Reflections of ‘Wild Dance’
I found
this an extremely challenging and interesting task, which really allowed me to
experiment with character and range of the instruments and the use of a variety
of time signatures. Although elements
of the plan I made in Project 4 have been altered slightly, the basic structure
of the piece remains the same using an A, B, A, B, C structure.
Below is
Assignment 1 followed by my reflections of this piece:
Section A & Section C– ‘Demon’s Clash’ and ‘Demon’s Battle’
As
mentioned in the original plan, I used the introduction given as a starting
block to extend the principal section of this piece. Centred around the idea of the demons
fighting for power and attention, I created a mirror image of bars 3-14,
elongating the piece and continuing the feel of an unbalanced rhythm.
As section
A is repeated later in the piece, it sees the introduction of each instruments rhythm,
which they have demonstrated in their solo.
I believe that although the principal ideas have been repeated each
time, the piece remains fresh and interesting each time section A is heard with
the addition of each instrument.
Section C
is the natural progression that occurs as each instrument blends its own rhythm
into the principal section (A) of the piece.
Although it reflects the original use of variable metre from section A,
very little of the ideas from section A remain.
I have opted to keep the idea of mirroring rhythm and dynamics in some
places, but I believe that the character of each instrument has blended
together well to create an expressive and frantic finale.
The last
three bars of the piece reflect the demon’s fatigue before an unmarked death in
the final bars. The use of dynamics here
was essential to give the feel of the final push before death.
Section B – ‘Demon’s Solo’
Although
section B is labelled as the subsidiary section of this piece, I believe it be
the most important section for bringing together and exploring the character of
each instrument. Although simplistic in
the way some instruments play a muted rhythm to accompany the soloist, it
allows the principal section to constantly evolve each time it is repeated by
incorporating the instruments rhythm, demonstrated in its solo in section B.
During
these solo sections I have incorporated a number of idea and motifs to
demonstrate the character of each instrument, whilst also reflecting the
character of the demon. During each solo, I have tried to use dynamics
and rhythm, drawing inspiration from the use of each instrument throughout
history.
The tambourine
plays the part of a small, sinister demon resembling a snake. I drew inspiration for this from the
tambourine’s use in Italian folk music, especially the frequent use of trills
and short notes. I have tried to use
this to reflect the hiss of the snake and the notation of short notes gives us
the sense of this demon’s more frantic and sinister side.
The snare
drum plays the part of a stern, strong and large creature. I have tried to draw on the military
background of the snare drum, incorporating the use of trills and short
expressive beats, whilst contrasting it with the slightly more varying and
impulse beats seen in a number of traditional pieces played on the tabor and fife.
The cymbal plays
the role of a small creature with a shrill, loud cry. As the cymbal develops throughout the piece I
have used only crotchets and semiquavers to develop a more simplistic rhythm,
which does not overpower the other instruments.
I relied heavily on the use dynamics to ensure the cymbal’s loud character
didn’t lose the sense of struggle and equality in battle.
The bass
drum played the largest and darkest character.
The bass drum’s use across a range of musical genres inspired me to use
its deep tone to build a feeling of doom and darkness. It was hard not to incorporate the instrument’s
military background through the use of trills, but I also tried to shorten
notes to explore the instrument’s range.
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