I have now focused my efforts acutely on my final goal of learning “He’s a Pirate“, the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean. This was the original goal I set back in September, and although I took the option to switch goals to something a little more attainable after the mid term, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling of determination to learn to play this song. It is more technical than any piece I have played before, requiring me to use of all 4 of my fingers on the neck, and to bow on all of the strings. In the past I have only used 3 of my fingers to play songs learned by ear, and only learned to read music involving playing wth one finger. The sheet music I am reading from for this song has features such as slurs, dotted minims, and all sorts of notes and rests. I have taken my time to work through this music, researching what I haven’t yet learned so that I can now confidently interpret it. One of the fundamental things I had to understand was the low and high positions of the fingers, which I had just begun to cover in the last post. After a bit more research on youtube and flipping ahead in my violin instruction book, I now understand the relationship between upper and lower finger positions and the notes they produce. Furthermore, I have just figured out how to read them on a staff. To explain, this picture is taken from the “He’s a Pirate” sheet music(insert pic of time sig with flat on the b line) The flat symbol on the B line of the time signature tells me that the B note that will be played in this measure will be flat. When translated to the neck of the violin, this note is played in the lower 1st finger on the A string, rather than on the regular or upper 1st finger position, which would produce a B note. This picture helps to explain my learning. This is just one of the things I have learned in my attempts to play this song.

In attempts to diversify my learning methods, and to incorporate technology into my inquiry, I decided to use Youtube as a resource to help me learn this song. In all honesty, I would find it very challenging to play the song without having these incredible videos to refer to. There are many different interpretations and versions of He’s a Pirate, but I decided to choose a version that seems challenging, but just enough that I may still be able to pull it off. The only sheet music I have found for this version is included in this youtube video, which has also made it easier to read the notes. Moreover, I found a correlating tutorial video that has helped me to conceptualize and understand the more complex fingering involved. It is important to note that I have chosen to play this song at half its regular speed to make it more suitable for a beginner, however, it remains recognizable. Playing this song perfectly and without making any mistakes is optimal, however it was never stipulated in my learning goal. Having learned the skills to play it well enough that it is recognizable and pleasant sounding is my intention.