From Samba to Bossa Nova: A Deeper Look into the Magnificent Music of Brazil.

By: Nicholas Whelan

Personal Relevance

• Brief musical background- Trumpet- Percussion• Jazz Band with Hal- Began to enjoy and appreciate both Jazz and

Bossa.• Experience with Garageband- Make songs of all genres for fun

Goals

• Compose a Bossa Nova piece that is enjoyable• Learn more about Bossa Nova and its history• Have SOME fun working on my senior project

My Product

• Brazilian Popular Music Essay- The journey- The effects- The appropriation - My piece “Rossa Nova”- Composed - Performed

What makes up a Bossa Nova piece

• Drum- “The Heartbeat”• Overall Feeling- Soft- Straightforward

Facing Challenges

- Remembering blog entriesAlarm- Variety of sources for essayLearn new types of sources- Getting sick of my songTake a break, then listen again

Learning Skills

• Instrument ranges- Flute• Writing sheet music• Communicating with my peers during the

performance.

Conclusions

• Lots of great responses from the listeners of “Rossanova”

• Have more knowledge on the roots of Bossa Nova and the history of Brazil.

• Had fun while composing and performing the piece.

Growth as a learner

• Enlightened by Senior Project, where the student is able to choose:

- What they are graded on- How they will be graded- Who will be grading them

Career Possibilities

• Composer- Radio- Movies- Commercials• Drummer- Teacher- Performer

Special Thanks

• Hal Mckusick• Sophia Kobolakis• Devon Parkes• Mom• Sister• Leander Kobolakis, Tom Jawin, Camille Coy,

Forrest Gray, Miles Kozatch, Jake Sosne, Pietro Martini

• Anybody I missed