MUSICAL PERFORMANCE 4
Author’s name
On the Saturday night of June 4, 2016, Iattended a musical performance at the Diablo Valley College, inContra Costa, California. There were two vocal groups and three bandsconstituting students of the college. I chose a strategic position tosit because I wanted a clear view of the performance. I sat in themiddle of the hall. The hall was correctlyselected for the event because it had a small capacity of 200 peoplewith tickets, and the stage was well lit for clear viewing. It waslarge enough to accommodate the instruments, equipment, and theperformers. Furthermore, the design of the room allows an equaldistribution of sound from the stage to the back of the hall. Thesefeatures excited me. They ignited my desire to see the performance. Iwas well equipped with my expectations in the concert. I read someliterature about jazz music, musical instruments, and vocalperformance. I was dressed in a black suit,a red bow tie, and shiny black leathershoes. I also carried my notebook for noting anything I feltappropriate (Schiano, Marvin, & Hermann, 2012). Before enteringthe hall, the usher asked everyone to switch off their phones toavoid disturbances during the performance. I loved the lights and theaudience everyone was silent,and the master of ceremony introduced the show after welcoming everyone of us.
The first performance began with theblinking of red lights. The starting grouphad various instruments, a vibraslap, bass, conga, alto saxophone,shaker, trumpet, and drums (Giddins & DeVeaux, 2014). Theystarted with percussion and drums for one tempo song. Everyinstrumentalist was accorded a chance toimprovise and perform a solo.
It was a spectacular performance because all the instrumentalists hada real skill of creativity. I wasparticularly amazed by the bass player who demonstrated talent increativity skills. He would use a sophisticated pattern of bassthat rhymed with other players. His expression was appealing becauseone would tell that he felt and loved what he was doing. He knew howimportant his audience was, and interacted very well with them. I donot think that there was even one person who did not notice theuniqueness in him. I did not like the performance by the altosaxophone player, considering that his role was enormous in theperformance. His creativity was predictable with a simple pattern oftone and rhythm. At times, he did not marchwith other players who did very well. However, he realizedthe mistake and adjusted appropriately. He fixed the pitch and rhythminto the other instruments, and everyone in the hall screamed withexcitement. I felt ecstatic because it was as if he planned it byannoying everyone with poor performance, and suddenly introducing anexcellent one. The drum person was spectacular hewas my best player in the performance. Considering that I have someknowledge on using a drum, it was important for me to be keen. Theman had mastered the skill every drumbeatwas timely, and correctly fitted the otherinstruments. He had a complicated pattern that everybody loved. Ibecame a judge of my own, by noting the mistakes and excellentperformances. Averagely, all the players did well.
The subsequent performances were even better because the firstinstrumentalists were also involved. I realizedthat there was talent in the college. Practice and teamwork wereenough for the players. In the end, Iinteracted with different people who subsequently became my goodfriends. In conclusion, the concert was important in contributingtowards meeting the objectives of HUM 112 class.
References
Giddins, G. & DeVeaux,S. (2014). Jazz.New York: W.W. Norton.
Schiano, M., Marvin, E., &Hermann, R. (2012). Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz Since 1945: Essaysand Analytical Studies. Notes, 53(3),773. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/899721