Inquiry reflection

My inquiry project this semester surrounded the idea of me learning my favourite song, Shake the Frost by Tyler Childers on the guitar. I chose to learn the for two reasons, firstly it seemed like an easy option since I’ve had a unused guitar sitting in my room for months and secondly because I wanted to expand my creativity and knowledge and learn a chill that I could actually use in my future classroom. Over the last 8-10 weeks I’ve pushed myself to learn many different songs and create Tik Tok videos which I have shared publicly on my account for all to enjoy.

My starting point was zero, I had never picked up a guitar, but I was very excited. I’ve known many people who play guitar and have taught themselves as well so I was motivated by there past experiences. I thought to myself “How hard can it be”. Oh boy I wrong. The song I chose was not beginner friendly so I had to pivot, after working on it for a couple weeks I decided to focus on basics and songs with easier chords and progression. I found youtube videos the most useful and beginner friendly. I worked on basic strumming patterns then moved up to two songs with easy chords; Just In Case by Morgan Wallen and Weren’t for the Wind by Ella Langley. In addition to song challenges I also struggled with the physical aspect of playing. My finger often got really sore after only 10 minutes of playing due to holding down the chords and I had trouble positioning my hand correctly to hold. Once I switched up the songs and practiced more often it became easier and I also became way more motivated to play. Learning a instrument comes with time and the biggest thing I learned was that I need to be patient to see results. I won’t master a song in a week, maybe not even in three. The important part is to keep showing up.

By watching my videos you can see that I have progressed a decent amount in the short time I was given. It became something I looked forward to every week and my friends would reach out to me asking when my next guitar video was going to be posted. I received so much support that my time on the guitar became a highlight. Tik Tok as a platform allowed me to share and receive feedback from others, I even got a comment from a random person suggesting a different way to hold my guitar pick which helped me so such more the next week. This is a great example of how technology and even social media at times can foster relationships that do good.

I had so much fun this semester and I can’t wait to keep pursuing this learning journey so that one day I can play guitar in my classroom with my future students. To watch my videos on Tik Tok, they can be found on my account tala.kopeck.