Articles
In this section, I will post articles I have written that are related to school and life as a student at university.
Below is an article to get you started on the basics of how memory works. I hope this will be a useful tool for you as you're preparing for your tests and exams.
Below is an article to get you started on the basics of how memory works. I hope this will be a useful tool for you as you're preparing for your tests and exams.
all_about_memory.doc | |
File Size: | 62 kb |
File Type: | doc |
The Music Program at Western
By Grace Wong
The Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario is a close knit faculty in comparison with other faculties. We are a smaller group of students, but we love what we do. I think that music students have to work a little harder than students in another field. While every student has to go to class, do assignments and long readings, music students have to practice several hours on top of that. Not to mention, we have to take an ensemble course…and not get a credit for it. There are only 24 hours in a day, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to be enough.
As much as this sounds like torture (it’s not mostly), some of the courses are genuinely enjoyable and packed with information that students can use on a daily basis. Other courses prepare you to deal with the real world. For example, I took an instrumental conducting course as a part of the Music Education program. It was easily the best course I have ever taken. 8:30am became a reasonable time to go to class. This was a fairly “hands-on” class and everything was relevant to what music teachers would be doing in a real classroom setting. From lesson plans to how to teach beginning band, this class was filled with interesting and important information.
Then there are the mandatory courses that every music student has to take in first and second year. Namely, music theory and music history. Not the most exciting courses a person can take, but they are still very important. Everything you learn in these classes will apply to your own music-making for the rest of your life. Another course we had to take was General Integrated Musicianship (GIM). This consisted of sight singing, keyboard harmony, and dictation. Those were classes students dragged their feet to go to. However, the skills learned in these classes are also extremely useful. By the end of second year, every music student will know how to sing any musical line after a glance, how to play different clefs at the same time on the piano, and how to write music after hearing it. Armed and ready with basic essentials? I believe so!
When I was applying to Western, I certainly did not know all that I was going to learn. What drew me to Western was the reputation of the music program. I had heard that it was an extremely prodigious school and the music program there was one of the best. Their standards were also very high. An additional bonus was that the campus was beautiful, unlike some concrete campuses I have seen.
I will complete my fourth year this coming year and I believe that what I have learned will prepare me very well for what I want to do after completing my undergraduate program. I am planning to become a teacher, specifically in music, and the program here has prepared me very well for this field. I have seen music teachers in action and it sometimes I wonder if they know what they are doing. However, the music program at Western has certainly prepared me to tackle the real world of teaching with knowledge and hands-on experience. I have learnt how to deal with situations I see teachers struggle with in real classrooms, I have learnt how to choose material that will educate students, not just to entertain them, and of course, I have learnt a little on the matter of actual teaching. While this does not mean I am 100% ready to teach, it does mean that I am better equipped to deal with different situations that may present themselves. I feel that what I have learned at Western has sufficiently prepared me for the work field.
The music program has been very well planned out. Students are made to learn crucial skills. I have seen music students from other schools and now I understand why Western’s music program is so reputable. Western pushes their students to new limits, to new heights. One line from a cheer I did in first year during Frosh Week had the line, “We’ll try harder, we’ll go farther!” This is quite true. The Faculty of Music here at Western has churned out some world-renowned teachers and artists. There is no doubt that the music program will continue in its excellence and continue to train musicians in their art.
The Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario is a close knit faculty in comparison with other faculties. We are a smaller group of students, but we love what we do. I think that music students have to work a little harder than students in another field. While every student has to go to class, do assignments and long readings, music students have to practice several hours on top of that. Not to mention, we have to take an ensemble course…and not get a credit for it. There are only 24 hours in a day, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to be enough.
As much as this sounds like torture (it’s not mostly), some of the courses are genuinely enjoyable and packed with information that students can use on a daily basis. Other courses prepare you to deal with the real world. For example, I took an instrumental conducting course as a part of the Music Education program. It was easily the best course I have ever taken. 8:30am became a reasonable time to go to class. This was a fairly “hands-on” class and everything was relevant to what music teachers would be doing in a real classroom setting. From lesson plans to how to teach beginning band, this class was filled with interesting and important information.
Then there are the mandatory courses that every music student has to take in first and second year. Namely, music theory and music history. Not the most exciting courses a person can take, but they are still very important. Everything you learn in these classes will apply to your own music-making for the rest of your life. Another course we had to take was General Integrated Musicianship (GIM). This consisted of sight singing, keyboard harmony, and dictation. Those were classes students dragged their feet to go to. However, the skills learned in these classes are also extremely useful. By the end of second year, every music student will know how to sing any musical line after a glance, how to play different clefs at the same time on the piano, and how to write music after hearing it. Armed and ready with basic essentials? I believe so!
When I was applying to Western, I certainly did not know all that I was going to learn. What drew me to Western was the reputation of the music program. I had heard that it was an extremely prodigious school and the music program there was one of the best. Their standards were also very high. An additional bonus was that the campus was beautiful, unlike some concrete campuses I have seen.
I will complete my fourth year this coming year and I believe that what I have learned will prepare me very well for what I want to do after completing my undergraduate program. I am planning to become a teacher, specifically in music, and the program here has prepared me very well for this field. I have seen music teachers in action and it sometimes I wonder if they know what they are doing. However, the music program at Western has certainly prepared me to tackle the real world of teaching with knowledge and hands-on experience. I have learnt how to deal with situations I see teachers struggle with in real classrooms, I have learnt how to choose material that will educate students, not just to entertain them, and of course, I have learnt a little on the matter of actual teaching. While this does not mean I am 100% ready to teach, it does mean that I am better equipped to deal with different situations that may present themselves. I feel that what I have learned at Western has sufficiently prepared me for the work field.
The music program has been very well planned out. Students are made to learn crucial skills. I have seen music students from other schools and now I understand why Western’s music program is so reputable. Western pushes their students to new limits, to new heights. One line from a cheer I did in first year during Frosh Week had the line, “We’ll try harder, we’ll go farther!” This is quite true. The Faculty of Music here at Western has churned out some world-renowned teachers and artists. There is no doubt that the music program will continue in its excellence and continue to train musicians in their art.