Grade 7 Musical Knowledge

Question 1

O - Why did you choose to play this piece?

Answer 1

I like pieces with a swing feel to it due to the use of triplets. I also liked the pace of the piece as it is fast and that appeals to me.

Question 2

Y - Why did you choose to play this piece?

Answer 2

I thought the pace was a challenge for me and learning other features such as string bending interested me too.

Question 3

What are the contrasting styles of the two pieces and how did this affect your approach to interpreting them?

Answer 3

Off to California & Harvest Home is played with a more jaunty rhythm to it, having lots of triplets played throughout the piece. This meant that when approaching the piece I chose to practice swinging the notes while I played them so that I could achieve a strong musical result from the piece. Yakety Axe has a country music style to it. I approached it by using hybrid picking due to the string skip to create a punchy sound.

Question 4

Give some basic background information about Off to California and Harvest Home

Answer 4

These are 2 traditional Hornpipes that are played in segue (no gap between pieces). It has a jaunty rhythm, and the first piece is in the key of G major while the second is in the key of D major. With a strong 2 per bar feel it captures the natural style of the piece. It is a traditional piece.

Question 5

Give some background information about Yakety Axe

Answer 5

made by Chet Atkins and released in 1990. Has a country feel to it. Chet Atkins used a thumbpick to play this piece. Adapted from Yakety Sax by Boots Rudolph

Question 6

O - key, time signatures, repeat signs, dynamic markings + other signs

Answer 6

G major for first piece, D major for second piece
4/4
Yes
1. 2. To show what to play on each repeat
Triplets shown with 3s

Question 7

Y - key, time signatures, repeat signs, dynamic markings + other signs

Answer 7

G major
Cut-time or 2/2 (2 half-notes per bar)
Yes
Chords
string bending, vibrato symbol, hybrid picking, grace note (6-8), prolonged slur, triplets

Question 8

O - technical and musical challenges involved when playing piece + how they were overcome

Answer 8

I had trouble with playing the triplets effectively throughout the piece, so I had to slow them down and understand how they sound different to normal notes in order to be able to play them. I also had a problem with keeping up with the pace of the music so I had to start slowly and continually practice the piece in order to become better at it. I used a metronome as well to keep in time, as well as the CD.

Question 9

Y - technical and musical challenges involved when playing piece + how they were overcome

Answer 9

found it difficult to do the prolonged slur and hybrid picking, had to keep practicing it
Found it difficult to reach the right note on the slur, to solve it I looked at the target note I was playing at in order to not miss it with my finger
The 10 9 8 8 part (will indicate this on the day), discovered that picking in one single direction allowed me to sweep across the strings in one fluid motion
Had to practice string bending by bringing my other support fingers closer to the finger on the fret to make it easier to bend the string.

Question 10

Both - Why did you choose to play these pieces?

Answer 10

they are both flat-picking pieces and I like the pace of the pieces + the accuracy of picking. I also regularly listen to flatpicking pieces such as those by Doc Watson and Chet Atkins, such as Deep River Blues by Doc Watson and Mister Sandman by Chet Atkins.

Question 11

What is a grace note?

Answer 11

an extra note added which is not essential to the harmony or melody of the piece

Question 12

What are triplets?

Answer 12

3 notes that are in the same space occupied by 2 eighth notes