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These past few weeks, my music class and I worked on a koto piece by Hiroshi Moshimura. Process of preparation We did not play the last movement as it was too hard and we didn’t have enough time to practice it. However, I believe if we played the last movement, it would have been a [...]

Before spring brake, my music class played a koto piece, “Rock Garden,” by Hikaru Sawai for a concert. I have some questions that I will answer. What were the challenges Rock Garden presented and how did you overcome them? The main challenge about Rock Garden was that the performance would not be good if there [...]

I decided to promot Douglas Adam’s book of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It is a very funny and light-hearted book, and is very good if you just want to relaxe with a not so serious book. Also if you like sci-fi you probably will like it too. This is my Shelfari Shelf: Shelfari: Book reviews [...]

Josho no Kanata is a koto piece written by Hikaru Sawai. The piece has three parts: koto 1, koto 2, and base koto, yet I believe this piece sounds the best when there is an ensemble playing it. This is because the many kotos will create very powerful sounds at some parts and still play quietly [...]

On Tuesday the 27th of November, the koto ensemble performed two koto song: Josho no Kanata and Murasameno accompanying the choir. For Josho no Kanata, I thought we did pretty well for the 1st movement. The very beginning I thought the dynamics were good. Especially for the very beginning and for the place where we shan and pluck at the same [...]

Today, on November 21 Wednesday, I practiced for the concert next Tuesday from 8:00 to around 9:00 with taking some breaks. The piece was Murasameno and I felt really proud because I now basically memorized the whole thing and can basically play it through with only making minor mistakes. My main problem is that I still [...]

For the past several weeks, on Mondays, the rest of my koto class, as well as myself, practiced Jyosho no Kanata. Every time, I felt I became more used and aware of the piece. Also, because I practiced so much I memorized the piece. The reason I spent so much time at school was because I played the base [...]

Last Tuesday morning, on the 27th of November, Daniel and I worked on Murasameno before school. Finally, I got to play the whole thing with very little mistakes without looking at my music. I felt so glad that I would’t mess up so badly in the concert. The thing that worries me the most, however, [...]

On Friday November 16 2012, I worked on Murasameno for about an hour after school. The hard bit was that I kept playing wrong notes even if I new what to play, so I just need to practice more. If everyone practices, I think it would sound very nice.

What have I achieved so far this year? I am much more relaxed and happy this year. I am not looking into the future and dwelling of my failings as much as before. I am much more balanced with my pleasure and homework. Also, during the week-end I space of my homework and don’t do [...]