Imaginative Music for Chinese-Speaking Children

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree

DOCTOR OF CREATIVE ARTS

From the

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY

by

Jean Bunton B.Mus. (Hons)

18th August 2013

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND COMMUNICATION ARTS

ii

Abstract

This thesis aims to explain my personal musical voice, illuminate creative intentions,

shed developmental insight on the music theatre compositions, and argue for the positioning

of these compositions as a multiplicit subversion of linear educational learning processes

towards imaginative eclecticism to engage both children and adults.

I consider that my music theatre compositions are underpinned by a personal creative

voice that draws from my imagination and uses a wide scope of colours based on a rich

hymn-like harmonic sense and juxtapositional variety within structural levels. This voice

also emphasizes sound as a tangential explosion simultaneously subverting linear learning

processes. I see this subverting of the linear method, where small amounts of learning are

built upon in stages, and the simple into imaginative complexity, as a way of engaging

Chinese-speaking children and as an escape world for adults. This imaginative journey is

explored through my credo principles, historical places that inform it, and an analysis that

unpacks its techniques, and concludes with its imaginative and transformative aims.

My credo principles drawn from journeying are, musically: eclectic ideas and

imagination, tangential relationships, combinations of elements, harmonic and timbral

colour, and organic musical design leading to relentless climaxes; and educationally: textual

and lyrical zaniness, juxtaposition between structure and architecture, and moving from

scaffolding to simultaneous levels. Donald Schön’s reflection-in-action process has given

me insight into indeterminate practice-based situations and the collaborations required. The

thesis analyses the three works: The Magic Jungle in terms of colouring and juxtapositional

variety; Megan and the eBike, for styles and cultures; and Megan and the eBike Orchestral

Suite, for orchestral colour.

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Acknowledgement

Firstly I would like to thank my two supervisors, Dr Bruce Crossman and Associate Professor Diana Blom for their generous support and encouragement in the writing and development of this project. They have provided an endless supply of expertise, ideas for research directions, and practical advice on composition. Although The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike are pieces of music theatre designed for small children both my supervisors were able to envisage what varieties of music would be appropriate for this age group, giving as much thought and detailed planning as would be necessary for an adult audience. Both Dr Crossman and Associate Professor Blom encouraged me to widen my scope as broadly as possible, and in doing so I have learned valuable skills about composing in many different styles.

Leanne Nicholls, the Artistic Director of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, was the key instigator in suggesting that I create a piece of music theatre for children, and I would like to thank her for the commission to write The Magic Jungle. Bill Connor, the orchestrator and conductor, has also been a source of expertise and much encouragement. The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong entered into the spirit of the production with great enthusiasm.

I would also like to thank Ella Slack for coming to Hong Kong for the performances and directing the DVD, Peter Hebbes, Kim Ransley of Origin Musicals, Sydney, Erin Rogers and David Abinnanti of Theatrical Rights Worldwide in New York who have all made great contributions getting The Magic Jungle published.

Many thanks to Neville Grant who was the original editor of Megan and her ebike, and to Johan Fourie who has helped update the original book with his technological expertise. My thanks to Dr. David Bunton for proof reading the Thesis, and special thanks to Petar Jovanov for his work editing the scores of Megan and the eBike and Megan and the eBike Orchestral Suite.

Finally, I would like to thank my children, Marianne, Murray and Daniel for their encouragement, and my husband Wendell White for his constant support.

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Statement of Authentication

The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this

material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution.

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Contents

Introduction Chapter One: Imaginative Music for Chinese-Speaking Children: Educative Purposes, Tangential Thoughts and Compositional Imagination for Children ……….………… Structure ……………………………………………………... Aims of the Writing ………………………………………….

1 1 3

Part One: The Process Chapter Two: My Own Credo: Tangential Thoughts Towards Transformative Compositional Imagination for Children ……………………………………………………..

Eight Operating Principles: …………………………………… Musical Imperative Influences ……………………………….. Educative Imperative Influences …………………………….. Transformative Imaginative Aims …………………………….

Credo Summary ……………………………………………….

7 8 8 38 51 53

Chapter Three: My Own Story and its Methods: Leading to Imagination for Children ……….……………....

France: French Musical School ………………………………. Scotland: Gaelic Folk Music ………………………………..… Switzerland: Country and Western / Pop………………………

Musical Theatre……………………………………………..… England: Music from the English School …………………...… Explosions of Sound…………………………………………… Hong Kong ……………………………………………………. Australia …………………………………………………….… Traditional Church Music ………………………………..…… Jazz and Blues……………………………………………….… The Educational Imperative including Fantasy Writing…….…

Summary ………………………………………………………

55 57 59 61 66 65 72 73 77 78 81 83 85

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Chapter Four: My Creative Process ……………..…….....

Stimulation ………………………………………………...… Erratic inspiration …………………………………………… Dialogue: Reflective-Process …………………………….… Risk taking/Stimulation ………………… …………………

Summary ………………………………………………..……

86 87 94 105 108 115

Part Two: The Music Chapter Five: Analysis - Exploding Hymns ……………….

Part 1: The Magic Jungle…………………………………..… Part 2: Megan and the eBike……………………………….…

Part 3: Megan and the eBike Suite: Exploding the Hymn through Orchestral Colour ..……………………………….… Summary …………………………………………………..…

117 117 146 177 188

Conclusion Chapter Six: Imagination as Transformation: Chinese-Speaking Children and Imaginative Sonic Space ..

190

References ………………………………………………... Glossary of Musical Terms ……………………………….. Appendix 1: Areas of Difficulty for Chinese Speakers…...…………… 213

195 212

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INTRODUCTION

1

Chapter One: Imaginative Music for Chinese-Speaking Children: Educative Purposes, Tangential Thoughts and Compositional Imagination for Children

I consider that my music theatre compositions are underpinned by a personal

creative voice that draws from my imagination and uses a wide scope of colours

based on a rich hymn-like harmonic sense and juxtapositional variety within structural

levels. This voice also emphasizes sound as a tangential explosion simultaneously

subverting linear learning processes. I see this subverting of the linear method, where

small amounts of learning are built upon in stages, and the simple into imaginative

complexity, as a way of engaging Chinese-speaking children and as an escape world

for adults. This imaginative journey is explored through my credo principles,

historical places that inform it, and an analysis that unpacks its techniques, and

concludes with its imaginative and transformative aims.

Structure

I outline my credo and set out an overview of the compositional techniques I

have used in creating two music theatre works for children, The Magic Jungle and

Megan and the eBike, in Chapter Two: Tangential Thoughts Towards Transformative

Musical Imagination for Children. My credo functions by using eight operating

principles which fall into two categories, musical and educative. Musically the

principles are: eclectic ideas and imagination, tangential relationships, combinations

of elements, harmonic and timbral colour, and organic musical design leading to

relentless climaxes. Educationally the principles are: textual and lyrical zaniness,

juxtaposition between structure and architecture, and moving from scaffolding to

simultaneous levels. My overall aim is to use an imaginative, simultaneous multiple-

2

level approach to create words and music which have a joyful zest to attract children

and have transformative aims.

I tell something of my own journey in Chapter Three: My Own Story and its

Methods, in order to trace the musical influences which I draw from as a composer. In

writing about my personal history and cosmology I intend to show how the two are

wholly intertwined. I believe that it is important to extract the musical influences

from my historical context so that I can further explain my creative voice. My

geographical moves from Europe, to Hong Kong, and finally to Australia, have each

provided me with a palette of sounds, cultural reference points, and a rich cosmology

from which to draw. I have experienced some sad events in my life, but have found

that these too can ultimately enrich the depth of emotion in some of my more

poignant compositions. Being a church organist tended to set my music in a rather

staid framework of four-part harmony hymn tunes, but many new colourings from

jazz and blues have come creeping in and breathed new life and energy into my

compositional voice. The magical and extravagant world of music theatre has held a

life-long fascination for me because of its escapism and fantasy.

I look at Donald Schön’s writings on artistic cogency in Chapter Four: My

Creative Process and his views on reflective process, and I consider these ideas as a

way of making sense of indeterminate practice-based situations which I encounter in

composing. I discuss processes of the mind which work through simulation,

collaboration and dialogue and explore erratic inspiration and how composers find

‘the spark’ to see whether my own experiences are similar. Through a reflective

process I discuss my collaboration with the Leanne Nicholls, the Artistic Director of

the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, and Bill Connor, the Orchestrator of The

Magic Jungle. Using the process of reflection-in-action has helped to define my

3

creative process in a step by step process. Finally I look at risk taking and the type of

stimulation necessary to create any new piece of music.

Analysis of the three works which make up my musical portfolio are discussed

in chapter five, Analysis: Exploding Hymns. In particular I look at colouring and

juxtapositional variety in The Magic Jungle, styles and cultures in Megan and the

eBike and orchestral colour in the orchestral piece, Megan and the eBike Suite.

Aims of the Writing

This thesis does not seek to be a musicologist’s exhaustive analysis of the

composition portfolio but rather, as a children’s author and composer, I wish to unfold

my composer’s imagination and its sources as a story. I shall use fragments of music

to illustrate points, but shall not be taking a purely objective analytical approach.

This thesis aims to explain my personal musical identity and illuminate my intentions

and shed developmental insight into my work in creating textual and musical works

for children.

I consider that my musical voice emanates from a diverse collection of

principles and influences which come from the threads of my life journey and the

ways I have reacted to them. The point of view of my writing is to explain my

creative-process, and it aims to describe the three compositions in this portfolio: The

Magic Jungle which is a work of musical theatre aimed for an audience of Chinese-

speaking children from four to six years old; Megan and the eBike, which is written as

a primary school musical; and Megan and the eBike Suite, written for a chamber

orchestra. Although the enjoyment of music is the primary aim, the works also seek

to educate a young audience.

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Both The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike were first conceived as

language-learning vehicles for Chinese-speaking children learning English, but

because my writing and compositional styles often diversify rapidly both pieces have,

in the end, gone off at wide tangents. The apparent simplicity of teaching English to

Chinese-speaking children through teaching syllables, listening and imitating the

language in ‘digestible bites’ is taken on board musically at first. This educative

scaffolding simplicity, appropriate to children’s level of understanding, is subverted

through virtuosic complexity sending it into numerous directions. Another motive in

writing The Magic Jungle was to help children learn about music and shed light on

how a western orchestra works.

My work as an author of children’s books for Chinese-speaking children

learning English has also sparked my imagination, and it is this imagination in turn

which has led to my compositional works. My aim is to write words and music which

will create an imaginative world of sound which is aimed towards engaging a young

audience from pre-kindergarten to primary levels. However, I posit that my

imagination is like the subversion of the didactic into myriad complex paths.

I believe that imagination is the driver to creativity and this has led to

multilayered eclectic changes. A rapid juxtaposition of ideas, density of contrasts, and

narrative cogency have created multiple changes and provided variety on structural

levels. I describe how this imagination works, even sometimes subconsciously, to

produce some kind of new creation whether it is in text or music.

The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike combine textural zaniness,

drawing on influences from British children’s authors and their sense of humour, and

using educational ideas which are then exploded tangentially. This almost subverts

5

the learning process itself but is carefully crafted towards keeping the attention and

imagination of a lively young audience.

I consider that using a wide range of musical styles, with the frivolous

interloping on the serious, the jazzy on the ethereal, plus the fantasy elements of the

two texts which include magical animals forming an orchestra in the jungle and a

computer-controlled eBike that flies around the world, endeavours to engage with

young listeners, offering them a complexity of wild expressions of sounds, images

and colours.

To begin to explore this creative journey it is necessary to look at the set of

guiding principles that underpin the music, creating my own personal musical voice.

6

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Chapter 2: My Own Credo: Tangential Thoughts Towards Transformative Compositional Imagination for Children

There can be a sense of sadness and loss in some of my musical work, with

harmonic blurring and ambiguity. There is nostalgia for ‘what might have been’

which makes me resonate with the work of other composers and writers who

expressed their difficult life experiences through their music. I have always found

consolation in music, and my compositions come from harmonies which speak to me

personally. I have learnt that music can express emotions that words cannot. This

emotion manifests itself through a coloured hymn-like harmonic basis that starts as

something simple but multiplies quickly into a layered complexity. I see this music as

not only an escape from the world but an imaginative experience for young listeners

with transformative connotations from a Christian belief. The backbone of this

imaginative music is a personal voice that manifests itself in specific operating

principles.

My personal musical voice aims at concentrated variety through various

principles towards imaginative sounds for children to hear. The underlying impetus

of the personal voice’s imagination is escapism from control and sadness to a zestful

imaginative music-theatre world. This voice functions through eight operating

principles. These principles in my process break down into two groups: the musical

and the educative. Firstly, the musical principles are: eclectic ideas and imagination,

tangential relationships, combinations of elements, harmonic and timbral colour, and

organic musical design leading to relentless climaxes. Secondly, from the educative

side of my personality several principles emerge: textual and lyrical zaniness,

juxtaposition between structure and architecture, and moving from scaffolding to

8

simultaneous levels. In this latter principle I aim for easily communicable ideas for

children in both language and sound as a type of strict educational ‘scaffolding

approach’ to music theatre, which is quickly subverted into a more imaginative,

simultaneous multiple-level approach. The overall aim has a transformative notion

behind it of imaginative escapism and joyful zest to attract children with rich hymn-

like basis associated with Christianity as a type of spiritual uplifting.

Eight Operating Principles Musical Imperative Influences 1. Eclectic Ideas and Imagination

The sense of musical delight, with the power of producing it, is a gift of the imagination. Coleridge (as cited in Copland, 1952, p. 7)

I consider that every child is born with a sense of imagination. As children

we all play, which requires imagination, and we learn to be inventive. We create our

own make-believe worlds and explore their originality. Imagination comes from the

creative part of the mind and this may then lead to a natural progression into adult life

where the imagination has the ability to form images and ideas in the mind, especially

of things we have never seen or experienced directly. Educationalist and playwright

David Wright states that imagination can lead to “following intuitive leaps, trusting

hunches or feelings and also overcoming the instinct to self-censor and to work with

some sort of speculation or ‘make believe’” (Wright, personal communication, June

11, 2008). However, as I have found, action is necessary before imagination becomes

creativity, and it is this action which “takes the process of imagination to another

level” (Robinson, 2009, p. 67). I have been interested to listen to J. K. Rowling,

creative writer of the Harry Potter books written for the same age group as some of

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my audiences, in her keynote speech at Harvard when she prioritises imagination

stating:

Imagination is arguably the most transformative and revelatory capacity: it

is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences

we have never shared. … and is the only uniquely human capacity to

envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and

innovation (Rowling, 2008, p. 67).

My own Imagination: Hong Kong Influences

I believe that there are closely related concepts within imagination which

Singer and Singer describe as being: “fantasy, daydreaming, imaginativeness,

imaginative play, creative imagination, and creativity” (Singer & Singer, 2001, p.

122). Out of these, daydreaming is my primary source of inspiration and there can be

many cues which trigger it. These might be internal or external. Thoughts, memories

and associations, or both, can be perceived as some ‘internal cues’. Memories of the

growing cacophony of dragon dance gongs and drumming, from my living

experiences in Hong Kong, have sparked a rhythmic energy that manifests internally

in my music. ‘External cues’ might be sounds, smells and touch sensations, which can

then be turned into reality. Listening to the varied pitch sounds of the Cantonese

language while watching young children on the Star Ferry in Hong Kong harbour, and

that curious smell of dried fish and diesel-laced humidity of this exciting East and

West collision that is this Fragrant Harbour, spark my musical imagination towards a

musical collage to connect to these children. My personal imagination is geared

towards creating eclectic ideas which can be used musically and theatrically. When

writing text I form images and concepts in my mind, and I do this entirely to entertain

10

myself. Daydreaming, when my mind is unstressed, or middle-of-the-night moments

are the most creative times for me.

The twenty-three years I spent living in Hong Kong provided me with many

cultural influences. As it is a confluence of many cultures, most notably East Asia

meets the West in a former British colony, it has indescribable energy. Because of its

small size - an area of 1,104 square kilometers, (Government of Hong Kong, 2011),

and its large population - 7.1 million, (Government of Hong Kong, 2011) it has a vibe

which I have never found elsewhere. Just walking through the street markets, seeing

how the Chinese people are so inventive, hard working, usually uncomplaining, and

eager to make sure their own children have a better future than they did, inspires me.

Hong Kong composer Law Wing Fai says of his work that he is naturally

closely linked to Hong Kong culture finding inspiration in its energy. Musicologist

Frederick Lau puts Law in a category that emphasises:

Hong Kong’s unique cultural hybridity, contradiction and irreverence. Law

Wing Fai’s music, which is as complicated and probing as Hong Kong’s

fluid, pluralistic and idiosyncratic culture, indirectly interrogates how

Chineseness is calibrated and the way hybridity works within its cultural

context (Lau, 2007, p. 602).

These broad-based Hong Kong influences are used in many ways in The

Magic Jungle as it is geared towards an audience of Chinese-speaking children. I

chose to make the central character in the story a monkey, as Chinese children love

them. Monkeys are a part of the Chinese zodiac (their attributes being quick witted,

fun loving, always cheerful, energetic, and often magical). The Monkey King’s story

has been a major part of Chinese culture throughout history (Shepard, 2008, p. 9), and

has been made into a famous Chinese Opera (Siu & Lovrick, 1997, p. 56). As such, it

seemed the ideal animal to choose as part of the plot. In reflection I can see that my

11

artistic credo uses the materials around me in the same way Law chooses ideas, that is

because of their accessibility: “My selection of Chinese cultural elements…is because

I live in Asia” (Law, 2007, p. 596). Yet in my work, as with Law, it is deeper than

this; these Chinese cultural elements are a part of my cultural ecology which forms an

underlying resonance with self that feeds my work. Frederick Lau notes that for

Law’s music “he was deeply inspired by the energy and dynamism expressed in

Chinese calligraphy and painting” (p. 593) which parallels my literary imagination

which itself has some aspects also found in Chinese folklore.

Imagination in Writing Text

Barber describes imagination as the mind in flight “soaring on the wings of

memory, emotion, association and perception.” In writing down we ‘see’ what we are

imagining (Barber, 2003, p. 2). I believe that the mind has to be in a very relaxed

state to ‘see’ the big picture and to focus on the usefulness of articulating vivid

images. I have found that it is the ‘large picture’ of a story which has to come before

any music; the articulation of this in written form gives me a clarity. Only when the

outline of a story is clear to me, do I start thinking of diverse ideas for the text and

then the music. I try to see where my imagination might meet the imagination of a

young reader of a book, or an audience, and how eclectic music can then be used to

underpin the textual narrative. Braheny writes that we can “communicate our realities

to one another using a set of mutually agreed-upon words. These words, when

spoken and heard, become powerful external cues to the imagination” (Braheny,

1988, p. 38). However, whilst my initial form is a ‘word-based’ articulation of

imaginative ideas within my creative mind as in Braheny’s approach, it also broadens

out into understood ‘sonic-cues’ eclectically gathered. In short, my approach to

12

imagination is across both words and sounds that have a basis related to the everyday

and through this aims to connect to children.

I have kept at the forefront of my mind the need to employ quick-fire wild

textual ideas, and varied images to keep with the short attention span of a young

audience of children. To create text I have found it easier to speak in an ‘adult’ voice

to the ‘child’ within myself. I usually write while speaking the words aloud, because

I find the need to hear the sentences, playing with the order of the words, and hearing

their rhythm and tempo. Sometimes a sentence can be elongated to make it more

descriptive. Or it could be shortened. I also try to make every word ‘count’ just

enough to explain a point, but not so much as to make it boring. This process

sometimes leads my imagination on to even quirkier ideas. For example, the economy

of sparse nouns and sharply juxtaposed meanings of My life, my chopstick (Bunton

and Coates, 1999) create this characteristic quirk in my writing. Speaking to my inner

‘child’ makes me resonate with the thoughts of Palladino when she calls children’s

imagination their “innate style of boundless, individualistic, divergent thinking”

(Palladino, 1997, p. xiii).

An essential ingredient in the learning process is the need for story-telling to

provide children with models for problem-solving. Bettelheim suggested that “If a

child is deprived of fairy tales, he may not be able to invent stories on his own which

help him to cope with life’s problems” (Dundes, 1991, p. 75). I consider that it could

therefore be argued that children need to feel allowed to learn what it is to be

imaginative through story-telling musicals, in order to encourage them to create

imaginative worlds of their own to cope with reality. Perhaps in this sense, my

creativity has a transformative aim. My personal approach to narrative is to create a

13

quest that the characters embark upon but contain a mischievous punning quality

aimed at engaging the ‘naughty/curious’ side of children.

Imagination in Writing Music

Just as the quick juxtapositional puns of my writing are aimed to engage

children, my music also uses a quick-fire eclectic technique as its basis. This could be

explained as a musical strategy, as in my writing, to engage the young audiences with

short attention spans through quick-fire imaginative eclectic range of musical styles

from the known canon both classical and popular. The warm colour moment

harmonies characteristic of the French school “attempted to give music a more

improvisatory character with subtle and understated coloristic effects” (Hays, 1997). I

frequently use intervals of sevenths and of dominant major ninths, which are also

found in the nostalgic strains of Cantopop pop1. Ravel, describing characteristic

features of his music, said, “There are rules for making a building hold up, but none

for linking modulations together. Yes, only one – inspiration.” (Landormy and

Wager, 1939, p. 434) Music from the French school is often based on fragments on

the whole tone scale, Lydian mode and the diatonic scale, to form dissonant colouring

of the triads (see Example 2.1). Diatonic, as defined by Drabkin in Grove Music

Online, is:

Based on or derivable from an octave of seven notes in a particular

configuration, as opposed to Chromatic and other forms of Scale. A seven-

note scale is said to be diatonic when its octave span is filled by five tones

and two semitones, with the semitones maximally separated, for example

1 Cantopop evolved in the early 1970s because of the demand from audiences in Hong Kong for songs in their own Cantonese dialect (Ho, 2003, p.146). Often in Cantopop the romantic colour harmonies underpin the crooning melodic lines.

14

the major scale (T–T–S–T–T–T–S). The natural minor scale and the church

modes … are also diatonic” (Drabkin).

This strategy is borrowed from Debussy’s highly personal harmonic language,

which Reti describes as containing frequent use of parallel chords, bitonality, or at

least bitonal chords, use of whole tone and pentatonic scale, unprepared modulations

“without any harmonic bridge”. He describes Debussy’s music (Reti, 1958, p. 108)

with the words “it has a tendency, an approximation which cannot be refined by a

rigid system or set of rules but can be made comprehensible only by describing its

nature and effect.” (Reti, 1958, p. 395). I tried to emulate the colouristic

arrangements of whole-tone as single colour entities which are a continuation of the

French school’s sensuous sound colour approach (mentioned on page 13). This is

shown in the “Oboe Theme” in The Magic Jungle (Example 2.1) where whole-tone

conglomerations are chromatically juxtaposed and final tonalities are left unresolved.

Debussy inseparably binds modality and tonality. Although French music had never

lost its variety of modes, Debussy extended and revitalized their range and tonal

potential, developing the explorations of Chabrier and Russian composers and the

different modal languages of Asian music (Orledge, 1981, p. 15). Following

Debussy’s lead in combining European single colour-sonority entities with East-Asian

modality, I found a way of harmonically connecting in my music with the East-West

cultural collision I felt via Hong Kong harbour.

15

Example 2.1: The Magic Jungle “Oboe Theme” (bars 21-24) —Coloured Triads.

Other Eclectic Ideas

I also included jazz, blues, rap, military march, and dance rhythms. In Megan

and the eBike I have used a ‘technology motif’ which occurs every time the eBike

takes off. A jazzy song, such as ‘Technology’a (from Megan and the eBike) can be

abruptly interrupted by the textural change of the ‘technology motif’ with the

orchestra flying into a frenzy of ascending semiquavers, all of which appear without

any prior warning, as if the orchestra is a ‘sonic computer’ with ‘beeps’ and

‘whirrings’ accompanied by a varied collection of percussion, as the sonic equivalent

to metal parts of bicycle action (see Example 2.2).

Example 2.2: Megan and the eBike, ‘technology motif’ (bars 88-104)—using the orchestra as a sonic computer.

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16

In summary, the use of eclectism is my first operating principle for

composition. In this sense I follow in the tradition of American composer Stephen

Sondheim’s music theatre. Steve Swayne writes that “Sondheim has freely

acknowledged his eclecticism, seeing in it neither a curse nor a blessing but a fact of

his creative life” (Swayne, 2005, p. 325).

2. Tangential Relationships

Before he decided to break the rules, Sondheim certainly studied them. (Cauley, 2007, p. 6)

Creative Architecture and Tangential Relationships

The first essential element in writing a piece of musical theatre for children is

the length of the story, to make sure that it was just long enough to hold their

attention, but not so long that they would become bored. The actual mapping out and

writing of the story itself came next, and it was vital to make sure that the climaxes in

the story came at appropriate points. Whilst composing The Magic Jungle and Megan

and the eBike it was important to adhere to macro plans, or overall creative

architectures, so that balance was maintained in the whole story and music and to

provide a sense of unity for each of the pieces. It then became possible to see where a

song was needed and where text could be placed. On a microcosmic level each song

was also planned with its own vocal climaxes.

However, my ‘scaffolding approach’ (which I shall explain further on page

47) of using the simplicity of digestible sound-bites for a child listener is often made

complex through the use of various compositional devices. ‘Into the Storm’, for

example, is suddenly made complex through a Wagnerian-type motif elaboration

beyond simple non-developmental strophic statements. This can be seen in The Magic

Jungle with the simple diatonic quaver motion gradually elaborating into a

17

demisemiquaver chromatic fury wildly complicating the quiet fragment to suggest the

dramatic idea of ‘the storm’ (see Example 2.3).

Example 2.3: The Magic Jungle, ‘Into the Storm’ (bars 88-104)—Simple to Wild Storm Tangent.

My motif development technique within music-theatre was inspired by

Wagner’s use of leitmotif and harmony in Tristan and Isolde as a means of

storytelling. It is as if motif growth pushes the story onwards creating statements.

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The music and the drama are interactive. Bell and Chicurel put it this way:

“Exposition, rise in conflict, climax, and resolution tie musical composition to

principles of storytelling” (Bell & Chicurel, 2008, p. 24). Weiner quotes Friedrich

Nietzsche, writing of

’monstrousness’ and the power of Wagner’s ‘seductive force,’

characterized the composer five years after Wagner’s death as a

‘magne´tiseur,’ a ‘master of hypnotic tricks’ whose works begin with

‘hallucination,’ implying that the composer mystified, and thereby held in

rapt attention, his listening audience. Nietzsche went on to describe

Wagner’s works as what today we would call ‘nerve agents’ capable of

stimulating, titillating, and seducing through the senses (Wiener, 2007, p.

217).

Sondheim’s Songs

Sondheim believes that every song should move the plot forward. Audiences

have complained that they left the theatre after a Sondheim show without a melody to

hum, but Sondheim’s reply is that the development of songs is much more important

than a constant repetition of one song. Zadan, writing about Sondheim, states “The

old masters knew this. See any old show and notice the number of reprises. Steve

does not like reprises. To him the song is a story in itself … to him, it's important that

a score be not just a series of songs - that it should in some way be developed, just the

way [a show's] book is" (Zadan, 1974, p. 251). Sondheim, in an interview with Gross

(2010), recalled being at the intermission of A Little Night Music when it was first

performed and hearing somebody say;

That “Weekend in the Country” is such a catchy tune – very few people

accuse me of writing catchy tunes! Well of course it was a catchy tune

… she had just heard eleven choruses of it! The whole thing about

humability is familiarity – if you hear a tune enough times you’ll hum

19

it. I’ve sometimes said that ‘familiarity breeds content’. The whole

problem is that you might go into the theatre humming! If you can hum

a tune easily on first hearing, it is more than likely it reminds you of

something else (Gross, 2010).

However, Sondheim changed this structure in Into The Woods. In the first act

he used a series of sixteen scenes, each one having its own music, but having the ‘Into

the Woods’ tune threading them all together (Zadan, 1974, p. 340).

Tangential Variety

The varied musical influences I have had in my life have meant that I have had

the benefit of a wide range of musical styles from which to choose. For example, if

there is a deliberately slow or poignant piece of music I try to reinvigorate the next. I

also tend towards using the shock factor of the imagination whether in text or music.

For example, when the eBike leaves earth’s atmosphere for a short time and Ben says

“Now, you're going into space for a few seconds. Take a deep breath Megan, and

hold on tight.” There is the rather eerie sound of an oboe ‘holding on’ with a high

pitched single note, along with a didjeridu which represents ‘home’ (Megan and the

eBike, “Setting off for Europe” bar 78).

I have also used tangential diversity in the variety of songs, usually putting in

more ‘up-beat’ songs to suit the tastes of the audience of children. “Jogging in the

Jungle”, (see Example 2.4) with its absurd lyrics, was placed near to the beginning of

The Magic Jungle just to make sure the audience kept responding, and so that there

was not too much text which might be difficult to understand. Whilst there is still a

macro plan, the production was kept ‘alive’ by adding variety to the development of

the story, and constant changes of musical styles, which is a point I develop in more

depth in the analysis chapter.

20

Example 2.4: The Magic Jungle, ‘Jogging in the Jungle’ (bars 8-11)—Juxtaposition of structure to ensure variety between songs.

Hersch writes that Sondheim “constructs his scores to meet the specific

requirement of each libretto. His variety of musical mood and style is indeed

prodigious” (Hirsch, 1989, p. 75). Sondheim himself says that he found his voice

writing "musicals that startled people… I'm a great audience. I cry very easily. I

suspend disbelief in two seconds” (Brockes, 2010, p. 10).

Although Lloyd Webber, in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour

Dreamcoat, uses one Biblical story, each song diverts from the main plot, moving in

completely different stylistic directions. He makes use of his many modern music

influences, and it is not difficult to tell which style has inspired each song, such as the

‘Go, Go, Go Joseph’ with its disco rhythms; ‘One More Angel in Heaven’ with its

country music feel, even with the mock harmonica, and sometimes fake American

accents, leading into a hoedown. All these diversions have made the story come to

life and because the musical was written specially for a school choir as a fifteen-

minute production, it was directed towards their musical tastes, and those of the

audience of teenagers. This musical, which is now a two-hour show, has now been

performed by 20,000 schools in the UK because, as Lloyd Webber has said, it was

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written specifically for the age group for which it was intended (The Really Useful

Website).

Humour towards Tangential Variety

My music is not only sonically eclectic, but also draws on theatrical visual

ideas about humour to inspire it. I appreciate the subtleties of British humour which

have been described as “using metaphors, puns, understatement, juxtaposition, irony,

satire, ambiguity, contradiction, allusion, parody, the use of the nonsensical, and the

ability to laugh about oneself” (Landy, 2005, p. 14). The only way to make jokes in

another language is to have a great knowledge of the culture. Jokes made in English

can easily fall flat on Chinese ears, and from experience, it is better not to try verbal

humour in Hong Kong. There is a type of nonsensical British visual humour, an

example of which was portrayed in Monty Python’s Flying Circus (Landy, 2005, p.

14) by John Cleese in his “Ministry of Silly Walks”, which seems to cross the

language barrier. A favorite comedy in Hong Kong is the Mr Bean series. There are

no words, just a foreigner making a fool of himself. The Mr Bean’s Holiday film

topped Hong Kong's box office for two weeks after going on screen in early April

2011 and was screened in China that summer (China Daily, 2011). I chose to use this

same type of visual humour in the staging of my music, making the narrator in The

Magic Jungle a foreigner lost in the jungle, wearing typical ‘British explorer’ clothes,

complete with a pith helmet. I used visual humour as much as possible, with the

conductor being dressed as a lion and all of the orchestra with their faces painted as

animals.

This British-style visual humour is translated into musical gestures with

associations which are re-contextualised into my music to create humour. For

example, in the Magic Jungle the animals suddenly broke into a glorious and well

22

known piece of Mozart (see Example 2.5) just a moment after they have learned how

to tune their instruments—it was of course an impossibility to learn the music that

quickly. The children in the audience did not understand the complexities of the

jarring music-association reference and rudimentary musicianship skills, but their

parents certainly did.

Example 2.5: The Magic Jungle, ‘The Next Morning’ (bars 86-89)—Mozart’s ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ K.525—humour within the music towards tangential variety.

Textual zaniness, I have found, is a catalyst towards musical diversity. One

aspect about my work, following the Monty Python model, is that the text tends to

take illogical leaps, with tangential ideas usually included because of the use of

humour. Large contrasts are used to create humour, such as an eBike circling the

globe within three minutes. I researched information from a ten-year-old boy (the

same age as Ben in Megan and the eBike) to find out what his age group might know

about technology. He answered:

The eBike could be programmed to send up fireworks and plasma flares

(tracked by my computer) so I can find it when there is trouble. If there is a

malfunction in the bike I can get … a computer virus destroyer system to

hack into the ebike’s circuits to get rid of the bug. If the bike suddenly has to

land it should switch the braking system from external to internal, so that

23

the rockets can lose power quietly and efficiently. (Langbein, personal

communication, 2010)

For good measure he also told me that the concept behind the song “Count the

Stars” was unscientific, “because some stars are dying every moment, whilst others

are being formed! Didn’t you know that?” I stood corrected.

I draw on this textual zaniness to act as a catalyst to provide a musical

equivalent. There were moments of pure musical humour, such as the loud and

unexpected orchestral tutti (bar 34 in ‘Ending’) and just before the final ‘The Magic

Jungle’ song to wake everybody up and make sure the audience listened to the last

line of dialogue.

I believe that humour aids learning, and, as Powell and Andresen note, can

increase interest and attention in what is being taught (Powell and Andresen, 1985,

pp. 79-90). I kept in mind the fact that children laugh at other people’s minor

misfortunes, clumsy accidents caused by awkwardness, inexperience, stupidity, or

simply bad luck, all of which lead to “damage or considerable confusion” (Neuß,

2006, p. 8).

3. Combinations of Elements Formulaic Patterns of Musicals Combined with ‘Hooks’

Whilst I use visual humour particularly relevant to crossing the language

issues of cross-cultural engagement with Chinese children, I have also looked at more

generic forms of engagement through formulaic patterns combining a variety of songs

and music in a musical which has been developed over the years. Novak defines the

types of songs in a musical and their usual order and this provided a useful guide

(Novak, 1988, p 17). These formulae include a rousing chorus, a slow lyrical song,

and a humorous speech patter song. I also developed more quick-fire techniques to

24

suit an audience of children. This quick-fire approach (which I shall refer to later in

the analysis section) includes sequential song compilations with no recitative speech

narrative in between. In my creative process I used elements of the musical formulaic

variety and quick-fire flow as a guide to architecture, but also included narrative

novelty ‘hooks’ to draw in the audience.

Many lyricists and composers have written about the way to keep an

audience’s attention. Bill Connor, before he orchestrated The Magic Jungle, said “I

can tell just by looking at a score what is going to work with an audience of children”

(Connor, personal communication, August 26, 2007). Oscar Hammerstein has been

quoted as saying that the first song is what makes or breaks a show. George Abbott, a

Broadway director, thought differently and was able to put on the musical High

Button Shoes (1947) with only eighteen pages of script. He “made up the rest as he

went along”. His motto was “forget Art; does it work?” He believed that the vital

test of a musical was the audience reaction (Steyn, 2000, p. 4). I apply this to my own

work in that I draw on Connor’s practical knowledge and my own experience in

writing children’s books to provide the formulaic and attention-grabbing moments but

also apply scholarly research for structural, harmonic and language depth.

In Megan and the eBike I used a narrative device of a birthday party for

‘Megan’s Birthday Song’ (see Example 2.6), as the ‘hook’ for Megan to get her

birthday gift – a bicycle. Parties are such exciting events for children and therefore

engage their interest within a narrative. This narrative ‘hook’ is strengthened by a

music association technique. The first and third lines of ‘Megan’s Birthday Song’

which use my own music, are interrupted by the first and second phrases of the song

‘Happy Birthday to You’. I have juxtaposed these tunes because of the intense

excitement that children feel about their birthdays which is triggered by hearing the

25

‘Happy Birthday to You’ song. This music-association technique is intended to draw

the child audience in to identify with the birthday child. The opening phrase, initially

in D major, is then repeated a semitone higher, in the key of Eb major, to increase

excitement. The lyrics “I will be eight” are used emphatically before the next line of

‘Happy Birthday to You’. To add to the musical mood of a party, it is followed by

the whole orchestra counting the candles on her cake, and a balloon being burst to add

to the cacophony. Thus the birthday ‘hook’ is worked extensively through music-

association, chromatic ascent and speech-association to connect to the child audience.

Example 2.6: Megan and the eBike, ‘Megan’s Birthday Song’ (bars 2-14)—a ‘hook’ to keep children interested.

26

In The Magic Jungle I used several narrative ‘hooks’ at the start of the

musical: two children and a box with a monkey inside it, as a means of getting the

audience’s full attention and to help them live into the story. I used movement

through rapidly ascending arpeggios and a drum roll before the monkey somersaulted

out of the box as a way of increasing the suspense (see Example 2.7). This was

followed by a short introduction into the up-beat opening song ‘Living in the Magic

Jungle’, which drew influences from Cantopop. In other words, formulaic musical

and narrative conventions were used as a strategy to engage children.

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Leitmotif Another stock convention that I use in my music theatre work is the

Wagnerian technique of leitmotif—which Whittall, in Oxford Music Online,

describes as a “primary sense, a theme, or other coherent musical idea, clearly

defined so as to retain its identity if modified on subsequent appearances, whose

purpose is to represent or symbolise a person, object, place, idea, state of mind,

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Wagner, but in The Magic Jungle, as a lighter more humorous device associated

with animals that children relate to.

In The Magic Jungle each instrument was linked with an animal, not just for

amusement, but as a means of helping the children remember the sounds. Eclectic

ideas and imagination such as elephants playing the bass led to ‘Elephants Thud’ (see

Example 2.8) which brought out characteristics in the music, such as the 5/4 rhythm

and the awkward heavy, plodding musical feel, as well as the singer’s part

deliberately written in a low tessitura to explore the thickness of the voice in deep

register.

Example 2.8: The Magic Jungle, ‘Elephants Thud’ (bars 1 - 3)—The didactic idea of linking each instrument with an animal.

Combination of Orchestral Sounds

Following on from the concept of leitmotif connection to sound, is the

development of large scale musical gestures anchored to the moment of textual drama

drawing on British composer Benjamin Britten’s synchronized gestures, Oliver

Knussen’s colourful undiluted integrity, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular music

formula as models.

Britten uses an eclectic variety of sounds in Noye’s Fludde. At the point when

God promises never to bring another flood there is a

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forcefully determined musical point which encapsulates the whole action in

one shattering musico-linguistic gesture. The promise is a kind of acoustic

miracle wrought by the appearance in Britten’s score of handbells. This

brilliant metallic shock of their peel here mollifies the voice of an angry,

destroying God who earlier speaks only in thundering tones (and drum rolls).

(Ruppreckt, 2001, p. 23)

I draw on this approach as a principle of large colour moments married directly to

dramatic tensions, not as indirect associations away from the dramatic moment.

I have also been fascinated by Oliver Knussen’s colourful use of orchestration

in setting extracts of Maurice Sendak’s highly imaginative children’s book Where the

Wild Things Are. In the compact disc notes Knussen acknowledges his debt in the

score to Mussorgsky and Debussy, whom he identifies as being especially astute with

writing for children without patronizing them. He writes, "My intention, then, was

not to dilute my own musical speech to write a children's opera, but simply to respond

to the subject as immediately, as colourfully as I knew how" (Bodmer, 1992). I draw

on Knussen’s musical integrity here as a principle of full French-style colour harmony

expressed orchestrally to excite children, and not a diluted tonal chromaticism.

The musical influences, or elements, in Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ

Superstar are a taken from rock, show music, pop, and semi classics. Although Lloyd

Webber has been accused by music critic Michael Walsh of “borrowings” saying:

the Grieg Piano Concerto provided an instrumental theme symbolizing Judas’s

betrayal, a lick from Carl Orff’s Carmina Buranda made a fleeting appearance in

the Gethsemane scene, and the ominous trudge of Prokofiev’s ‘Battle on the Ice’

from Alexander Nevsky materialized as well. (Citron, 2001, p. 149)

Lloyd Webber has said that it is true in the work of any composer, that there

are ‘borrowings’ because there are only so many notes on the piano which can be

used harmonically, and only so many styles and rhythmic choices, so that there is

30

always a possibility of copying from other works, even if it is subconsciously. What I

take from this is that ‘conscious borrowings’ can be used as a combination of

‘musical hooks’ to engage children.

4 Types of Colourings Leading to Orchestral Colour

This music is exquisitely rich and attuned to the full spectrum of color that is so important to Messiaen’s idiom.

(Eichler, 2003) Interval-Colour to Texture

Interval-colour within tonal chords as richness within my musical flow is

important as is its translation into orchestral timbre. It was not always this way, but

through first encountering Messiaen’s music whilst playing the organ at a church, and

studying more about it in Twentieth Century Harmony classes at University; it opened

my mind to new possibilities of colour.

After looking at the main principles which Messiaen used in his compositions,

I have seen that the simple harmonies and regular common and triple time rhythms I

once used are lacking in interval-colour variety and repetitive to a listener. My usual

method of composition needed a thorough shake up. Interval-colouring of music

would presumably not be appropriate for an audience of young children in every song

or piece of music due to the overwhelming complexity for a young listener; however I

have tried to be more experimental in my writing as short moments of intense colour

can fit with a child’s attention span. This interval-colour intensity is enhanced by

textural colours.

One approach in using interval-colour and textural colouring is the use of

word painting towards generating a variety of colours. To represent ‘rain’ (in ‘Into

the Storm’ in The Magic Jungle, bars 74 to 79) I have used the soft whole-tone quality

31

of Chinese pentatonism, combining the velvet timbres of flute with a rain-stick

atmosphere, and very quiet staccato notes on a piano, to which the orchestrator also

added transient sounds of xylophone and harp. I varied the rhythm to give a sense of

unpredictability with the overall pentatonic colour wash suggesting rain (see 2.9).

Example 2.9: The Magic Jungle, ‘Into the Storm’ (bars 74 to 79)—Pentatonic theme representing rain as an example of word painting.

Messiaen used seven specific modes in his harmonic colouring which he

referred to as “Technique de mon Langage Musicale”. Walker describes a few more

facets of the colour that Messiaen felt he could ‘see’:

The term ‘limited transposition’ is the composer’s own, and he created a

whole system applying to the symmetrical properties of each mode of which

the original pitch-class content is replicated if the mode is transposed

beyond the limiting levels which classify it. The initial pitches are not

intended to be tonics or finals: no pitch class takes precedence over any

other in this respect, and the modes can begin on any degree or their pitch

classes appear in any order. (Walker, 1989, p. 159)

Following Messiaen, but in a totally different genre, I have applied a concept

of musical colour on a microcosmic level as jazz-style interval-colour harmonies in

some songs to provide a variety of colouring. There are chords arranged vertically in

major or minor thirds, and added intervals such as ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths.

‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ (see Example 2.10) also uses the ‘rap’ technique of rough

spoken vocals and gritty saxophone to give timbre variety to complement its

underlying ninth and eleventh interval-colours. The piece also has some unusual

chord changes which create juxtapositional colour change. Starting in the key of F

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12 - Into the Storm 112

32

major it passes through the chord of Ab7 (the V of Db) in bar 32 to the key of Db

major in bar 33. This key change is used to make the piece more interesting, and

through chromatic key changes it forms an unusual progression which the listeners’

ears might not have expected by moving from no accidentals to suddenly four flats.

At bar 47 the key changes back into F major although the sudden key change makes

the listener feel that the key has ‘gone up’ again. These jazz harmonies in ‘Snap,

Crocodile, Snap’ will be analysed in chapter five but it is sufficient to say here that

chromatic shifts and vertical colourings are a strategy to engage the listeners’ interest.

Example 2.10: The Magic Jungle, ‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ (bars 49-51) — jazz harmonies.

Timbre and Textural Colouring of Accompaniments

Allied to this interval-colour principle in my work is its extension into

different orchestral colours and their cultural associations as well as its interpretation

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3

33

as texture. The principle herein is that interval-sonority suggests timbre colour in my

music. An approach I take is that the sonic colour of the intervals translates into

textural colour. Whilst at first I found Sondheim’s harmonies and progressions

difficult to identify, listening to his music (repeatedly in some cases) has attuned my

ear to some of his rich chromatic moments. Banfield writes that Sondheim’s musical

language, in which melody and harmony are closely argued, “retains strong affinities

with Ravel and Copland, while making sophisticated use of jazz and dance idioms; it

is intensely personal, often bittersweet, in its expression” (Banfield, Oxford Music

Online, 2008). He describes his most famous song, ‘Send in the Clowns’ (see

Example 2.11) as a very deliberate Rachmaninoff imitation of a rhapsody (Sweyn,

2005, p. 24).

Example 2.11: ‘Send in the Clowns’ (bars 1 to 6) — Sondheim’s harmonies influenced by a Rachmaninoff rhapsody.

Don Walker has described the process of orchestrating Sondheim’s music:

“Company was especially difficult because every song had to have a new style created

& bbb 812 89Œ . Œ . Œ . œ œ œIsn t it

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& bbb 8610 ! ! ! ! !

[Composer]

© Jean Bunton, 2009

Score

Send in the Clowns Music and Lyrics Stephen Sondheim

34

for it. This is because Sondheim uses difficult intervals and sometimes he gets into

some pretty tricky harmony, pretty dissonant harmony” (Zadan, 1976, p.155). In

other words, there is a distinctive pitch colour that requires a distinctive orchestral

response, which is something that I found in my own collaborative relations in music

theatre.

Bill Connor’s orchestration of The Magic Jungle uses many different lush and

rich orchestral techniques to bring out the rich interval-colours where sonority is used

as pure moments of colour. He has responded by using a unique style for each of the

seventeen sections of music and their distinctive harmonic colours. The climax of

‘Into the Storm’, (bars 118 to 150) for example, used strings, clarinets, brass,

percussion and the special effect of palm clusters on the synthesizer. Apart from

studying scores of many different orchestrations from Bernstein, and Vivaldi to

Debussy and jazz, I have also studied Connor’s use of instrumentation and techniques

to inform my orchestration of Megan and the eBike Suite. The final climax in my

orchestration of ‘Typhoon’ (see Example 3.9 on page 71 bars 139 to 142) shows the

full orchestra with each instrument extended to its utmost volume to give a rich

timbral colour. The pipe organ playing fortissimo provides a volume of sound

influenced by Saint-Saëns Symphonie n°3 "avec orgue" (Saint-Saëns , 1886).

5 Organic Musical Design Leading to Relentless Climaxes

Write music like Wagner, only louder Samuel Goldwyn (as cited in Smith, 1978, p. 222)

Organic Motif Design

Just as distinctive interval colours are important to establish richness and

character in my music, so too, cellular motif design is important. Motif structure is a

35

feature of my music allied to building organic architectural designs towards ever

increasing climaxes.

This small motif fragment from ‘Into the Storm’ (Example 2.12) moves

towards climax by design: the phrase length increases from 3.75 crotchets to 7.5

crotchets; on-beat pulse moves to syncopated intrusions and the implied harmony

moves to full chords.

36

Example 2.12: The Magic Jungle, ‘Into the Storm’ (bars 63 to 71) — phrase length increasing from 3.75 crotchets to 7.5 crotchets.

‘Typhoon’ (in Megan and the eBike) is in ternary form, as I have based it on

the events of a typhoon: firstly the winds blowing stronger, growing in intensity until

they reach a climax, then there is a still centre as the eye of the typhoon passes

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12 Into the Storm

© Jean Bunton, 2007

Frightening

106

37

overhead, followed by a third section which starts with the winds buffeting in the

opposite direction.

I have used a multi-layered orchestration technique introducing instrumental

groups, and many different styles. An organic fragment was used (see Example4) as

the basis of the large piece of music. ‘Typhoon’, as its name implies uses blasts of

sound, and another way I felt this could be expressed was to use a pipe organ to

provide power and energy. Plenty of bass notes were used to create tension in the

musical atmosphere and make it sound frightening as the typhoon advances. For this

central section the only instruments I used were the oboe, clarinets, bassoon and cello,

giving a very eerie and empty feeling after the orchestral tutti before it. When the

storm returns the full orchestra is deployed forcing its way relentlessly to the final

climax.

Example 2.13: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 49 - 50) — organic fragment.

The one organic fragment turning itself into a much larger piece of music is,

on a very small scale, similar to a method Tchaikovsky described: “One theme, an

embryo in B major, enthroned itself in my head and unexpectedly fascinated me to

such an extent as to make me attempt an entire symphony” (Copland, as cited in

Harvey, 1965, p. 21).

Tchaikovsky’s use of a theme that can lead towards explosive moments of

sound has led me to consider that the same explosions which occur in my music are

both a musical release of tension, and a chance for me to express emotions that can’t

be put into words. Lapidaki has found examples of composers whose “direct personal

(autobiographical) emotional exaltation triggered the unformed mass of creative

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[Composer]Score

38

volition. In order to realize the creative potential of this volition, some composers

need to have something for it to react against” (Lapidaki, 2007, p. 100). Wagner

certainly experienced some of this direct personal involvement and emotion during

his near shipwreck off the coast of Norway. It made an indelible impression with the

overwhelming force from the storms, the billows, the sailors' shouts and the rock-

bound Northern shore. This would later emerge as The Flying Dutchman (Harvey,

1965, p. 26).

Like Wagner, Spanish composer Bernaola’s desire for full orchestral tutti is

deliciously summed up just by reading Harper’s review of Piezas Caprichosas

(Capricious Pieces), and gives me the feeling that this would also be my kind of

massive musical climax:

This motive then leads into a virtual musical tornado in which each wind

instrument is given rapid and varying figures (from two to nine 64th-notes)

kept together by the constant pulsating percussion groups of six. To add to the

tension, the section must be repeated, after which the composer follows with a

horrific passage of thirty-two notes to be played in unison by the first and

second trumpets. And if this were not enough, the composer then maliciously

combines the two difficult sections, bringing about the orchestral players’

worst nightmare. (Harper, 2003, p. 287).

My own piece ‘Typhoon’ relentlessly forces its way through towards its

climax (see Example 3.9 on page 71 bars 139 to 142) as does Bernaola’s ‘virtual

musical tornado’. It resonates with the inner satisfaction I feel when expressing my

feelings through a climactic moment in music, and the aim is to provide release of

‘childhood suppression’ through sonic texture.

39

B. Educative Imperative Influences

6 Textual and lyrical zaniness Skittering down the hallway, Flittering through the parlor, Tittering in the pantry, Littering up the bedroom, Twittering all around the house!

‘Everybody Ought to Have a Maid’ Stephen Sondheim - 80th Birthday Celebration - BBC Promenade Concert

My personal musical voice in addition to pure music impulses is also driven

by education imperatives. The overriding principle is to engage Chinese children in

English language learning through scaffolded musical processes. On one level it uses

textual humour hooks to engage children, but on another it is simple English language

sounds. These ‘scaffolds’ of humour hooks and language sounds are platforms for

musical development through multiple quick-fire events, which become subversive

through juxtaposition and simultaneous levels of sound. That is, simple humour and

language are subverted into a maelstrom of different levels towards imaginative

sound.

Textual Zaniness

Textual zaniness is one of the things that I appreciate most when reading

books for children, and is probably what inspired me to write books in the first place.

In both The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike there are fantasy elements which

allow room for magic to materialise and these are of great importance as they give

chances to introduce humour into situations. Very young children can often link

different physical objects together, and will say things like “my pencil is a rocket

going to the moon”. Because of this they can imagine, much more easily than adults,

that a story is real. Vygotsky describes this process: “the combination of these

elements themselves, in the case of an unreal fairy tale, is the product of the

40

imagination itself, not just its elements” (Vygotsky, 2004, p. 16). I have tried to get to

this level of basic connection to children’s imaginations. Any inaccuracies,

distortions and exaggeration do not really matter, and may even add to the story. The

main aim of my writing is to capture children’s attention through humour.

I have drawn influences from many British children’s authors and their sense

of humour, appreciating A.A.Milne’s Winnie the Pooh: Michael Bond, who

introduced Paddington (Bond, 1999, x), the immigrant bear who arrived from Darkest

Peru wearing his trademark duffle coat, and who had a partiality to marmalade

sandwiches: and Roald Dahl with his amazing books Matilda, and Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory, amongst many others. The texts that I have written try to emulate

their styles of writing which Jones and Watkins describe as “(Roald Dahl’s) subtly

instructive and pedantic tone … an authorial voice assuring children of the ‘truth’”

(Jones and Watkins, 2000, p. 313). To me, the fact that these authors can write such

amusing stories while still sounding ‘truthful’, works on two levels: I can read as an

‘adult’, or I can read to my ‘inner child’. Roald Dahl said of himself that he remained

a child (Jones and Watkins, 2000, p. 310).

In the same manner as Dahl, I try to write text in a child-like simple way, and

to “see with the child’s eyes” (Honig, 2000, p.18). Bond’s method is not to plan a

story, but simply to put the characters into a situation and see what happens (Bond,

1999, p. viii). I often try to imagine myself as the character I am writing about.

Sondheim echoes this advice when saying he tries to be the character himself in a

song:

I’ve discovered that … essentially I’m a playwright who writes with

songs and that playwrights are actors. And what I do is I act. So what

I’ll do … is I’ll go upstairs and get back into the character of Wilson

Mizner and I’ll start singing to myself. (Swayne, 2005, p. 1).

41

I extended the concept of putting myself in a situation as the storyteller when I

was writing Megan and the eBike as the idea came from a real conversation with my

niece, Megan, who was then aged eight. Megan had just been given a bike and said

enthusiastically “I want to ride my bike all around the world!” It struck me at the

time that this would be a great idea for a plot. As I wrote I always pictured her in the

scenes and my own son, Murray (who just adored anything to do with technology) in

the place of her cousin (in the musical) Ben, and tried to work out what the two of

them would have done, always searching for a humorous outcome.

A. A. Milne’s wonderful humour in the stories of Winnie the Pooh was

derived from bed-time stories for his son Christopher. “Milne came to believe,”

writes Thwaite, “that there were within him ‘unforgettable memories of my own

childhood’ and an understanding of children ‘based on the imagination which every

writer must bring to memory and observation’” (Singer, D., & Singer, J. L., 1990, p.

8). Winnie the Pooh was lauded in the New York Herald Tribune: “Here is nonsense

in the best tradition … with the high seriousness about it that children and other wise

people love” (Thwaite, 1990, p. 261).

Lyrics

I also draw inspiration from song-writers who come up with amusing lyrics.

My early recollections were Gilbert and Sullivan, Noel Coward, Danish pianist and

comedian Victor Borge, and British comic songwriters Flanders and Swan. I believe

that musicals for children need to include an element of humour in the lyrics. Tim

Rice, the lyricist who wrote the lyrics of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour

Dreamcoat, said “I reckoned that the best way to a child’s heart was through laughter

and set out from the word go to make the songs funny” (Rice, 1999, p.132). The song

42

about Joseph’s coat had additional words written by boys in the choir who would be

singing it. Rice’s original song ended with the words ‘red and yellow and green and

brown and blue’, but the boys at Colet Court School added twenty-four more shades.

Rice writes:

A few years later this joyful string of colours won me great praise from B.A.

Young (the famous theatre critic in the Financial Times) – ‘This, to my mind,

is pure poetry’. The only problem being that I only came up with five of

them. (Rice, 1999, p. 133)

Sondheim, whose witty lyrics I admire, is a great source of advice about lyric

writing. He warns that it’s crucial to know what you want to say before starting and

then as the music develops, and then you will start to improvise or to sense a rhyme

scheme. He tells of Oscar Hammerstein’s advice to him: “Oscar believed that rhyme

is easy: but it is expressing a thought with clarity that is so difficult and so important”

(Fordin, 1977, p. 240). Sondheim’s advice about rhyme schemes has informed my

own method of writing lyrics. If there is a rhyme, I concentrate on the second line of

lyrics first. This means that there is a run-up to the actual rhyming word. An

example (from ‘Technology’ in Megan and the eBike) is:

And now I’ve found how we can get you anywhere

This fine machine will have you whist’ling through the air (‘Technology’ bars 51-55)

I tried to bring an educational purpose alongside the humour to both The

Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike. I thought how each song could have some

educational content. ‘Zebra’ (in The Magic Jungle) became a way of introducing

some useful words such as: black, white, left, right, front, back. Grouping the words

by rhyme I then saw: right/white, and back/black. By continually singing these silly

words in my mind, and beginning to sense the ‘rhyme scheme’ that Sondheim talks

of, I managed to find a way to fit them together:

43

There's a zeb-ra on my left, and a zeb-ra on my right.

March-ing to the zeb-ra cros-sing.

All that I can see is strip-ey black and white.

March-ing to the zeb-ra cros-sing.

There's a zeb-ra out in front and a zeb-ra at my back.

All that I can see is stripe-y white and black.

In the mid-dle of a zeb-ra,

Mid-dle of a zeb-ra,

Mid-dle of a zeb-ra cros-sing

‘Zebra’ in The Magic Jungle ‘Giraffe, Tiger, Lion and Zebra’ (bars 118 - 135).

I believe that a big factor in how a piece of musical theatre will work is the wit

in the lyrics. There is plenty of humour in Sondheim’s Into the Woods and the music

reflects that. Banfield comments, “once you lose the wit you all too easily lose the

music appropriate to it and fall prey to pretentiousness rather than seriousness”

(Banfield, 1994, p. 222). Lloyd Webber’s early work, Joseph and the Amazing

Technicolour Dreamcoat, with its very amusing and cleverly written lyrics by Tim

Rice, was matched with humour in its music. Perhaps the fact that Lloyd Webber

wrote subsequent musicals with other writers, such as Phantom of the Opera with

Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe gave rise to more melodramatic music which was

more appropriate to the plot.

Roald Dahl’s book Matilda makes great use of the absurd and Tim Minchin,

who has written the lyrics and music for the new musical production based on the

book, says he has tried to pass on these ideas musically “when you look at the text

you can see what is possible lyrically, and then you react to the lyrics musically. I try

to be as pure as possible so that the music enhances the lyrics” (Minchin, 2010).

Like Minchin, I consider that wit in lyrics or in text is important for any

audience of children, although it is sometimes very difficult to achieve. I know that,

44

in my own case, the anticipation that somebody will read my words, or listen to my

music, is in itself reason enough to write. As A. A. Milne once wrote, “You will find

that intelligent praise is the one stimulant which a writer needs. I enjoyed writing it -

which is the only way I know of firing enjoyment in others” (Thwaite, 1990, p. 392).

7. Juxtaposition between Structure and Architecture

I've rarely seen an opera that I didn't think could be shorter. Sondheim (as cited in Brockes, 2010, p. 10)

Architecture: the plan

Although at first glance it may appear that the music and songs in the two

musicals are randomly jumbled together, on a deeper level both The Magic Jungle

and Megan and the eBike are highly structured. This could only be done at the very

beginning of the project, by cutting the stories into small ‘episodes’ which could

either be songs or words narrated to music. Each song or section of dialogue was

carefully placed so that it provided a difference in mood, rhythm, volume, and timbre

from the episodes either side of it. At the outset, I was given a one-hour timeframe of

music for The Magic Jungle.

Macro Level

Before writing the pieces, I had become aware of research that had been done

into the optimal timeframe of children’s concentration spans. Edwards wrote about

the Sesame Street television series made in the USA:

They made the programme colourful and adopted a so-called magazine

format where there was not one single narrative for the episode but a series

of discrete and distinct articles (or segments). Tests run by Lorch and

Anderson showed that the maximum time that any section should run in

45

Sesame Street was four minutes, with three minutes being the optimal time

period. (Gladwell, as cited in Edwards, 2000, p. 18)

This finding was of great importance whilst I was in the planning each episode

within the stories and I made sure that hardly any of the sections were longer than

four minutes. The only exceptions were ‘Into the Storm’ in The Magic Jungle, and

‘Typhoon’ in Megan and the eBike, because each needed enough time and space to

introduce themes and let them grow organically. Looking back at my notes I see that

in August 2007 (a year before the performances of The Magic Jungle), I had precisely

timed the entire fifty-seven minutes of The Magic Jungle to make sure that nothing

was going to be too long, and to make sure that there was plenty of variety within the

music. The idea of putting more scenes such as ‘Into the Storm’ scene into The Magic

Jungle as a climax, using the full orchestra, was carefully calculated. Likewise

‘Typhoon’ was put into Megan and the eBike as a pivotal moment in that story.

Their length stood out from the surrounding segmental structure to make climactic

moments through relative expansion.

Micro Level

On a micro level, in every episode I tried to keep variety in the forefront of my

mind. Where there were spoken words I practised saying them aloud while listening

to the computer audio play-back. There was no simpler way to do this and it often

meant changes to either the text or music depending on what was more important.

Sometimes more background music was needed so that there was time for text, but at

other times in a song it became clear that the music must take precedence. In My

Family Tree’ I needed to advance the plot during the course of a song, and it was

clear that adding verses of lyrics would make the song too long. Eventually I decided

46

on spoken text by the narrator whilst a single flute played the melody of the songs

with chordal accompaniment (as shown in Example 2.14).

Example 2.14: The Magic Jungle, ‘My Family Tree’ (bars 50 to 63)—Ensuring the precise timing of spoken words to fit with the background music.

Micro plans for Songs

In The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike, I also tried to plan the songs

carefully so that the words were easy enough for Chinese-speaking children to

understand, whilst also keeping enough diversity to keep their attention. Sondheim

has a micro plan for each song. He warns about getting verbose or saying things

twice, so that “there's a slight yawn in the middle of the song, but if you get the right

quickness, there is a dramatic tension that makes the audience eager to know what

happens next, which is the whole point of drama”. In an interview with ASCAP

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NARRATOR[spoken] Max explained to his mother that these were not really monkeys; they were small humans. One was a boy and one was a girl. Surrounded by monkeys, Rosie and Tim started to feel a bit out of place. Max suggested that they quickly make up their minds about which animals they wanted to be.

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4 My Family Tree3943

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70

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40

44

47

(Carnelia, 2007) Sondheim warns about confusing the audience too much, but

keeping a song interesting and not so confusing as to baffle them. Unlike Sondheim, I

sometimes had to repeat words for the sake of clarity for the children listening to the

songs.

8 Moving from Scaffolding to Simultaneous Levels

I aim for easily communicable ideas for children in both language and sound

as a type of strict educational ‘scaffolding approach’ to music theatre, which quickly

subverts into a more imaginative, simultaneous multiple-level approach. I have not

intentionally set out to become an ‘educational composer’, and am not a teacher, but I

have seen in this informal teaching method, and through watching my own childrens’

development, that something that is ‘fun’ and ‘different’ could be helpful for children

in Hong Kong. Through hearing first-hand about my husband’s experiences as a

teacher in local Hong Kong schools, there is a shortage of material which is written

specifically for this group of children. Feldstein has written that

the true composer of educational music is someone who has spent time and effort

developing and understanding of the educational situation with its inherent

strengths and weaknesses so that he or she can create materials that are musically,

as well as educationally, valid. This training is in addition to all the normal

compositional development. (Feldstein, 1982, pp. 46-47)

Through studying the difficulties that young children have learning English I

found that there are certain sounds in English which are not used in Cantonese or

Mandarin and children need to perceive these sounds accurately before they can

pronounce them. I believe that listening to songs in English helps the communication

process. Lenneberg’s Critical Period Hypothesis voiced the idea that pre-puberty it's

48

easier to learn a language but following puberty the brain “behaves as if it had

become set in its ways” (Newport, 2006).

However in the musical works The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike I

have gone far beyond the educational concepts of teaching syllable or teaching vowel

or consonant sounds, syllables, sentence structure, and offering children an

opportunity to listen to a native-English spoken narrative. Both pieces have frustrated

the original teaching principles and sent them flying into numerous different

directions, with educational learning practices often buried beneath the multiplicity of

other sounds, images, and ideas, so that zany parallels occur. I have not used linear or

scaffolding methods of education, where children start with small amounts of

learning, and then build upon that base in small modules one at a time, but rather I

have seen the need to use rapid changes in musical styles (such as rap, ballad,

orchestral building, wild textual ideas, and varied images) to keep the focus of a

young audience of children on this adventure of music, words, and imagination. The

Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike are not simple because they take children

well past the learning curve, points I develop musically in the later analysis chapter.

Musical Didactive

The second motive in writing The Magic Jungle was to teach young children

about sound and music and how the western orchestra works. Before the piece

‘Giraffes, Tiger, Lion, Zebra’ (see Example 2.15) the narrator gives a sequence of

information which is spoken and backed up with musical examples.

49

Example 2.15: The Magic Jungle, ‘Giraffe, Tiger, Lion and Zebra’ (bars 15 to 33)—Description of musical terms and sounds.

V

&

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44

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44

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50

Because The Magic Jungle seeks to engage with a younger audience, I have

taken a close look at works by other composers whose work provides easily

communicable ideas for children about the instruments of the orchestra. Prokovief’s

Peter and the Wolf (1936) and Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

(1946) have both taken instructive text and created personalized musical works from

them. Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals (1886), while not using text, provides an

eclectic variety of styles each conveying the characteristics of animals musically.

Apart from being great sources of pleasure for children, educational music

such as Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals provide many easily

transmissible teaching opportunities. Using Peter and the Wolf, Collett suggests that

teachers could focus on “the characters in the story and how the composer portrays

them by the use of instruments, melodic lines, rhythms, and dynamics” (Collett, 1991,

p. 44). She suggests that as students listen to, interpret, and discuss the music, they

analyze the characters and interpret the musical composition according to the

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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2 [Title]

51

characters’ traits and interactions in the story” (p. 44). The students might say, for

example, “Peter is disobedient, brave; the wolf is fierce, angry” (p. 44). Peter and the

Wolf has been used time and again, in books, short films, in games, online activities,

and as an opportunity for musicians from one orchestra to visit schools and engage

directly with children (The Philharmonia, 2008-09).

As a teaching activity based on Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, Collett

suggests that the ‘cancan’ theme from Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in Hades be

played first (the ‘Tortoise’ theme is based on it). Before listening to what Saint-Saëns

did, the children are asked what they would do to make the ‘cancan’ music represent a

tortoise. Later when the students listen to Carnival of the Animals, they compare their

ideas with Saint-Saëns’ composition. (Collett, 1991, p. 44).

Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1946) also provides

teaching possibilities regarding orchestral sounds. Britten had been asked by the

British Ministry of Education to produce a piece of music specifically for this purpose

which would then be made into a film. The Magic Jungle has also been written with

this educational purpose but it has not stayed so strictly within an educational

‘scaffolding approach’ to music theatre. As children watch a story, listen to an

orchestra, and see each instrument demonstrated, I have tried to ensure that easily

transmissible musical information is conveyed without the children knowing that it is

‘education’.

52

Transformative Imaginative Aims

The relationship between imagination and music is a mutually enriching one. Imagination is essential to understanding the musical symbol; music, in turn, cultivates imagination. (Reichling, 1992, pp. 20-31)

Imaginative Escapism

My aim has a transformative aspect which encourages children to use their

own imaginations as a creative space of escape from life and simultaneously enrich it.

The concept of a composer’s imagination feeding into a child’s imagination through

music is an interesting one. Reichling notes: C.S. Lewis explained that he began to

write stories when he started “seeing pictures in his head” (Jacobs, 2005, p. xii).

Lewis said that he wrote stories because he liked them himself and “because he found

them the best art-form for what he had to say” (Hooper, 1974, p. 12). One wonders if

Lewis’ stories were a form of escape from the troubles of bereavement from his

mother’s early death and boarding school isolation. To enter this world of “pictures

in my head” I draw on J.K. Rowling’s and Roald Dahl’s ideas of a child-like

imagination. Following these models, I hope that the diversity in The Magic Jungle

and Megan and the eBike will create an imaginative child-like world that appeals to

children and helps them fully explore their imaginations.

Joyful Zest ‘Switch’

Musicians are like people in love; they are happy but they don't know what they are doing! E. Thayer Gaston (as cited in Hodges, 1988, p. 81-86)

Simultaneously with the escapist desire founded on an imaginative child-like

world at the heart of my creativity, is the will to create joyful zest that causes children

to embrace life through the exuberance expressed in my music. Living in Hong Kong

gave me the chance to do things I would never have thought of doing in either

53

England or Australia. There are always opportunities for native English speakers and

qualifications are not always necessary. I performed in several educational television

programmes just because I could speak English. Some of the scripts were, to my

mind, terrible: I remember being asked to sit on a bed while saying to my stage

husband “Let’s talk about the furniture in our apartment today”. It gave me the idea

that I could maybe write something better. A few of the educational textbooks I

looked at seemed boring, with endless repetitions of “Which chicken will Mrs Wong

buy in the supermarket today?” Of course all the vocabulary and grammar were

necessary, but the ‘let’s-break-the rules child’ in me longed to take children on a

“let’s get on a plane and go somewhere on an exciting” adventure.

This almost child-like desire in me to create something new because of lack of

suitable materials for children is probably the same impulse as Lewis Carroll

experienced. Carroll, who wrote many books for children, was still organizing puppet

theatres when he was twenty-three years old, and wrote in his diary in 1855 that there

were not enough suitable puppet plays for children, and those that existed had no fun

in them. “The itch to baffle and mystify, and to entertain into the bargain, remained

with him until his death” (Fisher, 1973, p. 8).

It is just as if there is a ‘switch’ marked joyful zest which I can turn on and

change my outlook, just by stepping into the world of a writing or composing project.

The belief I now have about my creative work is that it is something which I could not

live without, as it gives me joy to create musical experiences for children. It has also

allowed me to have a ‘second childhood’ and I have discovered that there is a sense of

mischievousness in my creativity.

54

Credo Summary As I mentioned at the outset, my artistic credo is based on a series of eight

operating principles drawn from musical and educative paradigms with an underlying

transformative aim. Specifically the first set of principles are drawn from a musical

perspective of a personal voice that aims to create richness through eclecticism, micro

and macro juxtaposition and harmonic and timbral colour enrichment but allied to a

sense of musical design. The second set of principles is drawn from an educative

perspective, continuing the musical richness aim but creating imagination with a

move from a simple ‘scaffolding approach’ that is suddenly multiplied by

simultaneous ideas. The aim is the subverting of an educative scaffolding paradigm

towards multidimensionality to create an imaginative sound world as an escape for

both the adult and child listener alike. This latter escape world has a transformative

aim that works on two levels: juxtapositional and sudden multi-dimensionality and

societal symbols (Christian hymn-harmonic sounds and eclectic musical styles). This

richness is intended to be an uplifting musical escape through richness and style

reference yet also gently underpinned by spiritual connotations through underlying

hymn associations in the colour harmony. Perhaps this artistic need for a

transformative element in my music is generated from my painful personal childhood

experiences that have led me to seek something better through aiming at enrichment

of audiences, especially Chinese children. To understand this autobiographical

underpinning in my work it is necessary to examine my life as a ‘story’ generating

musical and educational purposes.

55

Chapter Three: My Own Story and its Methods–

Leading to Imagination for Children

In this chapter I shall be looking at my personal history, at the way events

have had an impact on my music, and at the geographic influences on my

compositional styles. My geographical story started in Europe, followed by twenty-

three years living in Hong Kong, and finally a move to Australia. My personal

cosmology as a composer is a combination of many forms of music, and sometimes I

find that I use a mixture of these forms, so I shall explain how these can work

together. The geographical influences include French music, Gaelic influences,

country and western, pop, the English school of music, music theatre, Church music,

jazz, and Chinese influences. I shall look at the difficulties of my childhood but also

the positive effects of being surrounded by very varied styles of music and music

theatre from a very early age. I shall also comment on the ways I have tried to use my

earliest personal experiences and try to transform them into meaningful works of

music theatre for children.

As I mentioned earlier, the sadness which often comes into my compositions

goes back to my own difficult childhood experiences. My parents were involved in a

religious group, Moral Re-Armament,2 and were away most of the time for nine years

from the time I was nine months old until they returned from their overseas lives as

“missionaries”. During those nine years I was looked after by a succession of care-

givers, moved around to different Group communes, and sent to a Group boarding

2 I shall refer to Moral Re-Armament (MRA) as the Group. MRA was founded in 1938 by American, Dr Frank Buchman. The movement had its roots in Christianity, but grew into an international network of people of all faiths and backgrounds. It was based around the belief that God could give ‘guidance’, and measuring one’s life against 'the Four Absolutes' (absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love) encouraging its members to share in public their failure to adhere to these absolutes. Another belief was that ‘changing’ oneself could lead to ‘changing’ the world. This led, for instance, to MRA becoming involved in working for reconciliation and reconstruction in the aftermath of World War II

56

school in Switzerland when I was five. This was a school set up for fifty children of

Group full-time workers who were overseas.

I have learned to express many of the difficult experiences through music. The

music of the goodbye song ‘My Magical Musical Friends’ (in The Magic Jungle) was

written after my Father’s death. In one of my final conversations with him, he had

said to me: “Do something with your music.” This particular piece of music

expressed my pain, but also the hope that something meaningful could grow out of a

lifetime of inexpressible difficulties.

It requires an enormous amount of effort, time, determination, most usually

counseling, and ultimately forgiveness, to put your own difficulties behind you. But,

as Grille points out, “some people have managed to turn their emotional wounds into

gifts or talents, and many of history’s humanitarians were wounded individuals who,

once given opportunities to heal, used their wounds as impetus for great works”

(Grille, 2005, p. 274). I believe it is by trying to emulate these wounded individuals

that one is able to inspire others; this has certainly has been so in my own

circumstances and its transformative aims in music.

I have always felt the consequences of those early experiences, but I have

learnt that music can express emotions that words cannot. For me, the fact, that

music can overcome almost anything is vividly illustrated by the explosion of canons

and the resonating of bells in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. It is these kinds of

relentless climaxes and wild explosions of sound that I have tried to made use of in

my music, such as the forceful climax at the end of ‘Typhoon’ in Megan and the

eBike. Whilst this is a microcosmic detail it is also a principle for my musical

development.

57

Places

French musical school

The journey which I have referred to has led my choice of listening to, and

writing, in very different styles of music. But the geographical journey I have taken

has also led to different influences. Between the ages of two to five I was in France,

so it is possible that there could be subconscious French impressionist influences in

my choice of music. Fauré, Ravel and Debussy all sound familiar and beautiful to

me, and I am always touched by the musical colouring and aesthetic they use. I find

that the rich interval colours of ninths, elevenths and thirteenths in these composers’

opulent use of sounds are musically satisfying. Fauré’s Requiem is one of the pieces

of music which I find most exquisite. I have searched to find exactly what it is about

Fauré’s musical language, and in particular his Requiem, that touches me so deeply.

Perhaps it is because I am particularly drawn to the sound of the pipe organ, which is

the main instrument used in each of the seven sections. McKendrick suggests that it

is “sufficient to say that the music is genuine and beautiful, and maintains its

freshness with each performance” (McKendrick, 2007, p. 39).

However, I think that harmonically and melodically I am also drawn to this

music for other reasons as well. Within the first three bars of Fauré’s ‘Pie Jesu’ the

chords move from Bb major to Eb, but the harmony could be said to move from Bb to

D. D being a chromatic chord within Bb major gives the harmony strength. The

chords then move to G minor and D major, whilst the melodic line stays within the

compass of four notes. The harmony can take the listener by surprise at first hearing.

Fauré’s harmony is closely related to his melodic lines, which is also a strategy I

58

make use of. In my own compositions, when lyrics are not involved, I usually find

that the melody line comes first, but it is always very closely related to the harmony.

Example 3.1: Requiem by Gabriel Faure, ‘Pie Jesu’ (bars 1-7)—a simple melody in the first three bars moves through four chords in the harmony.

In the ‘Cello Flying Theme’ (from Megan and the eBike) my harmonies move

from C minor to F minor, then to Ab major finally reaching Eb7 maj in bar 4 (see

Example 3.2). All these chords are diatonic within F minor.

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Pie Jesu

Gabriel Faure

Score

Dolce

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59

Example 3.2 Megan and the eBike ‘Cello Flying Theme’ (bars 1 to 7) —the melody line usually comes first, closely followed by the harmony

Gaelic folk music

Another place which I relate to geographically is Scotland, which was my

father’s home and where I was born, and it reminds me of the home and family I

wished I had known. Music from Scotland falls into the broad categories of highland

dance music, folk songs which are usually tinged with nostalgia, patriotic songs such

as ‘Flower of Scotland’, and bagpipe band marching tunes. The lyrics of some of the

more melancholy songs sung by the Scots longing for home are sometimes very

difficult and emotional for me to listen to. The drone of bagpipes or bright fiddle and

dance music reminds me of my father and his family. I am sure that Gaelic melodies

and their lilting qualities have influenced some of my compositional approach with its

lyrical emphasis.

I can see that many of my melodies start by rising upwards through an octave,

the climactic note being the top of the octave. In my song ‘Count the Stars’ (see

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60

Example 3.3) I have used a fourth and there is then a leap to the octave between the

words ‘Count the Stars’ (bar 10), but then there is another leap from a fifth to an

octave at the words “Go and explore” (in bar 14).

Example 3.3: Megan and the eBike, ‘Count the Stars’ (bars 10-17)—showing similarities to Gaelic melodies.

In ‘The Road to the Isles’ (Example 3.4) a well-known Scottish folk song, an octave

leap occurs between the words ‘A far croonin’ (bars 1-2).

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61

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Switzerland

My third geographical move probably had even more influence because I was

five years old and can remember it in more detail. As I mentioned, I was sent to a

Group boarding school, linked to the world headquarters of the Group, on a mountain-

side in Switzerland. The small chalets where we lived with our care-givers and

teachers looked just like the pictures on chocolate boxes. In the winter we had skiing

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62

and skating lessons and did tobogganing, and in summer we walked through the fields

of narcissuses to pick flowers to send by airmail to our parents! However, although

some children seemed to do well in the system (perhaps because one of their parents

remained behind, or came back more frequently than mine) it was far from picture

perfect for me and many other children.

My school ‘story book’ was filled of pictures of death, how bombs might

drop, and fairytales in which everybody died. The teachers corrected the spelling

mistakes but nobody seemed to question the fact that a small child was living in terror

and needed help. The loneliness and fear I felt as a young child within the boarding

environment of the Moral Re-Armament school became a spur to create an ‘escapist’

musical world as a coping strategy.

Country and Western / Pop

The only benefit that being at the boarding school had for me was that it

introduced me to many forms of music and theatre. In fact, the Group was quite far-

sighted in its approach: they believed in entertaining an audience before trying to

convert them! People of different ethnic backgrounds, political parties, employers

and workers and international delegations would be invited to the conference centre

so that dialogue on neutral ground might provide solutions to problems. My parents’

generation had just come through the Second World War, and were desperate not to

let Communism take over Europe, so much work was done bringing the German and

French peoples together, and some good did eventuate from these negotiations.

During Group public meetings in the conference centre, musicians and singers would

go up to the stage and sing Group songs to enliven the proceedings and provide a

break from the ‘testimonies’ from speakers. In the evenings all the guests were

63

invited to watch a Group play or musical in the in-house theatre. The conference

centre could at that time accommodate 950 people.

My favourite musicians were a group of three brothers from the United States,

the Colwell Brothers, who wrote their own bouncy, country and western pop music.

Steve (lead and rhythm guitar), Paul (lead guitar, mandolin and banjo) and Ralph

(bass guitar) wrote basic harmony, but they sang with tremendous verve. Their lyrics

were cleverly constructed, which was a refreshing change from some of the other

music in the Group. I can see that the Colwells had an influence on my lyric writing,

as I have tried to emulate their sense of rhyme in songs such as ‘Snap, Crocodile,

Snap’. I have to admit that I used one line of their 1958 song ‘Listen to the Lion

Roar’ because it fitted into my ‘Lion’ song (in The Magic Jungle) so much better than

anything else I could think of.

The Colwells, and some other lyricists, would sometimes use a saying from a

Group meeting to inspire words to their songs. A quote: “When I point my finger at

my neighbour, there are three more pointing back at me” was one such instance (see

Example 3.5).

64

Example 3.5: ‘When I Point My Finger at my Neighbour’ (bars 1-8)—Country and Western Pop Music written by The Colwell Brothers

Herb Allen, who played the xylophone brilliantly, was another great influence

because he and the Colwell Brothers made music sound so entertaining. Allen wrote

to me after I sent him a DVD of The Magic Jungle saying

Certainly I see the ‘influences’ (of the Group). What I recognize in your writing is

the common spirit we share in reaching out to others. I can only imagine, you must

have had enormous fun writing and producing The Magic Jungle. (Allen, personal

communication, 2010)

Much of the enthusiasm which I try to bring into some of my livelier songs, I

believe, comes from the early influence these musicians had on me.

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65

Yet another influence on my music came from the fact that we, as children,

were always present at the welcoming ceremonies for any new group of people. We

were taught the National Anthem of the delegation concerned, and were expected to

sing it with the ‘International Chorus’ of adults. This often meant singing in a

different language. I can still remember the Xhosa and Zulu words and tune

complete with their beautiful harmonies to the South African Anthem:

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika,

Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,

Yizwa imithandazo yethu,

Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

(sung by the Kenyan Boys Choir, YouTube, 2012)

So, although we were surrounded by the Swiss alps, we met people from all

over the world and quite naturally had an internationally-influenced childhood.

Looking back at my childhood now I realize that although my years in Switzerland

were anything but pleasant, I was exposed to many types and genres of music, which I

may not have experienced otherwise. It seems quite ironic, in retrospect, that my

parents’ jobs in the Group were to travel with the musical theatre productions and that

I suffered as a result, yet so many years later I am now entranced by trying to write

music theatre pieces myself.

The loneliness and fear I felt as a young child within the boarding

environment of the Moral Re-Armament school became a spur to create an ‘escapist’

musical world as a coping strategy.

66

3 Musical Theatre

I can see the lure of musical theatre and why my parents became so involved.

The Group created extravagant pieces of musical theatre which toured the world,

designed both designed to recruit more members, invite people back to conferences in

Switzerland and to save the world. As very small children we were sometimes

expected to perform in these pieces of musical theatre. Most of the lyrics were

irritatingly silly and insubstantial, but I found that some of the melodies and

harmonies were beautiful and they are still embedded in my mind.

I believe that these early musical experiences were a large influence, as

fragments of those melodies and harmonies still come out at different times in various

forms in my own compositions.

4 Music from the English school

Some very gifted composers who had joined the Group, such as Will Reed,

were responsible for much of the music. Reed has been referred to as a “versatile

composer of quintessentially English music” (Brockes, 2002). Reed trained in

composition in London at the Royal College of Music under Herbert Howells, and

later conducting with Constance Lambert. Many of the Group’s productions, such as

The Vanishing Island (1955) written by Reed, Cecil Broadhurst and George Fraser,

with a libretto by Peter Howard, had great artistic and professional merits bringing

together many fine musicians, singers and a mass chorus of about one hundred

people. Reed did the orchestrations for The Vanishing Island which were recorded,

and he then ‘conducted’ the performances all around the world.

As a nine year old I finally managed to persuade my parents to let me come

and live in London, where the Group found a home for them, to continue their work

67

there. I went to a ‘normal’ school. When I was eleven I had the opportunity of being

one of three children in the chorus of the professional cast of Tchaikovsky’s The

Queen of Spades at London’s Covent Garden. Although we only had to sing one line

in the opening scene, I was further hooked on the glamour of musical theatre and

opera.

George Fraser, a Scottish composer in the Group, brought something of the

lyrical nature of Gaelic melodies into his work. His song, ‘Please, Thank you and

Sorry’ (see Example 3.6) comes from the Group’s 1964 Pantomime Give a Dog a

Bone, with its message to children about being polite and well-behaved in order to

build a better world. This pantomime had a less overt ‘message’ from the Group and

so I felt less threatened by it. I remember going to see it at least once a week during

my teenage years as my father was one of the actors, and I was always allowed to go

backstage after the show.

68

Example 3.6: Give a Dog a Bone, ‘Please, Thank you and Sorry’ (bars 1 to 8)—music with an easily communicable message to children.

Although my early exposure to musical theatre started with influences from

the Group, it has always had a fascination for me as the ultimate escape into a world

of fantasy. Rogers and Hammerstein’s were the first pieces of musical theatre which

had an impact, and later Bernstein’s West Side Story. I felt that Bernstein’s dynamic

and powerful music filled a gap between ‘music theatre’ and classical opera.

Griffiths, in Oxford Music Online, writes that Bernstein enjoyed success as a

composer for both Broadway and the serious concert platform, and he insisted that he

was “always a theatre composer, born to bring the theatre and the concert hall

together” (Griffiths, 2011). Lloyd Webber and Sondheim, who both focus on

imaginative eclectism, combinations of elements, juxtaposition, orchestral character

types and colourings, provide musical models that set up style juxtaposition, and these

have been especially useful to my work. As I have learned more about the art form of

69

musical theatre I have seen that Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Lloyd Webber’s

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat are excellent models for the setting

of juxtapositions in my own work.

Howard Blake’s music for children has also been a model which led me into

writing The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike, because I saw the possibility of

writing a concert-staged musical which seemed a slightly more manageable challenge

than a full opera. Howard Blake’s The Snowman uses a boy soprano singing with an

orchestra, telling a story written for children. This new and interesting concept now

includes a film, projected onto the top of the proscenium arch.

I can see some similarities in the pattern of the songs which I write with

Blake’s song ‘Walking in the Air’. In my composition ‘My Magical Musical Friends’

(see Example 3.7) there is a two-bar phrase in bars 19 and 20, which is repeated a

third higher in bars 21 and 22. The melody reaches its most poignant note of a high C

(in the key of Ab major) as the first note in bar 23.

70

Example 3.7: The Magic Jungle, ‘My Magical Musical Friends’ (bars 19 to 24)—an example of repeated phrases leading the most poignant note (C in bar 23).

In Howard Blake’s ‘Walking in the Air’ (see Example 3.8) bars 26 and 27 are

answered by bars 28 and 29. Bars 30 and 31 repeat the pattern of bars 26 and 27, and

the most poignant note is a high D (in the key of D minor) is the first note in bar 32.

Both pieces have an ascending melody as the feelings the singer is expressing get

more intense.

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71

Example 3.8: The Snowman, ‘Walking in the Air’ (bars 26-33)—the most poignant note is D, reached in bar 32.

Now that I have tasted the excitement of working in the genre of music theatre

I am eager to find other opportunities. Other composers talk about their devotion to

music theatre. Lloyd Webber, Schwartz, Sondheim all put on their first productions as

teenagers.

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Score

72

5 Explosions of Sound

After all these early musical experiences, and having learned piano and pipe

organ at school, I realized that I would love to study it properly. But I was told on

leaving school that it wasn’t suitable for me to go to university, so it felt as if every

musical impulse within me was locked up trying to escape. The Group did not agree

with young women going to university, and they were assigned jobs as secretaries and

cooks within the Group. After some of the young men had gone to University and

started to question the fundamental beliefs of the Group, it became more difficult for

them as well.

Being in The Group we were not allowed to show any outward signs of

irritation, anger and other unseemly emotions, and even now it is hard to do this as I

have had so much experience of suppressing my feelings. As Group members we

had to marry within it, so any means of escape by marrying ‘out’ were not possible. I

feel sure that this feeling of being trapped influences my use of loud gongs, and

timpani, as moments of frustration and anger explode into my work, such as examples

in ‘Typhoon’ (see Example 3.9).

73

Example 3.9: Megan and the eBike, Typhoon’ (bars 139-142)—explosions of sound.

Hong Kong

A form of escape eventually presented itself as my husband and I went to

Hong Kong to work for the Group there. I finally met people in the real world and

found that not everybody was ‘heathen’. Bit by bit I extricated myself from the

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Megan Orchestral Suite - Typhoon

div.

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91

74

Group, although it meant losing all my friends in the Group, and also facing up to

Group members who came to Hong Kong to try and re-convert me. Living in Hong

Kong has been a hugely influential cultural experience, and I have learned a lot about

local customs. We left the Group and my husband worked in Hong Kong Chinese

schools, as I mentioned on page 46, and for half of the time we lived in genuinely

local Chinese (as opposed to expatriate) conditions. This provided a rich variety of

sounds ranging from the clattering of mahjong tiles in the middle of the night to the

loud gongs and percussion of the Dragon Dance, and Cantonese opera with what

Thrasher describes as “its mellifluous and slightly sensuous tonalities” (Thrasher,

2011). My experiences of living in Hong Kong allowed me to revel in different

cultural experiences.

I have used some of these traditional sounds in my compositions, (as Example

3.10 demonstrates). The tiger dance is a specified set of drum beats and gongs, so

that when I used it in the Tiger song in The Magic Jungle, the audience would have

been aware of the significance.

Example 3.10: The Magic Jungle, ‘Tiger’ (bars 57 to 68)—the traditional Chinese tiger dance, arranged for Timpani and Percussion.

75

There are many musical influences I have picked up during my life in Hong

Kong: these include the different timbres of Chinese instruments and orchestra,

pentatonism, the use of fourths, the lack of a tonic note or ambiguity, and the use of

second inversion chords.

As Corbett-Smith wrote succinctly long ago in 1912:

Chinese music uses little sequential melody in its songs and dances, and

harmony and counterpoint are practically non-existent. An orchestra plays

entirely in unison and with rare exception of occasional thirds and fourths. Then

there is the uncertainty of a scale which contains neither third nor leading note.

(Corbett-Smith, 1912, p. 575)

All these ‘differences’ leave many western listeners feeling that the music

‘never arrives’ at the end.

Cantonese Opera (Yueju) includes martial arts and acrobatics as well as

singing, acting, and music. Before there was widespread education in China, opera

was used to teach morals and messages to audiences and it is steeped in classical

tradition and heritage. Pang, reviewing The Story of Wu Zixu, a modern Chinese

opera based on the book and lyrics of Yuen Siu Fai, described the traditional elements

that it retains:

all the time-honed operatic conventions of refined stylized movements, splendid

colorful costumes, melodious music, and poetic phrases, as well as the proverbial

story filled with the standard Confucian values of loyalty, filial piety, and

patriotism. (Pang, 2004, p. 487-489)

The full orchestra, led by the gaohu (a two stringed fiddle with bow), includes

the erhu (a smaller two stringed fiddle), yehu (bowed lute), yangqin (hammered

76

dulcimer), pipa (short-necked four-string lute), dizi (transverse flute) and houguan

(double-reed pipe), with the percussion comprising many different drums and

cymbals. The percussion controls the overall rhythm. Often in street market opera

nowadays there are only a few instrumentalists, but modern loudspeakers

substantially crank up the volume and thoroughly make up for lack of numbers!

Stock writes that each musician simultaneously aims to create:

a common (memorized) melodic outline in a manner suitable to the technical

capabilities of his own instrument and in accordance with his own aesthetic

preferences. However, in some instances players can respond to the other

musicians in the group possibly imitating short decorative passages, but also to

look for novel ways of bringing the common melodic outline to life. (Stock, 1993,

p. 277)

Cantopop, the modern popular music of local Cantonese in Hong Kong, has

been another influence. It plays continuously from taxis, shopping malls and street

markets. There is a ‘swooning’ characteristic in much Cantopop, and the singer’s

voice is always much louder than the backing orchestra. Lee posits that Cantopop

derived from contemporary Japanese popular music and that by the 1980s, “the local

production of Cantopop evolved into a style of contemporary soft rock. Lyrics are

almost exclusively of an amorous nature” (as cited in Witzleben, 1999, p. 242).

However there are other styles of Cantopop apart from those which are ‘easy

listening’ or ‘soft rock’ and these could be described as ‘fast and loud’ (Ibid., p. 243).

Ho sums up the situation, noting that one major characteristic of local popular music

in Hong Kong is the “high degree of cross-fertilisation between various musical

cultures and idioms and the consequent emergence of hybrid styles” (Ho, 2003,

p.154). The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, who performed The Magic

Jungle, plays a diverse repertoire from Baroque to contemporary Chinese

77

compositions and newly-commissioned works, and is comprised of equal numbers of

local Hong Kong musicians and other professionals from overseas who are

temporarily resident in Hong Kong (City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong website).

All of these sounds have provided me with Chinese-European influences to draw

from.

Australia

Moving to Australia has changed my perspectives on life yet again, because I

now feel suspended between three continents and cultures, whilst not really belonging

fully to any. It can be difficult because it leads to feeling cut off and never really

finding ‘home’, but it has also a privilege to have had the chance to experience so

many cultural and other riches in life and to have lived in different countries. These

experiences have fed into my imagination and the continued suspended space also

provides the freedom to explore them. Finally having the chance to study music feels

like I have come full circle, being able to use all the influences I have experienced.

Australian composer Liza Lim shares some of this suspended space, being

Chinese of Brunei descent, but moving to Australia in 1978 and studying at the

Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne University. Toop in Oxford Music

Online, writes of Lim:

She has a fascination with ancient non-Western languages and meditative

practices, as in the impressive choral Sri Vidya; and with non-Western

instruments, notably the koto, the tablature of which she learned before

writing Burning House. However, there is no sense of a stylistic return to

Lim’s Asian origins: the music remains emphatically Western, and the

treatment of the instruments is by no means traditional. (Toop, 2012)

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He concludes, “Lim’s position is that of the infinitely curious investigator,

though one not averse to being drawn spiritually into what she is investigating”.

The multicultural focus at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) where I

completed my undergraduate study has led to exploring the music of Australia, such

as the didjeridu which is featured in Megan and the eBike Orchestral Suite. At the

University there has also been focus on the music of other countries, such as the

Indonesian gamelan, and as music students we have been encouraged to research into

the use of non-western instruments and use them in our compositions. The UWS

Music Department’s Founder, Professor Michael Atherton, is considered an expert in

musical instruments and sound-making objects of Australia and the Asia-Pacific

(UWS website). My supervisor at UWS, Dr Bruce Crossman (UWS website), is a

composer-scholar with a focus on Pacific-European musical identity. He has worked

with the Kanagawa Philharmonic (Japan), Korean Symphony Orchestra, and New

Asia String Quartet at the Pacific Rim Music Festival in the USA. My co-supervisor,

Associate Professor Diana Blom, lived and worked in Hong Kong for several years so

can easily understand the Chinese influences I try to bring to my work. During the

course of my studies at the University there have been many musical events where

cross-cultural works have been presented, such as the Aurora Festivals in 2006 and

2008.

5 Traditional Church Music

Another part of my musical cosmology is as a church organist. I am drawn to

four-part harmony and the musical heritage it represents. There is stability about the

organ and four-part harmony choral work. I particularly love playing the pipe organ,

accompanying a congregation and a choir. I find that the traditional four-part

79

harmony of hymns, which I have played as an organist over thirty years, is

fundamentally grounding. The English Cathedral tradition of hymn singing is also

spiritually uplifting to me (see Example 3.11).

Example 3.11: ‘Love Divine all Loves Excelling’ (Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1889).

I also like the more contemporary Church music of John Rutter and his use of

voice leading, lyrical melodies, and his utterly beautiful chord sequences. His

Christmas carols, such as The Nativity Carol, (see Example 3.12) sometimes have a

Organ Love Di vine all loves ex cel ling.- - -

5

Joy of Heav'n, to earth come down. - - -

9

Fix in us Thy hum ble dwell ing,- - -

13

All Thy faith ful mer cies crown.- -

Love Divine All Loves Excelling

Words: Charles Wesley, 1747Music: Sir John Stainer

© Sir John Stainer

80

simple melody line, but by using a great variety of harmonization each verse sounds

entirely different. Sometimes the chords in the accompaniment might be very simple

minims and are played softly, but at other times there is use of an Alberti bass pattern

to create a smooth, sustained, flowing sound which can rise to a great crescendo when

needed.

Example 3.12: ‘The Nativity Carol’, (bars 24 to 30)—John Rutter’s use of voice leading and harmonization.

Rutter’s musical style is influenced by the British choral tradition started by

Holst, Vaughan Williams, Howells, Britten and Tippett. However, as Greenall writes

in Oxford Music Online, it also draws influences from European music and the later

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially the harmonic and melodic

language of Fauré, Duruflé and their contemporaries (Greenall, 2011). The

outstanding quality I find in Rutter's music is the beauty of his melodies, such as For

the Beauty of the Earth, and Gaelic Blessing which are always memorable and inspire

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81

so many church choirs to try his music. The melodies are often arch-shaped, many of

them with answering phrases, often rising step by step to a climax, and always with

harmonic underpinning. Because of this he has achieved a wide following around the

world. Sometimes the melodies are introspective, such as ‘The Lord Bless You and

Keep You’, but some are totally joyful, such as ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’.

However, the music of Bach and Vivaldi and their influence on later Christian

church music is intrinsically linked into this. Bach had a natural gift for writing

beautiful melodies, but there is also a logic which fascinates theorists and composers.

His use of organicism, usually stated within the first few bars and developed over a

composition has influenced me in my work as a church organist. Organicism, the use

of a small fragment or motif which is then used as the basis of the whole piece,

growing in volume, texture, placed in a different range, turned upside down,

elongated, or decorated is a method I sometimes use for my own compositions. As a

Lutheran, nearly three quarters of Bach’s compositions were for the church, and it is

probably for this reason his music has withstood the test of time because it is part of

the liturgy. However there were times in his life when he devoted himself entirely to

the production of secular music (Smith, 2006).

7 Jazz and Blues

While growing up I didn’t hear any jazz or blues, nor most pop-music, as they

were not considered healthy influences. Therefore, when I first encountered these

types of music they opened up a totally new concept of sound. I appreciate the tertian

harmonies of jazz including sevenths, ninths, and elevenths. Tucker defines jazz in

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as:

1) a musical tradition rooted in performing conventions that were introduced and

developed early in the 20th century by African Americans; 2) a set of attitudes and

82

assumptions brought to music-making, chief among them the notion of

performance as a fluid creative process involving improvisation; and 3) a style

characterized by syncopation, melodic and harmonic elements derived from the

blues, cyclical formal structures and a supple rhythmic approach to phrasing

known as swing. (Tucker, 2012).

One of the first jazz concerts I went to in Hong Kong was to see the French

violinist Stéphane Grappelli, who was by then in his eighties. I was transfixed and

from then on sought out recordings of his music. It was like discovering a world I

never knew existed.

George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, and especially Keith Jarrett’s

improvisational piano works inspire me greatly, and it is often after surrounding

myself in Jarrett’s music that ideas spark in my own mind (Jarrett, 2010). Keith

Jarrett’s improvisation ‘Radience part 13’ is an example of his slower, deeply

emotional pieces (2002). The Paris Concert Part 1 is almost a Baroque piece which

uses a fugue technique (December 30, 2007). The Vienna Concert Part 4 shows how

Jarrett handles a brilliant improvisational work demonstrating his pianistic ability

(Jarrett, 2007). Christopher Norton manages to create a stimulating blend of

contemporary popular genres and classical influences, and in particular he gets the

essence of jazz into simple compositions for children. This is a skill I admire.

Norton’s compositions have a distinctive modern feel, featuring various popular styles

such as reggae, disco, rock and roll, Gospel, stomp, and walking bass. (Norton, 1990).

Amongst the jazz composers I love is George Gershwin. His love of ragtime

rhythm, where “right hand and left hand notes’ accents persistently refuse to

coincide” (Rosenburg, 1998, p. 10) drove him to seek out many of the jazz musicians

in New York to study their styles, which soon became a part of his own compositional

repertoire.

83

I have since incorporated some of the principles of jazz into my own music,

especially the use of swing. Robinson, in Oxford Music Online, defines swing as the

rhythmic pattern which arises when a fixed pulse is played at the same time as a

rubato accented pulse. There is a forward propulsion imparted to each note by a jazz

player “through manipulation of timbre, attack, vibrato, intonation or other means”

(Robinson). As well as using swing in sections of The Magic Jungle and Megan and

the eBike (such as ‘Living in the Magic Jungle’ in The Magic Jungle) I have made use

of the technique of alternating rhythms between the left and right hands which is

shown in ‘The Trip to Sydney’ (see Example 3.13).

Example 3.13: Megan and the eBike, ‘The Trip to Sydney’ (bars 24-27)—the use of ‘steady’ and ‘swing’ rhythms working against each other.

8 The Educational Imperative Including Fantasy Writing

Escapism into fantasy

I have always appreciated the humour that certain children’s authors bring into

their books, having had to read so many to my own three children, and it was

probably this that led me into writing twenty years ago. Working with fantasy

elements is enjoyable, so that magical animals forming an orchestra in the jungle, and

a computer-controlled eBike that flies around the world are quite easy to envisage.

I started writing and self-published my first book when my own children were

small and I found this was a great form of escapism. The lonely and unloving

experiences I had as a child served as an influence in trying to make other children’s

84

experiences more pleasant. The stories I write often involve the use of magical

powers which are given to children, animals or objects.

Educational text books

My writing led to writing textbooks for children learning English in China

(Bunton, 1992-2006). As a consequence of writing I began to wonder if

pronunciation and music could be combined and I started writing simple children’s

songs (Bunton, 2003). Phonics Fun, a series of six books and compact discs, with

accompanying eBooks and interactive DVDs, were published and have sold world-

wide, and circulation is into the millions in China, (Slack, personal conversation

August 22, 2012) which came as a big surprise to me. I have since written books for

the People’s Educational Press in Beijing, Megan and the eBike being one of them.

Musicals for Children

Sing the Sounds of English, a collection of 27 songs, which was written as my

Honours Project at the University of Western Sydney, has been performed as a

musical pantomime endorsed by the Hong Kong Government Cultural and Leisure

Department.

An apology

To their credit, the Group recently published a book: Stories of the Caux

School 1955-65, interviewing many of the children who were at the school in

Switzerland. The Group paid fares for a reunion where we could reflect together on

our journeys through life. The two authors, Mary Lean and Elisabeth Peters (still

members of the Group)3 ran into criticism from some others in the Group for writing

the book, and the word ‘sorry’ was never said, but for most of us it was a chance to go

back to Switzerland and meet some of the only people who could understand the

3 Which has changed its name to Initiatives of Change.

85

circumstances of our collective childhoods, there was an opportunity to express the

pain we had gone through, and get some sort of closure.

Summary

In summary, my diverse journey through life has provided me with many

sources of music which I can draw on eclectically as inspiration when composing.

My early exposure to and participation in musical theatre certainly whetted my

enthusiasm for more chances to participate in an art form which I find extravagant

and fun. The range of styles of music I have heard from an early age, such as music

from the French school, The Colwell Brothers with their country and western music,

the English school of music, the liveliness and colouring of jazz and blues, the music

of Hong Kong with both its ‘Chineseness’ and its Cantopop, the rich voice leading

and colour harmony of composers such as John Rutter, and my background as a

pianist and church organist have given me a rich range of styles. My work as a writer

for children first prompted the idea of writing lyrics for songs, then the possibility of

writing music as well. Escapism into fantasy which can be expressed through music

as well as words, are all part of my cosmology.

Pragmatism, in the end, has been the factor that has brought The Magic Jungle

and Megan and the eBike together. Turning around the sadness of my past, and

making it into some new ‘creation’ has given me a sense of purpose in my life.

Chaves wrote that “the joy of creating a work of arts, a little unit complete in itself, is

the unconscious joy of emulating God, the Creator” (as cited in Harvey, 1965, p. 59).

I also feel that sense of joy.

86

Chapter Four: My Creative Process

Even some creators … look at the apparently unprompted appearance of their own ideas with amazement. (Hindemith, 1952, as cited in Garsea, 2011 p. 20)

Because the unique case falls outside the categories of existing theory and technique, the practitioner cannot treat it as an instrumental problem to be solved by applying one of the rules in her store of professional knowledge. The case is not “in the book.” If she is to deal with it competently, she must do so by a kind of improvisation, inventing and testing in the situation strategies of her own devising. (Schön, 1996, p. 5)

The “joy of creating a work of art” which Chaves wrote of is also, for me,

accompanied by a sense of amazement. Hindemith’s feeling of “where did that

music come from?” always surprises me in my own creative process in writing, and in

composing music theatre works. As both the composer Hindemith (as cited in

Garsea, 2011, p. 20) and educationalist Schön (p. 5) posit, creativity is a spontaneous

act which Schön takes further seeing practice-based knowledge as involving a

necessary ‘out-of-the-rule-book’ approach. I consider that my own process goes

through identifiable stages but not necessarily in the way my collaborators imagine.

Schön argues for artistic cogency (p. 13) as a way of making sense of these

indeterminate practice-based situations which I encounter in composing. Whilst there

is artistic cogency based on materials which I have outlined as a series of operating

principles earlier, there is also a process of the mind which works through stimulation,

collaboration and dialogue to allow the emergence of the materials to express my

subversion of the scaffolding approach to learning which follows the linear pattern of

education into multiple levels.

87

1. Stimulation

External Stimulation

A Reason or Stimulus to Write

Sondheim was once asked “Generally, what comes first, the words or the

music?” He answered “generally the contract!” (Grant, 1994). Generally, for me too,

I find that there has to be a reason or a stimulus. A commission is a stimulation, and

this does not have to be financial (although it is always better), but just the knowledge

that my words and music might be used is stimulation enough. Reflecting on my

creative process in hindsight it is clear that I cannot write in a vacuum, as I find my

inspiration dries up. My reasons to write and compose have been for the educational

imperative of Chinese-speaking children learning English in Hong Kong, where I saw

a need for lively books and music. This also resonates with my feelings of

compassion for them.

A Commission as a Vehicle

Once there is a project or commission, my creative process goes into

overdrive, and takes over every waking moment, but dialogue is necessary at every

step and this necessarily slows down my process. I recognize now that this is a

symptom of my ‘out-of-the-rule-book process’ which any commissioner or

collaborator might find difficult to fathom even at an early stage. My ideas come in

the form of a complex ‘mind-map’ and not a straightforward ‘road map’. The

commissioner has to present their needs, and I might suggest my ideas as solutions,

whilst realizing that these ideas might have to change in the process.

88

Conveying musical ideas to an external commissioner is difficult, as they

cannot hear what is intended. I cannot describe my music as simply ‘classical’,

‘concert’, ‘art’ or ‘pop’, but maybe a mixture of them all. It is better to send some

examples which the commissioner can choose from. Sondheim talks of exactly this

process when he was working with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story, and trying

to demonstrate to producers how the songs would sound. Sondheim always let

Bernstein play the piano, but as Sondheim said, Bernstein couldn’t sing, so Sondheim

took over (Gross, 2010). In my conversations with Bill Connor, the orchestrator of

The Magic Jungle, he agreed that the best way to communicate ideas to a

commissioner is to sing and play through the songs at a piano. However, as I was in

Australia, Bill Connor in Wales, and Leanne Nicholls, the artistic director of the

orchestra in Hong Kong, this was an impossibility, despite Skype.

There are models of ‘fully staged through-sung musicals’ for adults, which

primary-school-aged children also love, such as Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolour Deamcoat, Schwarz’ Wicked, and Sondheim’s Into the Woods,

but I could not find any existing theory or technique specifying a format for an

educational musical for very young Chinese children learning English which I could

draw from. Basing my ideas on the way Howard Blake’s concert-staged musical The

Snowman worked, with dialogue, songs, and with the orchestra on stage, the way I

approached the writing of The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike, was by

improvisation, inventing and finally, as Schön also writes, testing strategies of my

own (Schön, 1996, p. 4). Following this, at every stage, I would have an external

dialogue with the commissioner.

89

Internal Stimulation

Once a commission is received, the next step is to find internal stimulation to

start writing. This is often illusive. American musicals composer Stephen Schwartz

describes the frustration he felt at his inability to write lyrics to a particular song. He

decided to abandon it completely. However, on a five-hour drive from Washington to

New York ‘A Corner of the Sky’ “got written” (Education Department, John F.

Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, 2008). Many other composers refer to their

creative processes as finding the spark or flash of inspiration as I will discuss later.

Internal aspects of inspiration are most often linked to feelings, and there are

times when I sit down at the piano and try to express joy, sadness, or other emotions.

Schön has written that the student “cannot be taught what he needs to know, but he

can be coached” (Schön, 1996 p.17). This is certainly true of my internal stimulus to

compose. Discovering the diversity of different compositional styles, and being

coached through University training to improvise as a way of finding my voice, has

led to the creation of surprising music which, Schön predicts, might happen: “often,

there is a powerful sense of mystery and magic in the atmosphere” (Schön, 1996, p.

17).

There are four ways in which music ‘comes’ to me:

1 Words

A song is sometimes prompted by a word or two, which usually comes with a

melodic line and a rough idea of harmony. This can happen anywhere and not

usually at the piano. The first line of words and melody follow almost

subconsciously, and I simply write them down, sometimes changing the order of the

words for effect or ‘tweaking’ the melody into more of an unusual shape. I then move

90

to the piano to notate the melody and harmonies. If the song sounds worthwhile I will

think about it more, and words and music usually follow, probably over the course of

two or three days. There are sometimes difficulties finding words for other extra

verses, if the rhythm of the first verse has been written in very strict time, but in this

situation I might use a bridge.

2 Improvisation

Improvising and testing out interesting chord progressions at the piano often

leads to new styles of composition, and often moves me towards completing a whole

piece. Sometimes I have a word or two in mind – for example ‘time and again’ -

which prompts the rhythm for a first line of music, even though I have no intention of

writing a song and have no other words in mind. I always leave a book of blank

manuscript paper on the piano to capture new chords for my musical vocabulary. I

find that it may take days of improvising (maybe only half an hour a day), until I find

a chord progression and melody that I am searching for, and then perhaps some of the

previous work can be integrated.

3 Expressing Emotions

At a very deep level, when even words cannot express emotions, I find that

music helps and I have had many instances of this happening. Going back to the

piano again and again is a form of internal music therapy. Sometimes I will visualize

the exact location where joyful or sad memories and emotions come from.

Spontaneously joyful feelings usually lead to a jazz composition. At other times I

will often think of a composer whose music I love, such as Bach, and try and

compose in his style.

91

4 Spontaneity

When writing music without words I start writing at the piano itself with either

an organic fragment which can then be explored further, with two or three chords

generated from memory, or from an improvised ‘accidental’ chord.

Ideas sometimes come as small pieces of a jigsaw so I write them out by hand.

When they begin to develop I enter them into the computer. ‘Typhoon’ (see Example

4.1) started as a very simple two bar phrase, which then expanded into eight bars.

Example 4.1: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 1 to 8)—the first fragment of music.

At the moment of conception there must be chordal colour, and this is

probably drawn from my experience as a Church organist and from hymn-like

harmonic colouring, which might have religious connotations that connect

consciously or subconsciously. Even if the harmonies start out in Church four-part

harmony, I tend to use them at first before diversifying the texture beyond chordal

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92

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(see Example 4.2).

Example 4.2: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 1-8)—with simple harmonies added.

Following this step I usually begin to add extra instruments (in this case I

decided that a pipe organ would give depth and power). However, in the case of

these particular bars in ‘Typhoon’, my supervisor commented on the fact that he felt

that this part of the music was like entering into a conversation which had already

started, and that I needed much more of an introduction to grow the theme

organically. These few bars (see Example 4.3) then became bars 37 to 44 in the

finished piece.

93

Example 4.3: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 37-44)—with an additional instrument (in this instance a second piano part.

All of these processes have an element of my just being the ‘scribe’ to write

them down. It is the unprompted appearance of words and music, which Hindemith

referred to, which I find difficult to describe.

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.œ .œœ œ œ œn œ œ

..œœ ...œœœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Typhoon - Draft 3

[Composer]

Score

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Erratic inspiration

Where a skeletal idea or theme appears in consciousness. (Sloboda, 1985, p. 116).

The ‘Spark’

My own process of writing depends on diverse and erratic sources of

inspiration but I am always on the look out for that small ‘spark’. Sometimes an idea

just ‘comes’, or as Hindemith describes it, “it only comes when the situation is ‘ripe’”

(Hindemith, 1952, p. 57). On the other hand, an idea sometimes comes only after I

have struggled constantly to find it either consciously or unconsciously. This struggle

is usually totally unproductive, because ideas most often come when I am in a relaxed

frame of mind, usually playing the piano, after listening to some music, but at other

times as well. J. K. Rowling acknowledges that the idea of Harry Potter and a

boarding school for wizards “came to her complete” on a delayed train journey from

Manchester to London in 1990.

Unusually she was without pen and paper and was stuck for four hours with

her big idea and nothing to write it on. When she got off the train she went

straight home and started writing (Hall, Sunday Telegraph,1997, p 14).

J.R.R. Tolkein was marking an exam paper when he saw that a student had

left a page blank. According to his own account, he wrote “In a hole in the ground

there lived a hobbit” (as cited in Doughan, 2000).

Driving is often when the ‘spark’ of ideas and melodies just ‘come’ to me, and

I have to stop the car to make a note of them. Any situation where there is nothing

else to do, such as waiting for a bus, or sitting in a plane can also be creative times.

The idea of setting T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats to music

occurred to Andrew Lloyd Webber while re-reading the childhood favorite on a

transatlantic flight in 1972 (Cats Handbook for Teachers, Hershey Theatre).

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I think for any composer this ‘spark’ must be almost like the “Eureka - εüρηκα

heúrēka - I have found (it)" moment of Archimedes, the ancient Greek

mathematician and inventor. (Du, Jun & Pardalos 1997, p. xi). For Stephen Schwartz

a song comes to life “in pieces - it depends on what the emotion of a song is, where it

is in a show, and who is singing it.” He has said that “Over the years, through

experience, he has come to start with a title” (Schwartz, 2011). Sloboda believes that

the creative artist has a repertoire of ways he can use his musical material, but

sometimes no way of generating the first ‘spark’ on which to base his work. “The

inspiration seems almost externally ‘given’” (Sloboda, 1985, p. 116).

The notion of an externally ‘given’ source rings even more true to me, because

the middle of the night is also when I get inspiration for writing stories, so I often

wake up to write them down. Sondheim has said that problems get solved in dreams.

"Maybe not specifically, but whatever sleep does to the subconscious lets ideas

bubble up (as cited in Grant, 1994). Tchaikovsky also described the “somnambulant

condition (where) everything that flows from one’s pen …(is) invariably good” (as

cited inHarvey, 1965, p. 2).

Eliot writes of Walt Disney:

one night when he awoke sometime after 2 am, got out of bed, went to

the standup desk he kept next to it, and scribbled a note to himself. His

dream had awakened him. On a piece of paper he scribbled The Three

Little Pigs. As with virtually all his great creative revelations, Walt had

once again let his unconscious be his guide (Eliot, 1993, p. 73).

In writing for musical theatre it is also necessary to try to get as many ‘sparks’

of imagination as possible so as to vary the styles of each segment. When I finally get

the words and prospective chords of part of a song into my mind the whole process

takes off.

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The first line of text is always my springboard for the first line of a song, the

rest flowing from that but it all depends on that first textual ‘spark’. Words and music

flow, although there are of course countless drafts and corrections that have to be

made. Composition can sometimes get to a stage when you are lost in a trance, and

lose all track of time. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who has written extensively on the

subject of flow, which is the same type of trance that I have described, undertook a

study of a group of artists and wrote, “The artists I studied spent hour after hour each

day painting or sculpting with great concentration. They obviously enjoyed their

work immensely, and thought it was the most important thing in the world”

(Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1992, p. 3). I am convinced that because

music demands such a great amount of training and the learning of its basics, that it is

not just the ‘spark’ that is needed but knowing what can compositionally be done with

it.

Music Influenced by Erratic Visual Ideas

As well as ‘sparks’ based on words, improvisation, expressing emotion, and

spontaneity, some of the scenes and songs in The Magic Jungle and Megan and the

eBike, were sparked by ideas which I thought children would find interesting and

amusing visually, for example a monkey somersaulting out of a box. I then tried to

think of the genre of music which would enhance the visual ideas. However, it was

sometimes a tongue-twisting lyric which prompted a song. I was forced to expand

my styles of music to provide enough contrast for each scene. As the central

character Max was a monkey, I visualized the whole violin section as being

monkeys, in which case they could all live in the ‘family’s tree’. This prompted the

‘My Family Tree’ song. ‘Zebra’ was inspired by a military march because in my

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mind’s eye I could see a procession of zebras marching down the pavement to cross

the road at a zebra crossing. Children’s musicals publisher, Denver, writes that

children are stimulated by stories in musicals which are “larger than life and out of

this world” (Denver, personal communication, 2004), so I tried not to automatically

censor my ideas even if they seemed ridiculous, because I have learned that “things

which might look silly on paper can come across well in practice” (Arleo, 2000, p.

14).

Music Influenced by Harmonies and Sounds

Sometimes a spark can come through harmonies or sounds. There are also

times when I sit down at the piano and just play any notes randomly. If something

sounds interesting I will write it down, then perhaps go on to play a chord sequence,

which sometimes leads to a piece of music, but more often doesn’t. At times the

thought of a particular instrument suggests an image, for example a soaring ethereal

cello melody ‘Cello Flying Theme’ aimed to imitate the feeling of uplifting energy.

The ‘Homeland Theme’ (see Example 4.4) with a didjeridu (which I analyze in

chapter five) was used to base the story clearly in Australia. The mixture of all these

influences provided a wide pallet of colours, rhythms, and harmonies to make use of.

Example 4.4: Megan and the eBike ‘Homeland theme’ (bars 1 to 7)—opening oboe phrase.

I am always looking for voice-leading in the bass part, and enjoy using a

walking bass in jazz. However, working in this way does not lead to easy lyric

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writing, usually just to incidental music. Finding inspiration to write, or to compose

music, is a difficult thing to describe and I am sure that every writer and composer

looks for this ‘initial something’ which can act as a catalyst. Bailin, though referring

to creativity in writers of text, posits that “So far, no one view of creativity has been

able to sufficiently explain the “spark”, or “the something more” (as cited in Barber,

2003, p. 3). I feel that the same applies to music. The ‘initial something’ usually

comes through finding unusual harmonies and chord progressions to underpin the first

line. If the phrase can then be used again, modified, elongated, turned upside down,

this can trigger the second line. But it is not always necessary to get into complex

harmonies, as sometimes the line can be repeated with different harmony, or with

some small twist in the melody, as I did in ‘Homeland’, simply repeating the first

phrase. Debussy used this technique in Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune: the first

three musical phrases open with the same flute arabesque at the same pitch, but each

sounds totally different due to the first ending without harmony, (see Example 4.5)

the second sounded over a E major chord (see example 4.6) and finally the third

ending over an G#/E chord (see Example 4.7) (Orledge, 1981, p. 15).

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Example 4.5: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, (bars 1-3)—opening flute arabesque

ending without accompaniment in bar 3.

Example 4.6: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, (bars 11-13)—repeated phrase with ending over a E major chord

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Example 4.7: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, (bars 21-22)—third repetition of phrase ending on a G#/E

Sondheim says that for inspiration he enjoys playing with words and

harmonies at the piano. “He doodles an arpeggio accompaniment … based on a

theme. This is one of his favorite activities because he enjoys ‘just fiddling around’…

using rapidly changing harmonies and rippling chords” (Grant, New York Times

Online, 1994). Lloyd Webber also improvises in this way. When writing ‘All I Ask

of You’ he commented (in an interview while he was seated at the piano and playing

the song) that “all the intervals are very me”. He just ‘doodles around’ at the piano,

he continues, until he can fit bits together in a piece. “Once you’ve got something

together like that, you know that you are away” (Lloyd Webber, 2008).

In some cases I am stimulated by the actual sound of an instrument, such as

the oboe in ‘Oboe Theme’ in The Magic Jungle. Ligeti, on being commissioned to

write a piece for horn, said, "When the sound of an instrument or a group of

instruments or the human voice finds an echo in me, in the musical idea within me,

then I can sit down and compose. [O]therwise I cannot" (as cited in Lapidaki, 2007, p.

100).

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Children as Musical Inspiration

I have found my inspiration in writing for children. Perhaps at first it was

because it was a ‘niche’ market where my music might be used, but the more I have

written, the more I can see that it is my “inner child” connecting with other children.

I gain a great deal of information from my contacts with children as they are “the

inexhaustible source of life energy and inspiration” (Kabalevsky, 1963, p. 49). I like

to ask questions, get new ideas, find out what amuses them, perhaps because of the

difficulties in my own childhood. Grille writes that “We are most tuned-in to them

(children) when we listen to them closely, and when we keep an open mind” (Grille,

2005, p. 275).

2. Collaboration

I collabor him, and he collabors me George Furth (referring to working with Stephen Sondheim) Finishing the Hat, 2010, p. xi

Sondheim works in close collaboration with his ‘book’ authors to learn as

much as he can about their material. He seeks out their vision. He also works closely

with a librettist, sometimes for several weeks, discussing the feelings which a

character might portray, what the atmosphere around the singer is, and where in a

production a song is placed, before he starts writing it. His assistants are “almost

extensions of himself: which is why part of his genius lies in his ability to light on the

right collaborators” (Mellers, 1994, p. 238).

Thompson has written that a successful collaboration can be difficult because:

Nothing we are taught as young people really prepares us . . . . One of the

markers of healthy collaboration is the sense you have of being lifted up and

carried along by it; and one reason it's painful is that when you are lifted up,

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no longer on solid footing, that can be scary . . . . Unfortunately, that sense of

uplift doesn't occur most of the time—and people assume that collaboration is,

at best, an efficient way to spread the work around. Or, at worst, the enemy of

true artistic vision (Rudakoff & Thompson, 2003, p. 119).

The Artistic Director

In the case of The Magic Jungle the artistic director of The City Chamber

Orchestra of Hong Kong felt that a jungle-themed musical, lasting one hour, would be

a good concept. This idea came to her because her four year old son was going

through a ‘jungle stage’ in his interests. However, the decision was not entirely her

own because she would need to put forward a proposal for funding from the Leisure

and Cultural Department of the Hong Kong Government to put The Magic Jungle into

the International Arts Carnival before we could proceed. When the proposal was

approved I started to write the broad outline of the story.

Writing Collaborator

Megan and the eBike evolved in a different way as the story came from a book

I had written for the People’s Educational Press in Beijing in collaboration with

Neville Grant, a writer in London. This collaboration had been a very rewarding

experience, even though only by email, as he is a very experienced children’s author

and he encouraged me greatly. Once I had secured permission to turn the book into a

musical from both Neville Grant, and from the Publishers, I went ahead in adapting

the story.

From both the stories I had to decide what scenes could be turned into songs,

where dialogue would work better, and where the climaxes should come. This was

mostly an internal dialogue, and in the case of The Magic Jungle, a dialogue with the

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artistic director of The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. I was able to make

three visits to Hong Kong for field work, and the artistic director and I spent a lot of

time talking over all the ideas. This was of great benefit. For centuries, as Winter

notes, research has involved written documents, but more recently:

artists have discovered that their work—their dance, their painting, their

sculpture, their novels, their music, their poetry—were all created through a

process of research through practice, and that that art deserved to be

accepted as worthy doctoral research in itself (Winter, 2010, p. 1).

Winter goes on to quote what dancer Isadora Duncan once said: “If I could tell you

what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it.”

I was also able to go to London to talk with the orchestrator. At our meeting

Connor gave me much advice from his personal experience:

Lyrics and music are only 50% of what is needed now .. the rest is ‘spectacle’.

It’s an event for an audience and needs to be colourful and memorable. ‘Simple

and straightforward’ usually works, so don’t get too complex. The story and

music should be indivisible, like a good film where you don’t notice the

background music (Connor, personal conversation, 2007).

The Notational Stage

Typing dots onto a computer score is a tedious but necessary process. Many

drafts have to be edited, additional phrasing inserted, played through at the piano to

make corrections, until the piece is finished. Although Schoenberg composed parts

of his First String Quartet while taking a long walk, putting them down on paper

when he came home, he lamented “Alas, human creatures, if they be granted a vision,

must travel the long path between vision and accomplishment; a hard road where …

even geniuses must reap their harvest in the sweat of their brows” (as cited in

Lapidaki, 2007, p. 102) whereas more humble mortals need to work even harder.

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The Orchestrator

The collaboration with Bill Connor, the Orchestrator of The Magic Jungle, did

not go fully to plan due to his illness. He had written:

although it is possible to do this (collaborate) at a distance via e-mail and telephone, it

is much better and eventually more effective to meet up to discuss and plan to play

though the materials with the composer and the director to decide the right

atmospheres for the songs...it's not just as simple as sending a song sheet and setting

the song...it depends on how the production is to work....how the director envisages

the look and the sound of the project (Connor, personal communication, 2007).

This meeting would have been the ideal conduit for collaboration, but in the

end it was mostly done by email and a few phone calls. He had asked that the whole

project be ‘malleable’ before it got to orchestration stage, so that he could see where

the production might fall apart in front of an audience of children. Dialogue was, of

necessity, very brief but he was able to see very clearly what I had in mind,

questioning some ideas about instrumentation, and suggesting some embellishments.

He commented,

there will always be areas that you might not have heard in the same way and that to

me is part of the excitement of collaborative work... (would that this were more close

proximity collaborative working) but your score says all we need to know and if I'm

unsure I ask (Connor, personal correspondence, May 27, 2008).

Connor’s orchestrations of the jazzy pieces were extremely cheerful, whilst he

managed to achieve gracefulness and peace in sections such as ‘Oboe Theme’ and

‘My Magical Musical Friends’. As he was to be the Conductor as well, he knew the

score in complete detail so was able to give a convincing performance fully dressed

and face-painted as a lion.

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Wagner imagined true collaboration of the arts being music, dance and drama.

Writing in Art-Work of the Future, he described how he envisioned boundaries

between various arts could be created. This "fellowship of all the artists" would have

a common aim, and be the only soil in which the unified “Art-work of the Future”

could grow. According to Thompson, Wagner believed that art and artist could find

the richest expression through collaboration (Thompson, 2003, p. 121).

5. Dialogue: Reflective-Process

On reflection, my dialogue and collaboration with the artistic director and

orchestrator, a group of only three artists, had to cover the types of collaboration

which are normally shared by many. Collaborators on a Broadway musical usually

include the original author, a librettist who writes the plot and dialogue (known as the

‘book’) a composer, a lyricist, an orchestrator, an arranger, a choreographer, a

costume designer, a lighting designer, a director who facilitates the team’s

collaboration, and a producer who manages the financial backing (Uzzi & Spiro,

2005, p. 456). In putting on The Magic Jungle, the artistic director was covering the

work of choreographer, costume designer, director, and producer as well as her work

as manager of the Orchestra and oboeist (a principal part, as the oboe was played by

the villainous snake). There was a very tight budget, and we also had to use only

resources and personnel available from the pool of professional musicians and actors

living in Hong Kong at the time, so that played an enormous factor in our planning.

Schön writes of “knowing-in-action” (Schön, 1996, p. 26), meaning knowing

is in the action, as a process that is difficult to make verbally explicit. I consider that

the two-way collaboration with the director was productive with the practical

knowledge base we had at the time about putting on a musical for children. Our

106

dialogue during the year leading up to the production led to our jointly following the

same strategies, and we held similar assumptions about the outcome. With the later

input from the orchestrator, and also from the actors, the cumulative product was

further improved. Perhaps the fact that there were so few people involved was what

helped to keep the production cohesive.

On the other hand, there are lessons learned from this “knowing-in-action”

which would affect the way I would handle any other production in the future. Uzzi

and Spiro write of a somewhat idealized form of collaboration:

Once the artists have their material in prototype form, they work together in an

intensive, team based collaboration in which they simultaneously incorporate

their separate material into a single, seamless production. It involves full days

of collaborative brainstorming, the sharing of ideas, joint problem solving, and

difficult editing, as well as flash points of celebration and commiseration that

promote strong social bonds among the teammates (Uzzi & Spiro, 2005, p.

458).

“Reflection-in-action” causes us, as Schön writes, to “think critically about the

thinking that got us into this fix or this opportunity; and we may, in the process,

restructure strategies of action” (Schön, 1996, p. 28). There were communication

difficulties at times during the collaboration process. The Orchestra had a busy

schedule of concerts throughout the year, so the director was necessarily occupied

with many other demands on her time. The orchestrator was seriously ill in hospital,

so could not start work until five months before the performances. During the

rehearsal period with the actors, many questions were raised about making changes

and additions to the script. I am sure that I was at fault at times, stubbornly holding

on to what I had first written, and by the final week of rehearsals and performances

we were all experiencing a great sense of stress.

107

In a project that I worked on with the director a year later, putting on my

musical pantomime, Sing the Sounds of English, I can see that we had both been

through a learning process and had a tacit understanding about the amount of work

involved and the fact that it would be better to have more people involved in the team.

We did “restructure strategies of action” (Schön, p. 28) without even realizing it. I

had more time to work with the orchestrator, and the director was able to budget for,

and hire, a stage producer to take control of choreography, costumes, lighting, and

directing all the action. The stage producer became an excellent collaborator and

raised a question about the lack of a major climax in the script at an appropriate time

before rehearsals had gone too far and with sufficient time to make additions. This

‘stock-take’ or reflection in action is now a key part of my creative process.

Dialogue as a Shaper for a Project

The reflective-process dialogue with my supervisor, Bruce Crossman, has

been of paramount importance. We discussed my work in a type of critical reflection

whereby I saw the construction of some ideas as having cogency with identifiable

musical reasons and understood others as needing further development. Although I

had previously learned elements of compositional practice, there were many times

when a part of the music would “stubbornly resist correction” (Schön, 1996, p. 26) in

my creative process. I was left in a quandary: wanting to improve, but the music not

going in the direction I felt it should. Constructive dialogue between composers

brought about many solutions to the compositional problems, which then allowed the

music to find its direction. At times it was possible to stop and think in the midst of

my compositional process and find an imaginative way to proceed, as an internal

dialogue. Schön writes that in reflection-in-action, “the rethinking of some part of our

108

knowing-in-action leads to on-the-spot experiment and further thinking that affects

what we do” (Schön, 1996, p. 29). However, in dialogue with my supervisor I was

able to learn many useful compositional strategies through being in these situations,

and these have provided me with techniques which will apply to other situations that

are similar.

Reflection-in-action has enabled me to define my creative process in a step-

by-step process. My initial ‘mind-map’ approach to a stimulating creative project

leads to my proliferation of ideas, and is the driving force behind my work. However

it is the collaboration and dialogue with others involved in the development of a

project that is invaluable and refines the ideas, establishing joint action towards an

imaginative goal.

Risk taking/Stimulation

Those who have free seats at the play hiss first. Chinese proverb

My Approach to Creativity

An aspect of this reflection-in-action is experimentation, which is the key

ingredient to the acceptance of unknown projects. “I’ll do it” has always been my

quick response to any offer of work. I believe that my ‘daredevil’ approach to life has

been fundamental in my work as an author and now a composer. I always say “Yes”

to almost any request or opportunity even if I am totally unqualified for the job. I

rarely have second thoughts about whether I can actually do a project or not, my

nature being to respond to any challenge. In the past, when offered a job to write a

series of books for a Chinese publisher, I agreed and then discovered that the deadline

was impossibly short. Each of the books and compact discs of songs in the Phonics

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Fun educational series had to be completed in six weeks (Bunton, 2003). My frenetic

search for ideas when in such a situation is sometimes beneficial as my ideas become

increasingly wild and the stories become more imaginative and outrageous. I believe

that I am a survivor and this sometimes leads to risk-taking decisions. Without risk, I

have found, nothing new happens.

In my work as a writer of textbooks I always strive to write about colourful

subjects even within the bounds of teaching grammar. In Reading for Writing, a book

I wrote in 2005, Madame Liu Dao Yi, Chairwoman of the People’s Education Press,

said that she especially liked the grammar section, because “the grammatical features

are clear and vivid, not boring as grammar usually is, and the useful expressions will

be much welcomed by students and teachers” (Tsoi, personal communication, March

9, 2005).

When asked by Leanne Nicholls, the artistic director of the City Chamber

Orchestra of Hong Kong to compose a concert-staged musical for children with the

theme of a jungle, I quickly agreed, keeping in mind my aim of writing a work which

was not boring. The director had heard some of my songs for children written for the

Phonics Fun series, and we had collaborated on a compact disc of my songs for

children, Sing the Sounds of English. I was overwhelmed to get such a commission.

Collaboration with an orchestra in Hong Kong

The smallest divisible human unit is two people, not one; one is a fiction. From such nets of souls societies and the social world, human life springs. And also plays. —Tony Kushner (as cited in Thomson, 2003, p.118)

In accepting the commission and through the process of writing The Magic

Jungle I realized that it was a risky business offering to put on an hour-long musical

with no previous experience! I found that communication and negotiation on every

110

detail with the artistic director of the orchestra was the most important factor. The

director had experience as a producer, based on putting on concerts for children, and

knew what might or might not work. While I often get carried away with my

imagination, I always find it is difficult to get negative feedback, and rethink my artistic

vision. It often involved changes on my part. Sometimes, because of the director’s

busy schedule of concerts, it was hard to get feedback quickly so I had to work on

several parts simultaneously in the hope that I was on the right track with some of them.

As the newcomer to the process I had to admit that although I had my own artistic

ideas, I didn’t have the practical experience of working with an orchestra and I also had

no idea how live audiences of children and parents would respond.

The director had this valuable practical experience because her orchestra had put

on The Snowman (1982) by Howard Blake, which I referred to in Chapter 3. The

Snowman uses a magical story of a boy and the snowman he builds on Christmas Eve,

who then take off for an astonishing flight together. Matthew-Walker recently observed

that The Snowman is “a set of symphonic variations and a subtle and fully-wrought

score” (Matthew-Walker, 2006). It would be a hard act to follow. At first I only

envisaged the story in The Magic Jungle being told by a narrator, and not including the

cast of four which eventuated. When the Director found out that the narrator she had in

mind was also a tenor, there were many more possibilities to think about as he would be

able to sing part of the narration as songs, which would provide much more variety.

Collaboration with an orchestrator in Wales

Apart from the difficulty of the orchestra being in Hong Kong, it seemed

another hurdle to work with an orchestrator in Wales. I managed to go to London, but

111

at that time he was working on a film score with a very tight deadline so we only

managed to meet for an afternoon.

Once Bill Connor could start on the orchestrations he came back with many

questions such as: “In number 1 ‘Introduction’, (bar 19) are the opening harp glisses at

pitch or have you just notated a gliss effect that you want in the same key area as the

surrounding tonality? It sounds rather nice with the bi-tonality of C working with the A

major tonality (see Example 4.8)” (Connor, personal correspondence, March 6, 2008).

Example 4.8: The Magic Jungle, short score, ‘Introduction’ (bars 17 - 22)—clarification of intentions between composer and orchestrator.

I sent short explanations: “In number 4 (‘My Family Tree’), the long

descending gliss (bars 8 and 9) is supposed to represent the box landing, so should be

&

&?

Nar.

Pno.

17 !

œ œœ œœ œ œ˙̇# ˙̇

when, all of a sudden, they saw a huge boxright outside their apartments.

!

œœ# œ# œœ Œ˙̇# œœ Œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œŒ Œ

..œœggggg>

Jœœ## œœ œœ

...˙̇̇ œœp

Pp

&

&?

Nar.

Pno.

20

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œÓ

˙̇ œ- œ-œ-

3

˙̇̇## ˙̇̇#P

F They became very curious.

œ œ œ œ# ˙

Œ œœœ# - œœœ# - œœœ-

www# > F

Fœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ

Œ œœœ# - œœœ- œœœ# -

www# >

F f

&

&?

Nar.

Pno.

"

23

œ œ# œ œ#

Œ œœ# - œœ- œœœœ- ?

www# P

[Strings]

TIM[spoken] Is that your box?

œ œ œ œ#

œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œwith growing excitement

ROSIE[spoken] No, I thought it was yours.

œ œ œ œ#

œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ

œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ

F

F

1 Introduction

[harp]2

[harp magic motif]

[harp]

[strings]

112

the same instrumentally as the box taking off at the end of ‘Introduction’ (bar

170)” (Bunton, personal correspondence, 2008) (see Example 4.9).

Example 4.9: The Magic Jungle, ‘My Family Tree’ (bars 9 and 10) — conversation with the Orchestrator on instrumentation.

Bill Connor understood every nuance that I had in mind and came up with

some wonderful flourishes, ideas, and parts in the orchestrations which I only realized

were so clever in hindsight. Where I had only indicated a drum roll, Connor suggested

how a solo violin, representing a monkey looking around tentatively, could add to the

excitement (see Example 4.10).

Example 4.10: The Magic Jungle, ‘Introduction’ (bars 28 to 31) — ornamentation by solo violin.

One of the concepts that emerged during the final rehearsal period was that the

artistic director felt it would be better to involve the two children in the cast in more

dialogue. We had, at first, envisaged the narrator speaking or singing everything but

many last minute changes occurred. Although it was another risk to keep changing

the dialogue, in hindsight it was an excellent decision to involve the children more as

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NARRATOR[spoken] Max was so relieved to be back home and was keen to show Rosie and Tim his family tree.

(Max introduces the children to his family)

˙ œ

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4 My Family Tree

[Narrator] (spoken) Rosie, Tim and Max climbed out. Max was so relieved to be back home and was eager[timpani]

With warmthSwing rhythm

37

[one solo violin]

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Œ œ œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ.3 3

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Psolo (tentative; looking around)

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113

it added to the variety. However, two days before the performance I had to put my

foot down and say, “No more, please! You can still make changes to the words, but

please don’t alter any more of the music!” (Bunton, unpublished diary, July 12,

2008).

Making changes would have been so much simpler if we had had the chance

to workshop the performance a few months before. Matilda, by Roald Dahl, was

turned into a children’s musical in 2011. Dennis Kelly adapted the book into a script

and worked closely with Australian songwriter Tim Minchin. At the Royal

Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, they had the opportunity of

workshopping the production with children (Minchin, 2011). It gave them a chance

to see, among other things, at any particular point where something didn’t work,

whether the script, the lyrics or the music was at fault, what to change and how the

children responded. In putting on The Magic Jungle it was often very difficult to see

which was not working at any particular time, whether it was the music, the dialogue,

or the lyrics, and how to extract and change it.

My risk taking approach to writing The Magic Jungle reached its highest peak

as I sat in the audience at the first performance, realizing that we had one thousand

two hundred parents and children in the audience and no idea how they would react. I

oscillated between sheer terror and amazement that the whole project had come

together through our collaborative efforts. Andrew Lloyd Webber says that when you

are writing for a musical, the story comes first and if the story is right, then the songs

will be right. But, he adds, you never really know until you see it with an audience

(The One Show Interview, 2011). Sondheim makes the point, “You keep writing

what you like and you hope other people will like it. You can't outguess the audience

or a social trend and there's no point trying” (Evans, 2009, p. F 1).

114

Failures

Of course the ultimate risk is that of failure. Facing that risk is a powerful

emotion. Carpenter, (pp. 239-240), as cited by Brett in Oxford Music Online, reveals

that Benjamin Britten’s way of coping with the risk of failure was to play “childlike

superstitious games to bolster his confidence as a composer” (as cited in Brett, 2011).

My need to be creative can become quite overwhelming at times, and lead to

feeling very down when there is nothing to work on, which I believe is also true of

other artists and composers. Even when it seems that a project is doomed to failure, I

will keep on trying to resurrect it in some way, maybe offering it to a new publisher,

or even self-publishing. My disappointments only serve to make me increasingly

determined that something will eventuate. Many composers go through bleak phases

when they feel their work is not good enough, both Debussy and Faure making

bonfires of what they thought of as their musical failures. Weber wrote “Shall I ever

again find a single thought within me? Now there is nothing - nothing. I feel as if I

had never composed a note in my life, and that the operas could never have been

really mine” (Harvey, 1965, p. 26).

Harvey writes that a creative artist cannot always fully express his feelings at

the moment when he is feels them: “A frenzied Roland could not write Orlando

Furioso” (as cited in Harvey, 1965, p. 70). Tchaikovsky stated that emotions, sad or

joyful, can only be expressed retrospectively (Harvey, 1965, p. 26). Mozart wrote in

1790, “If people could see into my heart I should almost feel ashamed. Everything is

cold – as cold as ice” (as cited in Harvey, 1965, p. 10). Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett,

writing very openly about the difficulties that often come with being a musician, said

“loss may be a big thing, but what remains becomes even more important than ever.

Just never let go of the thread” (in the liner notes of Testament, Jarrett, 2009). Lloyd

115

Webber’s Jeeves (1996) was a commercial failure, and as a result he started a festival

that he holds once a year at the theatre in his home, Sydmonton Court, so that he

could test new ideas before a small audience before going staging them publicly.

Also, as a result of the failure, he decided that music would lead the plot in his future

musicals (Ross, 2011). Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle (1964) lasted for only nine

performances (Mellers, 1994, p. 238). Even in the face of calamity, the show

produced one of Sondheim’s most famous songs ‘There won’t be Trumpets’.

There is an element of mystery, which I have found is a part of my

compositional process, and this force is either there or not. Schuller writes:

The fact that there are unrevealed and incomprehensible mysteries in the creative-

arts process and in our evaluation of its products does not disturb me, although it

arouses my curiosity. But I don't have to know how something works in order to

use it (Lapidaki, 2007, p. 93).

When that element is not there, I have found there is no single way to find fresh

inspiration again except to keep believing that something will happen. In time

something will eventuate although it is often difficult to get motivated. My

experience is that waiting is difficult, but each time I create I learn something new.

Summary

I have found that my risk-taking approach needs to be carefully balanced by

collaboration with others who have more experience in putting on musical theatre

performances, and who can rein in some of my wilder ideas. However collaboration

at its best can bring out the superior creative ideas and lead to performances that are

truly enhanced by the stimulation of practice, the narrative structure, the textual

enrichment, the motif additions, and above all, the amount of thought and preparation

that has gone into their creation.

116

117

Chapter Five: Exploding Hymns

The premise that I annunciated at the start of this thesis is that my music is usually

built on a rich hymn-like harmonic basis but quickly moves from simplicity to complexity

as a subversion of a scaffolding approach. It works through a specific set of eight

principles which are both musical and educative, and permeates my work in order to reach

my ultimate aims of presenting children with escapist imaginative ideas which have

transformative connotations. The set of eight specific principles which I adopt are

musically: eclectic ideas and imagination, tangential relationships, combinations of

elements, harmonic and timbral colour, and organic musical design leading to relentless

climaxes. Secondly, from the educative side of my personality several principles emerge:

textual and lyrical zaniness, juxtaposition between structure versus architecture, and

moving from scaffolding to simultaneous levels.

In this chapter I shall analyse short extracts from the three works which make up

my portfolio: The Magic Jungle (musical-theatre for voices and chamber orchestra),

Megan and the eBike (a school musical) and Megan and the eBike Suite (for didjeridu and

chamber orchestra).

Part 1: The Magic Jungle

In analysing three examples in The Magic Jungle I shall show how a simple hymn-

like base, in the song ‘My Magical, Musical Friends’, is coloured with French

impressionist harmonies to provide more sensuousness and emotion, as in Debussy’s

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (referred to on pp. 98-99). In a second example,

‘Snake’, I will show how I have added variety to increase intensity. The third example,

118

‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ shows how simple chords have had jazz colouring added, which

has allowed the orchestrator to burst into a wild display of colour and rhythms, and an

almost Bernstein ‘big band’ sound, as demonstrated in Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

(Bernstein, 1949).

Types of colour-harmony

‘My Magical, Musical Friends’

One example of music which has evolved from a four part hymn-like harmonic

basis is ‘My Magical, Musical Friends’ (see annotations below stave in Example 5.1). The

simple chord structures have been embellished by colour-sonority. It makes use of French

harmonic colour ideas, such as intervals of sevenths and of dominant major ninths, which I

referred to when discussing Debussy’s and Fauré’s harmonic languages The music is

rooted in the nostalgic textual intension in the lyrics, which involved saying goodbye and

the hope that memories would remain, and so the harmonic sensuousness which I have

tried to create gives a ‘yearning for something beyond’ feel to the music.

119

Example 5.1: The Magic Jungle, ‘My Magical, Musical Friends’ (bars 1-14)—‘hymn-like’ chord structures embellished by colour-sonority.

‘Ssss says the Snake’

‘Ssss says the Snake’ from The Magic Jungle starts in F minor and both the lyrics

and the music were deliberately kept extremely simple so that children could remember

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œ œ œmag i cal mu sic al

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œœ œœ œœ ‰ jœœœ œ œ ‰ jœ.˙ œ

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- - - - - -

15 My Magical, Musical Friends

120

them. Educationally, I envisaged it as a way to help teach Chinese-speaking children the

pronunciation of the sound ‘s’. The song uses diatonic harmony, and starts out organically

(see Example 5.2, bars 42 to 46) growing from that basis. The villainous snake, playing

an oboe, has a leitmotif which then turned into the basis of a song, ‘Ssss says the snake’.

Envisioning a snake charming scenario with the snake emerging from its wicker basket

was the musical influence for ‘The Snake’. I wrote predominately with the Indian pungi

instrument’s timbre in mind, as this traditionally plays in a snake charming ceremony.

The pungi is made from a dried gourd at one end and, two reed or bamboo pipes called the

jivala, at the other (Dick, Oxford Music Online, 2011).

Example 5.2: The Magic Jungle, ‘Ssss says the Snake’ (bars 42 to 46)—diatonic harmonies.

Following this section, the song moves quickly from simplicity to complexity and

it develops into an almost operatic piece when the snake sings in falsetto voice with

flamboyant extravagance in its vocal gestures which gives the feeling of being in a

recitative style. The words in the vocal line are not rhymed, and the accompaniment uses

chords and decorative grace notes. I used harmonic-colour and textural colouring to

produce word painting. The final dissonant harmony achieved is more reminiscent of

Stravinsky or Bartok, with chromatic clashes (bars 86 - 87) and the timbral colour of the

clarinets combined with the dissonance which widened the harmonic palette provides,

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"""

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10 "Ssss" Says the Snake

121

produces an effect that is unlike any other piece in The Magic Jungle thus providing

variety. Bars 83 to 84, in the piano score, place the right hand an octave higher and the

left hand an octave lower. This three octave gap provides variety within the song (see

Example 5.3).

Rhythmically the piece changes time signatures moving from 5/4 to 3/4 to 6/8 to

12/8. This is intended to provide an effect of uncertainty and confusion, which might

communicate elements of fear to children. Bars 84 and 85 use decorative circular figures

in the clarinet parts.

Eclectic ideas, such as the snake wanting to show off her magic tricks and to

frighten small children alone in the jungle, prompted the lyrics of this song and the music

developed to match the words. There is a touch of zaniness in the idea of a snake singing

a recitative about her power and magic accompanied by strident twentieth century

harmonies. The combination of all these elements moved ‘Snake’ from scaffolding to

simultaneous levels.

122

Example 5.3: The Magic Jungle, ‘Snake’ (bars 70 to 87)—organic growth leading to musical features evoking magic and power.

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86

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an i mals haveœœœœb œœœ œœœ...˙̇̇b

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- -

10 - Snake

[clarinets]

87

123

Motif types

‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’

The idea of combining elements of a rap song with a swing groove saxophone and

jazz orchestration, with the addition of the humorous nature of the lyrics, provided a break

from the story-line and variety as it is placed between two slower songs. ‘Snap, Crocodile,

Snap’ has only tangential connection to the main plot, but is deliberately placed where it is

for the sake of the young audience, as a moment of relaxation from concentration on the

narrated story. Harmonically the piece uses many jazz chords (see Figure 5.4), such as

Fmin11/6 and Fmaj13 in bar 3.

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[clarinets] œœ œœ œœb œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ> œœ œœ Œ ‰ Œ ‰

#

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- - - - - - -

10 - Snake88

124

Example 5.4: The Magic Jungle, Sample of chords used in ‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’

After I provided these colouring ideas, Bill Connor, in his orchestrations, kept the

same swing feel and developed the mood and texture about which we had talked. Bill’s

first idea was to insert a seven bar introduction representing the crocodile in the swamp

‘waking up’ which then led into the original two bar introduction. He included plenty of

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125

pizzicato strings, a jazz guitar sound on the synthesizer, and had a structural plan for each

verse, leading to a final verse and chorus in ‘big band’ style (see Figure 5.5). The basic

keys I used were F, modulating through an Ab7 to a Db, and then a return to F.

Figure 5.5 The Magic Jungle. Orchestration used in ‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’

Analysis Bill Connor’s ideas and orchestrations A bars 1-7 added Add an extra seven bars of crocodile ‘waking up’ solo saxophone A bars 8-9 introduction

Saxophone with ‘snap’ pizz on strings, piano, and synthesizer

B bars10-20 verse 1 Saxophone, piano, ‘jazz guitar’ on synthesizer, pizz crotchets, bass, bassoon, guiro

C bars 21-24 chorus Drum and percussion added B bars 25-35 verse 2 Clarinet, horn and trumpet added. Synthesizer plays minims, flutes

added, then cello. C bars 36-39 chorus Pizz strings added. B bars 40-50 verse 3 Snap pizz chords on strings. At bar 38 orchestration goes back to

saxophone, piano, synthesizer, and drums. C bars 51-54 chorus Flutes, clarinet, bassoon, arco minims on strings, pizz bass B bars 55-65 verse 4 Full orchestra – use of differing cross rhythms between instruments.

Horn and trumpet feature enter at bar 48-52 and from 57 to end with loud off-beat accented crotchets.

C bars 66-69 chorus Full orchestra - ‘big band’ feel crescendo to climax. There are lighter moments in the orchestration, such as at bar 38 when the

instrumentation is pared back to saxophone, piano, synthesizer and drums. Rhythmically

and texturally there was an opportunity to build up to a ‘big band’ swing texture for the

final verse and chorus, somewhat akin to Bernstein’s style in Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

where he used a solo clarinet with a band “highlighting trumpets and trombones in the

prelude, a quintet of saxophones in the fugues … and the solo clarinet with the entire band

in the concluding riffs” (Huscher, 2010). Of course it was not possible to replicate a

quintet of saxophones, in a chamber orchestra which included only one trumpet and one

horn, but the orchestration in ‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ which substitutes solo saxophone

for Bernstein’s solo clarinet. The unrelenting rhythms in the last four bars of the song add

to the tension so that the song builds up to a final climax (see Figure 5.6). The jazz

126

techniques which Bernstein described as being the major scale with the possibility of a

lowered third, fifth and seventh. There were also the “blue notes” which are “notes in

between the notes.” Bernstein goes on to say “This so-called jazz scale is used only

melodically. In the harmony underneath, we still use our old unflatted notes … these very

dissonances have a true jazz sound” (Bernstein, 1956, cited in Helgert, 2008, p. 56).

The fact that a single crocodile playing his saxophone can be portrayed by using a

huge orchestra aims to bring some humour to the song.

127

Example 5.6: The Magic Jungle, Bill Connor’s orchestration of ‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ (bars 66 - 69)—orchestral ‘big band’ colour, and a swing texture.

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128

Structure:

My aim in the structure of The Magic Jungle was to provide stylistic and mood

variety to keep the attention of the audience, so that juxtaposition of the styles in the

structure was essential (see Figure 5.7). Each section was designed to teach something

musical, and also to help Chinese-speaking children with their English, whether the

children were aware of it or not. For the sake of children in the audience who did not

understand English well, a short Chinese language synopsis of each scene was printed in

the programme, so that a parent could explain the story to their child. I tried to make each

of the sections musically different from the sections before and after.

Once the whole structure is analyzed it can be seen that most of the seventeen

sections have discrete segments within them, some with narration and then song, some

with conversation, some completely instrumental, so that there are altogether forty-five

segments which creates diversity within the cohesive whole of the story.

Eclectic ideas and imagination such as elephants playing the bass led to ‘Elephants

Thud’ which brought out characteristics in the music, such as the 5/4 rhythm and awkward

heavy and plodding musical feel. One idea always led to another, and tangential

relationships such as a monkey taking the children to the magic jungle in a cardboard box

led in to the idea of the monkey personally greeting his mother and father, who were part

of the violin section, in ‘My Family Tree’. Combinations of elements such as each animal

playing a musical instrument, which was one of the basic musical and educational points

of The Magic Jungle, led to the final song ‘Magic Jungle’ where each instrument was

introduced one by one. The harmonic and timbral colour of the song ‘Jogging in the

129

Jungle’ introduced children to the sound of a clarinet, and organic musical design leading

to relentless climaxes was demonstrated in ‘Into the Storm’.

Educationally, each section had its own didactic: the text in the song “Lions Love

to Roar” was an example of using sounds which are difficult for Chinese speaking

children to pronounce, in this case “l” and “r” (see Appendix 1, Chang, 2001, pp. 224-237

on page 214). Although the plot and the music started very simply, I tend to move from

one style to another very quickly which can be seen in the multiple macrocosmic and

contrasting themes within microcosmic sections (see Figure 5.7). Of course these ideas do

not claim to be a teaching method of the English language, but rather aim to provide some

interesting ways of supporting classroom learning.

Figure 5.7: Diagram showing some of the varieties of styles used in The Magic Jungle. The Magic Jungle Structure

Scene Musical Styles/

Educational Purpose

Tempi/melody/harmony/ rhythm/texture

Analysis - Bars

1 Introduction

Spoken text A Narrator With full orchestra - slow, grandiose opening.

Start of the story. Visual interest for children in audience as monkey somersaults out of box.

A = 105 Moderato. Key: C major. Melody and harmony are Hymn-like four part harmony. Rhythmically increasing features/thickening in texture and intensity.

B bar14 = 120 a little faster / then growing in anticipation/ascending atonal melody and harmony going through changes of key.

A bars 1-10 A repeated bars 11-20 B bar 21 variety of background music used to bring prominence to words.

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Song: C Monkey – ‘pop song’ in swing style ‘Living in the Magic Jungle’. Rhythmically syncopated. Texturally full orchestra in bright, up-beat style. Middle section is narrated, followed by children singing.

The words of the song are easy and are repeated several times.

C Song Allegro = 120. Key: C major. Melody is simple, and uses many triplets. Harmonies include many 6ths, 7ths, and 9ths. Bars 70-73 provide a staccato ending to song for variation. D bars 74-91 middle section of song goes through key changes of G7, C, Bb7, Eb, F, G, F/C to Em. Narration, then children sing in interlude music. C section is repeated.

C bars 52 - 73 first verse of song D bars 74 interlude in song with narration then children singing. C bars 92-114

Dialogue E Spoken section between Rosie and Tim. Simple background music, which becomes more exciting towards the end.

Discussion between children is important for audience to understand. Excitement for audience as children go into the box with the monkey.

E bars 115-158 = 105 Straight Moderato . Key: C major. Narration and dialogue from children [spoken] over varied background music, mostly slower chords with single instruments. Slower chords (taken from interlude of song) then using ‘Ring a ring of roses’ tune over stasis. Staccato ending of song used as a feature. ‘Telephone’ ringing sound played on piano and xylophone. Texture is light. Drone on G is a feature. F anticipation mounts towards climax representing box taking off with final arpeggio and glissando.

E bars 115-158 F bars159 -170

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2 Magic Jungle Song (simplified verses)

Song Sung by Narrator. Moderately fast, syncopated pop-influenced song, with easily memorable chorus.

Introducing: monkey playing violin, toucan playing flute, rhino playing piano, hippo playing piccolo. The verses are simplified to introduce one instrument’s name and animal’s name at a time. “I can see …” and “I can hear …” repeated so as to become familiar.

= 120 Rhythmic swing Key: E major Rhythmically syncopated swing. Texturally bright with full orchestra. Percussive introduction features guiro, shaker, bongos which accompany the whole song. Melodically simple tune which is easily memorable for children. Harmonically jazzy chords with many additions of 6ths, 7ths, and 9ths. B chorus. Key change to F major. C verse B chorus C verse B chorus

A bars 1-10 Introduction B bars 11-18 chorus C bars 19-38 verse B bars 39-46 C bars 47-66 verse B bars 67 – 76 chorus

Narration With background music

Narrator continues the story as Max and children arrive in the Jungle.

D transitional material including descending chromatic scale representing box landing. Slow chords.

D bars 77 - 88 transitional material.

3 Jogging In the Jungle

Song Jazz Swing. Narrator sings with children and Max joining in on choruses. .

Introducing: Clarinet and jazz. Pronouncing the “j” sound.

= 120. Jazz swing Key: D major. Rhythmically highly syncopated. Texturally bright. A Lightly and sprightly jazz swing. Humorous words which have influenced an upbeat jazz melody and harmonies. Harmonies include 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, and 11ths. B verse C chorus

A bars 1-7 Introduction - clarinet chromatic introduction leads into 5 bars of verse. B bars 8-11 verse

132

D Instrumental interlude with clarinet descant over music from the verse. E bar 32 Slightly slower.

= 110 bar 37 Slower still.

= 100 bar 40 a tempo

F = 120 Bridge uses harmonies of bar 32 D minor, bar 36 B minor, bar 39 A7, bar 40 F#7 B major 7, bar 41 E minor. bar 45 A minor.

C bars 12-19 chorus D bars 20-25 Instrumental interlude - clarinet descant with music from the verse. E bars 27-29 verse (piano) F bars 32-43 bridge B bars 44-47 verse C bars 48-56 final chorus with clarinet descant.

4 My Family Tree

Narration Introduction uses ‘Jogging’ theme, followed by chromatic descending scale.

Introducing: Triple time

= 120 Jazz swing Key: B minor bars 1-9 bar 10 Key: G7. bar 10 Change to triple time.

A Introduction bars 1-7 repeat of Jogging in the Jungle verse B bars 8-11 Chromatic descending scale leads to sustained G7 chord in bar 11

Song Monkey sings (tenor) with full orchestra. Nostalgic waltz. Focusing on violins/monkeys. Rhythmically in gentle waltz format. Texturally light.

Vocabulary on family: Father Mother Other kinds of monkeys: such as orangutans and gorillas. Central section provides questions and answers on which animals

C = 120 Tenderly. Key: C minor. Bars 10-18 Solo violin plays melody of verse as introduction. Melody is gentle and ‘soothing’. Harmonically the verse is in C minor. Many accidentals used, and voice leading in the bass part. D Chorus is in Eb major and is livelier than verse.

C introduction to song bars 12-18 C bar 19 verse of song D bars 37-46

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Central section sung over gentle stasis.

the children might like to be. They decide to remain themselves.

E Central section is sung over stasis with delicate flute and chordal accompaniment in C minor. F Bridge to second verse C second verse in C minor. D chorus in Eb major. F Thickening in texture and rhythmic intensity towards the end of the second section. Bass notes descend downwards towards Eb.

chorus E bars 47–65 interlude F bars 66-78 C bars 79-95 verse D bars 96-106 chorus F bars 107-120 ending with some chorus material and introduction of ‘Elephants’ bass chords.

5 Elephants Thud

Song Narrator sings. Featuring elephants playing the bass. .

Introducing: irregular metre, Bass. “th” in “thud” repeated many times, which is a difficult phonic sound for Chinese-speaking children. Rhythm of the spoken word ‘elephants’ has dictated the rhythm of song. It is an educational advantage to start learning the rhythm of English.

Plodding = 95 Key: F minor. Melody sung in low tessitura. Harmonies are complex with dischordal material. Rhythmically slow and awkward. 5/4 time, with different time signatures added to suit the rhythm of the words. Texturally very heavy and dense harmonisation.

A introduction bars 1-2 B song bars 3-11 C ending bars 12-13

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Dialogue Followed by dialogue between Max and the children.

Monkey tells children important information about the Magic Jungle which children in the audience need to understand.

The same musical format as for the previous section of ‘Elephants Thud’. The same rhythm and texture as ‘Elephants Thud’.

A bars 14-15 repeat of introduction B bars 16-24 repeat of song but dialogue is used and not singing C bars 25-28 ending

6 Leopards, Giraffes and Baboons

Short song Max sings in‘Operatic-influenced’ style from bars 1-17.

Monkey sings about a secret in the jungle.

A bit spooky = 100 Key: F minor A Harmonies are the same as for ‘Elephants Thud’.

A bars 1-17

Introducing: Leopards playing Clarinet duet.

B Key: C minor. Same melodic and harmonic material as ‘My Family Tree’ but with clarinet duet added.

B bars 18-55

Instrumental Clarinet descant over music from ‘My Family Tree’. Short duet with clarinets and bassoon.

Giraffes playing Viola. Baboon playing the Bassoon.

C Key: Eb major. Quiet, gentle texture. Transitional material through keys of F minor, Bb minor, bar 62 F minor, and to E7. D Key Gb major. Bassoon melody with violas. bar 77 Eb major ending.

C bars 56-66 slow chordal material D bars 67-77

7 The Orchestra

Spoken text. Narrator Feature is music: Snake motif and woodblock rhythm.

Introducing trumpet.Impala playing the trumpet, and leopards playing cellos. Narrator speaks about the snake for the first time and children learn why there is trouble in the jungle.

Lively Allegro = 120 Key: Ab major. Rhythmically gentle music from ‘My Magical Friends’. Texturally quiet and light. A Trumpet reveille, followed by B cellos feature (bar 9) playing melody from ‘My Magical, Musical Friends’ both accompanied by

A bars 1-8 Trumpet reveille B bars 9-14 B bars 15-27 C bars 28-32

135

piano. Melodically the piece uses material from this song, which is lyrical with French influences in the harmonies. (see Example 5.1 on page 20).

snake motif.

Orchestra attempt to tune, and fail. E Dialogue between Narrator and Conductor.

The concept of tuning the orchestra, and going ‘off key’. Role of the conductor to keep the beat.

B Piu Lento = 96 Key: Ab major. Orchestra plays while Narrator speaks. Orchestra deliberately goes out of tune. D conductor tries to correct the problem.

B bars 33-38 orchestra goes out of tune D bars 39 Conductor’s baton taps E bars 40-53 G.P. followed by attempts to tune and narration.

Instrumental with narration Dissonant harmonies. Narrator tries to speak above cacophony.

Children can listen to atonal music to see if they like it.

F = 108 Moderato. From bar 54 No key or tonal base. Rhythmically, the music goes haywire. The texture becomes confused, thick and murky.

F bars 54-76 atonality caused by lack of tuning the instruments. (Orchestra is allowed to play anything they like in this part and can improvise on the score if they wish).

8 The Miserable Snake

Spoken Text Narration over quiet start, which leads to oboe theme in minor key.

Introducing Snake playing oboe. Description of the snake’s character in the spoken part.

Sinister. Allegro = 120 A 6/8 time. Rhythmically very slow chords, and quiet. Texturally instruments shine above stasis. Introductory series of chords – Bb minor, Eb

A introductory material.

136

major, C minor 7/F, and F are played four times. Melodies played by individual instruments: flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, and cello are featured above this bass. Harmonies played by marimba, synthesizer and piano. B Snake motif played by oboe. The motif sounds threatening.

B bars 26-30 snake motif bar 30 Change to 3/4 time.

Song ‘The Miserable Snake’ –melancholy - sung in operatic, falcetto, mimicking the voice of the snake, by Narrator.

The characteristics of the snake are described in song.

C song. Allegro =.120 Key: Bb minor Dejected voice. Melody is mournful and words self-pitying. Harmonies change to major when lyrics reach “if she sees you having fun without you” but quickly return to minor. Rhythmically, song has several changes of time, to show the unpredictability of the snake’s character. Texture is melodramatic. B final snake motif seems ominous and threatening, followed by woodblock motif.

C bar 32 first verse of song bar 33 change to 4/4 time bars 38-40 bars 41-58 in 4/4 C bars 59-86 second verse of song bars 65-67 change to 3/4 bar 68 back to 4/4 bar 78 in 2/4 bar 79 in 4/4 (sound of woodblock) B bars 87-89 snake motif

9 Snap, Crocodile Snap

Song Humorous. Vibrant jazz [played by crocodile on saxophone with full orchestra].

Introducing: Saxophone The concept of rap music. Tap dancing. Blends “sn” “cr” “cl” “t”.

Allegro = 120 Swing Key: F major. Melody is played by saxophone, as song is spoken in ‘rap’ style. Harmonically very jazzy chords, with 4ths, augmented 6ths, 7ths, and diminished chords. Rhythmically swing style. Texturally thick jazz chords which can provide basis for full orchestra, rising to a climactic ending. Key changes through Ab7

A bars 1-9 Introduction B verse 1 bars 10-20 C chorus bars 21-24 B verse 2 bars 25-35 C chorus bars 36-39 B verse 3 bars 40-50 C chorus bars 51-54 B verse 4 bars 55-65 C chorus bars

137

to Db in bar 39 to add to excitement. Bar 54 key change back through C7 to F major in bar 55.

66-69

10 The Snake

Song Narrator sings

Practice of the “s” sound, and “sn”, and long “a” in snake.

Allegro. = 110 Sinister Key: F minor Melody grows organically through the introduction. Oboe enters at bar 11 using a ‘snake-charming’ influenced mode. bars 23-32 oboe becomes more forceful.

A bars 1-14 Introduction B bars15-22 verse C bars 23-32 B bars 33-40 verse C bars 41-49 oboe interlude

‘Operatic Recitative’ Narrator (impersonating the snake’s voice - falsetto)

Children can listen to another kind of singing.

Allegro = 110 Key: F minor. Rhythmically varied time signatures, with many decorative semiquavers in woodwind. Texturally thick at times, but sparse at others. Oboe and clarinets punctuate singer’s statements. Singer becomes forceful and strident when discussing ‘power’. Melodically ‘Snake charmer’ influenced mood and harmonies finally ending modulating to a single G.

D bars 50-121 ‘Operatic Section’ bar 106, and bar 110 woodblock motif bars 117-121 woodblock rhythm influences music.

11 Giraffe, Tiger Lion Zebra

Spoken text Orchestra make animal noises, either vocally or instrumentally (horn imitates an elephant trumpeting). Introduction of different instrumental sounds accompanied by strong chords from the ‘Tiger song’ played rhythmically.

Narrator teaches concepts of high pitched/low pitched notes, pizz/arco blown/bowed, rolled/plucked, soft/loud. Vocabulary on orchestra, listening and playing instruments together.

Allegro = 120 Lively. Key: starts in but Ab maj or but moves through several changes to F major at bar 9. Bar 14 moves to C minor.

A bars 1-4 melody from Giraffe song bars 5-10 melody from lion song. B bars 11-14 rising chromatic scale. C bars 15-34 Melody from Tiger song used to underpin and demonstrate all the examples of high pitched/low

138

Introductory material is followed by medley of four songs in different styles. Syncopated rhythm.

pitched, etc.

Giraffe song: Features violas.

Introducing: viola and ‘g’ sound

Giraffe Song = 120 Key: C bars 35 Melodically simple tune in or four bars, with key changes to Am/B minor. Harmonically there is use of ascending scales representing height of a giraffe. Rhythmically it is a Rumba dance-like melody with backing by cabassa, congas and claves. Texture is light and predominately moved forward by the percussive instruments.

A bars 35-39 introduction A bars 40-57 Giraffe song

Tiger song Features frightening percussion.

Demonstration of Chinese percussion tiger theme. Practice of ‘t’ and ‘i’ sounds.

Tiger Song = 100 Key: Bb Melody is strident and angular, with rests filled by intense and frightening harmonic chord material. Very strong rhythms. Texture is jagged with many accented notes.

C Bars 58-66 introduction to Tiger song bars 67-84 song.

Lion song Features the conductor/lion who roars – humorous.

Pronunciation of “l” and “r” in “Lions love to roar” which are difficult sounds.

Lion Song = 120 with a strong beat. Key: Bb Bright melody, with use of jazzy harmonic colour (7ths and 9ths). Syncopated rhythm with rich texture.

B bars 85-87 rising chromatic scale. D bars 88-112 Lion Song.

139

Zebra song Features percussion, horn and trumpet in a military march.

The ‘z’ sound. Useful words to learn: Left/right and front/back.

E Zebra

Military March = 108 With a strong beat. Key: C. Melodically it uses a small range of notes, with much use of tone and semitone movements. Harmonically driven forward by walking bass. Rhythmically strong, and syncopated. In strict time with use of side drum, trumpet and horn. Texturally strong due to strict rhythm.

E introduction bars 113-117 F bars 118-135 song

12 Into the Storm

Spoken text. Arch shaped architecture. String section featured in opening of fugue. Also features horn chorale.

Opening theme ‘Bach’ influenced fugue.

= 120 Allegro Key: D minor. Melodically starts with bass, adds cello, viola, second violins, and finally first violins. Harmonically each theme entry adds to the chord basis. Rhythmically syncopated. Texturally many staccato notes to emphasize feeling of creeping into a dark jungle and fear of the darkened stage. A Theme in D minor. B Slow chorale by horn above opening theme.

A bars 1-11first theme A bars 12-22 theme is repeated A bars 23-28 six bars of theme repeated. B bars 18-23 addition of horn chorale.

Song fragments

Introducing hippo on piccolo and rhino on piano.

Key: Eb major Melodically these few bars provide variety from the Bach-influenced fugue. Harmonically built through legato phrases on piano. Rhythmically, though still in the same time signature, legato quaver phrases are used. Texturally, the piccolo and piano are featured, providing variety.

C bars 29-44 short song fragments about Hippo and Rhino.

140

Opening Theme repeated Narration continues

Leitmotives

Key: D minor As Tim and Rosie’s names are mentioned their motifs are played.

A bar 45-54 1st theme returns bars 53-54 Tim’s motif on trumpet bars 55-58 Rosie’s motif (Ring a ring of roses)

Narration Thunder and lightening Rain and wind themes

Description of a storm: Thunder Rain Wind Lightning

Key: D minor D Melodically very low chromatic notes for rumble of distant thunder.

D bars 59 Thunder A bars 63-73 1st theme B bars 67-73 horn chorale

E pentatonic ‘feel’ Melody is staccato portraying ‘rain drops’. F Flute and piccolo ascending and descending scales. G Lightning accented atonal chord in high octave.

E bars 74-81 Rain theme F bars 82-84 Wind theme G bars 85 Lightning bars 96-103 crescendo into climax

Instrumental Central section is climax of piece, and has ‘Wagnerian’ influences.

H Key: F# minor 6/8 time signature. Melody is based on the highest notes of minor chords, with rolls of thunder (low piano chromatics) and lightening (accented atonal chords in high octave) breaking into chord sequences.

H Climax bars 104-150

Dialogue Rain section

Key: B minor bar 160 C minor, bar 163 G, bar 165 F, triangle, bar 169 F/C, bar 171 F/ but all have pentatonic scales. Melody does not stand out but is very lightly played over the

E Rain theme bars 151-172

141

harmonies. Rhythmically changes in time signatures to give the impression of flexibility. Texturally very light, played on flute, with xylophone and rainstick and very quiet piano.

Dialogue Between snake and narrator.

Dialogue between snake and narrator reveals the reason for the snake’s nasty character. Highlights cello.

Key: D minor Cello and piano – classically influenced second theme. Melodically strong cello part, with Bach-influenced four-part harmonies in piano accompaniment. Rhythmically strong beat. Texturally provides alternative to First Theme.

I bars 173-193 Second theme which is repeated I bars 179-185, bars 185-187 snake motif played on horn I bars 188-195 Second theme ends as First Theme enters.

Narration Recapitulation of first theme ending with triumphant oboe descant.

A chance for audience to see the snake for the first time and hear the oboe. In the story, there is a resolution of the snake’s problem.

Key: D minor bar 208 key change to A minor

A bars 194-205 recapitulation of the first theme bar 205 Audience participation in counting “One, Two, Three” A bar 208 first theme in A minor bar 217 oboe descant bar 218-229 first theme repeated with oboe continuing with descant.

13 Oboe Theme

Instrumental

No words – a chance for children to listen to the music.

= 90 Moderato With serenity. Key: Bb Melodically, the oboe theme is a slow, lyrical melody over orchestral stasis. Harmonically there are many French influences. Rhythmically slow moving and

A bars 1-12 oboe theme - snake song in a major key. A bars 14-26 theme repeated. bar 15 strings enter quietly bars 27- 36 Flute has melody

142

graceful. Texturally the oboe and harp are featured with full orchestral backing from bars 37-43. Coda bars 44-47 with minimal accompaniment, as oboe plays last rising notes.

bars 37-39 woodwinds together with oboe and full orchestra. Coda bars 44-47

14 The Next Morning

Narration Description of animals.

Setting the scene: describing the jungle. All animals are re-introduced by name and by instrument as they arrive, as a chance to reinforce learning of names and instruments.

= 108 Lazily. Moderato Key: C major Melodically there are fragments of tunes played by different instruments.

bar 14 = 100. bar 15 poco piu lento. Passing through several keys it returns to G7 at bar 19 leading in to next section.

A bars 1-19 introduction

Narration Use of music from ‘Living in the Magic Jungle’ song

= 120 Swing Key: C major

B bar 23 ‘Living in the Magic Jungle’ reprise

Song Verse of ‘Snake’.

Snake song with different words.

= 70 ‘Snake’ song in F major. 6/8 time.

B bars 39-59 One verse of ‘Snake song’

Tuning the orchestra

Concept of playing ‘in tune’.

Oboe plays A, followed by example of an orchestra being tuned.

C bars 60 ‘tap, tap, tap’ of baton.

Instrumental ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusic’ in Calypso style – humorous in style.

Children can see the difference it makes when an orchestra tunes.

Allegro = 120 Key G Lively Caribbean rhythm. Gradually slowing down into the next song.

Bar 180 = 110,

Bar 182 = 108

D bars 65 orchestra suddenly bursts into playing Mozart.

15 My Magical, Musical Friends

Spoken text Solo violin introduction.

A chance to listen to words.

Reflectively. = 96 Piu Lento Key: Ab.

A bars 1-14 melody from the verse.

143

Song The two children sing to the monkey and orchestra.

Vocabulary about feelings and saying goodbye, but memories lingering on.

= Key Ab. Peaceful, lyrical, slow song: a duet by the two children. Melodically soulful and yearning song, tinged with nostalgia. Harmonically French influences. Rhythmically slow. Texturally light and very gentle orchestration.

bars 15-16 introduction A bars 17-32 verse 1 B bars 33-46 chorus A bars 47-62 verse 2 B bars 63-77 chorus

16 Ending

Narrator [spoken] with slow, quiet chords from full orchestra.

The ending of the story.

bars 1-2 = 108 Chromatic scale descending. bar 3 = 120 bars 3 to 10 use same melodic material as Introduction. Each four bar section in the following keys uses the same melody. Keys: C# to G#. bar 11 E to bar 14 G. bar 15 G to bar 19 B. bar 20 to bar 23 .. bar 23 D to bar 26 E7 bar 27 E7 chord which builds up to bar 34. Melodically static, but based on harmonies of background chords. Rhythmic stasis. Texturally, full orchestra but played quietly so voice stands out, bar 35 sudden B7 loud chord to lead into Finale.

A bars 1-2 ‘box descending’ motif B bars 3-10 ‘Introduction’ melody C bars 11-14 C bars 15-19 C bars 20-23 C bars 23-26 C bars 27-34 E7th chord build up D bar 35

17 Magic Jungle Song (Finale)

Song Repeat of song but with different verses.

All instruments and animals are referred to by name in verses as a final reminder of all the names.

= 120 Rhythmic swing Key: E major Fast, syncopated pop-influenced song, with easily memorable chorus. A Percussive introduction Chorus, verse, chorus. bar 46 Key change to F major.

A b 1-10 Introduction B bars 11-18 chorus C bars 19-38 verse B bars 39-46 chorus C bars 47-66 verse B bars 67 – 76

144

From this analysis it is possible to see that there is an explosion of ideas which

have come from one simple story and a few basic songs. For example, the song ‘Living

in the Magic Jungle’ which is one part of the ‘Introduction’, has a very simple pop song

design (see Figure 5.8) using recurring verse/chorus structure:

Figure 5.8: The Magic Jungle ‘Living in the Magic Jungle’ (which is part of the ‘Introduction’) analysis showing simple pop song design. (Parts A and B form the introductory material, with the Narrator telling the story, and B, C, B, D are the same) both with full orchestral backing. Parts C and D are the song.

The songs became more complex later, as shown in ‘Jogging in the Jungle’ (see

Figure 5.9) where an instrumental and transition section (D and E) has been added, and

there is also a bridge section (F).

Figure 5.9: The Magic Jungle ‘Jogging in the Jungle’ showing more complex song design.

In the song ‘My Family Tree’ (see example 5.10) an introduction (A, B, and C)

leads into the first verse. There is a musical interlude which gives space for narration (E),

C verse. B final chorus.

chorus.

A Intro B bars 8 verse C bars 12 chorus

D bars 20 instrumental E bars 26 transition

B bars 27 verse F bar 43 bridge

B bars 44 verse C bars 48-56 chorus

C bars 52-73 First verse

A and B bars 1-51 Introduction to story with orchestral backing

D bars 74-91 Interlude followed by Rosie and Tim singing

C bars 92-114 Repeat first verse

21

B,C,B,D bars 115-170 continuation of story with orchestral backing

145

a bridge (F) and an instrumental ending (D) which uses material from ‘Elephant’ (the

following song) following on Attacca.

Figure 5.10: The Magic Jungle ‘My Family Tree’ showing waltz song with instrumental interludes. ‘Into the Storm’ (Figure 5.11) is the most complex of all the sections, but even this started

off as a simple organic theme (A) and a climax section (H). Other parts, depicting thunder

(D), rain (E), wind (F) and lightning (G) sprang out of it.

Figure 5.11: The Magic Jungle ‘Into the Storm’ analysis of more complex section. Exposition Development Climax Second Theme Recapitulation

The fundamental point which I believe has emerged is that the styles used in The

Magic Jungle, such as those mentioned above, which range from pop, jazz, waltz, Bach-

influenced themes and Wagner-like climax, are not usually seen in one production for

H ‘Wagnerian’ Climax bars 104 - 150

E Rain

I Second Theme (cello)

I

I

B Horn Chorale C Song Fragments A D Thunder A B E Rain F Wind G Lightning

A First Theme (strings) A A

A First Theme A A ends at bar 229

A bars 1-7 Intro and B bars 8 -11 chromatic scale and chord

C bars 12 instrumental introduction C bars 19 -36 first verse

D bars37-46 chorus E bars 47-65 musical interlude

C bars 79-95 verse D bars 96-106 chorus

F bars 66-78 bridge

D bars 107-120 instru-mental ending

146

children. It is true that there was an overall structure for The Magic Jungle which I could

compare with an educational ‘lesson plan’ to present English diction and pronunciation to

Chinese-speaking children and to introduce the western orchestra and the way instruments

are used and how they sound, but many interesting tangential diversions presented

themselves along the way and new segments were added as a result. I found it interesting

to note that Leonard Bernstein, whose wish it was to be remembered as a music educator,

had several important beliefs about teaching methods:

1. Rather than omitting the lesson plan altogether, recognize the

possibility that student-directed lessons, whether stated as

questions or not, can create an atmosphere of discovery and

excitement.

2. Break complex topics down into meaningful segments from

small to large concepts.

3. Devise lesson procedures that progress from simple to complex

ideas, using musical examples each step of the way.

4. Colour your language with analogies and metaphors to clarify

complex musical topics (Bartram, 2004, p. 20).

As an experienced educator with thirty years piano teaching, I find it interesting that I

have unwittingly followed a few of Bernstein’s principles.

Part 2: Megan and the eBike

My intention in creating Megan and the eBike was to write a piece of music theatre

which children could perform as a school musical or simply as a collection of songs for a

147

school choir. If a school music department then wanted to turn this into a school musical

it could done fairly easily as I visualise that the production could be simple, performed in a

school hall with a selection of slides projected onto a back screen depicting the places in

the world where Megan is travelling.

The story, which could be narrated by children themselves (the two narrators’ parts

could be shared amongst many children), may provide Chinese-speaking children in Hong

Kong with experience in speaking English in public, and by singing English songs a

school choir may enjoy a different approach to language learning. Singing songs in

English in Hong Kong is a popular way of helping students learn the language, and Diana

Blom’s musical for children The Golden Bird (1987) is an example.

In Megan and the eBike, I have developed some new compositional techniques,

and to illustrate these I shall look at a section of the song ‘Count the Stars’ to see how it

has been built on coloured variety of tones and semi-tones. I shall also discuss the

‘technology motif’ which appears whenever the eBike takes off, and is a series of staccato

notes and chords with many Bartokian seconds, becoming more rapid, and ascending

through a series of chords in root position. To this motif I have also added a

‘malfunction’ warning whenever the eBike is about to break down and this has some

darker dissonant extensions of register.

My style has also used some cultural references, such as Chinese influences in the

song ‘Leaving for Hong Kong’, which has a four-part hymn-like basis, but has

simultaneously used a five note Chinese pentatonic scale and other elements from Chinese

music (Thrasher et al., 2011) which I discuss further on page 152.

148

Song structure with coloured-hymn disturbance

‘Count the Stars’

The feeling that I wanted to portray in this song (see Figure 5.12) is one of wonder

and amazement at watching the stars. This is also coupled with the idea that a child might

dream of a journey to the stars or planets, and that nobody should put a limit on their

dreams. The lyrics were written first in this song and the mood that they conveyed

influenced the melody and harmonies.

Figure 5.12: ‘Count the Stars’- song structure.

Mood 1 Mood 1 Mood 2 Mood 1 Mood 3 Mood 1 Mood 3

The verse (A) is established in the key of Eb and uses traditional western diatonic

four-part harmonies, influenced by Bach’s chorales. However at bar 29 there is alternative

material (B) which goes through several key changes and leads to many harmonically

unpredictable moments. Moving through Gb/Db and Gb/Bb the chords lead to Db and

then to some soft 2nds in Gb2 in bar 31 related to my jazzy and impressionistic sound

world. The harmony moves through Gb9, A7 and Emsus 4 in bar 33, A, Eb/Gb and Db/F

in bar 34, Db/F and Ebm7 in bar 35, Ebm in bar 36 finally reaching Bbmaj9 in bar 37.

The harmonic colouring has also been changed by sometimes omitting important notes in

the triad, such as in bar 30 when the syllable ‘star’ is only accompanied by one clear

unison note (Db). The link between textual mood and chordal structure can be seen as co-

dependent relatives (see Figure 5.13).

A bars 1– 10 Intro-duction

A bars 11 – 28 Verse 1

B bars 29 – 37 Alter-native material

C bars 54 – 62 Climax 1

A bars 38 – 53 Verse 2

A bars 63 – 80 Verse 3

C bars 81 – 91 Climax 2

149

Figure 5.13: ‘Count the Stars’ Music and Lyrics: bars 29 – 37.

Music Lyrics

The melody is quite lyrical with the first phrase in

Eb7.

‘Flying away in the starlight’

This phrase is repeated. ‘Circling beneath the moon’

This melodic phrase is then repeated in A7 with a

change to Db/F at bar 34.

‘Where in the universe shall I fly?’

Followed by the final line which simply uses the

notes of Ebm7 leading to a final Bbmaj9 chord.

‘Orbiting round the sun’

The chromaticism and 2nds added to the chords make the texture richer and thicker

(bars 32-33 in Example 5.14). Rhythmically there is much use of triplets which is often a

feature of my compositions, such as in bars 29-31, and 33-36. These triplets can obscure

the tonal basis and also unsettle the rhythmic stability, creating a floating quality to the

melody over the underlying pulse.

150

Example 5.14: Megan and the eBike, ‘Count the Stars’ (bars 29 - 37)—Dissonant colourings including added 2nds.

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151

Leaving for Hong Kong: coloured four-part harmony with Chinese pentatonic

influences

‘Leaving for Hong Kong’ is background music while Megan and Ben discuss her

forthcoming trip to Hong Kong and Beijing. This provided me with an opportunity to

combine elements of Chinese music as subtly as I could with a dialogue that is imaginary

though technologically based, and has references to China. This also provides a forward-

looking tangential relationship as the music provides a ‘pseudo-Chinese’ feel before

Megan actually starts on her journey there.

The dialogue stresses Megan’s zest for adventure and escapist nature as she just

cannot wait to start her journey even though Ben cautions her about the danger of flying

an eBike when a typhoon might hit. Although the dialogue is quite zany, I did check

whether a small object like a girl on a bicycle would be pulled downwards to earth, or sent

upwards into the sky, in a typhoon in Asia. The doctor of physics I asked told me that

Megan would go downwards, and not end up like poor Dorothy, drawn upwards through a

twister in The Wizard of Oz from Kansas. So my wacky plot does have an infinitesimal

grain of truth in it.

In this particular instance (as shown in Example 5.15) hymn-like harmonies have

been subverted by Chinese pentatonism. I have used a pentatonic scale based on an F

using the notes: F, G, Bb, C and D. There is no third or leading note in the scale (A and E,

in this example). The five pitches use the anhemitonic pentatonic scale (Micic, 1999, p.

31).

152

Example 5.15: Megan and the eBike, ‘Leaving for Hong Kong’ (bars 1 - 9)—Use of Chinese musical elements.

Jonathan Stock has found that there are three most frequently used modes for

Chinese erhu music, and these are shown in Figure 5.16. He explains the diagram:

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© Jean Bunton, 2009

Bb6/9

153

“Principal notes in each mode are written as semibreves while the two pitches considered

less fundamental to each mode have been filled in” (Stock, 1993, pp. 276-299).

Figure 5.16: Three common modes in traditional music for Chinese fiddles.

I have made use of fourths and fifths in the accompaniment; there is sparse use of

harmony and no counterpoint to mimic some of the elements of Chinese music. I have

used the flute, as its timbre is close in nature to the Chinese flute, the dizi, or transverse

bamboo flute (Thrasher, 2011). As can be seen in Figure 5.17, there are six finger-holes

and an extra hole covered with membrane which vibrates to give the characteristic reedy

tone. I have also doubled the flute with the piano accompaniment, as the doubling of

sounds is typical of a Chinese orchestra and helps to give strength and more

characteristically reedy sound of the dizi.

Figure 5.17: The dizi, or Chinese transverse flute.

The di or dizi is made of bamboo, such as ‘purple bamboo’ (zizhu) and ‘arrow bamboo’ (jianzhu). The tube at the blowing end is closed with a cork, but the tube is open at the bottom. There is a blow-hole, a membrane hole and six finger-holes, with two end-holes on the underside which define the length of the vibrating air column and may be used to attach a string or tassel. Thrasher writes that “finger-holes on traditional flutes are roughly equidistant, producing a temperament of mixed whole-tone and three-quarter-tone intervals” (Thrasher, 2011).

154

My use of the ‘hymn-like’ western harmony is still present, but in this instance I

have added elements of Chinese modality which stem from influences in my life

experiences in Asia. Other composers, such as Guo Zhiyuan, have also mixed Chinese

modes and western harmony. Mittler explains Guo’s technique:

Guo’s music is a typical example of ‘pentatonic romanticism’ in its setting

of Chinese pentatonic melodic lines within a harmonic framework

reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic music. One such piece is Minsu

zuqu (1961), in which the composer makes use of early musical

memories, juxtaposing elements of Wagner, Saint-Saëns and Chinese

fiddle music with the rhythms of Chinese operatic music performed at

temple festivals (Mittler cited in Hsu, 2012).

Liu Fang, in a speech to the Julliard School of Music, drew connections between

Chinese music and poetry. “Traditional music in the classical sense is intimately linked to

poetry and to various forms of lyric drama, and is more or less poetry without words. In

the same manner as poetry, music sets out to express human feelings, soothe suffering and

bring spiritual elevation” (Liu Fang, 2008). In this sense my linking of lyrical sensibility

with sound synergises with this East-Asian aesthetic present in my Hong Kong living

environment.

‘Technology’ – ‘Malfunctioning Machine’ and atonal hymn subversion

In the song ‘Technology’ I used a rhythmic motif to convey the workings of a

machine. The technology motif makes use of many Bartokian seconds (which are shown

in Example 5.18).

155

Example 5.18: ‘Rythmic Dance’ (bars 6-8) from First Term at the Piano, No 17—Bartok’s use of seconds.

At bars 36-38 in ‘Technology’ I have also added a ‘malfunction’ in the machine by

way of some dissonant and edgy harmonies, such as an Ab9 chord versus a chromatic A

natural and E natural (in bar 38 of Example 5.19), which brings in further atonality and

added unexpected rhythmic ‘glitches in the system’ (see Example 5.19). These notes are

played by the horn, trumpet, and bassoon which give a dense clash of strident sounds.

They are also played ‘out of rhythm’ against the pulse and accented to give further

evidence that they are unexpected.

My usual starting point, a harmonic base of four-part hymn-like harmony has been

sprinkled with textural effects and their sharp cell-colour permeates it to produce very

intense harmony. Harmonically, simplicity very quickly leads to complexity during the

episodic flights on the eBike, but when the song resumes again at bar 40 the song’s

harmonies quickly return to normal.

Rhythmically the ‘technology motif’ starting in bar 35 also moves from simplicity

to complexity. The simple quaver rhythms in both the right and left hands of the piano

part become more intense in bar 37 where the left hand plays semiquavers (along with a

bass clarinet and bassoon taking over the bass line of the piano part). When the music is

orchestrated all these instruments give a completely different timbre and textual colour to

the music. In bar 38 the semiquavers are grouped into triplets giving a greater sense of

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156

movement. Finally, in bar thirty-nine the eBike takes off, and this is signified by rapidly

ascending root-position chords in the right hand to reach a climax.

Example 5.19: Megan and the eBike, ‘Technology’ (bars 34 - 41)—Example of ‘malfunctioning technology’ as horn, trumpet, clarinets and bassoon play complex rhythms. 1

1 Megan and the e-Bike diagrams in the thesis are an orchestral short score. The short score submitted in the folio is a performing version for piano and voices only.

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42 .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ œ .œsend you to the moon or help me

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œœœ# œœœ œœ# œœ

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MEGAN[spoken] It's very clever!

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Yes, I think lots of people might like one. In fact, I think I've invented the eBike.

"

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5 Technology

30

157

Structure

Juxtaposition and variety in the structure of Megan and the eBike is essential, just

as it was in The Magic Jungle in order to keep the attention of children performing in it as

well as those watching it. I chose to put in a lot of jazzy and bright songs in Megan and

the eBike, which children might enjoy singing, but there are slower and more thoughtful

songs such as the middle section of ‘Megan’s Birthday Song’ and the ‘Cello Flying

Theme’.

Each section was also designed to teach something musical as well as to move the

storyline forward: eclectic and imaginary ideas from the script sparking ideas in the music

and leading to tangential musical relationships. The idea of the eBike taking off

accompanied by the ‘technology motif’, a rather quirky musical motif (as shown earlier in

Example 5.19 on page 156, in bars 35 to 39), led to the ‘Cello Flying Theme’, which aims

to depict the eBike soaring gracefully through the sky, and introduces young listeners to

the cello. I feel that it is unexpected to use a cello for a theme about flight, as I would

normally associate the sound of a flute or other wind instrument to depict this. I used

tubular bells playing ‘Happy Birthday to You’ in ‘Megan’s Birthday Song’ to introduce

the sound of this unusual instrument. I had in mind the chiming of church bells

celebrating a wedding, and that a birthday party might replicate another joyful occasion,

though on a smaller scale.

Combinations of elements appear in the use of the Hoedown band in ‘North

America’. ‘The Storm Approaching’ (see Example 5.20), featuring classical guitar,

demonstrates harmonic and timbral colour in the use of delicate guitar backing, to signify

the calm before the storm.

158

Example 5.20: Megan and the eBike,’The Storm Approaching’ (bars 34 - 41)—The use of classical guitar providing a change of musical style.

‘Typhoon’ is the climax of the whole musical in terms of strength, volume, and

length. It is written for two pianos, and then arranged for a chamber orchestra. This

extract (Example 5.21) commences in Bbm9 but moves through many chords in the space

of four bars.

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43

43

43

85

85

85

85

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Ben

AccousticGuitar

Piano

Œ

‰ Jœ

œ œœ œ

Allegro {q = 120}

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!

œ> ‰ .œ> Jœ ‰

œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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œœ œœ œœ œ Œ œœ œœ

œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ

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16 The Storm Approaching(Video of a storm approaching)

© Jean Bunton, 2010

Boldly

159

Example 5.21: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 18-21)—The use of fast moving key changes.

There are changes of rhythm such as bars 143 and 145, which use 3/4 rather than the usual

6/8 (shown in Example 5.22). These changes have been used to give an impression of the

unpredictability of a typhoon.

Example 5.22: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 141 - 146)—The use of time signature changes.

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..˙̇bbBbm9

fœœb > œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ œ .œ>Ÿ. œ

œ œ œ œ œ œAb7 Cmsus4/G

F

( ) œ œ œ .œ>Ÿ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œBb9add6 Ebaddb6

( )

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22 .œŸ> œ .œ>Ÿ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œP

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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25 œ- œ- œ- œ- œ- œ-

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ œœ œ œ

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..œœ ..œœ

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œ- œ- œ- œ- œ- œ-

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17 Typhoon

109

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86

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135 œœ>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ

œœ>œœ œœ ..œœ>

Emphasize left hand

fœœ>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> œ œœ œ .œ

œœ>œœ œœ ..œœ>

œ œb œ œ œ œ

œ œb œ œ œ œ

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138 œœ-> œ œ .œ>

œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œƒ

œœ>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> œ œ .œ>

œ œ œ œ œ œ œœnn œ œ œ œ œ

œœ> œ œ ..œœ>

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

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83

83Pno.

141..œœ---------------------------- œœ- œœ œœnn

œœ>œ œ œ œ œ œœ>

œ œn œ œœ>œ

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œœœ œ œ œœœ œ œ

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œn

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83

83

86

86

83

83

86

86Pno.

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œœ> œœ

jœœjœœ

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..œœ ..œœ

œœ> œœ œœ> œœœœ> œœ

jœœbbjœœ

jœœ

17 Typhoon

117

160

Extremes of volume are used, such as bar 153 shown in Example 5.23, which

depicts the storm at its height.

Example 5.23: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 150-155)—Extremes of volume.

Dissonant hints within tonality are used to depict the eerie feeling experienced

during the time when the ‘eye’ of the typhoon passes (bars 91 -97) see Example 5.24.

Generally “Typhoon” has ambiguous dissonances within tonality that are more developed

in “Technology” (see Examples 5.24, 5.25).

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86

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147œœ> œœ œœ œœ> ..œœ œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

‰ œœ> œœ œœ ‰œœ> œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œœ> ..œœ œœ œœ ‰œœ> ..œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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150 ..œœ œœ œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Bring out melody

Ï

œœ ..œœ œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

..œœ œœ œœ Œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

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153 ..œœ œœ œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œœ ..œœ œœ œœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

..œœ œœ œœ Œ

œœ-œœ-

œœ- œœ-œœnn -

œœnn -

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156

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œœ-œœ-

œœ- œœ-œœ-

œœ-

fœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

...œœœ-...œœœnn -

œ œ œ œ œ œ .œ

œœ>œœ>

œœ>

17 Typhoon

118

161

Example 5.24: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 88 - 97)—The use of dissonant hints within tonality.

Ambiguous dissonances within tonalities has been developed in ‘Technology’ (see

Example 5.25) to emphasize the fact that technology can go awry.

Example 5.25: Megan and the eBike, ‘Technology’ (bars 70 - 73)—The use of dissonance within a tonal frame.

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88 œœnn Jœn œ œ œ

..˙̇n

œ œ œ ...œœœb

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œb œ

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92

.œ œ jœn

œ œn œ

œn Jœn œn jœ

œn Jœn œ œ œ˙n œ

œ œ œWith emphasis on left hand melody

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œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ ˙

.œ œn jœ

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98

œn Jœn œn jœ

œn Jœn œ œ œEmphasize left hand

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.˙

.˙

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.œ œ jœ

.œ œn Jœp

œn Jœn œ œ œ

œn œn œF

Emphasize left hand

.˙nœ œn œ Jœ œ

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œ œ ˙

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105 !!

NARRATOR 2 Suddenly there was complete stillness, but Megan kept on falling through the air. She clung on to the bike, although it was useless.

MEGAN Where am I, Ben? What's happening? Help me ….

NARRATOR But there was no reply. Communications had broken down.

MEGAN This must be the eye of the typhoon. Maybe I'm falling through it.Ben, help me!

NARRATOR And then the very worst thing happened. She let go of the bike.

MEGAN No! No! Ben, I’ve lost the bike.

NARRATOR Down and down she fell. She was more frightened than she had ever been in her life.

17 Typhoon

114

G.P.

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Ben

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65

œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œTell me where you are and what the

œœb - ..œœ œœ- ..œœ œœ- ..œœ œœ- ..œœœœœb - œœœ- œœœœ- œœœœ-

Firmly

F

P

a tempo

a tempo

Assuredly and with confidence

.œb œ .œ œ œ ‰ jœprob lem seems to be I'll

..œœb - œœ œœ- œœœn - ‰ jœ

œœœb - œœœ- œœœn - ‰ Jœœœ

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Ben

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67 .œ œ .œ œ œ .œ .œ œsort it out im med iat ly as

....œœœœb œœœœ ....œœœœ œœœœ œœœ ...œœœ ...œœœ œœœ

œœb œœ œœœnb œœœ

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...œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœUJœ Œ jœ.

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œ œ œ Œ Ónol o gy

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Ben

Pno.

70 !

‰ jœœœœnn ‰ œœœn œœœ œœœ œœœ œœ ‰ œœ œœ ®

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ

.œ. œ. œ.œœ . œœ .

œœœœ .œœœ.

œœœ.œœœ. œ.

œœœ.

[spoken] Oh no! It's done it again!!

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!

‰ jœœœœnn >‰ œœœn > œœœ> Œ œœœ> œœœ> Œ

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ

.œ. œ. œ.œœ . œœ . œœ . œœ . œœ .

œœœ .œœœ . œœ . œ.

œœœ.œœœ.

œœ.œœ.

œœœ. œ. œ. œœ .œœœ.

œœœ.œœœ.

5 5 5 5

Sometimes it has a mind of its own, this computer

5 Technology

37

162

However, in the section ‘New Zealand’ in Megan and the eBike (see Example

5.26) a different approach is used. Whilst the text contains references to a volcano the

music is calm. On this occasion a literal text setting approach is set aside to maintain

issues of stylistic consistency within the voice.

Example 5.26: Megan and the eBike, ‘Typhoon’ (bars 88 - 97)—Ambiguous dissonances within tonality.

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72 ‰ œœœœnn >‰ œœn > œœ> œœ> ‰ Œ

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ

.œ. œ. œ.œœ . œœ . œœ . œœ . œœ .

œœœ .œœœ . œœ . œ.

œœœ.œœœ.

œœ.œœ.

œœœ. œ. œ. œœ .œœœ.

œœœ.œœœ.

5 5 5 5

As fast as possible

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Pno.

73 !

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ

.œ. œ. œ.œœ .. œœ .. œœ .. œœ .. œœ ..

œœœ ..œœœ .. œœ .. œ..

œœœ..œœœ..

œœ..œœ..

œœœ.. œ.. œ.. œœ ..œœœ..

œœœ..œœœ..

5 5 5 5

œ. œ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œ. œ. œ. œ.

Don't worry, nothing will go wrong while you are flying.

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Ben

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74 Ó Œ Jœ‰Tech

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ

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œœœ ..œœœ .. œœ .. œ..

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œœ..œœ..

œœœ.. œ.. œ.. œœ ..œœœ..

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5 5 5 5

œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.

Reassuringlyf

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-

5 Technology

38

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88 œœnn Jœn œ œ œ

..˙̇n

œ œ œ ...œœœb

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

˙̇ Jœn

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œb œ

Moderato q = 80

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92

.œ œ jœn

œ œn œ

œn Jœn œn jœ

œn Jœn œ œ œ˙n œ

œ œ œWith emphasis on left hand melody

.˙

œ œ œ œ œ

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œ œ ˙

.œ œn jœ

.˙

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98

œn Jœn œn jœ

œn Jœn œ œ œEmphasize left hand

.˙n

.˙

.˙

.˙b

.œ œ jœ

.œ œn Jœp

œn Jœn œ œ œ

œn œn œF

Emphasize left hand

.˙nœ œn œ Jœ œ

P.˙

œ œ ˙

&?

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Pno.

105 !!

NARRATOR 2 Suddenly there was complete stillness, but Megan kept on falling through the air. She clung on to the bike, although it was useless.

MEGAN Where am I, Ben? What's happening? Help me ….

NARRATOR But there was no reply. Communications had broken down.

MEGAN This must be the eye of the typhoon. Maybe I'm falling through it.Ben, help me!

NARRATOR And then the very worst thing happened. She let go of the bike.

MEGAN No! No! Ben, I’ve lost the bike.

NARRATOR Down and down she fell. She was more frightened than she had ever been in her life.

17 Typhoon

114

G.P.

163

The whole structure of Megan and the eBike makes use of my educational

operating principles such as textual and lyrical zaniness. In the piece ‘North America’

Ben types the wrong co-ordinates into the GPS for Megan’s journey, and she ends up

flying over New York instead of London. In ‘North America’ I used an American

hoedown band as a pastiche, with open fifths, played by a fiddle (see Example 5.27), just

as Andrew Lloyd Webber used pastiche in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour

Dreamcoat. I also incorporated a fleeting two lines of ‘America the Beautiful’ into bars

21 to 23.

Example 5.27: Megan and the eBike, ‘North America’ (bars 5-7)—The incorporation of an American hoedown band.

The same ‘colour-hymn’ basis is still evident in my work, but in Megan and the

eBike I have adopted music of other cultures to bring new musical richness into the

harmonies which is something I experienced at the Aurora Festivals in the work of

intercultural Australian composers Michael Atherton, Bruce Crossman and Cambodian-

American composer Chinary Ung. Both Crossman in Double Resonance (2008) and Ung

in Aura (2005) which were performed at Aurora 2008, utilize mixtures of Southeast Asian

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c

c

c

c

Megan

Ben

Hoedown Band

Piano

!

!

!

!

˙# - ˙b -F

Allegro q = 150

So where am I now? I thought I was supposed to be in Europe!

Firmly, emphasizing bass notes

!

!

!

!

-̇ .œb - œ .œb - œ

!

!

!

!

œ# - œ- œb - œ-

Something went wrong with the flight plan, but don't worry.

!

!

!

Œ œœ## œ# jœœ# ..œœ#

œb - œb œn œ ˙3

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Megan

Ben

HBand

Pno.

5 !

!..œœ##

jœœ ..œœ##jœœœ# œ œ œ œ œ

Œ œœœœb#bb >Œ œœœœ#b >

˙# - ˙b -

But this looks like New York. I can see the Statue of Liberty.

f

Cheerfully

[Fiddle (ad lib.)][electric guitar, bass guitar]

[Kick drums]

!

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Œ œœœœ#b>

Ó

.̇ .œb - œ .œb - œ

Yes, a small problem.

!

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œœœbbb ...œœœ œœœ œœbb ..œœ œœœœ# - œœ- œœœœb - œ-

F

14 North America(background pictures of Statue of Liberty

Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon)

[Composer]

Score

Jazz

164

modality with contemporary harmony. Similarly, at Aurora 2006, ethnomusicologist

Michael Atherton used the kulintang gong patterns in Jiriyai (2006) which suggest more

restricted harmonic patterns. These events have provided inspiration for my own work.

Figure 5.28: Megan and the eBike Structure. Megan and the eBike Structure Scene Musical

Styles

Educational Purpose

Tempi/melody/ harmony/rhythm/ texture

Analysis - Bars

1 Introduction

Two narrators with background music. Didjeridu drone and paired sticks played with melodic stasis based on four-part harmony in orchestra.

Introduction to the story. Introduces didjeridu, paired sticks and full orchestra.

= 120. Allegro With anticipation. Key A. Rhythmically slow, but with warm chordal texture. Modulation through D, to A. Bar 19 repeats 18 bars. ‘Just Imagine motif’ used in bars 32 and 33. Bar 35 ‘technology motif’. Ending on D at bar 37.

A introduction bars 1- 4 Didjeridu and paired sticks. B Full Orchestra bars 5-18 B (repeated) bars 19-37. Ending with didjeridu and paired sticks.

2 Megan’s Birthday Song

Sung by Megan.

The story continues. Introduces tubular bells and balloon popping, orchestra speaking, drum roll and bicycle bell. Surprise ‘hook’ at the end, which attempts to hold children’s interests.

= 120 With excitement Faster, more excited. Rhythmically bright with thick texture of chords. Texture: chromatic chordal changes provide rich texture. Slower central section where texture is empty, signifying sadness. Key: D

Introduction 2 bars.

165

A: Melody moves with the harmonic underpinning both forwards and backwards through chromatic chord progressions from D to Eb at bar 8, and back to D at bar 13.

B: = 108 Modulation from D to F at bars 32-46 and back to D in bar 48. Moderato. Spoken thoughtfully. Slower interlude (sung and spoken) harmonized over semibreves, through Bbm,Eb,Dmin,A,D,G.Eb,Dm,D,Dm,F,Em,Dm,Bbm,Dm,Bbm,Dm,A. B is repeated. A: = 120 Key: D A Final verse (With renewed hope) same harmonies. A Music with narration ending on D. C ending: drum roll on A, leading to the surprise gift of bike. ‘Just Imagine’ motif at bars 79 and 80. 83-84 Em.

A bars Megan sings 2-19 verse 1 bars 6-7 and 12-14 ‘Happy Birthday’. A bars 20-31 Megan sings verse 2 B Megan sings Second theme bars 32-39. B Narrator speaks with same chords bars 41-48 A Megan sings verse 3 bars 49-56 A Narrators speak over A section. C ending bars 57-66 Coda 67 to 84

3 Just Imagine

Sung by Megan with Ben and Narrators singing the choruses. Introduction grows organically. Soaring melody

Soaring melody with full orchestra. Introduces oboe and horn as solo instrument.

= 120 Leisurely fast. Key: F Rhythmically solid basis in verses with rich harmonic

A Introduction bars 1-5 B Verse 1 bars 6-23

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rises above harmonies.

texture. Texture is rich due to many 6ths, and 7ths. A Introduction grows organically. B Verse 1 in F modulates through Bbm, D, G, Db, Bm, Gb, Em D, F#m. C In G major. Rhythmically there are bars of 2/4 to upset the repetition of 4/4 and provide variety. Rising chromatic scale modulates to F and a final Dm, Gm to F. A Introductory bars repeated Bar 48 Bbm. B verse 2 C Chorus D Coda key of Gm, C7 to F.

C Chorus bars 24-38 A Introductory material repeated bars B bars 45-63 C Chorus bars 75-88 D bars 87-90

4 The New Invention

Narration with jazzy background music.

Jazz piano. Description of the technology used in invention of eBike.

= 100 Moderato Jazz Key B Each repetition has different features added to melody and harmony. Bars 4 and 8 include ‘Just Imagine motif’. Bars 32 and 44 include the short ‘Technology motif’ Texturally the main theme (A) grows with each repetition.

A bars 1-4 A (repeat) bars 5-8 A (repeat) bars 9-12 A (repeat) bars 13-16 A (repeat) bars 17-20 A (repeat) bars 21-24 A key change to C bars 25-28 A bars 29-32 A key change to D bars 33-36 A bars 37-40 A bars 41-44 A bars 45-48

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5 Technology

Sung by Ben. Jazz swing. Includes technology motif interruptions and ‘malfunctioning’ technology.

Description of how the eBike works with interruptions from technology motif. Malfunctioning technology are played by trumpet, horn and bassoon.

= 115 Lively Key: Eb Melody is jaunty. There is much use of triplets. Jazz influenced four-part harmony. Rhythmically the song is syncopated With rhythmic swing throughout. Texture is bright and playful. A Introduction uses theme from verse. B technology motif uses fast staccato rhyms, leading to ascending chords in root position. A in Eb C bars 28-29 uses walking bass. D (in Ab) B Technology motif In bar 36 ‘malfunctioning technology’ is depicted by horn, trumpet and bassoon in atonal ‘stabbing rhythms’. E bridge keys of Db, Fm and C7. A Melody and narration. A verse. D (in Ab) vocal melody rises to a climax on Eb. B Technology motif includes more

A bars 1 – 8 B bars 9 – 14 A verse 1 bars 15 – 22 C chorus D material from verse bars 31 – 36 B bars 36-43. E bars 40 – 43 A bars 44-50 A bars 51-59 D material from verse bars 60-67 B Technology motif bars 68-73

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‘malfunctioning technology’. A verse in Eb sung by Ben. C chorus in Eb. D in Eb (voice gets drowned out). B Technology motif. D Ending (spoken by Ben).

A bars 75-81 C bars 82-90 D material from verse bars 91-98 B Technology motif Bars 98-104 D Ending bar 105

6 Take a Test Ride

Sung by Ben and Megan. Jazz Stomp. Melody played by saxophone Harmony uses jazz scale Bb C Db F G influenced by Django Reinhardt.

Introduces saxophone as a solo instrument.

= 120 Allegro Key Bb A Introduction bars 1-6 in Bb A Bars 7-15 Narration over A section music. A Verse bars 16-23 sung by Ben. A Verse bars 24 – 30 sung by Ben. B chorus bars 32-41 Eb Passing through Bb/D,Gb/Db, Bb/D, Bb/D to Cm7. A with saxophone while Ben speaks. Interrupted by C Technology motif in G minor Bars 50-59 landing on Bb. Bar 60 drum to signal vocal entry. B chorus in Bb. A Verse C Coda rhythmic

A Introduction bars 1-6 A repeated bars 7-15 A verse repeated 15-23 A verse repeated bars 24-30 B chorus A Saxophone C Technology motif bars 50-59 B chorus bars 61-66 A verse bars 67 -73 C Coda bars 74-78

169

bass leading to low Bb.

7 eBiking

Sung by Megan. Jazzy melody with many colourings in the chords.

The most important song of the whole production and is repeated later so that it becomes more memorable to the audience.

= 120 Allegro Key: F Rhythm is syncopated and fast. Texture uses full jazz orchestration. B Harmony uses chromatically close chords, such as the ‘eBiking’ chords of Dmin/C, Db/C, Dmin/C in bar 23. D Bridge Bar 31 F to D7. bars 32 and 33 D, 35 B, 36 G, 37 Am 39 C, 40 Bb 42 Bm, 44 Ab rising chromatically to 46 G. B verse C chorus E ‘blues’ chords bars 73-75. .

A Introduction bars 1-4 B Verse 1 bars 5-22 C Chorus bars 23-30 D Bridge bars 31-45 B Verse 2 bars 46-63 C Chorus bars 64-72 E Coda

8 The Trip to Sydney

Narration with background music.

Furthering the story.

= 85 Moderato. Relaxed slow swing Key Ab Melody uses many triplets, the ‘swing’ feel occurs because each hand is playing a different rhythm to the other throughout. Harmony is based on jazz scale. Texturally bright. A section Ab B section includes eBiking motif in bar 10.

A bars 1-8 first theme B bars 9-20 answering theme C third theme bars 21-30 A bars 31-38

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B bars 39-45 D Technology motif in F bars 46-50

9 Cello Flying Theme

Cello with piano accompaniment and narration.

Introduces cello as solo instrument.

= 105 Moderato Soaring Key Eb Melody – cello with accompaniment. A section is smooth the gentle, as if in flight. B section is sharper with ‘stabbing’ rhythmic features at bars 16-17 and 27-29. A section Ab-Eb-Ab-Eb-Ab. B section each bar changes chordal accompaniments through F#, G, Cm, F ,Bb, Ab. C section modulates through F#,Gm,Db,Ab,Bb, Ab,Db,Ab Gb to Eb. A in Ab from bars 40-43. Coda holds on to an Ab chord for 5 bars from 44-50.

Introduction bars 1-4

A section bars 5-15

B section bars 16-29 C section bars 31-39 A section bars 40-43. Coda 44-50

10 Sydney

Narration to background music. Slow swing.

Introduces trumpet as solo instrument.

= 80 Swing Relaxed Key: F Melody – trumpet with slow swing accompaniment.

A with trumpet bars 1-9 A with trumpet repeated bars10-19 A bars 20-28, accompaniment only

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C Technology in key of F.

A bars 29-34 C extract from Technology song bars 35-42 (piano only) A Technology song with trumpet bars 43-51 Bar 52 F7 chord

11 New Zealand

Narration to background music.

Music from ‘Take a Test Ride’.

= 120 Allegro Jazz Stomp Key: Bb

A Take a Test Ride. bars 1-43

Followed by ‘technology motif’.

Technology motif in Gm. Extra instrumentation to depict ‘power booster’ on the eBike which works over water.

B Technology motif bars 44 - 51.

Gentle lullaby.

= 108 Gentle Key Bb, but moving through Eb and Db Gentle rhythm and coloured harmonies.

C bars 52 - 90.

12 Setting off for Europe

Narration to background music. Didjeridu and oboe are used at the beginning and the end.

Music from ‘Homeland’ with violin played as a fiddle. Followed by Music from ‘The Storm Approaching’ then ‘technology motif’.

= 108 Moderato Smooth and flowing Key D bars 1 – 2 Didjeridu (ppp). A bars 3 – 7 oboe first theme. A repeated (with piano accompaniment). B answering phrase. A A repeat B answering phrase. C bright semiquavers played by violin with ‘Homeland’ theme

Introduction bars 1-2 A bars 3 – 7 first theme A bars 8 – 12 repeated B bars 13 – 19 A bars 19-25 A bars 26 – 29 B bars 30 – 37 C bars 38 – 46 “fiddle theme”

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accompaniment. A repeat with piano. D bar 56 change to 4/4 time change ‘Storm Approaching’ theme with classical guitar Changes in time signature from 5/4 to 4/4. C bars 68 – 76 technology motif in F. D four bars of oboe and didjeridu signifying going into space.

A bars 47 – 55 D bars 56 – 67 C bars 68-76 D Coda bars 56-59

INTERVAL

13 eBiking (reprise)

Sung by Megan. .

Reprise to refresh audience’s memory and provide an up-beat start to second act.

As before.

As before.

14 North America

Narration with background music.

Reprise of music from ‘The New Invention’.

Furthering the story.

= 150 Allegro Key: F Sharp Melody from ‘The New Invention’. Rhythm is jazz syncopation. Texture has added hoedown band to add a ‘North American’ feel. Each repeat adds new features to melody and harmony. Modulation from F sharp to C bars 25-27.

A bars 1-4 A bars 5-8 A bars 9-12 A bars 13-16 A bars 17-19 Interrupted by Technology motif in bar 20 A bars 21-24

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15 Leaving for Hong Kong

Conversation between Megan and Ben.

Introducing pseudo- characteristics of Chinese music.

= 105 Moderato Key: F Melody is built over four-part harmony, but with Chinese influences – the use of a pentatonic added. Rhythm in piano is simple quadruple, though flute has quavers and some semiquavers. Texture may feel ‘empty’ to Western ears because of lack of thirds and sevenths. Modulation from Bb to F bars 32-36.

A bars 1-7 A repeated bars 18-31 B Technology motif 32-36

16 The Storm Approaching

Sung by Ben.

Introducing classical guitar.

= 120 Allegro Boldly Key: Bb Melody is gentle with light guitar backing. Rhythm uses bars of 5/4 to break up 4/4 rhythms. Texturally light guitar. Bridge section C uses chords of A, Ab, Bbm,Gm,Dm7 in accompaniment. ‘Just Imagine’ motif’ is used in bar 75.

Introduction bars 1-5 A Verse 1 bars 6-16 B Chorus bars 17-23 A Verse 2 bars 24-36 B Chorus bars 37-43 C Bridge bars 44-54 A Verse 3 bars 55-68 B Chorus bars 69-77

17 Typhoon

Two pianos or arranged for orchestra Dialogue is used during the central section which is quiet.

Orchestral, with some conversation during the Central Section, and at the end after the music has finished.

= 120

Key: Cm, but with many modulations. Starting off texturally light. Mostly p or pp. Decorations with trills in woodwind section in orchestral version. Exposition of

The piece features changes of rhythm which contrast with the main theme. These start at during the exposition at bars 60 (rhythm 1), and 64 (rhythm 2). In the recapitulation there are four

174

fragments of melody. Grows organic to main theme (bar 37) main section when main theme becomes increasingly rhythmic and texturally thickened. Central section has emptiness, and is textually light. Final recapitulation is fully rhythmic with rhythms of 3/4 interspersed to increase the strength. Texture is full with instruments playing different rhythms, scales ascending and descending, and rising to relentless climax at bar 162.

A = 120 bars 1-36 B Main section. Key: Cm Melody in flute section representing wind blowing more strongly. Bar 60 full orchestra ff. C Central section – the eye of the typhoon Key: Cm but with atonal harmonies. Melody built over harmonies. Rhythmically bare slow-moving chords. Orchestration is oboe, two clarinets, bassoon, horn and cello. Sparse notes leading to empty texture. Cello plays

rhythmic contrasts, starting at bars 125 (rhythm 3). bar 129 (rhythm 4) bar 135 (rhythm 5) bar 141 (rhythm 6) A Introduction bars 1-36 B Main Section bars 37-84 bar 60 rhythm 1 appears. bar 64 rhythm 2 Central Section Section B and Care interspersed from bar 77 through to bar 116. Bars 77-80 four bars of B section used 81-84 four bars from C section. Bars81-84 B section bars 85-88 C 89-90 B 91-109 C bar 110

175

‘Cello flying theme’ at bar 102.

= 80 A+ (recapitulation) section returns at bar 117 with dramatic scales on organ with trumpet playing main motif. Melody is less predominant as full orchestra is playing forte. Motif B in oboe part at bar 134. ‘Take a test ride motif’ in clarinet part in bar 141.

B bar 112-113 B bars 114-116 A + bars 117-156 with added rhythms A bars 117-162 bars 125 rhythm 3 bars 129 rhythm 4 bars 135 rhythm 5 bars 141 rhythm 6 bars 153-162 full orchestra relentless climax to ending.

18 Grounded

Narrators, Megan and Ben have conversation with background music.

Repeat of technology motif leading into a new melodic piece in four-part harmony.

= 120 Allegro Key: F Rhythmically very fast, as Megan is rushing to get home in a hurry. Texturally manic. A The technology theme is used at the start, with its Bartokian harmonies. B descending scale ending in an A minor chord to signify bike landing. bar 8 is in 2/4, bar 9 key change to C. C melody in C supported by stable diatonic four-part harmony in quadruple rhythm with no disruption. C modulation to Ab in bar 20.

A Technology motif b 1-5 B bars 6-8 C bars 9-16 C bars 17-24 repeated

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D second part increases in volume and texture of chords.

D bars 25-41

19 Explaining the Story

Conversation between Narrators, Megan and Ben. (reprise of a verse of ‘Take a Test Ride’ followed by a verse from ‘eBiking’).

Introducing xylophone

= 120 Allegro Jazz Stomp Key Bb Rhythmic jazz.

A Take a Test Ride verse bars 1-29 B chorus bars 30-38

= 120 Allegro Key: G

C eBiking verse bars 39-65

20 Count the Stars

Ben and Megan sing, with Narrators joining in C climax section and C final climax.

Song

= 108 With awe Key: Eb Rhythm is regular, many triplets especially in B section. Texture: organic growth to grandiose full orchestra. A Melody is soaring. Harmony is basically four part. B section has many Bartokian harmonies on chords such as Gb, Gm, A,Db, Eb leading to Bb. C is climax section in volume and texture. Keys: Bb, Bb/Ab, Eb/G, Bb/F, Cm/F, F to Bb. C final climax to fff.

A Introduction bars 1-9 A Verse 1 bars 10-28 B Alternative material bars 29-37 A Verse 2 bars 38-54 C Chorus bars 55-62 A Verse 1 repeated bars 64-80 C Chorus bars 81-91

177

The Second Act of Megan and the eBike is set out in Figure 5.29 showing all the

sections and the bases of their harmonies. All the sections are built on the foundations of

hymn four-part harmony but each has one or more influences which colour the harmonies.

‘Typhoon’, for instance, is built on four-part harmony, being classical music in its nature,

and is influenced by Ravel’s Bolero, constantly bringing in the same theme but in different

guises and with major impetus drawn from the unrelenting rhythm. I also had

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in mind at the time of composition with its use of dissonance.

It is immediately followed by ‘Grounded’ which starts with the ‘technology motif’

signifying Megan’s need to return home quickly, and then a segment of a much more

traditional piece of four-part harmony as background music.

Figure 5.29: Sections in the Second Act of Megan and the eBike, and the basis of their harmonies, styles and influences.

Full orchestral climaxes Main Climax Finale

Influences Classical guitar

Classical Ravel / Stravinsky

Classical Bartok

Jazz Jazz Jazz

Jazz Jazz

Cultural references American Chinese

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

Four part harmony

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

eBiking North

America

Leaving for Hong

Kong The Storm

Approaching Typhoon Grounded Explaining the Story

Count the Stars

Part 3: Megan and the eBike Suite: exploding the hymn through orchestral colour

After working with Bill Connor, a professional orchestrator, on The Magic Jungle I

started to build on my own knowledge of orchestration for Megan and the eBike (see

178

Examples 5.34 on page 185 and 5.36 on 187). It was immensely useful to look at the

orchestrations Bill Connor had done as I knew the music, and following his full score to

see the way he handled colouring and texture, I could see how much instrumentation he

put in or left out.

Megan and the eBike Suite has been arranged for chamber orchestra and voice and

also has a part for a didjeridu.2 This is another example of how a culture, such as that of

the Australian Aboriginal, has been depicted through enriching the hymn-like harmonies

with a didjeridu. In the first piece of the suite ‘Homeland’ the didjeridu provides stasis as

a cultural aural symbol of Australia, grounding the lyricism of the oboe and clarinet solos,

and later the oscillation of pizzicato strings above it.

‘Homeland’

This piece of music tries to explore the old and the new of Australian music. The

wonderful timbre of the drone of the didjeridu represents the ancient Australia. Knight

writes about the Aboriginal didjeridu; “the long, hollowed-out tree branch that is blown

into has a distinctive melody characterized by musicologists as a “tumbling strain” (that is

music that descends again and again in a deep, raspy manner)” (Knight, 2006, p.111).

Marrett, in Grove Music, writes that traditionally the didjeridu was a northern Australian

instrument, but its use is common in other areas of Australia as “exchange of songs and

dances between groups has historically been a feature of Aboriginal culture, particularly at

ceremonial occasions” (Marrett, Ellis, Gummow, Covell, and Smith). Hayward and

Neunfeldt remark that the didjeridu “has become a ubiquitous audio marker of

2 The didgeridu was the inspiration for ‘Homeland’, which is the first section of the Suite, but a practical choice was made to use bassoon in order to fit with the usual orchestral instrumentation so as it is more widely playable by orchestras.

179

Aboriginality (or simply of the Australian bush itself) either through its actual use or

through the imitation of aspects of its timbre and pitch by other instruments (deployed

primarily to produce drones and rumbles) (Hayward & Neuenfeldt,1997: 9). My use of the

didgeridoo in ‘Homeland’ is not an ethno musicological attempt to integrate Aboriginal

culture into multicultural structure but rather a general timbre and drone reference to

signify the culture of Australia’s first inhabitants.

Australian composer and didjeridu player William Barton has used the

combination of didjeridu and orchestra many times, such as in his piece Mothership. Peter

Sculthorpe and Ross Edwards have incorporated the didjeridu into some of their

compositions. Sculthorpe’s, Earth Cry, and Songs of Sea and Sky both use a didjeridu

solo with orchestra. Liza Lim’s work The Compass (2006), for orchestra, also features the

didjeridu and flute. From further afield, Russian composer Vitalij Vladimirov has also

written a concerto for Didjeridu and orchestra (2007).

The melody that sits above the didjeridu in ‘Homeland’ has a lilting quality which

has a Gaelic influence (see Example 5.27). I chose to write it because of my affinity to

Scottish music, and because so many of the new Australians in the nineteenth Century

came from Ireland and Scotland. The tune is influenced by the song “Waly, Waly” (woe

is me), which was first printed in 1646 (Sharp, 1944, p. xxx). In Gaelic-speaking regions

of Britain and Ireland the narrative song tradition was the laoidh (‘lay’).

In between these two lines are harmonies constrained by the necessity of fitting in

with both the melody line and the drone in D. The idea behind the piece was a

combination of elements, the mix the cultures of Scotland and Australia. I orchestrated

the first twenty bars using just a marimba and a shaker so that the oboe and didjeridu

180

timbres could be clearly heard. However the second time the melody appears I decided to

use strings, as I wanted to provide a complete variety of texture and timbral sound. I drew

on influences from Vivaldi in orchestrating the bars from sixteen to thirty-seven, giving

the melody to the first violins and having a delicate pizzicato accompaniment from the rest

of the strings.

The drone has had an impact on the hymn colour harmonies in an interesting way

as it has also reminded me of the drone of the bagpipes. The notes on the bagpipes are G

to A playing a mixolydian mode. The drone notes on bagpipes harmonize and create

dissonance with the melody notes played on the chanter in a similar manner to pedal tones

in organ music. I believe that my Scottish heritage, combined with my background as an

organist playing pedal notes, and my appreciation of the didjeridu may have come together

in ‘Homeland’. A bright violin ‘fiddle’ melody, also representing Gaelic music, appears

later (at bar 47). The structure of ‘Homeland’ can be seen in Figure 5.30.

Figure 5.30: Megan and the eBike, ‘Homeland’—The structure of ‘Homeland’ showing volume in the climax sections C and D.

A bars 1-2 Didger-idu opening follow-ed by oboe and clarinet with didjer-idu bars 3-19

A bars 20- 37 repeat with strings and didje- ridu

D bars 58-69 Cli- max with full orches-tra

B bars 38- 46 answ-ering phrase strings and flutes

C bars 47-51 “fid-dle tune”

C bars 52-57 “fid-dle tune” repeatted

A bars 70-87 flutes, meri-mba, strings didjer-idu

A bars 88-95 oboe, clarinet, strings, didjer-idu bars 96-98 didj.

181

The original version of ‘Homeland’ for piano, oboe, and didjeridu is shown in Example 5.31. Example 5.31: Megan and the eBike, ‘Homeland’ (bars 1 - 20)—Combination of musical instruments representing the mixing of Gaelic and Australian cultures, and use of timbre to create variety.

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12 Setting off for Europe"Homeland"

Smooth and flowing

182

Example 5.32: Megan and the eBike, ‘Homeland’ (bars 16 - 37)—Orchestrated for strings.

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NARRATOR 2Megan cycled round to Ben's house.

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[sadly] I've got exams at school, and my parents keep telling me to study more. They say I'm spending too much time playing games on the computer. Of course I can't tell them that it's not just a game. It is hard work sending you on all these trips! [Laugh]

BENMEGAN

"Why are your shoes all wet and muddy? I have never seen such gluey mud!" shouted Megan's mother from the kitchen the next morning. "They are soaked and sticky. Where HAVE you been? You just left them on the doorstep."

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12 Setting off for Europe

183

Following ‘Homeland’ I shall also show examples of the ways I have coloured

chords from the short score and arranged them for orchestra, either in the jazzy

introduction to the song ‘eBiking’ or in a soaring crescendo in the song ‘Just Imagine’.

‘eBiking’

In orchestrating the introduction to ‘eBiking’ I have used the full orchestra, as I

wanted to start with a ‘punch’. I studied the score which Bill Connor had written for

‘Snap, Crocodile, Snap’ as I wanted to get the same jazz style. The synthesizer is on a

184

banjo setting in the right hand and honky-tonk piano in the left. From bars two to three

the main chords are played by the oboe, clarinets and pizzicato strings, whilst the bassoon

plays an alternative rhythm using triplets. The horn plays a sustained G to provide

cohesion. I have also used bongos to provide an exciting rhythmic accompaniment. From

bars four to six I have used arco strings, the bass and viola playing accented crotchets, the

cello playing syncopated ascending quavers, and the violins playing triplets, joined by the

honky-tonk synthesizer bassoon then clarinets, so that at bar five there is a full orchestra

playing in cross-rhythm syncopation to provide increasing excitement up to the start of the

song in bar six. This section contains the voice within an orchestral suite whereas normal

practice would be to leave this as an orchestral suite only. Whilst it is unusual having the

voice colour and text in there as part of the Suite, it is a valid artistic choice that allows for

a particular operatic colour to emerge as part of the sound world. The piano and vocal

score is shown in Example 5.33, and the orchestral score in Example 5.34.

Example 5.33: Megan and the eBike, ‘eBiking’ (bars 1 - 7)—Piano and vocal score.

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œ œ œw

œ œ œ ˙round the world

œœœœ œ œœœ ˙˙̇

œ œ œw

7 eBiking

[Composer]

© Jean Bunton, 2008

Score

With zestScenes of the world turning in space on the backgound screen

185

Example 5.34: Megan and the eBike, ‘eBiking’ (bars 1 - 6)—Orchestral score.

&

&

&

&

&?

&

&?

ã

&?

&?

&

&

&B?

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b

b

b#

#

b

b

b

b

bb

bb

b

b

b

b

b

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

ccc

ccc

c

c

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c

c

c

c

Flute 1

Flute 2

Oboe

Clarinet in Bb 1

Clarinet in Bb 2

Bassoon

Horn in F

Trumpet in C

Timpani

Percussion

Singer

Violin

Violin II

Viola

Cello

Double Bass

Synthesizer

Marimba

∑

∑

∑

∑

∑

Œ Œ Œ .œ> œ>∑

∑∑∑

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∑

∑

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∑

∑

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Ó Œ .œ> œ>.

Allegro q = 125

pizz.

P

Allegro q = 125

[Honky tonk piano setting]

[Banjo setting]

With Excitement

With Excitement

Ó Œ ‰ ≈ rœ

Ó Œ ‰ ≈ Rœ

Œ œ- Jœb - .œn -

Œ œ- Jœb - .œn -

Œ œ- jœ- .œ-

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∑

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F

F

F

F

pizz.

pizz.

pizz.

pizz.

P

P

P

P

F

p

F

[Bongos]

p

Jœ̆ ‰ œ̆ ‰ œfl ‰

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.œ œ. œ jœ œ ‰

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Œ œ .œ> œ. .œ> œ.

œ> Œ Œ ‰ ≈ rœ.

Ff

arco

arco

arco

Ó Œ ‰ ≈ rœÓ Œ ‰ ≈ Rœ

Ó Œ ‰ ≈ rœ

Ó ‰ ≈ rœ .œ œÓ ‰ ≈ rœ .œ œ

œ> ‰ œ> ‰ œ> ‰ œ> ‰

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∑∑

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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ3 3 3 3

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P

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F

arco

arco

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3

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œ> œ> œ> .œ> œ>.

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F

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FF

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P

f

Part 4 - eBiking

37

186

‘Just Imagine’ In orchestrating ‘Just Imagine’ I used different techniques to provide a ‘soaring’

feel. From bar 24 I had the flutes and first violin hold on to a high D as a ‘ceiling’ idea,

and the oboe an octave below to support the singers on their sustained D as timbre

enrichment which would complement the voices. The bassoons, horn and trumpet also

held sustained notes. Meanwhile the clarinets were used to play decorative harmonies, as

well as the second violins, violas, cellos and basses. In bars 27 to 29 (see Example 5.35

which shows the full orchestration) I pared back the instrumentation, so that only the horn

and first violin played the melody with the singer. This cutback makes a textually rich

moment to ‘soar’ in contrast. In bars 27 to 29 the second violins, violas and cellos moved

the rhythm forward, and the bass held a sustained note to anchor everything. The piano

and vocal score are shown in Example 5.35.

Example 5.35: Megan and the eBike, ‘Just Imagine’ (bars 19 - 24)—Piano and vocal score.

The orchestral score, bars 33 to 40 are shown in Example 5.36.3 3 The orchestral version of ‘Just Imagine’ includes 10 extra bars of introductory material, hence the bar numbering between these two examples is different.

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3 Just Imagine18

187

Example 5.36: Megan and the eBike, ‘Just Imagine’ (bars 33 - 40)—Orchestral score.

188

Summary

By doing an analysis of both The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike I have

discovered that analytical reflection on action has revealed two distinct approaches in my

work: style and cultural juxtaposition as a structural device for creating imaginative works.

I have also found that there are many more varieties and juxtapositions of music

than I had originally thought. My original plan for the musical was to have segments

which were less than three minutes long and this was based on findings from the research

into the maximum attention span of small children reported after the Sesame Street series

of television programmes. The eventual forty-five segments in The Magic Jungle mean

that they are only just over a minute and a half long on average. This shows that my aim

for juxtapositional variety in the structure has exceeded my original plan through denser

sectional changes via smaller segments.

My analysis of Megan and the eBike has shown me that the four-part hymn-like

harmonies which were present in The Magic Jungle have been coloured even more as my

compositional style has developed. The colourings of American hoedown, Chinese

harmonies, and Australian didjeridu, for example, make for more culturally enhanced

variety. The French-influenced-harmonies, jazz swing, Bartokian-influenced chords and

organically-grown themes swelling to loud climaxes provide further varieties in the

colourings.

Orchestrating the Megan and the eBike Suite has shown me how colours can be

exploded further when played by an orchestra, and that there are exciting new possibilities

to learn about this craft. Rhythms can be accentuated by using a full orchestra playing in

cross rhythm syncopation, and textures can become very detailed and delicate, for

189

example, by using staccato in the string section. I have learned how to write soaring

crescendos for a full orchestra which I find very cathartic.

190

Chapter Six: Conclusion - Imagination as Transformation

I consider that the escapist imagination and zany humour which underpin the

stories, and the hidden colour references in the music of The Magic Jungle and Megan and

the eBike have created escapist musical fantasy zones. These colour references are further

exploded in the Megan and the eBike Suite. What started as a simple way to encourage

Chinese-speaking children with their English language and musical knowledge skills has

been subverted into a sonic world with multiple layers, and with the aim of transformation

and creating imaginative fantasy with an uplifting spirit. In the process I find that I have

subverted my own didactic aims towards an imaginative multiplicity of sounds.

Structural Imagination

My music theatre compositions are built on the foundation of my imagination and

personal creative voice. Through the use of sound as a tangential explosion and using a

wide variety of colours and juxtapositional variety, I have aimed my work towards

stimulating the imaginations of children from pre-kindergarten to primary levels. In the

process I try to offer a transformative experience for them through words and music.

In the process of writing The Magic Jungle, Megan and the eBike and the Megan

and the eBike Suite I have discovered that my musical voice emanates from a diverse

collection of principles and influences which were discussed in chapter two, but that there

are some unified thematics: a juxtapositional thread which runs through my work, using

styles, cultural references, multiple places, diversity and colours to create variety, and

which primarily emphasizes ‘imagination as transformation’.

191

Through doing an analysis of The Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike in

chapter five I have seen that the underlying colour in my compositional styles comes

from a foundation of four-part hymn harmony. However, on top of this are layers of

many different colours and styles which range from French harmony, jazz, the poignant

and ethereal, pop, rap, to an American hoe down, and Chinese-influenced harmonies.

Although it might appear that there are wildly explosive moments when there is

no framework, all three works are in fact tightly controlled structurally. As I discovered

in chapter two there is a need for an architectural plan for a work of this length. Both The

Magic Jungle and Megan and the eBike are based on the European and American

tradition of music theatre, with influences from many of the early composers who have

worked in this genre such as Hammerstein and Bernstein, and the current generation of

composers, including Sondheim, Schwartz, and Lloyd Webber.

I have discovered in chapter two that my work as an author of children’s books for

Chinese-speaking children learning English has sparked my imagination and this aim has

been continued into my writing of musicals for Chinese-speaking children in Hong Kong.

This, and my need to be creative, as discussed in chapter four, has been my main

motivator in trying to create an imaginative world of sound. Emphasis on colour,

juxtaposition and wild expansion are vital to support this imagination.

Personal Voice

On the microcosmic level this structured imagination has led to distinctiveness in

my personal musical voice coming from imaginative sources drawn from life. Variety and

humour are essential elements of my life’s story and have become the cornerstone of my

192

innate style. Sometimes this humour can be translated directly into music. When writing

for children I have to be able to remember and feel what it was like to be a child and enter

my own imaginary world as an escape. My textural zaniness draws on influences from

British children’s authors and their sense of humour, and also using educational ideas

which are then exploded tangentially. Because of the sad childhood I experienced, I have

a desire to pass on joyful experiences as a spiritually uplifting experience for other

children.

I have found that my imagination works instinctively, and even subconsciously,

and that many other creators have this same experience. It is also important, I have found,

to keep an open mind as an idea may ‘arrive’ at any time. The use of ‘hooks’ is important

to draw in a young audience, and juxtapositional variety is essential to sustain their

interest. My use of fortissimos is important to me as a cathartic principle and this can also

be a form of colouring and variety.

Voice versus Structure

My ‘mind map’ approach, discussed in chapter four, has to be controlled, but

collaboration and dialogue are an enormous and essential part of creating musical theatre.

Looking at the creative processes I use has shown me that I am a risk-taker and can be out

of my depth at times, and this emphasizes how important collaboration is.

By looking through the lens of a ‘reflective practitioner’, a term coined by Donald

Schön, (in chapter four) I have seen that there is an artistic cogency which is really a zany

juxtapositional sense. There is also a structural dialogue with the micro-juxtaposition.

Imagination becomes the micro reference of style and culture in macro organisation. It is

193

as if a ‘musical house’ has been built, containing many ‘sound rooms’ to which children or

adults can escape. All these ‘sound rooms’ have connotations whether they be zany lyrics,

cultural references, spiritual connections to do with the hint of hymn tunes and harmonies,

or ‘travelogue’ references. Much of the music leaves it up to the listeners to use their own

imaginations.

Conclusion

Three authors who have spoken about imagination, and whom I quoted at the start,

are, I believe, worth mentioning again: J.K. Rowling’s reference to imagination as being

“transformative” and “the only uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and

therefore the fount of all invention and innovation” (Rowling, 2008, p. 67); Barber, who

describes imagination as the mind in flight “soaring on the wings of memory, emotion,

association and perception” (Barber, 2003, p. 2); and Palladino who refers to children’s

imagination their “innate style of boundless, individualistic, divergent thinking”

(Palladino, 1997, p. xiii). I have tried to interpret all three of these descriptions and aims

in my music theatre works, creating a sonic world which I hope will entice children to

enter.

C. S. Lewis wrote of a “hall out of which doors open into several rooms.” His aim

was to bring anyone into the hall, and he felt he would have done what he attempted if that

happened. “But it is in the rooms,” he continued, “not in the hall, that there are fires and

chairs and meals” (Lewis, 1952, p. 10). This picture of a ‘house’ with ‘rooms’ ties in

with what I have aimed to do. I hope that by entering into the ‘rooms’ of The Magic

194

Jungle and Megan and the eBike, children will find the musical equivalent of “fires and

chairs and meals”.

195

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Glossary of Musical Terms Ceiling A sustained upper texture motif or note. Chorale theme A soft consonant chordal progression which moves slowly. Colour The intrinsic character of sounds. This can be achieved by chordal vertical sonority, such as a ninths, elevenths, thirteenths chords. Colour can also be used to describe the tone of different instruments. Juxtapositional structure A structural unit containing a series of thematic juxtapositions. Palm cluster The use of a clenched fist playing the piano in a stabbing motion. Pentatonic A scale which commonly has five notes, commonly used in Chinese music. Personal voice The characteristic sounds that the composer uses to express ideas, thoughts and feelings in music. Timbre the tone of a particular instrument.

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Appendix 1

Areas of particular difficulty for Chinese speakers learning English

Chang, J. (2001). Chinese speakers. Swan and Smith, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 20, pp. 224-237. Summary of the English sounds that Chinese speakers find the most difficult to pronounce: Vowel sounds The long vowels: “eat” is sometimes pronounced “it” and “bean” as “bin” “Fool” as “full”, and “look” as “luke” “Carp”, “cup” and “cap” are often confused And also “shot”, “short”, “shout” “u” is sometimes replaced by “a” which is a close approximation to a Chinese phoneme. Diphthongs are sometimes pronounced too quickly with not enough distinction between the two component vowels Consonants p, b and t d, k and g v w are all difficult n and l can be confused such as in “night, light” in many dialects “tin”, “fin” or “sin” can all be confused “this” is sometimes pronounced as “dis” or “zis” “h” is sometimes pronounced as “ch” as in “loch” D, t, f are sometimes confused As are “l” and “r” so that “fried rice” often becomes “flied lice” Final consonants are usually omitted such as “duck”, “wife”, “war” and final position “bill”, “rill”, or “beer”. Consonant clusters Initial consonant clusters such as spoon becomes “sippoon” Final clusters “dogs” or “crisps” are difficult to pronounce Rhythm and stress Chinese use far fewer syllables (so learners give the weak syllable equal emphasis) “Fish and chips’ (sometimes has the “and” stressed) “The capital of England is London” (“The’s” and “and’s” are sometimes emphasized). When students try to reduce the accent on the English weak forms they sometimes find them so hard to pronounce that they omit them so that “fish and chips” becomes “fishchips” Intonation Pitch changes in Chinese (the tones) are used to distinguish words. In English intonation patterns are used to affect the meaning of a whole utterance. Therefore Chinese learners tend to pronounce English with a flat, jerky or sing-song effect.

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Juncture The mono-syllabilicity of basic Chinese units leads Cantonese speakers with unreleased final consonants which create glottal stops and a staccato effect because they cannot run words into each other. Chinese learners to run them into a ‘stream of speech’ which adds to the staccato effect of a Chinese accent.