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This is my final process log, and I have made some final alterations to my piece. First, emotions were conveyed more effectively. This was mainly due to the usage of various Guzheng techniques, such as “shaking”, tremolos and glissandos. These techniques not only helped me to express emotions more effectively, but also elaborated the overall piece. For instance, when a slow section is performed, the notes would seem rather dull, since the tempo is not fierce enough. However, by adding tremolos and glissandos, the melody becomes much more ear-attractive and embellished, since they are able to convey emotions more vividly, glorifying the piece as a whole.

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Idea 1: thumb + middle finger together
Idea 2: single finger + tremolo
Idea 3: "shaking" technique
Idea 4: "shaking" technique + base note
Idea 5: single finger + base note

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In this Process Log, I altered the way of playing certain sections in the piece by effectively using the "hollow section" of the GuZheng. By the "hollow section", I mean the right-hand-side area that is near Guzheng bars, which are alined vertically at the center of the Guzheng. To further clarify this technique, I will start with explaining how different areas on the Guzheng convey different tones. I will take the right-hand-side area as an example. If I place my hand far away from the bars and pick strings within that section, the notes will sound reedy, shrill and piercing. However, on the other hand, if I place my hand near the bars and pick strings within that section, the notes will be relatively more hollow and empty. Hence, I decided to play notes near the bars during the slow sections in the piece, and play notes far away from the bars during the climax of the piece.

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In this Process Log, I added tremolos into my piece, which can be spotted by looking at the obvious pressing-down movements of my left arm (it moves up and down, shaking distinctively). This technique adds to the vividness of the piece and glorifies the overall emotion significantly. When the strings tremble, the despaired atmosphere could be further conveyed, which pulls the audience into the storyline and gains empathy with the audience.

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In this Process Log, I learned new parts of piece and was able to play for a longer period of time. I was also able to play the beginning a bit more fluently and smoothly compared to the previous Process Logs. I also improved my "shaking", which is  using thumb to pluck a single string in a rapid pace by “shaking” the finger back and forth across the string. My "shaking" is now much more steady compared to the previous Process Logs, where I used too much power to "shake" the strings and caused it to sound strange and exaggerated.

Link:

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I have changed my score from the original track of "The Last Emperor" by Ryuichi Sakamoto to a simpler version that is more appropriate to play on Guzheng. I decided to change my score because the majority of notes in the first score are hard to play. In Guzheng, when you want to play "fa" (4) or "si" (7), you left hand has to press down a certain string, which requires both hands to play one note. However, a several parts in the original score have "fa"s (4) on the left hand, and "si"s (7) on the right hand simultaneously. This can be achieved by other instruments, such as piano, but not for Guzheng, since these sections require four hands in total. Hence, I have adjusted my score to one that is able to be performed on a Guzheng.

Link:

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I have just begun playing the piece, which is "The Last Emperor". I tried to convert its key to the key on Guzheng, which is G, and took me a lot of time. Nevertheless, I still think it's very challenging to perform. This is because there are lots of consecutive flats in the score, which means the power my left hand uses to press down strings have to very accurate, and that, once a flattened note is played, my left hand has to find the string for the next flattened note in an extremely fast pace. This is really challenging for me as I haven't learned Guzheng for very long. In the video, you can see that I'm still not familiar with the piece and needs to dedicate a lot more time in practicing in order perform with a high quality.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDn9pyMNjO8

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I finished the transition between section A and section B. I added all the necessary articulations to my piece, such as diminuendos, marcatos and ties… I organized all the notes and completed my final minimalist composition.

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I added triplets in section B, and made some changes to my B section to make it sound more minimalist (my initial section B had motifs that are longer than 2 bars, which made it sound less minimalist, therefore, I condensed them into shorter pieces). To add, I have also written a “real drone”, since my previous one did not sustain throughout the whole piece.

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I got feedback from Ms. Waite. After I went through the feedback, I made the motif for the piano more interesting by not only using crotchets, but also including semiquavers to create a more rhythmic pattern. Moreover, I introduced my motif for the first 4 bars instead of starting the piece with drum beats. I also replaced piccolo with violin since piccolo players are not able to play long notes (drone), and violins are good with playing high pitched notes. Finally, I shortened the chord played on the piano from whole notes to sixth notes, since chords are not able to last for one whole bar on a piano.

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I completed section B

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I got feedback from Mavis: “You should use more quavers in your composition to make it more interesting to listen to, and I think you can make the texture more heavy by using dynamics better. You should also add more syncopation in your piece, especially in flute and drums.” After I got the feedback, I made the motif for the flute more interesting by using syncopations with the drum rhythms. I also added texture by gradually joining in instruments in order to increase the dynamics, conveying a powerful emotion.

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I restarted my composition, because my previous composition didn’t sound very minimalist. I think this was because I didn’t use much minimalist features and articulations in it. I will try to add more of these elements in my next composition. Possible minimalist features are: phasing, drone, experiencing with varied texture. Today, I finalized the rhythm I will be using for the drum, finished writing the main motif of the flute and finished the phasing part for flute and piano in section A. I also chose a note to use for the drone, and used ties to connect them together.

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I added some chords that are played by the piano. I also paid attention on articulations by adding  elements such as crescendo to create a interesting yet varying dynamics and marcato to put emphasis on notes.

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I finalized and chose 2 drum rhythms to use before the chorus begins. I also wrote a melody on C scale for the flute to play before the chorus.

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I wrote down 5 possible rhythms for the drums, and chose 1 note to use for the drone.

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You should use more quavers in your composition to make it more interesting to listen to, and I think you can make the texture more heavy by using dynamics better. You should also add more syncopation in your piece, especially in flute and drums.

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• This piece was written due to the inspiration I obtained from clapping music. Clapping music was originally  created by Steve Reich. This form of music can be performed without any instruments, since it only needs people to clap their hands within a certain rhythm of beats. In other words, it is where one person claps a basic rhythm (motif) throughout the whole piece, and another person claps the rhythm with a shift for 4 bars, then 8 bars, and so on.
• In the video, I started off playing well. However, afterwards, the rhythm became more complicated to clap, and I was a bit disorganized.

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• In this piece, I have composed 7 different ideas for the motif I may use in my future compositions. Each one has a different length in bars:
• First: 1-2 bars
• Second: 3-4 bars
• Third: 5-6 bars
• Fourth: 7-8 bars
• Fifth: 9-10 bars
• Sixth: 11-12 bars
• Seventh: 13 bars

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• In this piece, I used 4 instruments to complete my phasing, which are piano, violin, marimba and flute.
• I also chose some motifs in my previous piece (motif_in C), and used them in this piece asthe motifs for certain instruments.

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• In this composition, I used four instruments: drum, flute, piccolo and drum set.
• I tried to add in these instruments at different times, in order to give this piece a rich and varying texture.

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• Drone can be classified as a Minimalist music feature. It emphasizes the application of sustained notes or tones.
• In my piece, I tried to use as many long and sustained notes as I could.

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• In this piece, I chose "drone" as my Minimalist feature, and composed a piece using this feature.
• I used as many sustained notes as I could in order to express the use of drones.