During the national lockdown, I was inclined towards playing more video games due to boredom. When I realized this, I decided to do something creative in order to use my energy and develop my skills. Hence, I decided to learn a musical instrument. As I had already learned a little keyboard when I was a kid, it was easier for me to learn something new. I watched YouTube tutorials to learn new classical piano songs on my old keyboard and after a lot of practise, I started to play decent music. This really excited me as I could play some really good classical songs in front of my family and would get applauded. Playing the keyboard also helped me get instantly calmer and stress-free when I had a lot of work. In this experience, I demonstrated :

LO2 : Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Learning a new instrument is challenging and requires a lot of practise. The initial challenge was to play the keys with both hands at the same time. Slowly, the issue became reaching the next key almost instantly and then increasing the overall speed of the entire song. This also tested my ability to remember the keys and improved my finger flexibility.

LO3 : Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

It was important for me to organize myself before I start learning by placing my device to play YouTube at a visible place and practise. I planned this entire experience by first learning some basic theory and then implementing it with some basic songs. Gradually, I started learning more challenging songs which required the use of both of my hands and with higher speeds. This gradual increase in difficulty level helped me expand my capabilities.

LO4 :  Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Despite all my long-term plans and objectives, the most important factor of this experience’s success was determination and perseverance. Learning a new instrument was similar to learning a new language, it didn’t happen overnight but rather required hours of practise. Gradually with the rising difficulty, my proficiency in the instrument got better exponentially.

Overall, this experience was truly amazing. I showcased the learner profile attributes : reflective and balanced, as I reflected my strengths and weaknesses and worked upon the same for weeks and also allotted specific time slots apart from studying and sports to run the creative side of my mind.