For the movie assignments, I used still shots of my garden spanning early spring to late summer and moving images of my baby chicks. The garden movie is titled "Birth of a Garden" and turned out to be far too long. However, once I chose all my images and my movie was nearly 10 minutes in length, I had a really hard time getting rid of my carefully selected images. At that point, it was all I could do to cut the thing down to five minutes. I used an antiquing effect in the beginning to emphasize the colorless and somewhat bleak look the garden has in the early stages of spring. For many of the summer images, I adjusted color contrast to make the images appear brighter, and to give the colors more depth.

My second movie was of my chickens when they were around 5 weeks of age and still in my living room. What a mess! They were in the awkward in between stages of losing their baby fluff and and new feather growth. I didn't alter the video in any way, but I did record the Bob Marley song "Three Birds" from my itunes library with Wire Tap Pro. My husband and I took some cute videos of our Huskies enjoying the big snow this weekend, which he then used for his second movie. I love the fact that because of this class, there are so many things I now know how to do with images and video. Now some of our pets are up on YOUTUBE

I decided to change the subject of my final project. I originally intended to make a movie based on the Debussy string quartet I was playing this semester. I absolutely adore the music and thoroughly enjoyed playing it, but for some reason did not feel inspired to make a movie about the experience. Instead, I chose to make a movie about a subject that is especially meaningful to me. My relationship with my younger and only sister is strengthened by our love of music and the fact that we are both cellists. Many of my most joyous musical moments have been playing cello with my sister, Rosie. More so then any solo, symphony, or chamber experience. There is nothing better! I have never been able to match the connection we share when we play together with any other musician, which is why my final project will have several small recordings of us playing duets. Due to the fact that my sister lives in Ohio, I had to wait until she came home for the holidays this weekend before I could record the videos and start my project. I was able to borrow some very fine recording equipment from her boyfriend and despite the informal nature of our performance(in the dining room), the audio actually turned out pretty well. Although invisible for the majority of the performance, we have an audience of 4 bengal cats and 3 dogs.

I'm going to pick up where I left off on the subject of the adult learning process and it's implications. I like to think that we can learn new skills at any age. Not only learn skills, but continue to excel at those skills. At 30 years of age, while I can hardly consider myself to be old, I have learned not to compare my musical skills to those who are much younger and better. I will continue to practice, strengthen my technique, and learn as much about music as I can as long as I still breathe. The idea that if I'm lucky, I have that much time to reach my goals gives me hope.

It has also been suggested that some of the physical impediments associated with the aging process can lead to benefits. When we start to lose certain auditory and visual functions, some say that are abilities in other areas can become more acute. In Musicophelia Tales of Music and the Brain, author Oliver Sacks uses Beethoven in his discussion of brain imagery. Although Beethoven is an extreme and singular example, the fact that he composed many of his greatest masterpieces well after he had lost all use of his hearing faculties, supports the idea that some age related sensory deficits can lead to positive outcomes. Sacks suggests that the complexity of Beethovenʼs later works was directly related to his loss of hearing and subsequent enhanced ability to visualize his compositions.

I've recently written a paper for my Basic Concepts in Music Education class on the subject of adults and their abilities to continue to learn new skills well into their eighties. I'm very interested in this area primarily because of my own experiences in teaching adults the joys of cello. Also, I recently read the autobiography of John Holt entitled Its Never To Late based on his experiences learning music much later in life. In his case, he started learning cello in his forties, but didn't start to take it seriously until he was well into his fifties. By taking it seriously, I mean he made it his priority and dedicated 4 to 5 hours a day on practice alone. I know some professional musicians who are not that dedicated to their instruments.

Research and understanding into the intricacies of the adult learning process has been extremely limited, subject to past misconceptions about the capacity of the adult brain to continue the learning process well into the later stages of life. Only recently has more of an effort been made to understand the implications of continuing education in the aging brain. Much research has reflected the idea that learning new skills as we age has untold benefits. For example, now scientists are able to prove that we are constantly growing new neurons and that learning new skills could potentially prevent the death of these new neurons. Although the idea that an active brain is the key to a longer, more fulfilling life is nothing new, scientists are just beginning to understand the implications.

One aspect of learning all these new programs and techniques such as Gif builder, Photoshop, Audacity, Finale, and Flash is the amount of time it usually takes me to complete certain projects and figure things out. While I know that this is all part of the process, and I will most likely come out better for having spent the time, it can be frustrating. It's always some tiny detail like a missing symbol in my html code, or a misspelled title that tends to trip me up. Also, I get tired of constantly having to re-upload into the new public file every time I need to change one small thing. I look forward to working with Dreamweaver in the future, at which time I will surely appreciate the fact that I understand the HTML code. Despite these small frustrations I'm truly enjoying the artistic aspect to the class. I have always loved painting, sculpture and any craft I could get my hand on. These new techniques give me a whole new medium with which to work.

I have found the iphone to be a surprisingly creative outlet. My favorite apps are sketches and the ocarina. The first time I tried sketches, I couldn't believe the amount of detail it allowed me to create with a fingertip. What an amazing little device.

I am still uncomfortable with the idea of putting my thoughts out in the open where anyone can read them. I am an extremely private person. However, with that said, the skills that I've learned in this music tech class have definitely allowed me to open up and make more connections. This has been a surprise, since I used to think that technology was creating distance between people. Meeting someone face to face has become less and less necessary. I still feel that each new generation is lacking in basic people skills that allow us to empathize with other human beings. There is much to be said for connecting facial expressions with speech pattern and tone of voice. It's enough to keep a person up at night! But these thoughts don't worry me as much as they used to.

Taking this class has really forced me to become more comfortable with technology and it's infinite possibilities. I also find myself reaching out to friends that I haven't talked to in quite some time. My new iphone and laptop are especially handy for email and texting throughout the day. I'm sure admitting that I was that technologically inept makes me sound ridiculous, but I could care less. I take pride in showing my tech assignments to friends and family and watching their surprised expressions. Surprise, because I've learned to to things that they have never done. I look forward to continuing my technological journey. I still don't think of myself as the kind of person who will ever enjoy facebook or twitter, but you never know.