Hello! My name is Andrew Moon. I started this blog long ago and its purpose has morphed quite a few times. But I've kept the title for a very long time since I believe it fits quite well. And now I get to use this space for a class entitled Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas. I'm excited that I have something to breathe some life back into this thing, and perhaps I'll continue blogging more regularly. (I'm sure my family will appreciate it).
Well, let's talk about me! Let's start with some random quick facts: I got glasses because I wanted a dog (long story). I have still have some random memories from when I was two or three. I pick up on most skills really quickly, but it takes me longer than most to master any. I ran away from elementary school three times (prime example for my avoidant personality). I usually dislike when people ask me about my hobbies and interests since the first thing to come to mind is MUSIC! Since it is my major most people don't count it as a hobby, but I'll have to disagree with that sentiment. It may be a different type of music, but music is my life blood. Nothing moves me more than a random passage from a sonata here, an aria there, or--heaven forbid-- a musical theatre anthem (I say heaven forbid only because musical theatre is seen as fluff to many in the music world).
When I was sixteen, I attended early college at Weber State, fully planning to move into pre-med, I was sitting in one of my basic chemistry labs and while I found it interesting--maybe a little fun--I realized that I didn't want to do medicine or any form of science day in and day out. I didn't feel like I could do it every day and feel accomplished. I wanted to change people's lives.
I did some intense soul searching, trying to figure out what it was that could give me everything I desired from a profession. I came to a conclusion: be a Choir Teacher. That answer terrified me. I remember in second grade I told my parents I wanted to become a teacher and they answered with an immediate and resounding, "No." They simply didn't get paid enough. I think that was a large part of why I aimed to be a doctor. I didn't want to tell my parents I had changed my mind and wanted to be a teacher again, but I did and it's taken a little bit, but they're supportive of the idea... mostly.
So let's dive into literacy. Literacy is a tricky concept. Yes, reading and writing is great, but there's more to it. To be truly literate is to think for oneself and be able to find truth where there is some to be found and be able to weed out untruths. But don't do so without being considerate for other people's truth. (I hope some of that made sense).
As for what I wish to teach the class, I have no idea. I hope that these ramblings turn into something concrete that others can learn from. I hope to find ways to apply this class to music since I feel most of these SCED classes have been applicable to most disciplines, but not mine. The fact is, music is an entirely different monster. I beautiful, wonderful monster.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Friday, March 25, 2011
Day 1: Leaving On a Jet Plane
Alright, so I decided that I would go through this trip day by day. It just seemed easier that way. Besides, it's how Camille does it and she seems like the experienced travel blogger. Oh and Day 1 is going to include the day before as well...
And so my first trip outside of the U.S. begins. Heck, my first trip East of Flaming Gorge begins (I know, pathetic). On Thursday I finished class, ran back to my apartment, and grabbed everything I would need for my trip. I had done laundry the day before, but since I didn't have any luggage up here, I would have to pack everything in Centerville the night before. I drove down to Centerville making a quick stop in Brigham City to pick up Tara.
We arrived in Centerville and I set out packing. I finished relatively quickly and then we headed to Chili's for dinner. Then we headed to Viewmont to watch my all-time favorite musical: The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was the first time Tara had seen it and she loved it! It was just the dress rehearsal, but we crashed it since there was no other way to see it since it played only during the Italy trip. It was also Ms. M's public announcement that this is her last year teaching at Viewmont.
The next morning we headed to the airport. We were incredibly early and so we headed back to Zion's bank to exchange dollars for euros. And while there, mom and dad brought a jacket that I had left (I did not ask them to, they just came anyway. I even told them not to bother, but they were already on their way). So we went back through security.
The next 4 hours in that plane were probably the worst 4 hours of the trip. I was stuck between two others and one was a large person like myself. It was cramped and I didn't sit next to people I really knew. I was also dehydrated but yeah...
We hopped out that plane and ran literally to the other side of the airport. When we got there, I called Camille to wish her a happy birthday a day early. Then we hopped on the plane and Tara and I, through some careful maneuvering and convincing, were able to sit by each other. This made the flight MUCH better than the first. Also the seats are a tad bigger and they work harder to keep you more comfortable, which was what I needed. I cracked open some books to study but nothing was sticking at all. So I took a little snoozer. I woke up and watched a bit of The Social Network. I kept waiting for The King's Speech since it was announced that it would play... but it never did. :'(
We reached Rome and grabbed our bags and went through customs. The process was very much like walking through a door. No, that's exactly what it was. Incredibly easy. And technically that's the end of day one. I'll post day two soon.
And so my first trip outside of the U.S. begins. Heck, my first trip East of Flaming Gorge begins (I know, pathetic). On Thursday I finished class, ran back to my apartment, and grabbed everything I would need for my trip. I had done laundry the day before, but since I didn't have any luggage up here, I would have to pack everything in Centerville the night before. I drove down to Centerville making a quick stop in Brigham City to pick up Tara.
We arrived in Centerville and I set out packing. I finished relatively quickly and then we headed to Chili's for dinner. Then we headed to Viewmont to watch my all-time favorite musical: The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was the first time Tara had seen it and she loved it! It was just the dress rehearsal, but we crashed it since there was no other way to see it since it played only during the Italy trip. It was also Ms. M's public announcement that this is her last year teaching at Viewmont.
The next morning we headed to the airport. We were incredibly early and so we headed back to Zion's bank to exchange dollars for euros. And while there, mom and dad brought a jacket that I had left (I did not ask them to, they just came anyway. I even told them not to bother, but they were already on their way). So we went back through security.
The next 4 hours in that plane were probably the worst 4 hours of the trip. I was stuck between two others and one was a large person like myself. It was cramped and I didn't sit next to people I really knew. I was also dehydrated but yeah...
We hopped out that plane and ran literally to the other side of the airport. When we got there, I called Camille to wish her a happy birthday a day early. Then we hopped on the plane and Tara and I, through some careful maneuvering and convincing, were able to sit by each other. This made the flight MUCH better than the first. Also the seats are a tad bigger and they work harder to keep you more comfortable, which was what I needed. I cracked open some books to study but nothing was sticking at all. So I took a little snoozer. I woke up and watched a bit of The Social Network. I kept waiting for The King's Speech since it was announced that it would play... but it never did. :'(
We reached Rome and grabbed our bags and went through customs. The process was very much like walking through a door. No, that's exactly what it was. Incredibly easy. And technically that's the end of day one. I'll post day two soon.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Why Be Anything Else?
Tonight I had a conversation with my roommate and during this conversation he alluded to an opinion that music majors had it easy while engineering majors were most assuredly the hardest major. Now, while his comments may be in jest, they reminded me of conversations I've had with others who seem to think the same thing. And while these conversations played over and over in my head, I got more upset. So I'm here to set the record straight!
Thinking about all the majors that laid before my feet as I was trying to decide exactly what I wanted to do, I cannot help but think, "I could have been an engineering major (really, I could have)... but why do that when I can do something challenging like music?" That's right here's the little secret, a music major is hard! It's not the fluffy major that many just assume that it is. Now, some of the people I've talked about this with feel like they have a good idea of what music majors are all about because they were in the orchestra, band, or choir. Excuse me, let me just tell you that being in an ensemble does not prepare you for the riggers of a music major. (I'm going to be comparing my major to engineering only because that is what it was compared to recently and it seems to be the socially accepted "hard" major of USU)
I am willing to say that a good 50% (at least) of music majors enter into it sorely unprepared. They are a great many that I have seen come and go in the department in my almost year and a half. Okay, so I get it, engineering majors have a lot of math. It's not like we are sitting in the music building holding hands in a circle singing kumbaya all day. We are immediately dropped into an ocean of music theory and my least favorite: Aural Skills.
So there's this thing about math that in my opinion makes it kinda easy. First, there are so many different ways to find the answer to one problem. And then you learn the rules and there you go. You got it. There's math for you. Okay so here's music, while there may be slight fluctuations in actual voicing there is very little leeway in chords and progressions. And then as your analyzing something things might not make sense, but you must realize that we learn the rules and then we learn how to break the rules... wait... yeah.
Another thing to be wary of is that as you write your progressions there might be a chord that technically works, but will be marked wrong because it "sounds a bit off." How do you like that as a measurement of grading? I've never been marked down on a math problem that was done correctly, but just didn't look right.
Now how many credits are engineer major classes worth? 3-5 credits. Oh no, right? This means it's hard... but wait, think about it this way. Music major classes: 1 credit (maybe 3 if you're lucky). Classes each has to take (assuming 18 credits)... Engineering: 4-6 classes. Music Major:10-14 classes. Yeah... our days are automatically long just due to class time. (And even in the early morning we're expected to be warmed up and at the top of our game. That's why I generally get up earlier than my roommates). (And let's not forget what that means come Finals Week.) After a long day, we have the homework for those 10-14 classes. Oh and logically we must think, the 1 credit classes must be way easier... haha, not so. My hardest class has always been this 1 credit class called aural skills (you may have heard me mention it before). Ever heard the rule that however many credits it's worth is how much time spent out of class each day you should spend on it? Well, that 1 credit class usually takes 2-3 hours out of my day... oh and it has 2 finals.
Oh and if we aren't busy enough, attendance to masterclasses, on-campus performances, student recitals, guest artist recitals, and ensemble performances are required.
Okay so aside from all this is the core of any music major's curriculum. Practicing.
Holy. Freaking. Cow. You spent three hours on a math assignment? (A complaint I've heard from multiple people) I spend at minimum 5 hours a day locked away in some practice room practicing voice, piano, aural skills, guitar, or my instrument of the month. Oh, yeah that's right. Music Education majors must learn to play every instrument or at least a good number of representatives from each discipline (woodwind, brass, string, etc). I'd compare that to something in the engineering department, but to my knowledge they don't have any requirement even close.
Back to practicing, you have to be okay with being alone most of the time. We rarely can get a group together to practice. It just wouldn't make sense. We do completely different things than everyone else in our department. And you can only reserve a practice room for 1 hour/day so how do I get the other 4 in? I enter a practice room and hope that the person who has it reserved doesn't come. If they do, however, all I have to say is that I'm lucky I live in Utah and have resources like an institute with pianos in the majority of the rooms (even though most are occupied) and churches with an average of six pianos placed somewhere within (and being in Logan we have churches literally right next to each other). However even with this, you are not guaranteed anything. I've never seen an engineering major battling his fellow classmates for who gets to use the textbook next.
I could seriously go forever talking about how much more challenging music majors are than people give us credit for, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I LOVE my chosen major. It's definitely what I'm supposed to be doing. However, if I didn't have my passion for music, I would have changed majors long ago. It is my love and life. It is what I was "put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that is [has] became spiritual in calling" (Van Gogh).
So let me just reiterate: Why be any other major when I can challenge myself and be a music major? But seriously, next time you see a music major, give them a hug, they need and deserve it.
I am willing to say that a good 50% (at least) of music majors enter into it sorely unprepared. They are a great many that I have seen come and go in the department in my almost year and a half. Okay, so I get it, engineering majors have a lot of math. It's not like we are sitting in the music building holding hands in a circle singing kumbaya all day. We are immediately dropped into an ocean of music theory and my least favorite: Aural Skills.
So there's this thing about math that in my opinion makes it kinda easy. First, there are so many different ways to find the answer to one problem. And then you learn the rules and there you go. You got it. There's math for you. Okay so here's music, while there may be slight fluctuations in actual voicing there is very little leeway in chords and progressions. And then as your analyzing something things might not make sense, but you must realize that we learn the rules and then we learn how to break the rules... wait... yeah.
Another thing to be wary of is that as you write your progressions there might be a chord that technically works, but will be marked wrong because it "sounds a bit off." How do you like that as a measurement of grading? I've never been marked down on a math problem that was done correctly, but just didn't look right.
Now how many credits are engineer major classes worth? 3-5 credits. Oh no, right? This means it's hard... but wait, think about it this way. Music major classes: 1 credit (maybe 3 if you're lucky). Classes each has to take (assuming 18 credits)... Engineering: 4-6 classes. Music Major:10-14 classes. Yeah... our days are automatically long just due to class time. (And even in the early morning we're expected to be warmed up and at the top of our game. That's why I generally get up earlier than my roommates). (And let's not forget what that means come Finals Week.) After a long day, we have the homework for those 10-14 classes. Oh and logically we must think, the 1 credit classes must be way easier... haha, not so. My hardest class has always been this 1 credit class called aural skills (you may have heard me mention it before). Ever heard the rule that however many credits it's worth is how much time spent out of class each day you should spend on it? Well, that 1 credit class usually takes 2-3 hours out of my day... oh and it has 2 finals.
Oh and if we aren't busy enough, attendance to masterclasses, on-campus performances, student recitals, guest artist recitals, and ensemble performances are required.
Okay so aside from all this is the core of any music major's curriculum. Practicing.
Holy. Freaking. Cow. You spent three hours on a math assignment? (A complaint I've heard from multiple people) I spend at minimum 5 hours a day locked away in some practice room practicing voice, piano, aural skills, guitar, or my instrument of the month. Oh, yeah that's right. Music Education majors must learn to play every instrument or at least a good number of representatives from each discipline (woodwind, brass, string, etc). I'd compare that to something in the engineering department, but to my knowledge they don't have any requirement even close.
Back to practicing, you have to be okay with being alone most of the time. We rarely can get a group together to practice. It just wouldn't make sense. We do completely different things than everyone else in our department. And you can only reserve a practice room for 1 hour/day so how do I get the other 4 in? I enter a practice room and hope that the person who has it reserved doesn't come. If they do, however, all I have to say is that I'm lucky I live in Utah and have resources like an institute with pianos in the majority of the rooms (even though most are occupied) and churches with an average of six pianos placed somewhere within (and being in Logan we have churches literally right next to each other). However even with this, you are not guaranteed anything. I've never seen an engineering major battling his fellow classmates for who gets to use the textbook next.
I could seriously go forever talking about how much more challenging music majors are than people give us credit for, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I LOVE my chosen major. It's definitely what I'm supposed to be doing. However, if I didn't have my passion for music, I would have changed majors long ago. It is my love and life. It is what I was "put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that is [has] became spiritual in calling" (Van Gogh).
So let me just reiterate: Why be any other major when I can challenge myself and be a music major? But seriously, next time you see a music major, give them a hug, they need and deserve it.
Monday, August 16, 2010
TiMER
So I was browsing Netflix the other day and scrolled over a movie titled "TiMER." It gave me a brief summary as to what it's about. I didn't watch it, but the summary presented an idea that I thought was interesting. The movie revolves around this technology that you implant into your wrist (shown above). It's simply called a "timer." And what, do you ask, is it timing? It's a countdown to the midnight before you meet your soulmate. It can only begin the countdown once both people have been implanted and once they are in close enough proximity, both implants will beep.
Now here's the question, would you get implanted? Now, I realize that most of you are married at this point and don't really have need for this, but let's pretend we're single once again and are faced with the option of getting implanted or not. Do you leave love up to the fates? Or do you let this new matchmaking service do the job for you?
Remember: It will remain blank as long as your soulmate is not implanted. It may tell you that you won't meet your match until your sixty. What if you fall in love before you meet your destined soulmate? However, also remember that it does work, it doesn't make mistakes. You will be happy with this person... eventually if not at first (it may be an "enemies become lovers" type of deal).
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Glimpse of the Future
Okay, so I know you haven't heard from me in a while and I'm sorry about that... but I don't really have much to blog about. Perhaps I'll get around to cataloging the mundane things I do. However, the purpose is not to focus on that, but rather, the future. That's right. My future.
Well, not exactly. There's this new show you might have heard of called "Glee." That's right. I'm a total Gleek... That's right Gleek. That's how much I love this show. Anyway, so here's a clip from the season finale that I've watched about a bigillion times. I thought you guys might appreciate it as well. It showcases some songs that I had already decided my choir would sing. It's nice to see my ideas come into fruition without any work on my part. :D
I can't wait until I get to create this myself! Just wait a few years! Now it's 6 1/2 minutes, but seriously, you can spend that time to see this, because it's that awesome. So be sure to go to the right side of the page and mute the music. Now, I present to you...*small drumroll* the clip: (There will most likely be a 30 second commercial, just warning ya):
P.S. If it says something about it not being available and you might need to clear your browser cache or something like that... Just refresh. It's just a little temperamental.
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