On March 22nd, I am submitting a final documentation of my musical journey.

As you know, I have been teaching myself Riptide by Vance Joy this semester and it has been a bit of a tricky endeavor.  I struggled a lot in the beginning with the different strumming patterns and the rapid chord changes, but have improved a lot since then. Unfortunately, the time I felt the most confident with this song so far, was right when the risk of COVID-19 in Canada (and specifically BC) was becoming an increasingly alarming concern. As classes transitioned online, final projects were adapted, and everyday life, in general, was altered, my progressions with the ukulele were briefly put on pause. Despite having had extra time to spend around my house,  I was distracted by my roommates moving back home, packing up the house we’ve been renting, and then packing my own things and traveling back home as well. I have now been home in Penticton for a day and attempted Riptide for about 30 minutes. I’m hoping it starts coming back to me more, but at the moment, I feel as though I am retraining my hands, fingers, and brain to play certain parts of the song. Knowing now that I definitely need some extra practice, I am dedicating a portion of each of the following few days to practice Riptide in the hopes that I’ll be able to play to the best of my ability on March 26th.

On a closing note, I have to include my disappointment that classes were canceled for the remainder of the semester. I was so looking forward to our class’s end of the year music party, and I greatly valued being able to turn to my fellow ukulele-playing-peers so easily for tips and advice… Life goes on though, and I am managing alright on my own now.

Thank you Anita for a great semester, I am going to miss music class next year!