After doing the marimba music ensemble for a while in grade 11, we have learnt a few pieces which we have ready and able to perform. As a result, we have spent a little bit of time in some lessons in smaller groups planning out potential solos or extra improvised parts to fit into pieces that we have learnt. This took some time as we had to come up with music that fit into the key and style of what we were playing before we would transition into this type of section. This planning required us to work as a group to make sure that something we came up with would fit into the flow of the piece and would feel natural with disrupting the music too much. Additionally, we had to ensure that each person was comfortable playing their part and knew how they fit together within the improvised type section as well as the piece as a whole. Once we had come up with something, we tested it out within the context of the piece to see how well it fit into it and how it could be changed and improved. This usually included simplifying some parts, keeping up the tempo of the new part with what we already knew, and ensuring that the key we were playing in was completely in line with the rest of the section so that it didn’t sound too out of place. After a few attempts and changing our ideas slightly, we eventually reached a point where what we had come up with seemed to work well with the music and each person was confident in the part they had to play.
#LO3
#CAS
