In each of the programme notes, the student has attempted to address each of the FOUR Areas of Inquiry: 

• As a Creator - AOI2 and AOI4, AND

• As a Performer - AOI1, AOI2 and AOI3

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Ojalá - Area of Inquiry II: Music for Listening and Performance

The student has written about the feeling of hope in the piece and mentioned wind and brass band composers as sources of inspiration. The programme notes also contain a comment on some of the other musical features that the composition contains, with a musical example that depicts ‘contemplation’. However, the AOI is not addressed specifically (one perhaps could imply that these features are notable from the perspective of the listener), and the other musical observations (tension points, changes in harmony and tempo) are not supported with evidence. 

Questions Worth Answering - Area of Inquiry IV: Music Technology in the Electronic and Digital Age

Here, the student has collected information from friends as a basis for musical creation. The responses have provided fodder for the work's explorative nature. The student has also mentioned some of the effects that were employed and offered some explanation as to the decision-making employed (using falsetto to emulate their responses for example). There is also a comment on the effect of adopting certain electronic manipulations (reverb and the reversing of sounds to achieve melancholy). The details of why these particular effects were employed are lacking. There are, however, some screenshots providing evidence of further sonic effects. 

All at Sea by Jamie Cullum - Area of Inquiry II: Music for Listening and Performance

The student has commented here that a number of different vocal qualities are necessary to highlight sections of the song, and the expressive techniques taken from the original artist were similarly adopted in the hope to achieve an authentic performance. Mentioning these features indirectly provides some connection to Music for Listening and Performance, but this could have been made much more explicit. For example, “The uniqueness of the phrasing and vowel execution is in itself an aesthetic not ordinarily associated with this contemporary jazz-inspired ballad. Thus, it is important for performers to express these intrinsic values to listeners”. 

Why from Tick, Tick…Boom! by Jonathan Larson - Area of Inquiry I: Music for Socio-Cultural and Political Expression

The attempts at justification here are perhaps less successful in that the song is used for music that is incidental to the action that is occurring on stage. The term “musical theatre” is actually even mentioned as one of the examples on page 23 of the Guide. Yes, the student is correct in stating that there is an important social message here, but the intention is for the theatre. It is important, therefore, that students adopt research when preparing their programme notes such that they can comment on the original intention:

The comment about how the music is personal to the student is not necessary, particularly as the word count is so limited (likely the reason that the Guide does not mention that stating the context is necessary). Diversity can be achieved by covering all the Areas of Inquiry. 

The inclusion of musical information (phrasing, metric shifts, vocal style) needs to be linked to the selected Area of Inquiry. The student could have offered a rationale for the inclusion of these types of compositional/performance features to better support the justification of the Area of Inquiry. There was an opportunity as well for the comment “an open set up” for the students to explain this in more detail and help to support the chosen Area of Inquiry. 

Good Thing Going from Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim - Area of Inquiry III: Music for Dramatic Impact, Movement, and Entertainment

The student has mentioned that the melody the song contains is repeated throughout the show and acts as an important connective thread. Again, the implication here is to AOI, but this could have been made much more explicit. The student has mentioned musical features (softer tones, control in the phrasing, vibrato, unusual dynamic indications), but not connected these to the Area of Inquiry, which would provide some justification for their choice and illustrate a better understanding to the examiner. The student has also mentioned the impact of delivering the dynamics in the indicated manner - to heighten the musical impact.  

The bibliography is limited, and the sources have not been used effectively. 

This would likely have been awarded 3 points (out of a possible 6). The student describes the selection of works and inconsistently links the choices to the Areas of Inquiry. There is an attempt to fully address the FOUR Areas of Inquiry, but the rationale is not always convincing.  

The first of the submitted pieces, Ojalá for Concert Band, is a reflective piece that attempts to express the notion of hope. This appears to be an actual recording by a wind and brass band (although not necessary), which can be a wonderful experience for the student and an insightful opportunity for detailed reflection and evaluation. 

The work contains a simple motif that appears largely intact throughout, but in a variety of contexts. The work has an arch in that it begins in a sombre, questioning tone and then finds itself in a grander version in the centre and then in a more intimate setting for its conclusion. There are clearly examples of musical development of the material. 

There are some interesting harmonic moments that would not ordinarily be associated with the standard fare of Julie Giroux, Rossano Galante and Alfred Reed, but musically, the submission is reasonably satisfactory even though it might not always realise the selected creating conventions (which is, after all, the nature of this assessment criteria). The score provided is extremely helpful and contains the necessary detail and technical competence in order to render an appropriate performance. 

The second work (AOI4) could be classified as a collage of spoken dialogue over appegiated chords. There are minimal electronic effects employed here - really only some reverb and some of the spoken text reversed. It was not always easy to distinguish the spoken dialogue because of the volume of the ‘accompanying’ piano line, but I am not sure whether this was even necessary, as the intent may have been a collage of overlapping voices expressing their thoughts on the past, present and future without it necessary to distinguish the detail. The work seems to be an introduction to something else, perhaps because the material is not really developed in any meaningful way.  

The technical competency of the concert band piece is more competent than the features contained in the work created on GarageBand, but the creating conventions are realised in both works. It is extremely important for the student to clearly state what the intentions are, as without it, the examiner may find it hard to appropriately apply the level descriptors. 

These pieces would likely receive 8 marks. 

For the first of the pieces, All at Sea, the student has adopted an appropriate vocal style for the material and has a mix of regular voice and falsetto for certain passages. There are even some moments of almost spoken-like execution, which seems to be appropriate at that point to heighten the importance of the message. There are times when the intonation is suspect, but these are fleeting and do not detract too much from the overall performance. There is an element of personalisation as well, more notably in the final chorus, where the student adopts a range of expressive techniques for additional impact. 

For the song “Why”, there is certainly a vocal shift that has taken place, and the student adopts more of a musical theatre style - with greater attention to the articulation of the lyrics, the injection of theatrical elements (laughter and aspirated sounds) and a mixture of colloquial and belt styles. The rendition is reasonably successful, but some instability in the upper register, likely due to a lack of support, and again a few intonation issues. The expressive elements, however, are generally captured well.  

For the third and final song, the student has selected another work from the realm of musical theatre - Good Thing Going. This song seems somewhat challenging, with some unconventional leaps and chromatic moments that are not always successfully achieved. However, the student captures the general essence of the work and offers a stylistically appropriate rendition. There are elements of good control and clear articulation throughout. Yet again, there are some questionable moments of intonation, but generally, the musical decision-making is appropriate for the performing practices of the selected genre.  

Generally, the technical proficiency is more than competent, and the student does, on occasion, personalise the performing practices of the chosen style - perhaps more successfully with the musical theatre pieces than with the contemporary jazz-inspired piece representative of AOI2. 

I would place this in the upper banding (10-12), but on the lower end due to some intonation problems and inconsistency with the upper voice that still seems to be developing. 

These pieces would likely receive 10 marks.

The candidate has presented a portfolio in which the musical intentions are generally clear, and expression is appropriate across the selected genres and areas of inquiry. The audio quality is excellent, and the notation clearly expresses the desired intent. 

It is a pity that the programme notes did not better unpack the selected Areas of Inquiry with supporting evidence and a greater range of works on display. With effectively two works from AOI3 (and technically missing one from AOI1), the scope of the portfolio was somewhat limited. A work that was religious in nature, folk-like or had the intention to protest (representative of AOI1) could have offered greater diversity and perhaps a better opportunity to express a more worthy justification.

The role of the researcher, too, could have been better integrated to support the rationale offered. 

Nevertheless, the concert band piece and the vocal performances were strong enough to place this student in the competent level descriptor for musical communication in the different roles. 

I suspect that the candidate was awarded 6 marks (out of 8) for this portfolio.