Integrated Assignment

I also performed two other song pieces, which were also themed on love. They were 'How do I live' written by Diane Warren and ' Hero' by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff. I felt that I sang 'How do I live' well on the whole however, I could have done better. As I could have practised the higher note in the chorus of this song a little more. This way I would have been more comfortable when it came to the higher notes. I think this piece of music works well because it has a lot of key changes in it. It also contains fluent melodies with balled tempos. The effect of this is that it shows that it is a complex song and it works well when it is sung. My third performance piece 'Hero', also went well and the style of the song worked well with the piano. The different key changes made the song stronger and contributed to its success.

All three of the songs have something in common as they have they have the same mood and they express a lot of emotions and feelings in the songs. 'How do I live' is about a woman who expresses her feelings about how she can't survive without her love (fiancée/partner). 'Wind beneath my wings' is also about a woman who is looking back in a part her life and is thinking of those who cared and loved for her when she needed them. 'Hero' is again a woman who expresses her love towards her 'Hero'. All of these songs are based mostly on love and the historical context does not affect the way the pieces are performed. They are also similar as they are performed at a slow beat, which allowed me to use my voice to have more of an impact in the songs. It also allowed me to have a steady control in my breathing when I sang. Each song also has a key change to the chorus, which emphasises the genre more, and the music is accompanied by the piano in all three songs.

However, the songs do differ as longer notes are used in 'How do I live' and in 'Wind beneath my wings'. This adds a series of complementary dynamics to both of the pieces. 'Hero' has longer verses than the other two pieces that I have performed and 'Wind beneath my wings' has the shortest verses when compared to the other songs. The beat for 'How do I live' is faster than the other two pieces, which I had performed. Out of the three performances 'Wind beneath my wings' is slightly slower but is effective because the song has an individual melody which sustains the throughout the song. The piano also helps as the strong uses of chords are used to put across dramatic feelings.

I think that all the three songs had an intention as to been performed as they are, because each song has got love in it. So without love and passion the composers wouldn't have been able to write the song with a message in them and express affection. Maybe they got the ideas from what has happened to family or friends, even strangers in real life. They all have the same motive to deliver the theme about love.

Overall I performed the pieces well as I tried to use a lot of expression and confidence to determine the feel of the song. I felt by using a piano for accompaniment to my voice worked well as I was able to add more expression to the songs. I maintained a steady pace, which was successful on the whole. I have learnt that breathing control plays a major part in each song that I performed. However, I could have improved my performance pieces by maybe adding other instruments, for example a drum kit for more effect as well as a guitar or maybe a violin to express more emotion.

Sabrina Bagria