Salutations, fellow Earth-dwellers. My name is Kayla (She/Her) and I am a proud lover of karaoke, although I cannot sing for the life of me. I was born in Ottawa and currently live in Kanata. I am a competitive swimmer and absolutely love being in the water, although I strongly dislike being in the ocean.
I have a lot of experience playing piano, ever since I was about 5 years old, and I am currently learning the violin, which I started at the beginning of this year! I adore classical music, but I am also a big metal fan. I am known by many of my family members to often almost break the speakers by blasting music at full volume!!!
This composition is written for Ursula, the "unscrupulous seahag" (IMDB), from the movie The Little Mermaid. Specifically, this leitmotif reflects the eeriness of Ursula’s cave, as well as her dark personality, using a variety of instruments that include the cello, double bass, and trombone. The cello is used to demonstrate a dark, eerie melody while the double bass accompanies the cello with low, slow notes to match Ursula's villainous presence. I also added a harp for emphasis on her mysterious character.
This variation to the main theme is scored for the scene in the film in which Ursula successfully uses Ariel's voice to hypnotize the Prince. To adapt to this specific scene, I used a bassoon instead of the cello; however by using the bassoon, this leitmotif still conveys a feeling of villainy. I have also added a viola to substitute for the trombone, and to reflect Ursula's overall evil presence.
What did you enjoy the most from this experience?
I enjoyed applying my knowledge of musical skills and conventions through the creation of this composition, as well as finding instruments and sounds that paired best with my motif. I also enjoyed brainstorming different melodies and sounds that would best fit Ursula's dark, spooky character.
What did you find to be the most challenging from this experience?
At first, I struggled to create a melody for my motif, as well as creating a counter melody with the trombone. I also struggled to create my leitmotif as I was unsure of how to create a new melody, yet also build off of my motif.
This is “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed on the violin, clarinet, and piano by Kayla Shafai, Chloe Danks, and Tina Zhang.
This is "Spooky Scary Skeleton" by Andrew Gold performed on the piano, violin, clarinet and guitar by Tina Zhang, Kayla Shafai, Chloe Danks and Eliza Riegel.