I put on my favorite carrot earrings that my sister got for me, my rabbit print shirt and some bunny socks I found while cleaning the sock drawer, as I got ready to go to my lesson today. I picked up pears and dduk (rice cake) for my teacher at the Korean market and arrived to find her napping.
I sat on her couch for about ten minutes to reflect some on whether this past year of the tiger lived up to my anticipation and excitement, then woke my teacher up.
Things I've gained from this past year...
-I can now go for about an hour sitting cross legged without my foot going numb.
-I learned each of the strings and various plucking methods.
-I learned to play Arirang.
-I have finished learning the 진양조, the first movement of the piece, 눈물이 진주라면 ("If Tears Were Pearls"), and played through the 11th 장단 of the 중모리 section, the second movement. This probably doesn't mean anything to someone who is not familiar with gayageum pieces, but I'm writing it down for my own records. As of now, I would get lost pretty quickly if I attempted to play it by myself and need to commit it to my own memory, instead of just copying my teacher instantaneously.
Sometimes when I wish people a happy lunar new year, they remark that they thought Koreans don't celebrate lunar new year. My misinformed Chinese friend, we most certainly do celebrate!
I sat on her couch for about ten minutes to reflect some on whether this past year of the tiger lived up to my anticipation and excitement, then woke my teacher up.
Things I've gained from this past year...
-I can now go for about an hour sitting cross legged without my foot going numb.
-I learned each of the strings and various plucking methods.
-I learned to play Arirang.
-I have finished learning the 진양조, the first movement of the piece, 눈물이 진주라면 ("If Tears Were Pearls"), and played through the 11th 장단 of the 중모리 section, the second movement. This probably doesn't mean anything to someone who is not familiar with gayageum pieces, but I'm writing it down for my own records. As of now, I would get lost pretty quickly if I attempted to play it by myself and need to commit it to my own memory, instead of just copying my teacher instantaneously.
Sometimes when I wish people a happy lunar new year, they remark that they thought Koreans don't celebrate lunar new year. My misinformed Chinese friend, we most certainly do celebrate!