Area of Study 1: My Instrument

In this area of study you will learn about your own instrument. You will be doing the following:

  • Doing some background research on the instrument that you play
  • Practising and studying the piece you intend to perform for your coursework
  • Recording your performance and writing an appraisal of it
  • Writing a composition brief and producing a composition
  • Writing a commentary that brings together all of these stages 

Context

What date was the piece composed? Who wrote it?
What style is it in?
What are the characteristics features of that style?
Why was the piece composed?
Where was it originally intended to be performed?
Why does it suit your instrument?
Are you playing it in its original version or is it an arrangement?

Role of your instrument

If it is an unaccompanied piece, why doesn’t it need accompaniment?
If the piece does have accompaniment, how are the tune and the accompaniment related?

 Techniques

  • 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?

Appraising the performance

  • Did you play the piece accurately? If not, where were the mistakes?
  • If you made mistakes, can you say what caused them?
  • Were there any features of the tempo, dynamics, phrasing and articulation that were particularly effective? Could any of these aspects have been improved?
  • What was your overall impression of the piece?
  • How might your performance have been improved?