Samba

'Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.' - Jimi Hendrix

A few weeks ago we continued looking at rhythm. Rhythm creates music without needing melody. It can be the driving force behind the piece and different rhythms intertwined can create an interesting piece of music. I'm going to focus on looking at the Samba task I participated in towards the end of the session. Samba developed in Brazil, specifically Rio de Janerio, by the beginning of the 20th century and is heavily associated with carnivals (Sambassadors of Groove 2015).We were asked as a group to devise and perform a Samba piece based on the stimuli of some given rhythms which we then had to shape into a piece.

The first way we went about creating the piece was by appointing a conductor/lead composer which is important to give the group direction and focus and although no one wanted to do it, Amy eventually took on the role. I think during the next bit of the task where we were teaching each other the rhythms we showed good teamwork and chemistry as a group because we were able to use each other's strengths to help each other which enabled us to each pick up our rhythms quickly which meant that we were strong with these throughout the piece. I think this was a key element within our piece that was successful. Then we picked a leader who would also conduct the piece and this proved very difficult. Finally Amy was chosen but as we begun she lost confidence and enthusiasm and no longer wanted to do this. To overcome this obstacle I tried to encourage her to continue but upon realizing she wasn't going to do it so I said I would do it if that would make her feel more confident. I think this was important because if she wasn't confident or happy as the leader then this would have made the group feel nervous and uncertain also. 

I think from this task I realized that it is important to have good teamwork as a group as this creates a strong performance chemistry which I think was displayed within our Samba performance. Because of the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere it enabled us to do the piece with movement without people being scared or embarrassed. I think connection and chemistry between the group also helped musically because we were in sync with each other and were tight as a unit. I also learned about taking a leadership role. That although it is important to listen to other people ideas and incorporate them into the piece, it is equally as important to be decisive as otherwise not a lot will get done and you have to rely on improvisation too much in the actual performance, which I feel was shown in our piece. I thoroughly enjoyed this task because it was exploring a genre you wouldn't normally think of exploring.

 

Songwriting Task

'Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.' - Berthold Auerbach

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 stuck out to me the most was 'Clear Sky' by Gieuseppe Ungaretti yet my song in the end also had idea taken from 'I Rise'. The line that stuck out to me the most was 'I breath in the cool air'  as this is poignant to me at the moment which is where the rest of my song stemmed from.

To start with I knew that sitting at ProTools and composing each bit separately wasn't the way in which I was used to composing. I then sat down with a piano, re read the poem and then started to improvise at a slow tempo. I think emotion and story telling is key to composing and this was what focused my piece yet still withdrawing ideas and feelings from the poem. I created the piano part and vocals creating a pure vocal tone to sing the melody. Then after recording it into ProTools I decided I wanted a flute and violin in the piece as they are timbres that blend together well but also reflect the emotion of my song. I think this especially worked well in the instrumental where all the instruments were firstly added as it conveyed the desperation of the song through the increase in tempo and the busy texture. 

It was such a challenge for me to show my song to the rest of the group but  as I want to improve in confidence, especially in this area, it was very important for me to do this. It helped me gain feedback so I know where to improve. I think the main aspect I need to improve on is about learning how to set the different instruments  in time with each other. Therefore when putting in the drum beat, this would sound more in sync with everything else, even though I wanted it to be out slightly to convey the story of her emotions being all over the place. I think I'd also like to improve on the quality of the recordings, making sure they are all accurate and precise.