New year, new ideas! A good friend and I have started a Knowledge Exchange: Our goal is to meet up once a week for one hour to learn from each other. My friend is an amazing Opera singer and I have always loved to sing and have toyed with the idea of getting a professional teacher before. She on the other hand is interested in perfecting her German. Even though I am not a German teacher, I grew up in Germany (for the most part) and therefore speak German.
We are planning to do a half an hour German lesson and then half an hour singing lesson every week. (not Opera, I just want to be able to sing while playing my ukulele). We hang out at least once a week anyway, so it doesn't really cut into our schedules.
Even though the idea in itself is not new, my interest got sparked when I heard about Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, who had a friend who was an artist. Inspired by a mutual admiration for Leonardo DaVinci, they'd get together every Sunday for eight years and by the end of it, the physicist was a much better artist than most people and the artist was a much better physicist than others. Even though, just like Richard Feynman, I have no aspirations of ever being a singer, I am very intrigued by singing and if all I get out of this is thirty minutes of fun once a week, I'll be a happier person.
If you know someone who has a talent that you would like to get better at, I highly recommend you partner up with them. It's a really fun (and inexpensive) way to learn. If you don't, maybe put up an ad on Craigslist or just at your local supermarket saying what knowledge you have to offer and what subjects you are interested in.
Have you ever done a Knowledge Exchange? What did you learn from it?
That's a really neat idea! I sing a lot and can tell you that you will love it. It's really fun once you learn the proper technique so you don't harm you vocal chords, which is what she will teach you. I remember the exact moment that I first sang properly and it is so cool. Then your body becomes a beautiful instrument. I look forward to reading about your experience.
ReplyDeletethis is the first i'm hearing about it. i think it's awesome.
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Happy New year Vanessa.
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That's a fantastic idea...I think everyone should do this on a regular basis, it's great to keep the mind learning new things. Good luck to you with it. I need to learn something new :)) Have a wonderful weekend xx
ReplyDeleteSuch a simple, yet clever idea. No of us should ever stop learning, and what better way to learn!
ReplyDeletehttp://iliska-dreams.blogspot.com.au/
Nice idea! Once I had a "Knowledge Exchange" with a Japanese student. I was learning Japanese and she was learning English. If I live nearby you, I'd love to do a "Knowledge Exchange" with you.. I'd love to know how to act + make a movie. You can learn anything you wish from me :-)
ReplyDeleteWe should do it via Skype! :)
Deletethis is a good idea! I really want to learn Korean, Japanese, and German. it's so hard though!
ReplyDeleteno, i've never done a knowledge exchange. i hadn't even heard of it before, until i read this post. i hope you might share some of your singing or ukulele playing, if you feel like it, dear vanessa. :)
ReplyDeletesehr sehr sehr geniale Idee, ich hab wie ich nach Spanien gezogen bin anfangs sehr oft language exchange gemacht aber mit anderen Talenten ist das sicher gleich noch spannender!
ReplyDeletewünsch dir auch alles gute für 2013, aber das kann einfach nur ein gutes Jahr werden;)
kiss,mary
http://www.maryloucinnamon.com/
I had never heard of this "concept" before, but it sounds very interesting! I would very much like to be kept posted on how it goes ;) And I didn't knew you played the ukulele!? That's such a fun instrument that has recently gained A LOT of popularity. In Belgium, we have a TV show that ends with a girl playing the ukulele every time and she sings a poem about a certain subject. I'd show you, but I can't find a fragment online and even if I could, she sings in Dutch :( x
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful idea and time to spend with each other. I'd love to master Italian one day. I grew up visiting my grans in Munich a lot!Ich wünsche dir ein wunderbares neues Jahr :) /Madison
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! Hope 2013 is great for you :)
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a good idea! Great way to learn something new and have someone who understands it teach you awell! I might see if any of my friends want to try this, thanks for the idea!
Saadiya x
www.thatgirlsaadiya.blogspot.com
This is the futuristic idea, without exchange of money !
ReplyDeleteI wish you a beautiful 2013 !
http://selenite.weebly.com
Daaankö and happy new year... :P bin ein bissi spät dran...
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of it, but what a marvelous idea! I always wanted to learn German better (I know a little, because my grandmother was German and used to speak it to me). Singing lessons are fun - best wishes with them :) xo Marisa
ReplyDeletei love your goal! i would love to speak german. and the drawing too. super cute! thanks for the comment. :)
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DeleteI never thought about that. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm in a mastermind group, have you heard of those? You basically meet up (virtually is also possible) every week, discuss your goals, your progress, get feedback and set goals for the new week. If that sounds like something you'd like to try, check out this guide: http://www.sensophy.com/how-to-start-a-mastermind-group/
I really love this idea - there is so much we can learn from our friends and family but it is so easy to never think to ask!
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