Task One was an introduction to Sibelius. This introduction was important as we had never used any software like this before and it was nice to see that the theory work we had been doing the week before was starting to pay off. I found the task fairly simple; we were composing in the key of C major, in 4/4 and with just a bass and treble clef (but moving into alto clef when we use the cello). We were to use the I IV V vi (1 4 5 6) chord structure for our composition using only semi-breves. This made it easier to understand how to input notes into the stave and it allowed us to focus only on the chordal part of our composition.
I have some experience in using musical notation software as I have written two compositions on Musescore for GCSE music two years ago. Both the software’s are fairly similar, however I find Sibelius much easier to navigate and everything feels a lot smoother. I think this introduction was beneficial for me as it made me used to this type of software again and we could learn the keyboard shortcuts on the I-Macs.
Here is my work from task one:
I completed this task fairly quickly and independently; I feel like doing this by myself gave me a challenge as I was trying to figure out things by myself instead of having to ask the tutor for help. I also started to work on the structure, as you can see in the PDF. I added a string quartet alongside the piano and started to layer these instruments up until they are all playing at the same time. To then add a dramatic effect, I dropped out the string quartet at the same time, the give it this empty feeling when just the piano was left.
To improve my work on this task, I need to try and memorise the notes on both a treble and bass clef. This is to make sure I can write music on a stave much quicker, therefore saving time to make important changes and improvements to my score. As I am a drummer, I can read drum notation very well and I excel in rhythm more than chords or melody. This is why I plan to improve on musical notation for other instruments. Also because I am learning guitar, I want to be able to read sheet music in that form without having to use a TAB all the time.