Just a quick update...

Just a quick update about how my classes are going:

Dance: We had 4 short scholarly papers to read. (We will be doing a lot of reading in this class, actually.) Our assignment was to write a paragraph synopsis on each article. Mine came to 3 full pages, but most everybody else's was only a half page! Did I write too much, or did they not write enough? I guess I'll find out Thursday.

UPDATE, SUN FEB 14, 2010: I asked the prof about this because it was entirely possible that I was over-doing it. (I know you're all shocked by this!) She replied that she does indeed want at least one paragraph about each of the readings. At the next class meeting, she went over this with the entire class, so it's now Official.

The class is an hour of lecture, then an hour of lab. For our lecture, we discussed 2 of the articles. I tried to give the other students a chance to speak up, but they were either too shy or had nothing to say. Those who did say things just touched the surface of things rather than delving into deeper critical analysis. I got the sense that the prof was a bit frustrated at the level and amount of discussion - at the end she said, "I do expect you *all* to participate in these discussions." I mean, come on! This is an Upper Division class; presumably, these students have all fulfilled their Lower Division requirements and so have had at least one class in Critical Analysis. I've decided not to let anybody stand in the way of my education, so from here on out, I'm going to say what I'm thinking and explore various modes of criticism, until the prof sees fit to tell me to be quiet. :-)

Maybe I'll even post my weekly reading/practice journals here....

UPDATE, SUN FEB 14, 2010:I have decided that I will post my journals and other writings here, but only after I've gotten them back, graded, from the professor. I put a link over in the right-hand nav panel so they can be quickly found.

Computer Music: So far, so good. I have very little experience with MIDI or synthesis, so I didn't really know what to expect in this class. We've been working with a piece of software called Reason and have been using virtual drum machines, mixers, delays, reverbs, and now Loop Effects to do our labs. The labs are pretty strict with *what* must be done with the equipment, but we have complete freedom to use whatever sounds we want (from the sound banks that come with the software). I'm looking forward to seeing what we do next!

GEO: GEO = General Education Oral Communication. All the other students just call it "jee-oh," so I figured I would, too. The prof is really good - you can tell she really cares about the students and how they do in class. She's supplementing the textbook with real-life examples as well as giving us all kinds of step-by-step advice and not just throwing us to the wolves, as in, "Here, go make a speech!"

I have to give a 2-3 minute How-To speech on Feb 18. My topic is: "How to save your cell phone (or other electronic device) after it's been dropped in water." Last night, she went around the room asking each student what their topic was to be & when I said mine, one of the other students exclaimed, "I could have used that information last week!" LOL.

Vocal Ensemble: Class was cancelled by the prof this week due to personal reasons. Meanwhile, I ordered a bunch of music for choir & bells from SheetMusicPlus.com so I'm hoping it will arrive soon & that some of them will be suitable for us to do!

Now, I've gotta go read 2 chapters in my GEO textbook (I bought the Kindle edition which was only $25, as opposed to $70 for the "e-Book" or $120 for the hardcover. I don't have a Kindle, but am using Amazon's free "Kindle for PC" software.) and take a quiz on it, then I've got to write a 3-4 page paper on a dance concert I went to on Friday night.

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