8/9/2019 GEK1519 Concert Review
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Every student is required to submit an essay as an individual
project.
The essay should be on the following topic:
Attend a musical concert or any live musical performance, which
could be
an SS concert, a musical or an opera, a pop!roc" concert, a ja##
concert,a $hinese orchestra concert or any concert, performance or
event inwhich the %&'E performance of music is the main focus
(this would e)cludeplays or ballet*, and say in your own words how
and why you haveenjoyed (or not enjoyed) the performance. +ou
should include somecomments on how and why science and/or
technology may havehad an eect (positive or otherwise) on your
musical experience and why, but the main focus of the essay
should be on yourpersonal views of the concert performance. The
essay should bewritten from the point of view of a member of the
audience, and Tas one of the performers.
&n addition to concerts which you plan to attend, you may
also write abouta concert you have recently attended (within the
last - months*. This willinclude concerts during the months of
ctober, ovember and ecember/012. The concert should be a formal
performance by live performers foran audience lasting at least 23
minutes. The concert may be either in anindoor or outdoor venue,
and need not be a tic"eted fee4payingperformance.
+ou need not conne your essay to the content of the
lectures. The
essay should express your own opinions, and will be graded
oncontent and writing ability.
The essay should have not less than 2 words or more than
!words. &t should be written in English, and should not include
anydiagrams, photographs or illustrations.
&t 56ST be entirely your own and unaided wor".
"he essay should be submitted as a #icrosoft $ord le with
thename%
exxxxxxxxx&docwhere ))))))))) is your matriculation number.
7lease put the numberof words and your matric& number at the
end of your essay but do'" include your name.
The submission deadline is at the end of wee * of the
semester, atmidnight of +aturday 2! #arch 2* i.e. the midnight
betweenSaturday /8 5arch and Sunday /9 5arch.
The -.0 worbin for the submission of the Essay
project les will be
open a few days before the submission deadline. 7lease do T
emailyour essay les to me.
8/9/2019 GEK1519 Concert Review
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6nfortunately, it also dawned on me that it ta"es at least four
gu#heng
players to match what one pianist can play.
As the concert went along, many pieces sounded similar to the
previous
ones as the gu#heng=s timbre is rather constant and the dynamic
range is
also fairly limited. Also, the composition style of each piece
is greatly
conformed to the traditional style and there was not much
variation in the
bass accompaniment for each piece. This repetition in musical
styles
made me quite bored, although & did manage to stay awa"e for
the whole
/4hour concert.
There was a gu#heng solo accompanied by a piano. The
piano, being
much more technologically advanced than the gu#heng, project its
sounds
far better and is able to play a much greater range of music, in
terms of
melody, chords, dynamics and pitch range. This combination
ofinstruments unfortunately showed the inferiority of the gu#heng,
which
has not evolved much in its long history, apart from an increase
in the
number of strings. The piano overpowered the soloist numerous
times
during the piece even though the gu#heng was the one playing the
main
melody. ?owever, the soloist=s s"ills were respectable. ?e
played with a
certain masculinity and decisiveness that was a good t for the
theme of
the song, which depicts the tragic story of loyal general +ue
@ei in the
Song dynasty. At one point, one of his strings fell loose and he
quic"ly put
the string bac" in place and in tune without losing his
composure. & thin"
that was the most impressive thing & saw in this
concert.
The music sounded much better when other accompanying
instruments
were included, li"e percussion or the sheng, a traditional
$hinese wind
instrument that involves blowing into di>erent pipes, each of
a di>erent
pitch. & thin" this is largely due to the addition of
additional tones or colour
to the piece, ma"ing the music much fuller than before. Also,
the sheng is
capable of playing sustained notes, something that the gu#heng
is unable
to do. This made the music ow smoother and sound more
harmonious.
&n conclusion, this concert was an eye opener for me as
& have only learnt
the piano and cello before. & have learnt that the gu#heng
is an e)cellent
solo instrument which is capable of playing a unique and
beautiful sort of
music that no other instrument is able to replicate. verall,
& could see
that the performers were well4practiced and were performing as
one in
most occasions.
