For my CIP, I took individual lessons on the koto, doing 1-on-1 sessions for an hour every week. We praticed the basics of actually playing the instrument, before focusing in on a few songs that would be performed at the last lesson as a “concert”!

The instrument itself was really fun (and nice to listen to), but long sessions did sometimes make my hand cramp up. I kept at it, though, and eventually reached a point where I was playing along with another instrument in practice for that concert. I even got a beginner’s certification at the end!

I was initially really scared to start this, because I had had almost zero experience with real-world formal situations and was afraid I’d say the wrong thing or do something rude, but interacting with my teacher over the weeks helped me realize that it’s not all that serious – these people are just like you, and there’s no reason to let that scare you away!