AOS 1: My Music Writing your commentary

Paragraph 1 (Context)
Explain the purpose of the piece, why your instrument is used in it and the role that your instrument plays in the piece What date was the piece composed? Who wrote it? What style is it in? What are the characteristic features of that style? Why was the piece composed? Was it created for a particular purpose or event? Where would it have been performed originally? What makes the piece suitable for your instrument? Role of your instrument If the piece has an accompaniment: How are the melody and the accompaniment related?

If your piece is an arrangement:

Why has it been arranged for your instrument? What changes have been made to the original to suit your instrument?

If it is a solo piece with no accompaniment: Why doesnt it need an accompaniment? How does your instrument keep the interest of the audience throughout? Does the instrument accompany itself, and if so how does it do this?

If it is a group piece:

What part does your instrument play in the group? Does it take the lead, support others or both? If it supports other instruments, how does it do this?
PAD 01/11

My piece is called Gavotta and was written by James Hook in 1796. Gavotta is italian for Gavotte, which is a dance in moderate duple time. Features typical of this style is the lively and upbeat. This piece is from a grade book and was originally written for a book of beginners songs for piano and harpsichord. The piece is suitable for my instrument because it was written for my instrument. The piece doesnt need an accompaniment because both the left hand and right hand parts play together and form the whole melody. The instrument keeps the interest of the audience throughout with contrasts in the dynamics and contrasting sections.

Paragraph 2 (Techniques)
Describe the techniques that you used to perform the piece, commenting if you can on their effect on the music What do you need to do to make sure the notes are in tune? How do you articulate the notes? What do you need to do to move from one range to another? How do you control and change the volume in the piece? What other techniques specific to your instrument are used in this piece? Are any techniques used for a particular effect and if so, what?

To make sure that the notes are all in tune I need to play on a piano which is in tune. You can tune a piano by twisting the tuning pegs until the sound is right. You can articulate the notes by the way that you hit the keys, for example slurs are played by not fully releasing the key before hitting the next one.

Paragraph 3 (Performance of your piece)

Describe how the performance went, mentioning any particular strengths and areas that could have been improved Did you play the piece accurately? If not, where were the mistakes? How did you use tempo, dynamics and articulation in your piece? Could any of these aspects have been improved on?

PAD 01/11

Did you listen to others performing your piece and if so was there anything in your performance which was different as a result? Did your performance convey a sense of the mood or style? If so, what was that and how did you convey it? How did you ensure that your performance of the piece was how the composer would have intended it? What was your overall impression of your performance were you pleased with it? How might the performance have been improved? Is there anything you would want to change if you performed it another time?

Paragraph 4 (Composition brief future tense I will compose....)

Write a brief for your composition, drawing on what you have learned from the study of your piece What features of the piece you played will you use in your piece? Why do you intend to use these? What part will your instrument play in the piece? What particular techniques are you going to use and why? What will the mood/style of your piece be and how will you use your instrument to achieve this? Features of the piece I played that i will include in my composition are contrasting dynamics, slurs, and it will be written in binary form, with each of the sections being repeated. I intend to use these because these are all of the features of my piece. My instrument will play the main melody. Techniques I will use are pedalling, staccato notes and crescendos as i think that these will make my composition better.

General
The commentary must be around 400 words in length. That means approximately 100 words per paragraph.
PAD 01/11