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Program Note
The Tuppence Tune
For ukulele
Composed by Evangeline Roane
The title of this piece is ‘The Tuppence Tune’, this was thanks to [name’s] suggestion of naming it after my dog. Tuppence enjoys listening to me play ukulele and has heard this song hundreds of times over the last few months.
I was inspired to create this piece after learning the song ‘Linger’ by The Cranberries on mandolin. While practising I began playing my ukulele using the same finger shapes as the mandolin chords. These are the chords Am add 9, D sus 2, D sus 4 and C. I liked the sound this created on the ukulele, as it is a totally different sound than ‘Linger’, a more soft and delicate tone.
Over the following weeks, I experimented with this idea by adding some other chords and changing the strumming pattern slightly until I was happy with it. The chords I added are C add 9, Cmaj 7 and C6.
For over a month, I felt stuck with how to develop this piece further. Eventually I decided to add a section using broken chords. I think this section helps break up the repetition of the piece and gives it a clearer structure making the piece feel more intentional and developed.
This piece uses standard time, this follows the steady feel of Linger. The piece is in the key of A minor. Due to running out of time, I did not include dynamics and kept the piece quite simple.
The biggest strength of this piece in my opinion is the chord progression and overall mood. I think the chords work well together to create a consistent emotion, and the piece feels cohesive despite its simplicity.
The biggest weakness of this piece in my opinion is the repetitiveness. If I had more time I would add dynamics and possible additional variations in rhythm to better distinguish each section and create more contrast throughout the piece.
My biggest strength during the composing process was learning how to write chords for ukulele. This was a significant learning experience for me, and writing the chords independently helped me gain confidence and a deeper understanding of ukulele and music as a whole.
My biggest weakness was leaving important decisions until the last minute. I was indecisive for several months about which composition to develop, which limited the time I had to focus on this piece. In the future, I would like to commit to a piece earlier so I can spend more time developing ideas and improving the final piece.
Going forward I would like to add dynamics as it will give the piece more depth. I'd also like to explore adding piano accompaniment or potentially another instrument.