My Experience at University of Wisconsin-Madison

My Experience at University of Wisconsin-Madison The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Cheyenne earned a bachelors degree in communications from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015. She currently specializes in French tutoring, Spanish tutoring, math tutoring, and other subjects. Read on to see what she had to say about her time at University of Wisconsin-Madison: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Cheyenne: The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a college town. You know once you hit campus, because you can spot the hundreds of students walking on the sidewalks and crossing the streets during passing time. Campus is very much its own town and is separated from the rest of the city of Madison. It has a clean, urban feel, and is very much walker and biker friendly. Most students do not have a car and walk to class. During winter, students use the bus, as every student receives a free bus pass for the school year. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants at University of Wisconsin-Madison? Cheyenne: The professors are very much available, as long as you are willing to go to office hours. It is up to the student to take the initiative to meet with the professor and get the help that they need. This is also a good way to build relationships with professors who can write recommendation letters or be used as references in the future. TAs are very friendly and usually appreciate when students come to them for help. I would advise anyone to make an effort to ask their TA questions during office hours to understand the material. Sometimes, TAs and professors even offer good tips for test material. As for academic advisors, they are very willing and available to meet with students. Some departments even require students to meet with their assigned advisor before they can register for classes. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Cheyenne: The dorms are a great place for freshmen to start their college years. It introduces living on your own in a subtle and comfortable environment. Chadbourne has a dining hall in the dorm and others like Sellery and Witte are next door to Gordon Commons, which is a really nice dining hall. There are the lakeshore dorms, including DeJope and Liz Waters, which have a much more quiet feel overlook the lake. Then there are urban dorms, including Chadbourne, Sellery, Witte, which are close to State Street where most of the nightlife lives. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported at University of Wisconsin-Madison? Cheyenne: Business, Engineering, and the sciences are very much supported at UW-Madison. I studied Communications - Radio, TV, Film because I am interested in the entertainment industry. This major introduced me to film and radio production as well as film history. The department has various clubs that support Communication Arts majors to provide internship and networking opportunities. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Cheyenne: Living in the dorms made meeting people very easy, since most people have roommates and most dorms offer activities for students. The student organization fair, held once each semester, is another great way to meet people who share your same interests. Greek life does play a significant role on campus. There is an entire street of Greek houses, so there is likely a house that fits your interests. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services at University of Wisconsin-Madison? Cheyenne: The Career Center is awesome for learning how to draft resumes, prep for interviews, and even find job opportunities. Most departments have an advisor specific to each major and can offer more tailored help to students in the arts or in the business field. There are countless well-known companies that recruit on campus, especially for business majors. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Cheyenne: It depends on what kind of study environment you are looking for. Libraries like Memorial Library, Steenbok, and Wendt are good for serious studying if you need peace and quiet, since they have floors dedicated to silent study. College and Memorial Union and Union South are good locations for group studying. It can get pretty loud sometimes, especially in the unions if there is an event or conference going on. Id recommend dorm lounges for those living in the dorms, because they are usually quiet and not very crowded. Describe the surrounding town. Cheyenne: Madison is a beautiful city. It sits on two lakes Lake Monona and Lake Mendota. The capital is the tallest building in the city so you get to take in its beauty just about anywhere you are in Madison. On Saturday mornings, you can adventure to the capitol square and enjoy the farmers market. Their spicy cheese bread is unbelievable and is a must try. Most students stay on campus because thats where most of the entertainment is; restaurants, shopping, and concerts are always going on around the capitol square. State Street has about every type of cuisine you could imagine, from Afghan to Thai to Peruvian, as well as specialty shops where you could spend the entire day. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Cheyenne: The students body is pretty big close to 50,000 students. During freshman and sophomore years, many of the lectures seat up to 500 students. These include general education courses, which every student has to take. In these big lectures, however, you also are assigned to a discussion section which has about 20 students, so you wont get lost in the sea of students. I liked that we had discussion sections because it helped reinforce the material and allowed me to ask my TA questions. Also, as you get to more major-specific courses, your class size shrinks. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Cheyenne: One of my favorite memories was when I went to office hours for my film production course. I was having a difficult time understanding some of the concepts. I was a bit intimidated to go in, but it ended up being really rewarding because he not only helped me understand, but also gave me tips about the exam! He ended up being one of my favorite professors who wrote me recommendation letters when I was applying for internships. Check out Cheyennes tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

How to excel at learning to play the piano

How to excel at learning to play the piano The Top 5 Tips for becoming a Pianist ChaptersOur first advice for learning to play the pianoHow to learn to play the pianoIs it necessary to learn solfege to play the piano?What are the basic piano chords?How to learn piano scalesLearning to play the piano is far from straightforward.All aspects of piano training â€" solfege, reading sheet music, posture, dexterity, head-hands-feet coordination, method â€" are difficult, technical and process-driven.Although certain student pianists learn quicker than others (remember, we don’t all have the same cognitive and musical predispositions), all beginner pianists go through the same phase of feeling handicapped at the keyboard!To become a fluid player and feel at ease with your piano, you must be motivated, determined, perseverant and strict, while also taking pleasure from playing those piano chords and arpeggios!Here, Superprof presents you with 5 steps to remember as you learn to play piano. You’ll be playing like Mozart in no time! LouisPiano Teacher £40/h1st lesson f ree!Discover all our tutors AlisonPiano Teacher £32/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ErenPiano Teacher 5.00 (6) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors BarbaraPiano Teacher £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Chi yuenPiano Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TomPiano Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValtiePiano Teacher £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DanielPiano Teacher 5.00 (5) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsOur first advice for learning to play the pianoBefore you even touch those keys, you must adopt proper posture for piano playing.Learning proper posture is key to becoming a true pianist.Body postureFirst,  sit in the middle of the keyboard, where the middle octaves are found. Your main benchmark for positioning your left hand is the middle C. Make sure your seat or piano stool is at the right height: not too high or low.The classic posture taught to every beginner pianist to play the piano correctly is as follows:Your elbows: they should be at the same height as the keyboard.Sit on a bench: better than a chair, a bench will allow you to move yourself easily from side to side, towards the low notes or the high notes, whatever the piano song calls for!Your back: it must be straight and not curved forward.Your shoulders: they must be lightly behind you to avoid pain, open up your thorax and allow for easy breathing while you play.Your hands: your 10 fingers should be slightly bent, so that they press the keys with the tip of the phalanx, almost at the nail.The palm of your hand should be somewhat lifted, which will give each hand speed, range and fluidity.Your feet should be placed firmly on the floor, in parallel to each other.To learn to play the piano, begin by playing the keys separately and lightly. Generally, the key of F is played with the left hand (the 5 lines at the bottom of each measure) and the key of G with the right hand.Play the rhythm sep arately from the melody.When you play a piano piece, try to avoid mixing up the steps, and play a song at the speed noted in your sheet music. This will mean that:Your brain will memorize the chord sequences correctlyYou will improve your dexterityYour technique and fingering will get betterYou’ll understand the piece’s nuances, and make it your own!So progressively increase the tempo as you attain a more advanced level. Remember that if you are taking piano lessons, your piano teacher should be guiding you and giving you all these directions.Can you play with small hands?Some people who aren’t blessed with big hands consider themselves unable to play the piano and believe that their physique is incompatible with the keyboard. The same goes for those who think their fingers are too fat for guitar playing. These two misconceptions are excuses! All you have to do is take a glance at the hands of jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani to see that this argument doesn’t hold!Hand size o r finger length and width won’t affect the playing quality of the pianist.  What’s more, having small hands will help you do those chromatic movements (C-C#-D)!Now that you know the right positions, let’s move on to the question of piano courses: can you learn by yourself or are piano lessons necessary?How to learn to play the pianoTeaching yourself, taking private lessons, attending music school, playing on the internet, learning with friends… everything is possible depending on your way of working, your budget and your music experience and level.Teach yourself the piano: it's difficult but possible!Teach yourself to play the pianoIf you are reticent about taking a piano class and prefer to do it on your own for whatever reason, you’ll need to assemble a bunch of resources:A metronomeA manual for beginner pianoA music theory manual to learn solfegeA book of sheet music for absolute beginnersA lot of determination and willThe big advantage of creating a beginner piano meth od when one is self-taught is that one learns to read notes by producing automatic reflexes.A metronome can help you keep time.As you progress you may need to:Purchase more learning materials that correspond to your levelDownload free piano music on the internet to learn to read musicLook at piano tutorials on Youtube and DailymotionConsult online piano coursesTrain yourself to play a song that you hear: this will improve your musical ear and help you play by earBut everything has its downside. Here are some disadvantages to teaching yourself to play the piano as opposed to taking a piano lesson:You aren’t structured or supervised, so no one will correct your errorsYour solfege attempts wont be listened to by a professionalYou risk taking up bad habitsThe risk of frustration and discouragement is higherIt’s therefore possible to learn the piano alone, but you don’t have the best chances on your side. Taking music classes is the preferred means of learning and making regular pr ogress on the keyboard.Take piano lessons with an instructorYour private piano teacher will provide a structure for learning, while observing and encouraging you. He or she will teach you how to surmount challenges, something that may also benefit other situations in your daily life! Piano classes are an exchange of positive energy and music appreciation that feed the beginner piano player’s motivation.Different formulas are at your disposal: private lessons (like the ones you’d book at Superprof, for example), a music school or a conservatory for higher education students.And since you’ll be spending a lot of time with your piano teacher, at least an hour per week depending on the method you choose, it’s very important that you get along with one another. So choose a teacher who corresponds to your personality and objectives. And if you don’t find the right match at first, try again!I found my ideal music teacher on Superprof, after several fruitless Internet searches for piano lessons London.Finding the right piano teacher is the key to learning piano. LouisPiano Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlisonPiano Teacher £32/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ErenPiano Teacher 5.00 (6) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors BarbaraPiano Teacher £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Chi yuenPiano Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TomPiano Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValtiePiano Teacher £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DanielPiano Teacher 5.00 (5) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsIs it necessary to learn solfege to play the piano?Contrary to what countless frustrated students think, solfege is not just an evil game devised by piano instructors.It’s a language one must master, and it works for all musical instruments. With solfege you’ll be able to read a piece of sheet music just as you would a novel.Solfege training is a fundam ental aspect of piano lessons: 15 minutes of solfege often precedes playing, as it’s the basis for reading, playing, arranging and composing music.So when and how should you learn solfege?Learn solfege as a child: children learn new things faster than adultsPractice solfege exercises throughout your lesson: at the beginning, a little in the middle and again at the end.Learn solfege to distinguish between different rhythmsSolfege will improve your global understanding of musicMastering solfege will boost your self confidence when you playIf you are comfortable with solfege, you’ll be able to learn other instruments much faster and easier.Learning solfege allows you to truly understand music and speeds up your overall training!What are the basic piano chords?A piano has 88 keys. That’s right, Beethoven’s favorite instrument has 52 white keys and 36 black keys.While we’re on the subject, perhaps you want to know the main piano chords? Why spend time working on all the chords if you’re an amateur pianist who is learning piano songs for beginners? Mary had a little lamb, anyone?The 4 main piano  chords are:A minorC majorF majorG majorAll you need to know to get your first record deal with Universal! Well almost…How to learn piano scalesAll beginner musicians, whether they are pianists, guitarists, or…, must ceaselessly repeat their scales to begin to master their ear training become more advanced.For the piano, this often means repeating the C scale: do-ré-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do-si-la-sol-fa-mi-ré-do and again… and again… and again. We do this for two reasons:So that the musician will automatically recognize the proper sounds of each note.To work on finger placement and movement.The major piano scales are:Scale of C major,Scale of D major,Scale of E major,Scale of F major,Scale of G major, etc…A piano has 88 keys.And while we’re on the subject, the minor scales are: the natural minor scale, harmonic minor scale, ascending melodic minor scale a nd the descending melodic minor scale! You’ll need to learn all these piano basics before you can think about things like chord progressions and improvisation!You’ll also have to think about what music style you want to play. There are different methods for classical piano and others for jazz piano, for example. Or what about blues, pop-rock or variety piano? In every case, you must work with regularity, being even stricter with yourself if you are self-taught! If you are taking piano lessons, tell your music instructor what songs you’d like to play and he or she will guide you on the best method to use to get there.You’ve now mastered your posture, read sheet music, and learned some piano chords and scales. Time to play piano!