Project+3


 * "How to" Genre Analysis**

The "How-to" genre is not a difficult genre to understand and can range from how to cook a simple dinner to how to go about building your own computer. The genre follows specific guidelines and no matter how difficult the task the writer goes step by step explaining the process to the reader. //While many readers may think// that when writing a "How to" wiki all the author must do is go into extreme detail regarding the subject, this is incorrect. The author of the wiki only has to describe what they see fit to put in the wiki and it is up to their discretion for what they feel they want to include in the guide.

One of the main things I noticed about any good "How-to" guide is that it has an easy, understandable title. The title tells the reader right off the bat what they will be explaining how to do and will either intrigue the reader or turn them away. Another important inclusion in the "How-to" genre is that the author states each process in a step-by-step process that is very easy to follow and allows the reader to follow along with their guide and in the end succeed at the process being described. While we all use the “How-to” process seamlessly in our lives almost every day, it goes unnoticed and we almost forget that it was a guide or another source and not our own intelligence that helped us achieve our goal.

//[A source would strengthen your points and focus your genre analysis]//


 * Audience:**

The audience of this wiki is for anyone and everyone. Anybody young or old who would be interested as to how to learn to play the piano and the steps involved with learning to play. This wiki fits the audience because the word choice is not too complicated and the facts and information given are very easy to understand. This wiki meets the direct needs of the audience by describing from the very start of the process all the way until the end where the reader can then feel left with a sense of understanding and preparation of what to do next.

//[Can you narrow the audience?]//


 * "How-to" Wiki - How to Play Piano**

When one wants to learn how to play the piano or any instrument for that matter it is a long, rigorous process that will take years to accomplish; and even when the goal is accomplished there is still much to learn. //While a complete guide to all piano knowledge and understanding what coincides with every bit of music is near impossible//, there are many basic steps and processes that can be taken to ensure that anyone can learn piano if they put in the time and effort. Through the combined efforts of practice, passion and time, anyone is capable of learning the piano and containing this life skill forever.

The first step that any potential player must undergo is that they must first have the desire and the passion to learn piano. There are a multitude of instruments in the world and so the piano may not be the perfect fit for someone. When it comes to learning to play piano the student must first have the drive to want to play the instrument for hours and not get bored or annoyed. Many sources agree and there is a general consensus that before any person can even begin to contemplate learning the piano and undergoing the long process, “the beginning student must enjoy playing” (lofthouse.com). If they first possess this trait, and playing the piano and learning all of its complicated chords and notes sounds interesting to them, they can then move on to the next step and begin the actual process of learning to play.

When anyone first decides to play the piano there are many ways that they can learn the skill. One viable option is to take lessons from an experienced teacher. If the student takes this route they will usually meet with the teacher once or twice a week and practice their technique or learn the basics of the piano. The teacher will usually have a set curriculum that allows the student to slowly progress and learn increasingly difficult pieces and techniques until either the student quits or until they decide they are good enough to not require lessons any longer. Another option is for the students to try and teach themselves using the numerous materials such as videos that can be found online or lessons books that help the student progress through several chapters using step-by-step processes. This path is very difficult and “you do have your work cut out for you” (wikihow.com), however if this type of learning fits the student best they can do it. The student should choose whichever process is best for them and there is nothing wrong with testing various methods to find which one works best for the specific individual.

If the beginning student has no background knowledge of music whatsoever, then they must first learn the basic notes on the piano. The piano consists of seven basic notes from A to G and these notes repeat on a scale up the piano. The basic note on every piano is the “middle C” note and is the first place that most beginners will start. No matter if the student is being taught or is teaching him or herself, there is always a basic jumping off point that the student must begin at. While I will not go into detail of all the musical theory involved in first learning to play the piano, the student should definitely prepare themselves mentally for all of the new concepts they will be forced to learn and comprehend.

//After the students achieve the most basic understanding of the notes// on the piano, depending on the process at which they are being taught, the way they learn to play can branch off to many different areas. While many teachers will guide you along the path of simply playing the notes and “playing one note after another, and keep going” (playpianotonight.com); many lesson books will teach music theory and will have the learner focus on understanding how all music flows before they even begin to touch the keys. The student will can find countless books that teach them the most elementary parts of music theory such as, “the staff is the foundation upon which notes are drawn” (musictheory.net). The way that the student learns to play and the path that they choose will greatly impact how they play further down the road and what their playing style will be. Yet a choice must be made and no matter what the choice, the player will never be worse off, so it is really up to their personal preference and what they find the most interesting.

Once the student has learned many of the basics of playing they must begin to learn songs. This proves to be one of the hardest steps to accomplish because learning a song exactly how it is written is no easy task. The learner will need to sit down with the sheet music and “learn the music one measure at a time” (Brooks). This is a painstaking process, which can even cause the most experienced pianists to get very upset. If the learner has the time and patience to really sit down and practice a song over and over again they will see a drastic advance in their ability to play. The more that any pianist plays songs and the more they challenge themselves with harder pieces of music, the faster they will become great at playing.

//This leads to the// final important step for anyone who dreams of becoming a great piano player someday. It is the requirement for almost anything in this world that requires skill and that is practice. The student must set aside at least a little time each day to practice the piano and to learn a song or a new piece of music theory. //By doing so// the student furthers his or her knowledge in music as well as becomes more comfortable with the piano and the feel of the keys. By practicing the piano every day it is only a matter of time before the student is not longer a student and is able to play the piano with ease and is on their way to becoming a rock star!


 * Work Cited: **

NEW

wikihow.com

http://pianoadventures.com/

http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/47/3/198.short (scholarly) cite as book

Adams, Ricci. //Musictheory.net//. Creative Commons Attributions, n.d. 8 November 2010. < http://www.musictheory.net/>. Web. Worthy, Ron. //Play Piano Tonight.// n.p. n.d. Web. 8 November 2010. < http://playpianotonight.com/index.html>. Brooks, Terje. “5 Simple Steps to Learn How to Play the Piano.” //Searchwarp.com.// IcoLogic Inc. n.d. Mon. 8 Nov. 2010. .

“How to Play the Piano.” //Wikihow.com.// n.p. 6 Nov. 2010. Web. 8 Nov. 2010. < http://www.wikihow.com/Play-the-Piano>. .

http://mej.sagepub.com/content/16/4/103.5.extract (scholarly)

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zbT_8_ucNBgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=playing+the+piano&ots=1pXr4Raf6G&sig=E6klsp7uvdHHvK5Y441HBCBJVDc#v=onepage&q&f=false (scholarly)

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=100000000000000&q=learning+beginning+piano

Source for all piano stuff/ beginning piano above

//Chris,// //First, scholarly source? And you may want to clean up the works cited section, the formatting is a little messy. Furthermore, do you think that playing the piano might be too broad a topic? Can you narrow it to a specific type of piano guide (like a beginner's guide)? Finally, you really should have a source to support your arguments in the mini genre-analysis. --Deome//

Zach Lecomte Assignment--Great

+ Used the amount of sources required

+ Used template from TSIS

+ Followed the criteria

Focus--Great

+ Developed main point and stuck with it throughout the paper.

+High level vocabulary

+Information was relevant to topic.

Organization--Good

+Correct format

+Great introduction

-A few similar words used in consecutive sentences.

Support--Great

+Supported your information with the use of quotes.

+Research looks reliable, and you seem to know your pianos.

Proofreading--Needs Work

+Good use of vocabulary

+For the most part everything flows well.

-A few misspelled words

-Some run on sentences

- Chris, I enjoyed this paper and learned a lot from it. You had a lot of great descriptions on how someone would get into playing the piano and what to do if they were interested. The only thing that needs work is a fixing a few misspelled words, repetition of the word great in three consecutive sentences, and some added commas or periods. Other then that great job!

Assignment- You did a great job with the assignment Chris. You stuck to the "how to" theme through out your paper and you can tell that you put a lot of work into it.

Focus- Stayed on topic through out paper. The information you gave was very relevant and fit well with the theme of your paper.

Organization- Good job with organizing this paper in a way that makes it easy to read. It flows nicely and you used good transition words.

Support - Supported you ideas with quotes. Also did a great job setting up the quotes the right way instead of just putting them in the paper. Good job citing your sources at the end of your paper.

Proofreading- I found a few grammatical errors but other than that I thought the paper was great

Good Job! - Chelsea McLean