Saying “Bye” to Spring and “Hello” to Summer Stuff/Goals

So… Fall 2016 Semester is over for me. It’s been a crazy semester full of stress and studying. But since I’m a “crazy” student, my school program goes through the entire summer and doesn’t stop until winter 2016… Basically, I have no summer break. Kinda. I had like 1 week of break to see my family and friends back home… but a week for me passes by really fast… Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever had a “normal” summer ever for the longest time due to school things… WUT AM I FIGHTING FORRRR

Anyways… I thought that I would blog and ramble about recent things.

School is crazy. Yes. School is crazy… I feel like I live in two worlds and I’m being torn between the two of them. One world is all about school and my future as a professional… and the other wants to play guitar/piano, study Japanese/Languages, travel, play games, and just do really cool stuff argggggh. But, the reality is that school takes up so much of my energy that it’s really hard to both… Also, for some reason when the weather is extremely hot (like summer lol) it makes it hard for me to concentrate? I dunno if that’s just me though hah. On days when I come back from the hospital I especially feel tired. The hardest part about wanting to do both is that, BOTH of these things require very intensive mental strength and energy. After pharmacology or a 5 hour pediatric lecture, I’m usually pretty tired… So I end up napping (which I don’t even know if it helps loool), then waking up and questioning if I should practice lol… And when I do practice my brain also has to focus a lot on the music that I want to play. On top of that I’ve started to try and review Kanji for Japanese studies and I’m realizing that I’ve forgotten so much since taking my JPN301 Kanji Extensive Class…

The professors/instructors for our program this summer say that the next 12 weeks will fly by really fast. Everything is spinning in my head and it’s been hard to organize everything regarding music things. BUT! I’ve recently made a mental list that I’ll probably commit to written form so that I can focus on the specifics. I’ve been lately listening to a lot of new artists and some vocaloid songs that I’ve never bumped into before that are extremely catchy to me so I want to do those for guitar in the near future. But, piano comes first since the next piece I’m focusing on is TAKING ME FOREVER GOD DAMMIT. I remember when I used to practice until my hands hurtttt but now, I guess things have changed… I guess life is like that once it starts up!

There are SO MANY songs that I want to play, but SO LITTLE TIME. GRRRRRRRFFFFA-. And I feel so bad that I haven’t been able to record or cover anything for the last like… I don’t even know lol, it’s been so long. I feel like a loser since I haven’t been able to put anything out… but I know I can; I just have to make time, build energy for practice, and commit to a schedule. Hopefully, it all works out. *cross fingers*

ALSO! ANIMES THAT I’M WATCHING THIS SEASON! OMG OMG OMG.

Kabaneri, Boku no Hero Academia, and Re:ZERO. THESE 3 ARE SOOOOO GOOOOD THIS SEASON. The OPs/EDs for them are excellent as well.

Anyways… that was a random blog for this month. I haven’t been blogging lately because of no time, so I apologize about that lol. My world is spinning woooooo…. But yeah, hopefully it all works out someway or another. Until next time, I guess…

 

10 months since the last post…

So… basically it’s been 10 months since I’ve even been active on my blog. Pretty much have had my head stuck in books for the past year T_T…I remember setting this up to talk and post about my music studies but since I’m currently in school again, it’s been extremely hard to even write or think about updating this blog. So, I might just end up deleting it, since it’s kind of not making any progress anyways…

As an update to music practice: I’m still able to do practice/drills/songs even though school is killing me but time management is so difficult… a lot of times I’ll come home tired and feel like I don’t even wanna touch my guitar or the piano. But, I’m always finding some time to practice, even if it’s just a little. But yeah… just some news. In regards to random stuff, a lot of new animes have come out since it’s been like 3 seasons since my last post LOL. So I have a large list of songs that I really wanna cover and some of them I’ve already been working on. Ugh… I dunno what else to say right now lol. Thanks for anyone that has even read stuff from this blog. It really means a lot.

Piano Lessons and Small Notes! Back From Japan!

Back from Japan and with a rambling post! I wanted to go over some small notes on my experiences in piano lessons that I am currently enrolled in right now. I’ll save talking about Japan for another post because it has been unbelievably amazing. There is so much to talk about in regards to travel and my experiences there!

  

Anyways! On to the main ramble. Recently I’ve started piano lessons! Woooooaaa! It has been around 5 years since having any form of music lessons (guitar) because of college and what not. However, the feeling of being in a practice room for lessons feels so good again. My first lesson was mostly about introductions and what not to what my overall goals were for piano.

One key thing that I will say for my experience so far with my teacher and lessons is that: you NEED someone who will be able to not only teach you well, but also SUPPORT the music path that you will want to take. However, this is not without keeping in mind the foundations of proper technique/ building/etc. Things that I keep in mind to be constant in learning are more or less working on: fingering, studying music reading, working on dexterity, interval work, rhythm/counting, ear training, phrasing and of course repetition!

Another key aspect of music lessons is having the willingness to SLOW DOWN during sessions. Also, pick a song that you REALLY want to learn if your teacher can permit it. My piano instructor tested where I was and wanted to see how my fingers moved before we progressed to looking at any of the perspective songs in my binder which was really important for gauging my self-practice progress. However, having a flexible and supportive teacher is amazing; regardless of skill level, they will do what they can to increase your skill in playing and in specific goals that you have.

Third aspect that I’ve learned in piano lessons is to SPLIT THE MUSIC SHEET INTO SECTIONS BASED ON THE PHRASING OF THE SONG. What I mean by this is to listen to the actual recording of the song and map out where the themes/key/beats/chords change and mark them on the actual sheet. Then use that as a divider for practicing the piece in sections. My teacher compared the pieces that I am aiming to learn for like eating away at an “elephant.”(lol) You cannot eat an elephant whole; therefore, you’ll have to break it down into chunks one by one. At first this seems like it takes a while; however I’ve noticed that by splitting the sheets into sections, it makes it so much easier to focus on the overall goal. For example, one of the sections that I’m working on right now for Yanagi Nagi’s: [Harumodoki] from Oregairu S2 Zoku emphasizes fingering and control. I use this as an opportunity to work on my finger stability and speed to make my notes sound as fluid as possible.

Oh and by the way, Oregairu S2 Zoku is the BEST anime this season in my opinion. IT IS SO AMAZING. Yuigahama PLZ! Touyama’s voice is SO ADORABLE. Also, if I hear “SORE ARU” one more time in the next episode I might fall out of my chair…. jeez… the student council is so freaking useless…T__T;  but just know the Oregairu S2 is THE BEST RIGHT NOW.

ANYYYWAYS..

Lastly, is to always find time to practice on top of lessons… hint hint* binge practicing doesn’t work in the long run… The purpose of my lessons is to synergize with my own music studies so I can improve my own playing and learning ability. Practice and the piano work has to be put in by me! And of course, have a bunch of songs that you want to learn… The more you love a song the more you will want to learn it because of it’s connection with you…

Perseverance and determination are key traits that are built upon engaging in piano practice as well. I’m trying my best to play slow first. Then gradually faster, until I can feel somewhat confident. I know this sounds a little generic but I’ll get into more details about things later! As of now since I’m back from Japan I’ve been really busy handling and organizing life things around here since I’ve been gone for around 2 weeks. But either way thanks for listening to some of my piano lesson experiences. Time to get practicing again! \(//∇//)\!

I’ll try to find time to post again! Best wishes!

2015 Update Piano/Anime/Japan Trip?! Blog Update And Life Stuff…

So 2015 is here and tons of things have been happening. It’s been ridiculously long since the last blog post… I haven’t been able to keep the blog updated due to being busy or feeling that I just can’t keep up. Anyways… I thought I’d just post for 2015. I’m in the middle of finishing up my last applications for professional health schools and all that (GUHHH). Dear world, please just know that I’m working hard and trying not to waste my days away! …….

So here’s my piano blog update. I’m currently signed up to enroll in piano supplemental lessons to compliment my playing and self-studying pretty soon. Woot woot…! I hope to really benefit from the lessons as I look forward to them!

There are so many piano/guitar pieces to try and accomplish for the next few months. I’m seeing myself split up pieces into long term and short term goals so that I can approach them easier. Example: [Oracion / No Game No Life / Ai Kayano] as a long term piece because it will take me a while; its like 5 pages and lots of measures…? The short term piece would be something simpler like Non Non Biyori’s ED or 5 CM Per Second Piano Eyecatch/Ending. Something that is not over 3 pages/40 measures/varied song length and is easier to approach. Guitar wise is the same except for a few things maybe.

Recording wise I think I’ve figured things out with my interface and all that. I’ll probably do a post much later on how to hook things up and work the connections out if anyone even cares (lol). Somebody out there probably has this covered anyyyways.

Next! On to anime stuff I guess? Well, this year has been kinda strange, for the winter 2015 animes, there have been a lot of great/good/decent ones and the rest I didn’t even think about watching lol…

As for some of the favorites for the past seasons of winter/fall? Uhhh… definitely Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso and Shirobako? (still trying to finish T__T;) are a standouts but had some drawbacks. The rest like Saenai Heroine, KnB 3, KanColle, Log Horizon S2, were good I guess but had their problems definitely… but I enjoyed watching them either way… kinda? KanColle’s OP though OMG… ridiculously good. Akino from Bless4’s Miiro 海色 was so good; please take a listen if you haven’t already. 

Uhhh let’s see… other animes that I’ve taken a real like to are just ones from previous years that I’ve been trying to catch up on. This season though for Spring looks like its going to be sooooo crazy. There are tons of shows to look into watching… Oregairu S2 is immediately one to note along w/ Fate/Stay UBW S2 I guess? Hmm.. There are so many I swear… but sidenote: definitely those two have such great OPs; they sound SO GOOD (or at least I think so lol.) Oh Nisekoi S2, Shougeki no Souma, and Hibike! will be something to look at too.

Mmm I think that’s all I’ll say for that anime portion. I feel like I’ve been writing for so long. If I forget anything I’ll mention it in another post.

Lastly….. Things have been settled out lately and I’ll be going to Japan! It’s hard to find words to describe how excited I am, but either way I’m hoping for the best as the trip date gets closer and closer. I’ve been trying to study and review so much of my Japanese lately too in order to get around a little easier with people and all that. It’ll be an experience that I’ll never forget and I really look forward to it! I’ll probably post about the experience there if I can!

So yeah, I guess that about sums everything up. This post has been kinda everywhere but I hope it keeps this blog somewhat lively and not so lonely… If anything I might fiddle out other blog platforms to see how things work. I’ll see what I can discuss in the next post! Oh yeah, and always keep working hard! Best wishes for 2015.

Winter Season, Monthly Piano Progression, Goals, and Sound

Winter is now? Time passes by quick…Sheesh… It is November and the weather has been getting somewhat cold lately as well.

This post is somewhat short as I plan the next post to be a little bigger… I hope. So far, I’ve been getting really far into my new music sheets for some of the songs I am learning and polishing up small things like these triplets.

 

I’ve also been doing lots of finger exercises to keep up my strength like Staccato in E for both hands. However, I’m finding myself running into walls when it comes to handling things with all of my other stuff that I have due. My goal is to have everything done by these next two weeks! Gotta practice, practice, practice! I have also been experimenting with recording more and more but don’t know where I stand in terms of the sound quality. I feel like my piano emits a natural dark sounding tone that might be good/bad in it’s own way. I’ll make sure to update on that as well. See you in the next post! By the way, wear a jacket it’s cold.

 

 

 

The Year and All That… Life Keeps Moving

It has been so long since the last post… So many things have been going on for the past months and I have not had any time to really think about the blog! In regards to school work, I’ve been stuck with getting tons of prerequisite work done for schools as well as tons and tons of PAPERS for future purposes in applying to more schools! zzz… Some weeks I feel like I have no room to breathe… it can get boring quick. please let me go “oh my mighty professional school kamisama…” I’d talk more about all that jazz but it would bore everyone to sleep.

 

Anyways… many crazy events have been going on in the past months like summer school out of state (groan*…..), new paths to take, new people I bumped into, EVO2014 and Anime Expo 2014, in which I didn’t get to go to…. I was so bummed out by that; however, over this period of time I’ve been doing my share of games, studying, and anime craziness! In the midst of all of the “busy life” I’ve been practicing certain music arrangements in both piano/guitar from various animes that I’ve been running a spree in terms of watching. If it’s anything that has been a constant throughout this summer it has been: MUSIC PRACTICE (as long as I’m not sleepy…) I know the blog hasn’t been active and all but I’m trying to pick up speed here and there. Again, there have been so many things going on… it’s hard to elate on everything. But, I will continue to work hard… In some good news I’ve finalized my setup for piano to PC audio interface with some new things that I’ve learned. I am currently enjoying just direct USB/headphone connection to Ableton Live. I’ll update through more posts a little later and such with more details. I hope everyone’s summer has gone well for them.

 

April Notes: A Change of Tempo, Stepping Into More Practice, and Handling Other Things

Happy Late April! I think? Lately, the season has been so busy with midterms, papers (research papers are such a hassle…), and projects that it’s been hard for me to consistently blog and what not this month. However, I’ve still found time to practice and practice which is the most important thing to me. Also! I’ve been tinkering around with connecting my digital piano to my laptop through all the input and output mess of wires. Anyways, in regards to music study and things… in the past week or so I’ve been constantly trying to clean up areas of songs that I’m needing work on as well as studying new songs for both piano and guitar at the same time. Some songs have been giving me some difficulty due to the sporadic change of tempo and hand positioning among constant octave jumps, but its coming along easier with practice. That’s the key word for me…. -__-…. So it’s really busy and hectic for me! But it keeps me going and thinking which is good. I hope to post a little more often and cover more progress however the past month has just been extremely stressful… Also, the anime seasons have been progressing and changing which means new OPs and music/artists to listen and look out for (ex: ClariS! =]) I’ll leave off with one of my favorite songs in existence by FLOW. It has continued to be stuck inside my head and forever will be. It’s simply motivational to me! That about wraps this short blog post up. JIBUN WOOO!

 

 

 

Spring Season: Practice, Random Things, and Notes

Spring is here and for the past months I’ve have been practicing constantly among the pile of school work!  I’m always listening to music and wanting to practice but there are some days where I’m just exhausted so I don’t get a chance to put my hands to work on piano or guitar. However, a lot of things have changed recently and a lot of new music has been coming out in relation to some of the composers, bands, Animes, and other things that I’ve been listening/watching. (along with homework hahaha -__-;). Also, I’ve learned how to find my tone/balance and the method to record with a guitar interface that I have been messing around with. It’s a process for me but hopefully I’ll be able to polish it; I am still trying to do MIDI/piano recording as well. Moreover, I wanted to say that I got my hands on apps and gizmos for sheet music related purposes. When I’m bored, between classes, or waiting around for something I can pull out a sheet music app and just quiz myself which helps for recognition and waking my brain up for practicing.On a random note, the weather lately has been quite weird. I’ll leave off with a song that recently came out by one of my favorite J-ROCK bands: Bump of Chicken.

Until next time!

A Step Into the Future from Now – Random Things

It’s been a while since my last post; in my decision to keep this blog, I’m realizing that it’s going to be difficult to keep it going because of all the clash between school and what not. I apologize. I’d also like to wish everybody a happy new year for 2014. Lately I’ve been finding myself practicing my pieces I’m aiming to complete but it’s hard to move on to the next in the absence of motivation or that emotional drive. I guess it’s because school has been somewhat complicated. Anyhow, currently I’m going through a lot of Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy music, Anime related songs/openings/endings for their respective seasons, other game music, as well as some pop songs give or take. It’s been really fun so far! But… juggling my studies with piano and guitar has been kinda rough, I find myself getting lost sometimes in practice with one instrument so I go to the other (kinda crazy…). I tend to think about a lot of things I guess =p. I’m sticking through it strong, I just gotta keep on practicing! 

Reflection: Looking Back

83 days… As far as I know it’s been around 83 days since the construction of my blog in this semester. In the beginning of class, I didn’t really know what to expect. I sat near the edge of the room at 10:00 AM quietly with a deadpan face and pencil in hand, thinking that the class would just be another ordinary English course where we wrote standard essays and papers on the basis of “social media”. I was completely wrong. This class has been so much more than that.

Over the course of this semester, I’ve seen that my own aptitude for writing out my own thoughts has gone through a change. Everything started with the questioning of: What is audience? What my purpose? What is the voice and tone that I aim to write with? What is persona? The importance of these rhetorical elements were constantly emphasized.

What is even more compelling is how these elements come together in order to create something like a blog. To be honest, I never really thought that I would be doing this. I think I’ve come to realize through this class that writing isn’t just about putting together piece of work that is grammatically correct (although grammar is pretty important haha). All of these rhetorical elements not only make up our literary narratives that we constantly shape throughout our lives, but also act as an expression of our identity. Who we are, what we do, and who we choose to interact with. We connect with others through our ideologies and are able to build trust among our audiences. It promotes the “unending conversation” that we always refer back to in class.

I owe thanks and gratitude to Nidzara, who has been an amazing professor that introduced me to the world of writing through social media. Her expertise has influenced my way of writing for the better. I’d also like to thank my awesome friends and readers that have supported my writing about my silly piano musings, as well as being able to connect and share their musical knowledge with me.

Hopefully, I am able to continue this blog and keep on writing. Thanks to everyone once again.