Does Practice Make Perfect? ...not alwaysWritten by Lee Tribbey
Often people receive a banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar or some other musical instrument as a birthday, Christmas or special occasion gift. There’s glee and joy everywhere. The giver of gift knows how much receiver of gift wants to learn this instrument and receiver of gift is ACTUALLY holding coveted instrument in his/her hands instead of lusting for it down at corner store or through shop window. NOW WHAT?Finding an instructor that fits into a busy work schedule is hard enough…but once you decide on a lesson plan, then student must calculate practice time, how to practice, what to practice – and let’s face it…not all people learn something same way. We have math-wizard types that write everything down, social butterflies that strictly learn by only talking to others about it and yet others that envision a categories and divisional compartment-style strategy for a problem and logically devise a plan to solve problem in a completely different way than there next door neighbor! So…in order to learn a musical instrument, how much practice time is enough and what kind of practice is right for you? First student must identify some goals. 1.What is desired gain? Do you want to be a virtuoso or a hobbyist? 2.How much discretionary time is available to invest in learning process 3.Is student really willing to invest time for ultimate gain 4.Would student be satisfied with a more social/casual study of instrument 5.Identify why student wants to learn ‘this specific instrument” There is no set amount of time that anyone should practice a musical instrument. When I was enrolled in programming classes, I could have studied nightly for 5 hours each night. It would have taken me years to learn art and craft of computer programming. Though I’m intrigued by systematic logic of it, my aptitude is towards another genre all together. However, on other hand, if I spent an hour every couple days with a passionate hobby like playing violin, not only would time fly quickly…I’d also be learning at a much greater pace since built-in passion is motivation for advancement.
| | Why Geography?Written by James Chartwell
In this modern age, haven't all earth's locations been found, named, and mapped? Just about.So, why geography? The citizens of many of world's countries still don't realize that ignorance of geography can affect their political stability, economic success, and environmental health. Sure, it's important to know where things are located. But even more important is learning in what ways those places are affected by their environments and their population. That, too, is geography. Our survival is dependent on our awareness of things like where greatest amount of carbon dioxide is being produced and where rain forests are being destroyed. It would help us to know why terrorists want to attack. To help tsunami survivors we need to know something about places affected. Geography is fundamental to all these things. It's easy to see why people believe myth that geography is only mapmaking, map reading, and knowing where everything is. For instance, TV game show contestants will be asked questions such as "what is river that flows through Zambezi, Zambia?" In cases like this, answer can be known by having studied a map. Knowledge of where places and events are located is important and useful. Knowing where something happened gives event more significance. Perhaps you've heard this story: A high school student in United States applied to a domestic university. The admissions employee that reviewed and denied application noted that applicant needed to go through foreign admissions office. The student was from New Mexico. Geography is so much more than knowing where something is or happened. Do you know capital of Bolivia? The answer is La Paz and Sucre -- two different places. Here's why: In 1899 Bolivia's Conservative Party was overthrown by Liberal Party during Federal Revolution. Tin mining, which was in area of La Paz, had become an important industry for country, and tin entrepreneurs supported Liberals. So, Liberals wanted to move capital from Sucre to La Paz. They only partially succeeded. The constitutional capital is now Sucre and administrative capital is La Paz. Now that you know "why," you are much more likely to remember "where."
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