Brooke Green

Course: Fundamentals and Theory of Music 1, MUSIC-109
Professor: Eric McCullough
Assignment Title: Merry-Go-Round of Life Song Analysis

Assignment Details

My project was an analysis and performance of the song Merry-Go-Round of Life by Joe Hisashi transcribed for solo viola. I wrote an essay on the musical elements of Merry-Go-Round of Life to take what I was learning in the class into a real-life situation. Performing the piece was to show how those musical elements can affect a piece.

Application

I’m a music major, so this assignment directly correlated with my field of study. After completing this project in the fall of 2023 I decided to continue with the Theory of Music segment of classes both for my major and for joy I got from taking Theory 1. This project helped me gain more confidence with playing in front of others, especially other musically talented people like my classmates.

Results/Conclusions

I learned how to evaluate a piece of music I’m performing even better. I took what we were learning in class with different time signatures, rhythm, chromatic movements, tempos, and other musical elements. Performing in front of the class helped me become more comfortable with playing in front of others as I have struggled with that for a bit. I believe the performance helped me perform better in my jury at the end of the semester. It helped ease my anxiety about the fact people were looking and listening to me perform.

Challenges and Successes

Playing Merry-Go-Round of Life for the viola had some challenges. There were constant tempo changes that I had to beware of while playing, but measure 108 was the hardest for me to play. With the fast tempo and the changing of the strings it was difficult for me to play it fast and in tune. Even when I performed it, it wasn’t as perfect as I would’ve liked it to be.