Clona Anson-OConnell

Candidate Number: 4020

Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

Music Appraisal
1) What areas of study did you choose and what is the
focus of your composition within the given strand?
I chose AoS1 Rhythm and Metre along with AoS2
Harmony and Tonality for my composition and my focus
within the given strand was to compose a piece of instrumental
Caribbean music using common instruments to that area of the
world.
2) Why did you choose these areas of study and the
particular focus within the given strand?
After thoughtfully considering what areas of study to choose, I
decided to focus on AoS1, Rhythm and Metre and AoS2,
Harmony and Tonality. I saw AoS2 as one of the most sensible
focus points for my composition as I had already made the
decision to use instruments such as steel pans, which would
bring strong harmonic qualities to my piece, an example of this
is chords in thirds seen in bars 3 6. After listening to a variety
of Caribbean music, I noticed that harmony was a really
important aspect. When deciding on a second area of study, I
found that AoS1 linked well with AoS2 and my choice of music
style as Caribbean music is known well for its use of
syncopation, which I was keen to exploit in my piece and
strong rhythmic qualities. Therefore choosing AoS1 made it
simpler to find precise links between my chosen study area
and the style of music I was composing. I decided to broaden
my knowledge of Caribbean influenced music by listening to a
variety of pop music where native instruments and rhythms of
the Caribbean were used. I found inspiration in the music of
artists that had incorporated syncopation, as this is a
prominent feature of AoS1, and those who had used
instruments such as steel pans to create a Caribbean style
introduction. In Nicki Minajs Pound the Alarm, she uses steel
pans to set the scene for her piece, composing a simple
melody which is then used as a motif in the chorus, this can be
seen below.

Pound the Alarm, Nicki Minaj

The melody of Pound the Alarm is later developed by using
3rds to create a naturally Caribbean sound, typical to this

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

genre of music, with simple harmonies creating the basis of the

accompaniment. I found it fascinating how a popular musician
of today can be inspired by music from the other side of the
world and incorporate it into their music.
This fascination led me to other artists who, too, had used
world music inspired motifs as the basis for their songs. In
Marlon Roudettes When the Beat Drops Out, a chorus of
steel pans are used throughout the piece. As seen below the
music progresses to using chords played by multiple steel pans
to accompany the piece throughout. Another feature of this
piece that particularly
drew me towards
it were the
When the Beat Drops Out,
Marlon Roudette
consonant
harmonies
created
by using 3rds
again to
authenticate
the piece. After hearing these two pieces, it confirmed my
aspirations to create a piece of Caribbean inspired music with
my particular areas of study being AoS1 Rhythm and Metre
along with AoS2 Harmony and Tonality.
After listening to these pieces, I decided my
composition, too, would start in 4/4 time and
would have strong features of syncopation
especially in the bass lines, to support the piece
and be the foundation for my melodies. In the
second half of the piece the time signature
would change to 6/8, a compound time
signature, I think this adds variation to my
piece which is crucial to maintain the listeners
interest. I decided that I would use a variety of
rhythms, creating polyrhythms in my
percussive section; these two rhythmic
components struck me as strong features of
Caribbean music. The original polyrhythmic
ideas can be seen in the first two bars of my
piece, they are later developed through the use
of claves, maracas and an egg shaker. They can
be seen to create a strong sense of rhythm in
the start of my 6/8 section seen here.

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

3) How did your go about composing your music and

how was the final recording achieved?
To start with I chose a variety of instruments to try out in
Sibelius as I wanted a diverse polyphonic piece, I added
instruments such as a trumpet and trombone for my melody
line, along with a keyboard and bass guitar accompaniment,
the steel drums I added were my first choice as they are
distinctly Caribbean and blended well harmonically with other
instruments like brass.
After adding my chosen instruments to my score, I decided my
piece should originate in A major, and having only 3 sharps
would allow me to concentrate my time on my melodic phrases
without the constant worry of accidentals. My time signature
again would originally be 4/4, but as my areas of study are
both AoS1 and AoS2, I would later be changing both the key
signature and time signature to add variety to my piece. One
of the benefits I found of starting off in 4/4 was that I was able
to include techniques such as syncopation and dotted rhythms
with the ease of a simple time signature. I did this by simply
exploiting the off-beat 2nd and 4th beats. I chose my tempo to
be 100bpm.
I later composed a set of chords that I felt progressed in a style
typical to the Caribbean sound I wanted within the given
strand - this became my focus. I experimented on which
chords sounded best and after a
while, I decided I would step away
from the computer and take a
more hands on approach to use
the piano, the instrument I play.
This helped me a lot as I was then
comfortably able to come up with
a progression that worked
harmonically but also was
functional from a performers
perspective, considering the ease
of playing. Having researched
and listened to music of this
genre, I was able to confidently
include sevenths in my piece that
added a different sort of harmony that sounds distinctively
Caribbean, this can be seen in bar 10.

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

After completing a chord progression that I was happy with, I

began to work on my introduction, and main steel drum part,
which would help me write my melody and eventually would
support my melodic lines. Once I had combined my melody
lines with accompaniment, I experimented with different
percussive rhythms, finding that
semiquavers and quavers helped to
maintain a strong beat in my
composition but also giving an
exciting, fast feeling to my piece
that couldnt be obtained by a
faster tempo without the piece
feeling rushed. With the focus of
harmony in mind, I later paid my
attention towards the sounds of the
piece, in particular consonant
sounds and my cadences. At the
end of my first section, the perfect
cadence aids the section to sound finished with the preceding
chord being VI followed by V I.
From the outset, I had decided to change the time signature
and key signature of my piece to divide it into sections, and
with the length of my piece in mind I decided to change them
at the same time, after I had written my first twelve bars of
music. Having this cadential awareness allowed me to give the
piece more structural integrity I feel.
I composed my second section in 6/8 time and modulated it to
the dominant key of E major, a simple, yet pleasing key change
to hear. This brought about the contrast I wanted to achieve in
my piece. Although I planned to keep the instruments the
same in this section, I wanted it to have a different feel to that
of the start, within the parameters of still sounding
authentically Caribbean.
My final recording was created using Sibelius 7 after I had
notated my piece and laid it out to my specifications, I then
exported it as an MP3 before recording it onto CD. Through the
use of Sibelius, I was able to manually insert dynamics too aid
the sense of contrast in my piece.
4) What difficulties did you encounter during the task
and how did you overcome them?
The difficulties I encountered when completing my composition
were mainly linked to the fact that my original ideas were just

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

too long. I overcame this difficulty by turning off the screen on

my PC and simply listened to my piece as I would do if it was
on my phone. Not looking at the music helped me understand
what it would be like for the listener and then I realised that it
was simply too long and rambled a little. I fixed the problem I
feel by simply editing down my piece to something much
shorter. This was also closely coupled with the fact that the
long passages I had formerly composed for the trumpet
melody, quickly became quite boring as the range of and
shape of the melody just wasnt interesting enough and would
not keep the listener interested in my piece. I overcame these
difficulties by simply working and reworking my melodic ideas
until such time as I felt more confident that they would work in
my piece. I eventually included more range in my melody and
worked hard at giving it more singable shape and character. I
used my piano skills to help me here too.
Luckily I had no difficulty using rhythms such as syncopated or
dotted rhythms to link with my focus within the given strand.
One of my former difficulties nearer the start of my task was
that I wasnt including a lot of variation in my melodic lines and
in my main structure of my piece. I resolved this issue by
deciding to add the 6/8 section in E major and vary my
rhythmic lines in this section. Once I had identified these areas
of weakness I was able to continue with my piece with a better
structural context.

5) What makes your composition successful in relation

to the chosen Areas of Study and focus within the given
strand?

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

I feel that my composition is successful

in relation to the area of rhythm and
metre because it exposes the uses of
syncopation effectively. I know well the
effect of putting accents on 2nd and 4th
beats within 4/4 but I also know that
using quaver ties helps to create a
more interesting rhythmic feel in the
middle of beats. This can clearly be
seen in the extract on the left in bars 9
and 10.
Like most Caribbean Music it also
similar in that it is in 4/4 but, it also
succeeds on a broader level I feel
because of my decision to use 6/8 time
signature. This is not so common in
Caribbean music and I am proud of
how I managed to make it work in my piece.
I feel that my composition is successful in relation to the area
of Harmony and Tonality because the chords work well with the
melody above. I spent a long time working on my ideas at the
piano to ensure the chords progressed well into each other in a
simple and not overly complicated way. Much of Caribbean
music is not overly complicated and I feel that my piece is
successful in this regard too. My use of AoS Tonality is
successful because I too managed to create a chord
progression that is not overly complicated but is still has
character and works well to underpin the melody above.
I feel that my composition is successful in relation to the Focus
because I listened well to Nicki Minaj and Marlon Roudette to
help me capture some of the most basic characteristics of
Caribbean music in my own piece.
6) What is the relationship of your composition to its
context?
The context of my piece is Caribbean Music. Caribbean music
ought to have a dance feel as so much of their music is heard
outside for festivals. I was aware of this when composing and I
do feel that my piece has this quality. I achieved this through

Clona Anson-OConnell
Candidate Number: 4020
Number: 20470
Centre Name: King Henry VIII School

Centre

my deliberate use of Rhythm and that is why I chose Rhythm

and Metre as my AoS. My piece, like so much of Caribbean
Music is in 4/4 time signature. I also deliberately used
Syncopation to exploit one of the main Caribbean Music
characteristics. My piece also relates well to its context
because it uses similar common Caribbean instruments. Also,
like a lot of Caribbean Music, it is instrumental.