04142013The Adventure of PYP Exhibition-rev

The PYP Exhibition
“Sharing My Passion and the Dream”
-Classical Guitar-
Hiroki Kai Nishikawa
Grade 5 / Mr. Booth
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Table of Contents
I: Introduction
II: Plan of Action
III: Research and Process
Phase I: Primary research.
-Compare the differences between classical and folk guitars including traits and origins
Phase II: Interview with Claude Ciari
-Different ways to change the audiences feeling through the guitar performance
-How music affects the audience
Phase III: Secondary research
-Finding out the origin of “Malaguena”
-Techniques for playing the classical guitar
-Action: Expressing my ideas through performing “Malaguena”
IV: Reflecting and Conclusion
V: Acknowledgements
VI: References
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I: Introduction
As the last year of primary school, the fifth grade has been given an immense task to
display our passions and dreams. The task is called PYP Exhibition in which we
describe our interests in our passions and dreams. My passion is to play the classical
guitar because of the wonderful and unique sound that you can make with it. My aim in
this project is to thoroughly investigate about the classical guitar and to clearly
demonstratesome of the reasons for my passion about playing the guitar. What I’d like
to gain from this project is to be able to prove the responsibly and commitment to my
work.
First of all, the fifth grade was given an assignment to think about. The assignment was
for us to think of three lines of inquiry. Lines of inquiry refer to the statements, which
are used to help us relate to the central idea and guide us through the research and
presentation of the exhibition.
Here are some statements in lines with the inquiry of
“Who We Are.”
1. Finding different ways to perform songs using the classical guitar: The Reason why
I thought of this statement is because I would like to not only show my progress in
research skills but also the development of my ability to perform using the guitar.
Using this statement will help me become more of an inquirer because it will allow
me to research more about performing.
2. Interviewing a legendary guitarist to find out what can be expressed through the
classical guitar performance: As part of my research I sent an e-mail to Claude Ciari
asking questions about how to express yourself using the guitar. I believe that by
asking question to a professional guitarist, it will help me when I perform in the
exhibition.
3. Exploring who I am through a song, “Malaguena”: Malaguena is the song that I
chose to express myself when I am performing onthe guitar. I searched the list of
easy songs under “how to play on the guitar” on the Internet, and Malaguena was
one of them. Every time I play Malaguena, it makes me smile and also makes me
feel confident to do anything because of the dramatic sound it makes. I think that
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this song will have an effect on the audience and help me get the audiences
interested in my presentation and research.
II: Plan of Action
In order to organize my exhibition essay, I decided to create an outline. My outline is
divided into six parts. In my outline I have organized my writing process. The first part
of the outline is the “Introduction” where I describe the project and assignments. For
example, explaining the lines of inquiry or my research topic. The second part in my
outline is this one, which I call it “Plan of Actions.”
The third part is my “Research and Process” whose purpose is to explain the results and
process of the plan of actions as the heading says. The “Phrase I” explains the
differences of two types of guitars, namely the classical and folk guitarsbased on the
knowledge I gathered from my research. The comparison that I describe consists of the
differences in origins and characteristics (traits). “Phase II”in my outline is about my
exclusive interview with Mr. Claude Ciari with the help of my mentor, Mrs. White.
Here, an explanation of the questions to Mr. Ciari is reported, including why I asked
those questions and ways in which his answers will help me in this project. In the
“Phase III”, I plan to write about my reason for performing the song,“Malaguena”and
how I prepared for my presentation.
The next part after the Research and Process is “Reflection and Conclusion”. This
section is for me to write about how I think I did in the exhibition using IB learner
profiles and PYP attitudes to develop confidence as lifelong learnerin the future. In the
“Conclusion,” we can also state our feeling such as: how much of a challenge the
project was and what I learnt from it including both positive and negative areas that I
did well and not so well.
The last section of this outline is the “References.” References tell the reader where the
piece of information was extracted from depending on if the reader is curious of where
the author had gotten the information or if the reader is just making sure of any
plagiarizing. The references also tell the reader if the facts written in the essay are true
or not. Finally, I will end my essay with the acknowledgments where I thank the
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teachers, friends and family that supported me through the exhibition, telling them how
much I appreciate there encouragements as well as love.
III: Research & Process
Phase I: Differences Between the Classical and the Folk Guitar
a- Historical Background
Guitars are both made in different cultures. The classical guitar or also known as the
“Spanish Guitar”was originated in France as the Lute during the renaissance age.
Through the period the lute moved through Europe toward Italy and then to Spain
where the official Spanish or classical guitar developed.
On the other hand, the folk guitar originated in the United States during the 19th century
as the European immigrants brought the gut strung “salon” guitar. The way the folk
guitars had outspread is very intriguing. 1
One of the famous immigrants and lute player (luthier) was a German immigrant named
Christian Fredrick Martin. At first, Christian had simply been doing his job creating gut
string guitars until he had immigrated to America where he developed in x bracing to
strengthen the soundboard. However, with the blues and country music rapidly
spreading out across the country the classical guitar just didn’t fit in anymore. This is
why the folk guitar was created.
The folk guitar was cheap and had a louder sound. This is why the late 1800’s and the
early 1900’s, black blues guitarists and the white southern rural musician tended to buy
the folk guitar. One reason was because they were cheap and another was because the
sound went well with the music. The main difference in the folk guitar and the classical
guitar is that the folk guitar has steel strings and the classical has nylon.
b-Structural and Functional differences
Although both folk and classical guitars have developed in various locations, during
different times and for a complete different reason, they also are different in how they
work (sound, traits) and how they are formed with different components. 2
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Head
To begin with, the classical guitar is organized into three parts. The first I will explain is
the head. The head, also know as the headstock, is located at the top of the guitar. The
first trait that catches the eye at the head is the tuning head or also known as the tuning
gear.
Gears
The function of the tuning gears is for tuning the strings of the guitar by tightening or
loosening them to make the sound higher or lower – sharper or flatter. The tuning gear
is structured by drilling six holes into the headstock where rods are placed into each.
Rod
The rod is connected to the tuning peg, which you twist to adjust the sound. Each rod is
also connected to an individual string, which are winded around it. From the tuning gear,
the strings proceeds pass a thin, white strip of ebony with six groves, under the head,
acting as paths for the strings to pass through. Then, the strings progress to the neck,
fret board and the fingerboard.
Neck
The neck is placed in between the head and the body. It is a long piece of wood lain
across another piece of wood shaped like an upside down arch, fit for the hand. Also the
neck has 19 thin strips of metal inlayed into a grove carved into the neck. This results as
19 spaces in between each thin strip of metal. These spaces are called frets. The first fret
is biggest of all 19, but the frets gradually get shorter as you go down the neck. This is
why some call it the fret board.
Fret
The main role of a fret is to create different sounds when a string is pressed onto it.
Each fret has a solo sound. So, if you randomly press a string onto a fret and pluck the
string you will get a different note for every fret you press against. In addition, as you
progress down the frets to the body, the sound gets higher because of the smaller frets
and vise versa. As you get closer to the head the sound gets lower because of the bigger
fret.
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Finger Board or Neck?
Another reason why some people call the neck the “finger board” is because it is where
your fingers are used to play the guitar. However, the neck is not the only place in the
guitar where the fingers have a roll. So does the body. The body looks like 2 circles on
top of each other but just fused together. It is divided into another two parts, the upper
bout and the lower bout. The body consists of the six strings because this is where they
start their journey.
Body
The body is divided into two parts, the Upper Bout and the Lower Bout. The body is
shaped like two circles, the top smaller and the bottom lower, put on top of each other to
make a solid looking eight. The body is shaped like this to fit on the leg of the guitarist.
Upper Bout
The upper bout is slightly smaller than the lower and it is the close to the neck. It
consists of the soundboard, the sound hole and the rosette. Here is how soundboard
works. The soundboard vibrates as the strings are plucked or strum. The vibration
creates the sound and the sound creates music.
Strings
The sound comes out of a sound hole to make a clear and warm sound, which partly has
to do with the strings. Nerveless, if the sound hole wasn’t a part of the upper bout the
sound would be muffled and, if played with tremendous strumming as well as mindless
hitting the pressure of the air inside with be too much for the insides of the guitar will
burst. But, the possibility of a guitar exploding is almost impossible! In addition, if the
guitar didn’t have a sound hole and wasn’t hollow at all, the guitar would be just a
chunk of wood with decorative signs and strings and would make no sound.
Sounds
Next, here is how the sound is made. The “decorative signs” around the sound hole is
called the Rosete. The Rosete is the “ancient bracelet” looking ring with patterns of
small squares placed around the sound hole to indicate the classical guitar.
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The Rosette
The Rosete also expresses the Flamenco or Spanish culture. Flamenco is not a title for a
piece of music nor is it a name of a type of music used to playing the guitar. Flamenco
is a gypsy song named after a city where it was originally played. For example, the song
I demonstrate is Malaguena Salerosa, a common gypsy song well known across Spain.
The meaning of Malaguena Salerosa is, Malaguena: A city in southern Spain and Sale
Rosa: Woman who is fun and happy.
The Romanza
In addition to Malaguena, there are other songs that were originated in Spain named
Romanza. Interestingly, Romanza is not a Flamenco song like Malaguena. The name
Romanza was named after the story of romance and love.
Unfortunately, not much is known as to who created Romanza. Thus, Romanza is
called“unknown ballad”. A ballad is a song based upon an old tale or a saga. In this case,
it came from some talesof romance and love. This song is famous for its special finger
style called Arpecio.
Rosetes:
Rosetes can come in other different patterns too. Rosetes can come in patterns with
flowers or squiggly lines imprinted around the sound hole. All of these are insignia
orbeacon that stands out to indicate that the guitar with that Rosete is the one and only
classical guitar.
Lower Bout
The lower bout consists of the Saddle, the Bridge and the lower part of the Sound Hole.
The lower bout is slightly bigger than the top to fit over the leg when playing the guitar.
Saddle
The Saddle that is on the lower bout is not the saddle you place on a bovine animal; it is
a piece dark wood at the bottom of the guitar. The bridge doesn’t have a special
characteristic other than carry the bridge that sits on top.
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Bridge
The Bridge sits on the saddle and has six small pins lain horizontally across it. These
small pins have the strings tied on to them. From here the strings go on there journey
from the bridge all the way back to the head where they are tied onto again.
This is a classical guitar on the left, and on the right you see a folk guitar. The
difference between a folk guitar and a classical guitar is that the folk guitar’s strings are
made of steel. This is because they are used for different types of songs. Also the folk
guitar is made out of a harder wood to withstand the sharp sound of the steel strings.
Phase II: Interview with Claude Ciari
As a part of my exhibition my mentor, Mrs. White kindly helped me send a message to
Mr. Claude Ciari. Mr. Ciari was born in Nice on the French Riviera River in 1944. He
started playing the guitar when he was 11 years old and was proficient enough to join a
rock group at age 16. He left a group in 1964 and produced his first solo album called
“la playa.”
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Who Is Claude Ciari
He came to Japan to go on a tour of his concert when he met a Japanese fashion model
whom he fell in love with. He then moved to Japan and his family had two children.
The Japanese law prevented his children from becoming Japanese citizens for he was a
foreigner to Japan. Mr. Ciari disagreed with the law and decided to run for an upper seat
in the government to change the law. Although he did not win the election, his
campaign was successful and that the law has been changed so that foreigners can have
a Japanese citizenship as long as one of the parents is Japanese. Today, he lives in
Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture and often performs in shows or for albums. Some of his
famous songs include “la playa”, “la foule “ and “Waga Yoki Tomoyo.” 3
Interviews:
Here are the questions that I asked Mr. Ciari:
1.
As a professional guitarist, what are some ways that you change the way the
audiences feeling as you perform?
2.
What are some techniques to change the mood of the song, whether having to
change the chord, adding in some parts to the song or putting in a capo to
change the tune?
3.
Does playing the song using a different type of guitar change the effect of the
audience?
4.
How did you become interested in playing the guitar and why did you choose
to perform in Japan?
With the first question, I wanted to find out how I could make the audience feel the
music when I play the guitar. Since Mr. Ciari has had many experiences performing
with the guitar, I thought that he would understand what I wanted to do to connect with
audience. To this, he replied:"As for the audience it is between you and them. The
audience becomes a single entity and there is a link created between you and
them.”
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Secondly, I asked Mr. Ciari what types of chords he might use to change the affect of
the song on the audience. I believe that to change the mood of the song you have to
change the chords.He did not make any particular comment on this question.
My third question was about how playing different guitars can change the effect of the
audience. At the moment I have a classical guitar and an acoustic guitar. Since the
acoustic guitar has steel strings, I was wondering if playing Malaguena could on the
acoustic guitar can make it sound more dramatic. To my surprise he said,“It doesn't
matter what guitar you use or what you play.”I always thought that playing a song
using a different guitar would change the affect but what I learnt that it only matters of
how the guitarists feels of the song when he plays it.
Lastly, I was very curious of why he had chosen to perform in Japan even though he is
French by nationality.
I also wanted to know who sparked his interest or what led him
to play the guitar. Mr. Ciari said,“Well, my uncle did play guitar too” and “I play
in many countries not only Japan.”It was very interesting to know that a family
member inspired him. In my case, my mom also introduced me too a college student
who inspired me to play the guitar.
Phase III: Secondary Research
In order to demonstrate my inspiration for the classical guitar, I decided to perform a
song called “Malaguena” in the exhibition, and explain the reasons behind it. When I
play Malaguena, I would like to express my ideas and feelings through playing the song.
I believe that playing an instrument, for me the guitar, helps us connect and express how
we feel to the audience.
The Origin of “Malaguena”
First of all the full name for the song is “Malaguena Salerosa” It originated in a small
café in a city in the south of Spain called Malaga during the late 1600’s and the early
1700’s. The song was often performed there and had gotten very famous around the
country. The word “Salerosa” means “Graceful woman.” Together it means “Graceful
Women from a city from south of Spain.” Also Malaguena is a Flamenco song.
Flamenco are songs that the titles originated from where it had began or the spreading
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point. Although nobody really knows who really created “Malaguena”, many people
create different types of “Malaguena.” Miguel Aceves Mejia created the most well
known or famous version or “Malaguena.” 4
My Passion for Playing the “Malaguena”
Unlike many other guitarists I didn’t learn Malaguena using notes or tabs. Instead I
watched some YouTube videos of people playing the song.6 By doing so, I taught
myself how to play “Malaguena.” Although I have guitar lessons once a week
something more basics, I thought that I could give myself a challenge by learning to
play “Malaguena” independently.
Techniques for Playing Classical Guitar
To play “Malaguena” you need to know some finger styles or strumming techniques. So,
I asked my guitar teacher, Mr. Daichi Nakamura, to teach me some of the techniques.
The strumming techniques consist of the Glissando, the Rasqueados, the Arpecio, the
Pizzicato and the Harmonics. 5
First of all, to understand the strumming techniques you need to know the basic finger
letters for your right hand. (Though there is no known reason for why they have those
letters.) The reason for this is because for each strumming technique there is a pattern
and an order to of which finger comes first.
The finger letters starts at the thumb. The thumb is the letter “p”, the pointing finger is
“i”, the middle finger is “m”, the ring finger is “a” and although there is no letter for the
pinky finger, most guitarists prefer “s”.
Now I will explain two of the techniques that I use for the song Malaguena. The main
technique is “i-m”. This is the basic technique is used in all types of songs. When I use
this technique for most of the song until the last part of the song where I use a different
technique to strum. Anyway, by using the “i-m” technique I can pluck two strings on
the guitar without bothering to move tiring my thumb by moving it up and down.
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The next strumming technique is known as Rasqueados. Rasqueados is a technique
where you strum the strings using the top of your fingers in the sequence of “s, a, m, i
and p”. At the end of the sequence you strum using your pointing finger or “i” three
times to make a flamenco feeling. I believe that using the E chord.
In the exhibition, I hope to demonstrate some of these techniques to share some of my
passions for classical guitar.
IV: Reflecting and Conclusion
The reason why I chose the classic guitar as my topic for the project was to demonstrate
my passion about classical guitars. I like guitar among all other musical instruments
because it is handy and I can take it no matter where I go easily. I believe this
instrument reflects who I am and will always do even if I change who I am.
What I gained from this project is a lot more than just the knowledge about guitar. I
gained the sense of a responsibility and a commitment to my work. I had to research
about historical aspects of the classical guitar, and how it is different from the folk
guitar. Also, I inquired about the different parts of the guitar and what can be expressed
through playing the instrument. The highlight of my project was my exclusive interview
with Mr. Ciari. It was an honor to get the opportunity to interview a legendary guitarist.
As I want to be a great guitar player, I also put many hours to practice “Malaguena” in
order to share my passion about in with my classmates. It was challenging to put all the
work into one piece of writing with all of my research work. I was able to integrate
some of the units I learned throughout the primary years to construct my work. I am
especially grateful for my supervisors who helped me stay focus with my work.
Now that I completed my project, I believe that all the hard work has paid off my efforts.
In the future, I believe I can successfully impact the world in a good way using the
knowledge of the guitar. For example I might be able to teach some children the basics
of the guitar such as the parts (head, body and neck), as well as the joy of playing the
musical instrument such as guitar.
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V: Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deep appreciation to the following people who help me on
this special project:
Mrs. Kaoru White for her valuable suggestions especially during the planning of the project,
Mr. Jeffery Booth for his constructive suggestions and keeping my progress on schedule,
Mrs. Naomi Kite for her support and encouragement throughout my research,
Mrs. Sarah Cooper for her support and encouragement throughout my research,
Mr. Claude Ciari for giving me the opportunity to interview him and answering my questions,
Mr. Daichi Nakamura for his useful advice on the guitar techniques
Without all your help, my project would not have been so successful.
Thank you.
Hiroki Kai Nishikawa, Grade 5
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VI: References
1. Information on history of classical and folk guitars was extracted from:
http://www.welington-guitar-lessons.com
2. Information on guitar parts was extracted from:
http://www.classicalguitar101.org/classical-guitar-part-names.html#.UWN6-I65bbl
3. Information on the bibliography of Claude Ciari was extracted from:
http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/claude-ciari/3641834
4. Information on “Malaguana” was extracted from:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080312143424AArjtUA
5. Information on the strumming techniques was extracted from:
http://classicalguitarbuilder.com/march_news/July_Newsletter.html
6. Youtube videos on how to play “Malaguana”
“La Malaguena Guitar Lesson Part 1” July 24, 2009, jaguilera 1011
“La Malaguena Guitar Lesson Part 2” July 24, 2009, jaguilera 1011
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