This essay describes how I have worked towards and performed four pieces of practical work using all three art forms. (Drama, dance, music, and a final piece that is a mixture of all three arts

Lee Rowlett Performance studies This essay describes how I have worked towards and performed four pieces of practical work using all three art forms. (Drama, dance, music, and a final piece that is a mixture of all three arts). Each piece must be three minutes long and we have around two months to improvise, rehearse and perform the four pieces. We were given five 'key words' to follow as a sort of guide line for our pieces. There was a different set of guide lines for each art form. These consist of... Music - rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture. Dance - motif, action, relationships, dynamics, space. Drama - dialogue,1 characterisation, physicality, proxemics, tension. These fifteen rules do interconnect between the arts which I will explain during this essay. We started our performance studies classes by learning about and experimenting with improvisation as well as learning about the five rules for each of the arts. We then began to look for the five rules in our dance / musical / drama pieces. We experimented with the five rules in our improvised pieces and all so broke down each of the rules to find out exactly what they can cover. Now we split ourselves in to groups and began to experiment using improvisation for the final performance.2 In dance we sat as a group and planned out linking moves that used all of our five rules, and then put them together by

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1306
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

Is It Acceptable for Composers To Borrow and/or Adapt Existing Music? Give Examples to Support Your Answer.

Is It Acceptable for Composers To Borrow and/or Adapt Existing Music? Give Examples to Support Your Answer. Music has been stolen, borrowed and adapted for centuries! Some of the first examples of borrowing music dates back to the 13th Century and Choral and Church music! During the 13th Century there were many types of musicians. Apart from Monks and their plainsong style of music there were jongleurs, troubadours, trouveres, minnesingers and itinerant minstrels which all contributed to music of the day! Though these secular musicians did not engage in choral activity they did create a vocal tradition that was soon to "borrow" musical ideas from the church as the sacred motet transmogrified into the secular madrigal. The madrigal appeared as the secular equivalent of the sacred motet in the late thirteenth century. The madrigal writers immediately adopted the style of having each part as an original composition rather than use an existing melody around which other parts could be structured. The secular words were taken from the works of esteemed poets as well as original verse written specifically for madrigal purposes. The quality of the words was deemed so important that they were able to stand as poetry of merit in their own right and were sometimes published as thus. Petrarch (1304-1374) was one of the earliest poets to have his words used as the inspiration for

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 601
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

AS Composition Commentary. I chose to write my piece for a woodwind quartet, consisting of a Flute, Clarinet, Oboe and Bassoon. This was because I am a clarinettist

AS Composition Commentary Rebecca Beldam. Influences: I chose to write my piece for a woodwind quartet, consisting of a Flute, Clarinet, Oboe and Bassoon. This was because I am a clarinettist, and feel confident writing for woodwind instruments as I regularly play alongside them have frequently seen the capabilities of the instruments. My main influences for my piece were 'Falling in Love with Love' from Rodgers and Hart's 'The Boys from Syracuse' and the first movement of Vivaldi's Bassoon Concerto for Bassoon in E minor and Haydn's Symphony 103 in Eb Major. In 'Falling in Love with Love' I liked the scalic patterns such as: I liked this because it was interesting and not something I had played before and consequently I wanted to experiment with it, and use it within the Flute melody of the Theme. I incorporated elements of Vivaldi's Bassoon concerto in Variation 2 such as the wide leaps and the bassoon playing the main melody. I then decided to write the piece in F major, compared to the original Bb Major key signature of 'Falling in Love with Love'. This is because I knew because I was going to include a transposing instrument, and I wanted to include a key that used simple fingerings in order to maximise the sound of the clarinet. I chose the tempo of 115 beats per minute because I wanted to create an upbeat and lively piece to utilise the agile characteristics of

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1291
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

The Musical Role of the Bass Guitar

MUSICAL ROLE OF THE INSTRUMENT: BASS GUITAR Rock: Often, popular rock bands use the bass guitar as a member of the rhythm section, which has the role of providing a floor for the harmony sequence, and for setting the proper beat or rhythm. The rhythm section normally consists of a rhythm guitarist, a bass guitar and a drummer. The types of bass-lines performed by the bass guitarist vary from one style of music to another. Although the most used style of bass-line, in most styles of popular music, is playing similar rhythms with the drums in order to lay down the beat, and emphasize the chords by playing root notes of the chord progression, sometimes this changes to other notes from the chord, but mostly root, fifth and third are used to draw the chords throughout the songs. The bass guitarist sometimes breaks out of the strict rhythm section role to perform bass breaks or bass solos. The types of bass-lines used for bass breaks of bass solos vary depending on the context, the sound, the intention, and the form of the song. In a rock band, a bass break often consist of the bassist playing a riff or lick during a place when everybody else is not playing or the dynamics are clearly really low in the song. Funk: In contrast to rock, in funk, it is possible that the bass is featured throughout the whole song by playing a bass groove, and the bass-line is normally very

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 566
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

The Beatles

The Beatles When people hear the name "The Beatles" most people think of lead singer, John Lennon. However, the role of Paul McCartney is often overlooked. It was McCartney, not Lennon who was the driving force behind the Beatles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in many bands together before the forming of the Beatles. In 1962, along with Ringo Starr1 and George Harrison, they formed the rock group known as "The Beatles". The group featured a modern rock that was new and popular during the period with John and Paul composing and doing the leads on most of the songs. They were backed by George on rhythm and bass guitar and Ringo on drums. George and Ringo also assisted on backing vocals. When they first began playing, the main influence inside the band was John Lennon, who had an uncanny ability to compose songs at a moments notice with an inspiration that others missed. He pushed the members of the band during their touring years and was able to achieve the best possible results from the group. The band began playing in a Music Hall style that is very effective for the audiences but was lacking on their albums. Together with Paul, John began to evolve the band. As the years began to pass, the band was obviously beginning to grow musically. They had moved from simple lyrics like "Love me Do" to harshly aware reflections of life in their home country in

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1314
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

Are musical influences important to a composer, or is it necessary to be original?

Are musical influences important to the composer or is it necessary to be original? Throughout musical history, from medieval plainsong and chant, through to the serialism and minimilism of the 20th century, music has evolved. I believe this evolution has occurred due to a combination of influences and originality. All composers are given an education including musical theory and instrumental lessons. The facts they learn during their education, and the pieces they play when learning an instrument form the basis of their musical influences. It is impossible to play a piece without, to a certain extent, analysing it; whether one likes the piece, or dislikes it, it becomes part of your musical background that influences you. As such, and because all composers must learn the history of music, and play music written by other composers, I do not believe that musical influences are so much something that is important to the composer, as something that is unavoidable. Whether or not it reflects in the pieces that they compose, all composers are influenced by the works of past composers. However, given that music has developed so greatly over the past few centuries, it would be impossible to say that there is no evidence of originality. Looking back, it is possible to see moments of originality that have allowed new musical techniques to be pioneered. The Mannheim school,

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 814
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

The Development of the Orchestra

Lucy Burbridge The Development of the Orchestra The Baroque orchestra was a typically a string group. It used around 12 players, divided into first violins, second violins, violas and the bass parts - cellos and double basses. This was often supported by an instrument that could fill in the chords such as harpsichord or organ. Sometimes the conductor would even conduct the orchestra whilst playing the harpsichord from a figured bass line. Occasionally instruments such as oboe and bassoon were used, and sometimes flutes (used at times instead of oboes), recorders and horns were added. During this time trumpets and timpani were inseparable, and these were added if the music was ceremonial. Trumpets and horns at this time had no valves and so could only play a limited series of notes. As music moved into the classical period the string section remained the centre of the orchestra but the woodwind section grew to become an important and permanent section. The harpsichord dropped out of use and a new instrument was born into the orchestra, the clarinet. As the harpsichord was no longer used the strings were require to fill out the harmony unaided. Instead of both violins doubling the melody and the violas, cellos and double basses all playing the bass line, there were now four distinct parts. The clarinet was at first, like flute, used instead of the oboe, but by 1800 the

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 556
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

Annotation of Composition

Annotation on Blues Composition Brief I have been asked to compose a piece of music that would be suitable to be played in a cocktail bar of a cruise ship. The piece must be composed for Piano and have a minimum length of 1 minute 30 seconds. It must have a blues theme and have one contrasting section. I have chosen to write in C major, as it is an easy key to play in. I chose 4:4 time as this is a characteristic of blues music. One blues/jazz piano piece which inspired my composition was George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in blue'. It is mainly a jazz piece and has many blues characteristics. For this piece I wrote an 8 bar long introduction. I composed 4 bars of blues music and then adapted it to make a further 4 bars. The music is syncopated, and the position of the accents enforces this, thus adding a 'blues feel'. I have used to notes of the C blues scale, which flattens the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes. The introduction flows well into my first section (section A). My melody has a very strong catchy tune, which sounds improvisatory and compliments the homophonic bass part. At first I composed the A section with my 4 bar chordal bass part running all the way through. After performing my piece I decided to add more rhythmic variation as my piece began to sound repetitive. I changed the 4 bar block crotchet chords to quaver chords with sustained notes. As a development

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 679
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay

Uses of Technology in Music Education

Uses of Technology in Music Education Technology has played a huge part in the musical section of my education, more so than any other subject. While the main use of technology in most subjects is computer technology, I experienced many other kinds of technology while learning about music. One of the ideas that I have for music education in the future is for students to be able to compose original background sounds for classroom readings and dramatizations. There will be software programs designed to be used specifically by young children. With these programs music will be composed using non-traditional means such as drawing lines to compose a melody. Students will be able to arrange a piece of music using a MIDI sequencer to change instruments and timbres. They will also be able to experiment with different combinations of sounds using a MIDI sequencer to alter the elements and characteristics of the music. Melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, and form, will be isolated, changed, and elements such as ritards, accelerandos, and crescendos will be created and controlled. In short, I hope to make it simple and easy for young children to enjoy the wonderful feeling of composing a piece of music. Notation software such as Finale, Sibelius and Garage Band enable students to compose or arrange for voices and/or instruments. They provide a way to listen to a composition as it is

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 878
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
Access this essay