Uni Stuff > The University Journey Journal
Pros and the Con: angewina_naguen's Journey Waddling Through Uni
w0lfqu33n89:
Love the story of your nickname! so cute!! You sound like such a beautiful soul cant wait to hear (well read) more of your journal! Hope uni is going well x
angewina_naguen:
02/03/2019
Hey, everyone!
We've reached the end of the first week of uni! I was a little nervous when I started but eventually got into the swing of things after Thursday. It's definitely a change of pace and will take some getting used to but all the initial excitement with being in my course is all still there!
I had my Modern Times lecture and Harmony lecture and tutorial on Monday. I'm really pumped for Modern Times because I'm a huge nerd with music history and I just can't wait to learn more about Modernism in music. I sat next to Alex in the lecture theatre which I found a surreal experience in itself. He wasn't as into it as I was but I don't think anyone can measure up to how giddy I get when it comes to learning ::) Harmony was a little more challenging; the lecturer Lewis is a precious soul so I want to do well, even though I know it will be hard to. My tutor for the course is really cool too so that will motivate me, despite my concerns with not being good at harmony and analysis.
Tuesday was a rather full-on day. I got to the Con early with Alex for our voice placements for Choir. I already knew I was going to be singing alto so it was no surprise but I got to meet Liz up close, as opposed to only seeing her from the top of the arena theatre during School Spec. We got through some study together and had our Modern Times tutorial afterwards. I was a little intimidated by how much everyone already knew and I thought I was pretty well-prepared too. It'll be what keeps me driven though so I think that it was a good thing I felt that way. I also had Musicology Workshop which was awesome ;D It's a small class and everyone seems really friendly. We get to do a PIP-style research project for the semester and present it. Four major works has prepared me well :) I've been brainstorming some ideas which I'd like some insight from you all about. As non-musicians, and musicians too, which of the following topics would you be interested in hearing a talk about?
- A comparison between Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, looking at how context has influenced their musical styles and compositional decisions in representing "the four seasons." Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer and Piazzolla was a 20th century nouvea tango composer, so I would explore musical conventions from both periods and how they manifest in those works.
- A conceptual investigation into a collection of Franz Schubert's compositions, exploring his fascination with death as a theme that underpins many of his works. I would analyse how death is portrayed musically by Schubert and what this says about mortality as a driving phenomenon in Romantic music-making.
- An analysis of Fritz Kreisler's Love's Joyand Love's Sorrow to explore how emotion is communicated with musical techniques and devices. Both of some of my favourite pieces of music and I would look at the similarities and differences of the two pieces.
Would love to see what you all would be interested in seeing me research into this year!
Thursday was a heavy day for me. I had a 9am-1pm block with Aural tutorials and Key Ideas in Music Education. I enjoyed them heaps though so it wasn't too bad! I have an awesome Mus Ed cohort and they're all very fun people. I'm excited to spend the next four years with them and hopefully having lifelong friendships even when we go out to teach. I had a break which I spent relaxing in the uni cafe and then went for Choir which lasted for three hours. Loving the repertoire so far and I'm looking forward to learning it.
My last class was yesterday which was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Music. It's a class designed for second years but due to my enrolment pattern being weird, I'm doing it in first. The second years seem nice though so I hope I can make some friends. My first assessment is a group task too so it sorta needs to happen soon :-\ Other than that, my tutor is ahead of the times so it'll be great to have him.
Long recap over, I guess I really like uni so far. I don't feel exhausted, though I know a lot of my friends do, but that's because I enjoy learning! I'm actually really happy to be in environment where I'm not that weird kid who likes analysing music anymore. While the standards are much higher than ever, I feel more normal amongst the people. It's definitely going to be a feeling I'll love for a long time.
For this week, I have homework to complete for basically all my subjects but I also have to do the Consent Matters module that is compulsory for USYD students. I am also aiming to get ahead for Harmony if possible to not be entirely lost in my lecture and tutorial classes.
--- Quote from: w0lfqu33n89 on March 01, 2019, 02:13:18 pm ---Love the story of your nickname! so cute!! You sound like such a beautiful soul cant wait to hear (well read) more of your journal! Hope uni is going well x
--- End quote ---
And you're so sweet! Keen you have to on board with the journal too ;D I too hope uni will go well in the next few weeks! We'll see :D That'll be all for this entry. Have a lovely weekend and toodles!
Angelina ;D
w0lfqu33n89:
Hey Angelina! Glad you are settling into your first week well! I love the passion and excitement you have towards learning and new things, its a great gift to have!
as for your project/assignment/assessment (whatever they call it in uni! ;D)
I love the idea of
--- Quote from: angewina_naguen on March 02, 2019, 04:48:36 pm ---
- An analysis of Fritz Kreisler's Love's Joyand Love's Sorrow to explore how emotion is communicated with musical techniques and devices. Both of some of my favourite pieces of music and I would look at the similarities and differences of the two pieces.
--- End quote ---
I feel because they are your two favourite pieces of music it will be more fun and less work. but its all up to you!
toodles xx
angewina_naguen:
08/03/2019
Hey, everyone!
Second week of uni has been a bit busier. I received my first assignment which just happens to be for Harmony and Analysis 1 (the subject I feel the least knowledgeable with and prepared for). It's not worth a lot but I still want to do well just for a self-esteem boost. Other than this, things are starting to come together and I'm excited to pick up my pace with it!
I have to say on an emotional (?) note, I've finally felt as if I've found a place to belong. I always felt isolated from people in high school in terms of music because I was one of two Music 2 students who completed my HSC through distance education. It was hard to share my love for musicology (goodness, that sounds nerdy, doesn't it?) and talk about music as openly so being in uni has made me feel more comfortable with who I am. It's refreshing to be around people who are willing to hear me rave on about my interests, whether it be in string quartets or in indie music. I feel more normal and I think that's something I'm really enjoying about uni.
That being said, I did visit my high school today to say hello to my teachers. The CAPA faculty there are my favourite people in the world and I miss them heaps. I do love my uni lecturers and tutors too so I'm just blessed to be around amazing and inspiring people.
I'm going to be doing a volunteer performance next Sunday after I tutor so that's going to be fun ;D It's a dinner event for VSA and VCAY so I've decided to sing two songs in Vietnamese for that, as well as another three tracks. Will be posting footage hopefully of that some time after so I'll also share that here ;D
--- Quote from: w0lfqu33n89 on March 03, 2019, 07:30:35 am ---Hey Angelina! Glad you are settling into your first week well! I love the passion and excitement you have towards learning and new things, its a great gift to have!
as for your project/assignment/assessment (whatever they call it in uni! ;D)
I love the idea of
I feel because they are your two favourite pieces of music it will be more fun and less work. but its all up to you!
toodles xx
--- End quote ---
I'm definitely thinking of the Kreisler right now but I'm going to dive into some more musical works and see what might pique my interest from my musicological point of view ;D Thank you for contributing to the thread though! Also love that you've used my trademark Toodles ;) Very cute!
And for a final note, I think I'll start updating more regularly so there's less big slabs of text bombarding everyone :o Hope you all have a great weekend and here's to another week filled with joy!
Toodles,
Angelina ;D
angewina_naguen:
13/03/2019
Hey, everyone!
Wrote this on the train during rush hour home from uni. There are a lot of people in this carriage. This week’s been busy so far with more content rolling in, lots of mini assessments and quizzes in class and performance rehearsing for the weekend. I’m finding some of the subjects graduating exponentially in difficulty. It took me four hours, way more than the hour from the first week, to complete my short answer questions for one of my tutorials so that indicates what I mean there.
I’m excited to go over the choir learning tracks and have plenty of aural preparation to do for tomorrow. There’s a reading for Key Ideas I need to finish off as well but other than that, it is looking like a rather chill weekend.
The amazing thing about today was that I was able to meet Elena Kats Chernin! She came in to give a casual workshop on her compositional process. As a music student, I’m so used to all the composers I study to be (deceased) that it was almost surreal to be in the presence of someone who I literally studied as a part of my HSC course. My tutor assigned me with the task of buying her a bouquet of flowers which I’m very glad she loved. It was an intimate and highly rewarding opportunity that I will owe the Con huge for giving me 8)
Nice and quick entry today. Hope everyone’s week has been well and I’ll touch base soon!
Toodles,
Angelina ;D
PS. I realised I never gave an origin for my “Toodles” sign off :o I don’t remember exactly where it came from but the first time I used it was in Year 11. I was saying goodbye to a friend and for some reason, it just came out naturally. It’s now one of my defining traits :) Others include my obsessive need to sanitise my hands and a tendency to switch the letters of words around (I actually once asked a lady at KFC for four “dricken chumsticks”).
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