very young age with Mr. Chan. To be honest, I've had previously joined short classical guitar courses when I was in secondary school but it did not really resonate. However, I'm more than grateful to eventually got a taste of electric guitar even more so my inspiring instructor, Mr. Chan. It certainly is very eye opening to me or perhaps electric guitar just suits me more than classical guitar. Anyway, I know i will enjoy playing this instrument for a very long time and hope that i can play at a higher level.

4. How did you learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey?

I had applied the skill of decision making throughout the whole EP journey and even before my elective posting has started. To be honest, going for medical posting overseas has always been an option to me as it is the perfect opportunity for me know more about healthcare practices, cultures and people from other parts of the world. Ultimately, i decided to choose learning electric guitar for as i know this skill will be more of a help for me as a medical student and as a doctor in the future. Since I am more of a work-life balanced person than a workaholic, i hope acquiring this skill can fill in my free time as well as expressing myself better. Besides, skill of decision making was also applied in resource allocation. I did my research in purchasing the gears as i would have to allocate money and decide to invest more either on my guitar or amplifier for my progress. Not to mention, selecting types and genres of music requires this skill as well. Finding the music that resonates with me and concentrating in developing skills relevant to my style was crucial. All in all, I've applied the skill of decision making in this learning journey and It's about strategically allocating my time, resources, and focus to achieve your musical goals.

5. How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey?

I had managed myself well in terms of time as I first set clear goals and define objectives that I want to achieve in each practice sessions. Besides, I create a structured practice routine to follow. It begins with warming-up to loosen my fingers, followed by technical exercises, which focus on scales and arpeggios, then lastly is song learning. After multiple practices, i also realized consistent multiple short but focused practices sessions is more effective than one long session as quality is more than quantity.

6. Your plan for next week (Week 4)

I will keep practicing the song that has been introduced to me by my instructor. At the same time, I will also learn to improvise, besides adding some ear training to my routine.

A189694

12/8/2024

Overall the song is simple, it helped a lot with my reaction time in chord transitions.

A187863

11/ 08/ 2024 - 17/ 08/ 2024

Your progress so far

This week has been exciting and challenging as I’ve focused on learning other two chords: A minor and D minor. Alongside these chords, I’ve been working on playing one of Justin Bieber’s most famous songs, “Baby”. Although I’ve made progress, I’m still grappling with problems of achieving fluency when switching chord from one to another, especially when I’m trying to play the song at its normal original speed. In addition to working on chords, I’ve also learnt a new strumming technique that is suited for pop songs, which I can now apply to my favorite tune. My tutor also introduced me to the classic song “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, which is incredibly catchy. Meanwhile, I am still working on practicing “Lemon Tree”, the song that I started learning in the second week.

Your feelings and thoughts

I feel a great sense of joy and accomplishment in finally being able to play a song by Justin Bieber, as I have always been a dedicated fan of his music. Bringing one of his songs to life on the guitar feels like a dream come true. However, alongside this happiness, I also feel a bit frustrated because I haven’t been able to play the song exactly the way I envision it. The challenge of strumming while singing has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. I struggled with multitasking, keeping up with tempo, switching chords swiftly and maintaining the rhythm all at the same time. These difficulties have highlighted areas where I need to improve, particularly in mastering the coordination between strumming and chord transition. Despite these challenges, I remain determined and hopeful as I believe that with consistent practice, I can overcome these obstacles. I look forward to the day when I can strum, switch chords and sing along without hesitation.

How did you learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey?

In my guitar learning journey, decision-making has played a crucial role in my progress. I’ve learnt and applied this skill in setting goals and prioritizing practices. I started by setting clear, achievable goals for each week. This goal-setting helped me to prioritize my practice sessions and stay motivated. Besides that, I had to decide which areas needed the most attention. Initially, I struggled with chord transitions, so I allocated more practice time to mastering smooth transitions between chords. This decision helped me to improve my fluency and overall playing. Additionally, I’ve decided to stay consistent in practicing and make self-reflection and adjustments when necessary. Consistency is the key, so I decided to incorporate guitar practice into my daily routine, during leisure time. This consistent practice helped to reinforce what I learned and improved my skills gradually. At the end of each week, I reflected on my progress and made decisions on what to focus on next. By making thoughtful decisions throughout my EP journey, I’m able to overcome the obstacles, stay motivated, and make consistent progress.

How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey?

I established a daily routine that included practicing guitar at the afternoon. This helped me ensure that I dedicated at least half an hour to 45 minutes everyday to practicing basic chords and the songs I was learning. I also prioritized my practice sessions based on my goals. I made sure to allocate specific times for practicing new chords, working on chord transitions, and learning new strumming patterns. While having a schedule was important, I also remained flexible. If unexpected commitments came up, I adapted my practice time. This flexibility helped me stay consistent in the long run.

Your plan for next week (Week 4)

I plan to learn the fingerstyle as suggested by my tutor and keep practicing on the chord transition and the various strumming patterns.

NICHOLAS OUN ZHUO KAI

A187902

11/8/2024 - 17/8/2024

Your progress so far

I have been learning to play both the A minor and F chords this week and also currently practicing the 4 chords I have already learned previously. Besides, I have been exposed to the plucking technique which involves me using my fingers to pluck one string of the guitar at a time. Initially, I started plucking with a pick because it produced a brighter and consistent tone than when I used my fingertips to pluck the strings directly. Upon learning the plucking technique, I also integrated this new technique I have learned into a new song entitled ‘The Moon Represents My Heart’ by Teresa Teng. I have only managed to play a short verse of this song because my chord switching was not quick enough to keep up with the tempo and rhythm of the song.

Your feelings and thoughts

I am delighted to be able to try out the plucking technique as it produces a bright tone by plucking each string individually. It’s also one of the techniques I have anticipated to learn besides the strumming technique I have been learning for the past two weeks. It gave me a sense of satisfaction being able to incorporate my plucking technique to play a wedding song ‘The Moon Represents My Heart’. I am thankful to have Teacher Melvin teaching me how to master a new technique and he guided me with patience and gave advice on how to make amendments on my mistakes while plucking. I am determined to give this new technique more practice in advance to perfect my plucking technique.

How did you learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey?

In applying decision-making skills to my guitar practice, I utilized several strategies. For instance, when choosing which songs to learn or techniques to focus on, I evaluated my current skill level, musical interests, and long-term goals. This helped me prioritize songs that would be most beneficial and aligned with my personal objectives. For example, I only chose short verses of complex songs to practice on since I am a beginner instead of trying to work on the entire song at once. Additionally, I used decision-making skills to set realistic practice goals and track my progress. By assessing my strengths and weaknesses, I decided which areas required more focus and adjusted my practice routines accordingly. For example, I have realized this new plucking technique requires more practice for the week and I shall be practicing more on the plucking technique rather than on strumming the chords that I have learned. This iterative process of setting goals, practicing, and reflecting on outcomes helped me continuously improve my skills.

How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey?

I did time management by firstly setting specific and achievable goals on what I have to achieve for each week. For example, I aimed to master how to play different chords with the strumming technique for the first two weeks and then followed by plucking each chord I have learned in the third week. This helped me prioritize what needed the most focus and allocate my practice time effectively. Following this, I create a practice schedule for the goals I needed to achieve each week. I developed a consistent practice routine by creating a weekly schedule that balanced guitar practice with other responsibilities. I allocated specific time blocks each day at most 1 hour per day for guitar practice sessions, ensuring that I practiced regularly without feeling overwhelmed.

Your plan for next week (Week 4)

Next week I plan to perfect my plucking technique with practice and incorporate my plucking technique into a wide variety of song. Besides, I also plan to continue practicing the strumming technique of the guitar.

A189533

AUGUST 15th, 2024

How Am I Progressing ?

Talking about progress, 3 weeks of piano class have definitely improved and shaped me. I am now more confident and fluid with reading the music score. The notes on staff are now more familiar than they ever were before. I too applied some mnemonics to remember them better, for example “Every Good Boy Does Fine” & “FACE”.  Playing wise, I can also now position my fingers more precisely although it was somehow awkward at first but with Sir Izul’s constant guidance, the sailing got smoother and smoother. Besides, looking at the way I have grasped the basics pretty well denoting a remarkably amazing progress, Sir Izul was willing to teach me the worldwide famous classical piano piece, Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven, a dear idol of mine. He taught me the first parts of it and asked me to learn thoroughly and present it to him in the upcoming class.

What Were My Feelings & Thoughts ?

As I have embarked on the 3rd week, the feelings of self-doubt have started to disintegrate away from me. Confidence began to rise and I am much more collected now. That being said, as I have always uttered every now and then, mistakes are inevitable, right ? They are proof that we are humans and not some AI-based machines. There were definitely some slips and off-tunes here and there but I would always apologise to Sir Izul and replayed the part that I messed up at. Having him as a tutor is such a blessing in disguise because he is always patient and constantly gives me encouragement saying that it’s okay to make mistakes. The question does not lie within the mistakes itself but it is what we do to make it better henceforth ? I am truly grateful for him which really motivates me to become a better pianist. Oh remember when I told you that Sir Izul taught me how to play Für Elise ? To be honest, I felt so honoured knowing that it is quite a complex piece but when he was willing to let me play it really signified a monumental improvement I have shown as his student. I am on cloud nine for the recognition and trust that he gave.

How Do I Apply The Skills Of Decision Making ?

Personally, decision making skills do not really function as a pivot point in the playing itself. Rather, I discovered the arts of decision through the way I approached my classes. They would be held weekly, every Thursday at 4pm. I usually would decide to come an hour earlier to practise everything that was taught the week before so when the class begins, I would really much be prepared and confident. Yeah I could have decided to come maybe 5 minutes before the session but what can I say, the decision to be there way earlier really helped me to warm up for the upcoming materials besides giving me more time to discover new songs and prepare more questions to ask to benefit from.

Time-Management Throughout The EP ?

As aforementioned, my class is on a weekly basis hence it is not crampy at all. Nevertheless, I would always practise on the keyboard I have at home for at least 1 hour daily to train my fingers and concreting all the inputs I have acquired in class. Also, I would watch tutorial videos online to further widen my horizon besides trying out songs that I love.

What Am I Planning For Week 4 ?

For the upcoming week, my plan is to work on the piece, Für Elise as instructed by Sir Izul. I have downloaded the music score, cranked up my keyboard and ready to practise ! Crossing my finger hoping that I could master playing it before my presentation. Wish me luck !

AZREZAL AFIZAM AFIQ BIN ABD AZIZ

A189533

AUGUST 15th, 2024

AZREZAL AFIZAM AFIQ BIN ABD AZIZ

A189533

AUGUST 15th, 2024

A189130

August 15 2024

Your progress so far ?

So far I have been playing random children song on the guidance of my teacher . I know that is I am becoming better by hearing how the piano sounds . I could feel my plays have become more coherence and its more sounds like music but it is still not a level that people would say playable . I also learn the note values and timings such as minim , semibreve and crochet and when more of this intricate things is included its becomes a challenge for me once again to play accurately .

What were my feelings and thought ?

I feel like I need to practice more but to be honest at this stage I just want to play the notes accurately as possible . As for me some ones that never play or learn any musical instrument before, I consider this small things as a milestones for me .

How did your learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey ?

• To learn effectively I need to set goals for example I want to play little stars or rasa sayang.

• I also needs to allocate time effectively to make sure I could practice .

• Also it is important for me to self assess my playing so I know whats to improve .

How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey ?

It is not that difficult to create a practice sessions ,after some practice I would assess myself did I do well on this part or did I do horrible on this certain parts . I also practice before the class started .

Your plan for next week (week 4)

I just want to play and practice more , I do not have any grand ambition I just want to learn basic of pianos and basic of notes .

Here attached is the pictures of me and Sir Izzul while the sessions ongoing

Your progress so far

In week 3, I mainly learned about a song that my tutor asked to choose beforehand. So I decided to choose a song by Taylor Swift called All Too Well. Firstly, we listened to the song and recognised some chords that can be used to play this song. Mainly, this song required the chords that I already learned which were C, G, Am and followed by F. Now, a little bit different here was the strumming pattern as well as the beat. In week 3, I learned a new strumming pattern which was a down and up pattern and I have to strum in 4 beats. At first, it was a little bit difficult and awkward for me as I used to down strum all the time and strumming down and up was a bit hard to familiarize myself with. However, with my tutor's guidance and some practice, I am a little bit used to it now. I still had some difficulty mastering the transitioning part, especially transitioning from chord C to G as it requires moving my first finger from the second string in the first fret to the fifth string in the second fret in a short period of time. My tutor also advised me to keep practicing that part as soon as it will help in creating muscle memory to the fingers. At first, I practiced the beat and rhythm of the song using the 120 bpm metronome to familiarize myself with the beat and tempo of the song. We mainly practiced the first part of the song repeatedly and by the end of the week, I already can play the first part of the song. My tutor also helped me to practice and recognized the certain part of the song that I have to pay attention to which part to do the chord transitioning. 

Your feelings and thoughts 

I was quite happy with my progress as I can slowly develop my skills in playing guitar as I had zero basic knowledge when I first started learning it. Now, I think that I already have quite some knowledge about guitar and I can play a bit of it so I am actually happy with the progress. I also had some sense of fulfillment and accomplishment whenever I could play the guitar correctly and when my tutor motivated me as well as praised me especially when I could finish the first part of the song as it took a lot of practice and time to do so. At some point, it can also be frustrating as I keep making the same mistake but I tried my best to be patient and persistent as well taking my time to fix my problem. I also think that I have more room for improvement and I still can learn many more chords in future by myself to not waste my knowledge in this area. 

How did you learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey?

Learning guitar might be simple yet difficult things to learn; however, I learned many lessons from this EP journey. By learning guitar, I think it enhanced my problem solving skills. It helps me to overcome challenges as guitar presents many challenges, such as mastering a difficult chord or a tricky rhythm. Overcoming these challenges requires problem-solving skills. I have to try different fingerings, adjust my hand position, or break down a passage into smaller parts to solve the problem. It also helps me by adapting to mistakes because when I make a mistake while playing, I have to quickly decide how to correct it or adapt to keep the music flowing. This ability to quickly evaluate and respond to problems is crucial in decision-making. I also think that learning guitar helps me in being creative while making decisions as while exploring musical ideas it taught me that guitar playing often involves improvisation and exploring different musical ideas. I have to decide which notes or chords to play on the spot, which fosters creativity and innovative thinking skills that are crucial in making decisions, especially in unpredictable or dynamic situations. Last but not least, playing guitar also helps me improve my decision making skill by staying focused because playing guitar requires a high level of focus and concentration. This ability to stay present and fully engaged in a task can improve my decision-making process, helping me to avoid distractions and focus on what’s more important. The focus and mindfulness developed during guitar practice can lead to more thoughtful and deliberate decision-making in other areas of life as well. I can learn to carefully consider my options before making a decision.

How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey? 

Throughout this EP journey, I mainly tried to recognize my core responsibilities and also objectives of the project that I did. My primary objective and goal is to learn guitar so I mainly focus and give full commitment during the class session every week with my tutor. I tried to fully use the time that I have with my tutor to ask for any confusion or fix the mistakes that cannot be done by myself during self practice. After class, I always make sure to practice at least 30 minutes to 1 hour everyday. Usually my routine is to practice after lunch and also before sleeping. I will allocate around 1 hour each session after lunch and also before sleeping so that I can practice and prepare myself before the next class as every time I have to start the class with my tutor,he will ask me to show me what I have been practicing. I tried my best to stay flexible throughout my EP journey as I also prioritized rest and recovery. Playing guitar requires a lot of finger movement and pressing so it is important to take a break for a while and have short sessions every practice as it can hurt your fingers as well as wrists. I tried to balance my time during this EP journey by using this routine throughout this journey and have a fixed schedule to it. Last but not least, the most important part is, throughout this EP journey I tried my best to enjoy the process. I focused on enjoying the guitar lessons and also set a positive mindset. I also tried to find the fulfillment in the process rather than the outcomes.

Your plan for next week (Week 4)

My plan for next week is to practice the chorus part as well as the rest of the song if I have the time to do so with my tutor. I also plan to learn as much as I can for the last session and week of the guitar lesson with my tutor. My plan also to reflect on my EP journey with my tutor and discuss more about my progress and area for improvement.

A189451

15/8/2024 (Week 3)

Your progress so far?

I have tremendously progressed in regards to playing Money Can’t Buy Ev’rything! It involves a sharp sign and when a sharp appears before a note, it applies to that note for the rest of the measure. I actually really admire this masterpiece as it sounds like a marching band with a hint of both forte and piano. It is eminently alluring when a masterpiece goes from loud and emphasizing to soft and tranquilizing. It’s like putting a crying baby to sleep soundly. Progressively, I started to learn the D7 chord for the left hand that involves F sharp, C, and D notes. The Cuckoo is another masterpiece that I managed to learn in a period of 10 minutes and there is something fascinating about it. It involves a slur. A slur is a curved line over or under notes on different lines or spaces. It means to play legato (smoothly connected). Slurs often divide the music into phrases and a phrase is a musical thought or sentence. It fascinates me that a piece of paper involves lines of thoughts, written in notes instead of words. 

Your feelings and thoughts

I felt extremely happy to end my session with Mr Kho with his comment that I was getting very well with intermediate to fast pace piano sheets. Since this is my third week and I only have one week left, I felt sorrowful that my session with Mr Kho will end as he is an amazing pianist who teaches me with full determination and patience. I stopped playing piano a long time ago due to many commitments and this helped me to relieve my passion for musical instruments, especially piano.

How did you learn and apply the skill of decision making in your EP journey?

Initially, like everyone else, I wanted to pursue my elective posting journey associated with the medical field to further enhance my medical skills, especially hands-on skills. Since I have devoted three years of my life to medical related studies, I decided to pursue piano lessons for my elective posting. That was my passion since I was a child and still brought out the best in me whenever a piano tune was heard. This balanced out my work-hobby scale and it made me the happiest. To understand and feel is one thing, but to appreciate someone’s masterpiece is an honor. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to bestow upon me. 

How did you manage your time throughout this EP journey?

My piano classes consist of two sessions per week therefore I had no difficulties in managing my time throughout this elective posting journey. I always attend class 15 minutes early to respect my teacher’s time and schedule. Other than that, I got to spend a lot of time bonding with my family while attending classes that I look forward to everyday. 

Your plan for next week (Week 4)

I plan to take the upcoming opportunity to learn the last few masterpieces with Mr Kho. I want to learn to play F major and A chord. I will practice everyday to master the songs so that I can play flawlessly for the last session.