Samba Arrangement

"A single technical definition could not accurately express what Samba truly is." Uribe E. (1994) The Essence of Brazilian Percussion and Drum Set: With Rhythm Section Parts ; Rhythms, Songstyles, Techniques, Applications: London, Alfred Music Publishing p.16 
Brazil is famous for the carnival festivals where thousands parade the streets of the Rio De Janeiro dancing to samba rhythms. Samba's interlacing rhythms are made up of several different drums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQLvGghaDbE (YouTube, 2013)
As a group we all participated in a Samba arrangement. There were big drums, little drums, tiny drums all in the Samba variety. We were all given a score based on what drum we had which we had to sight read and play our individual parts altogether in the group. However we had to come up with our own way of putting it altogether! 

Firstly we appointed a conductor which at first no one wanted to put themselves forward for, but Amy volunteered. This ended up with everyone talking over each other and inputting ideas at the same time which was chaotic. Abi eventually stepped in and took on the roll and incorporated everyone's ideas. We started off by gradually adding all the instruments into the piece with their different rhythms and then adjusting the dynamics from soft to loud. I had a little drum solo in it which I was happy about. We ended the piece by getting all the instruments to drop out gradually and then all come back in together all at once and then finish at the same time which I think was really effective. This task showed me how important it was to listen to each other, work as a team and really concentrate on everyone as well as myself to keep in time. We performed the piece to a few lecturers and got some amazing feedback which was great. We could even take that piece further and perform it locally if we wanted to.
CMU105 Musicianship 1A : Percu-Dance by Curly Fries

Rhythm

"Rhythm may be defined as the way in which one or more unaccented beats are grouped in relation to an accented one." Cooper. G and Meyer LB. (1963) The Rhythmic Structure of Music: University of Chicago Press p.6
What is Rhythm? Rhythm is what makes music move and flow. Rhythm is made up of sounds and silences. These sounds and silences are put together to form patterns of sound, which are repeated to create rhythm. A rhythm has a steady beat, but it may also have many different kinds of beats.

As a group we looked at African drumming. African musicians do not think of music and dancing as a separate thing. They think of it as one, in fact the word for dance and music in African is the same. I love this idea because it shows how important the dancing side of it is for African musicians. They use their bodies as instruments and to guide them through rhythm. We learned some African drum beats and played them as a class. The finished product was very good and pleasing to be a part of. Not only did we look at African Drumming, we also looked at Japanese war percussion, Military percussion etc and I was quite good at guessing what each percussion piece meant/what it was about. 

For our task we split off into groups to come up with our own interesting percussion pieces. My group decided to choose Military drums, some with and some without the snare. It didn't take us long to come up with a solid piece which we rehearsed and perfected in no time at all. We performed it to the class and got some amazing feedback. One of our improvement points was to perhaps stand up with the drums and move around instead of sitting on the floor in a circle. I particularly enjoyed this task and I am excited to do similar things in the future. I gave other groups some good feedback as well because I really enjoyed their pieces and thought some of the dynamics were very effective. I think doing this task has allowed me to explore the drum as an instrument, but also all different types of drum and percussion instruments.

Composition

"From a strong concept will flow much information about the essential parameters of musical composition." Wilkins ML. (2013) Creative Music Composition: The Young Composer's Voice: Routledge p.16.
Over the past week we were asked to write a song based on a given poem. I was given three poems to choose from and the one that I liked best and the one I decided to base my composition on was 'Clear Sky' by Gieuseppe Ungaretti.

To start off with I was very confused and frustrated. I didn't have a clue how to use ProTools nor had I ever composed anything before. I sat for ages and ages trying to come up with something...anything. Sadly nothing came to mind. I made the decision to download a piano app to my phone so I could have a play around with some melodies. This proved to be a lot easier and clearly that is the way my mind can think up fresh, unique ideas. The mood I got from the poem was that it was quite a dark thought that had gone through his head and it was almost questioning the meaning of life...that is what I got from it anyway. I wanted to display this in my piece so I thought the most somber instruments were the viola, cello, basses. These are timbres that blend well and display the emotion I wanted to tell the story. I created this piece of music and plan to sing the lyrics over the top of this and perhaps add to the lyrics.

The pieces had to be shared with the rest of the group which was nerve wracking but beneficial. I could tell that everyone had put a lot of time and energy into this project and I have to say my personal favorite was Abi Lloyd's. It sounded so professional and you could see how much effort had gone into her piece and it was just amazing. I could learn a lot from her.

Where am I heading as a Musician?

I believe music means a different thing to every single person on this planet, whether it be a way of escape, a hobby or a career, music touches everyone. For me music is a whole other world in which I can lose myself and become a completely different person. I experience emotions I never knew I had when I'm on my own listening to different genres or even performing certain pieces. I would definitely say that music has shaped me as a human being, it is (without trying to sound dramatic) my whole existence. Even though music can put me on a real high where I am at the peak of happiness, it can also drag me down lower than I'd dare to discuss - Music is not always my friend.


It is important however, for me to develop my skills as a musician and allow myself to have a greater understanding of the world of musicianship. First and foremost I need to tackle my nerves. This is something that I have struggled with for a very long time. I know my own talents and how far I can go as a performer, but nerves are my greatest enemy and I am yet to defeat them as they often hinder my performance. It would be great if I could get familiar with different types of instruments such as the piano and xylophone. I would love to incorporate Musical Theatre as much as possible into pretty much everything I do. I come from a Musical Theatre background and I never intend to stray from that path. I would also like to get comfortable composing my own pieces which will only come through much practice and extra work on my part.I think it would be wise to continue with singing lessons over here. I used to have them at home with my fabulous teacher who has taught me everything I know. Singing is my strong point so it is extremely important that I keep it that way as I intend to pursue singing and performing Musical Theatre as a career. My most inspirational Musical Theatre actress/singer at the moment is Bernadette Peters. She inspires me beyond belief.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gey1PtXYwLI (YouTube, 2008)