Keyboard Music

Jananee Shanthakumar

There are a few ways that I have expressed my idea in the composition Hope. It is in Ternary form in key D major where the notes in A are ascending and notes in B are descending. Notes In A (ascending) starts with the tonic, f sharp the third note and g the subdominant. Then going up one by from d, then f sharp, g and a the dominant. Then continuing up to b the sixth note, then g, a, b and c sharp the seventh note. Then a, b, c sharp and high d the tonic. After going up b, c sharp, d and e which is the note above high d. Finally ending with high d. Notes in B (descending) start with e the note above high d. Going down to high d the tonic, c sharp the seventh note and b the sixth note. Then down to d, c sharp, b and a the dominant. Continuing down to c sharp, b, a and g the subdominant. Then down to b, a, g, and f sharp which is the third note. Then a, g, f sharp and e the second note. After going down to g, f sharp, e and f sharp. Finally down to d the tonic.

The second way I have expressed my composition is I used eight notes and whole notes at different parts of my composition as well as the use of quarter notes and half notes. In A I used 2 groups of 4 eight notes showing that the notes are going up one by one and are linked together. I used whole notes usually showing the last note in bar 8 at end of A, in bar 12 at end of B and in bar 20 at the end of A. Also I used whole notes as note A in bars 2 and 4 in A and in bars 14 and 16. I did that to add flow to the song where a is played for 4 counts as written in a whole note. I only used a half note twice and 4 quarter notes twice. These different note choices show the flow of the song as the count for the note to be played changes depending on the type of note. (Quarter note = 1 count, half note = 2 counts, eight note = ½ count, sixteenth note = ⅛ )

The last way I expressed my composition is I decided to add dynamics. (not in written notation but added to connect my playing) In part A, I played the going up (ascending) gradually louder which is crescendo as each note is played. This is to show anger that I might have had in tough times but also anger other people might have had since we are all staying home and always getting lots of school work. Also the fact that most classes are online and giving you assignments, tests and homework online. Another reason is I am showing anger that teachers who are staying home might have because they have to mark all the tests, assignments and homework online instead of printed out on paper. This will take them days, nights and even weeks to complete which takes a lot of time. Then in part B, when I played going down (descending) I played the notes gradually softer which is decrescendo as each note was played. This was showing that there is hope if us students keep working hard to complete all homework, tests and assignments on time. Then this will lead to hope for teachers where they get marking all homework, tests and assignments a lot easier. Together I am showing that this hope will bring us happiness for both students and teachers in the end when all our work is done with hope. Also they are able to finish marking at the same time to save time for other stuff during the day or during the next day. This was shown when I played the bars with eight notes in A and B. These are the ways of how I expressed my composition.

Karen Lau

In recent news, a global pandemic has been implemented due to the outbreak of the corona virus. Due to the severity of this outgoing pandemic, many cities have decided to self isolate and practice social distancing, which has led to many individuals feeling very frightened for what may come next. Various news outlets have kept the public informed about the status of the virus, which continues to also instill fear in many individuals as the amount of lives being taken is still increasing day by day. As the number of infected cases and as well as the death toll continues to rise, many individuals may be feeling discouraged about the state of society and don’t know when things will return. Therefore, I have composed a composition named ‘Hope’ in effort of restoring more positivity during this difficult time. In the composition, I have chosen for the composition to be in the musical form, ternary. I have chosen to write it in this musical form in the desire of representing society’s timeline. The ternary musical form is written as ABA, the A portion is to represent the happy mood when everything was ‘normal,’ and the B portion of the musical form is to represent the confusing, and sad times during the pandemic. Currently, we are ‘living’ in the B portion of this composition, and by having hope, this pandemic will pass and we will finally return to our normal way of living.

Continuing to be hopeful is an important mindset to have. If no one were to have hope, many more lives would have been lost to this virus. Many front line workers are also working hard and sacrificing their own lives to keep society running and to continue searching for a cure. This message is extremely important to me because having hope and keeping a positive mindset is the only way to overcome this difficult time. Just like many others, I miss being able to go outside to enjoy the fresh air and hanging out with friends. It has been found that the mental health of many individuals have been negatively impacted as well. Therefore, it can be assumed that if our society does not improve and continues to isolate for an even longer period of time, the rates of depression may also rise. Overall, it’s important to be hopeful during this unique time and view this as an opportunity for society to come back stronger.