Compose and perform a musical solo

Task stats

Points

23

Disquals

0

• Mae finds Will Collier on the driveway, with his upright bass. Having read the first task brief, they decide to try to make their solo more interesting by having Will play it with his feet, rather than his hands. Having read the second task brief, Mae sets about fashioning an upright base using a small circular garden table, a wooden sled, some kind of long-handled tool, string, and tape. They introduce their original solo piece as 'Mae-stro', and proceed to mime along to it, playing with both their hands and feet, with a break in the middle where they tap the inside of a plastic jug with a small rod. Greg enjoys their instrument, their solo, and their performance, so awards them joint second place with Frankie.
• Frankie finds Ben Reynolds on the decking, with his drum kit. Having read the first task brief, he instructs Ben to hit certain drums, and then establishes a rhythm with him, telling him to play it faster and faster. After reading the second task brief, Frankie heads into the shed to collect supplies with which he can create his own drum kit. He creates his drum sticks from garden cane, and uses an oil barrel, a dustbin and dustbin lid, a car tyre, a large plastic bucket, a balance board, and two plastic tennis rackets held up on garden canes, as his drum kit. Greg enjoys his instrument, his solo, and his performance, so awards him joint second place with Mae.
• Ivo finds Mark Brown outside the caravan, with his saxophone, and the two spend some time staring at one another, and then at Alex. Having read the first task brief, Ivo decides that his composition is going to be based on the letters in his own name, and in the word 'taskmaster'. This gives him just G-A-A-A-A-E, since most of the letters in these words are not musical notes. He writes these out on a piece of paper, and then appears to write the same notes out again in reverse, underneath. When Alex asks him if he has any kind of particular rhythm in mind for his tune, he suggests "jaunty". Having read the second task brief, Ivo grabs one of the large plastic cacti that are scattered around the property, and tapes some spoons to it, to act as its keys (though he only has time to add seven, rather than the 25 that are on the real instrument). He then spray-paints most of his instrument gold, to finish it off, before adding a mouthpiece made from aluminium foil. Before miming to his solo, he introduces it as 'Toxic Gold Fumes (Mainly in A)'. It seems that Mark has been able to work wonders with the limited notes, providing an enjoyable tune for him to mime to. Greg enjoys his instrument, his solo, and his performance, so awards him joint first place with Kiell and Jenny.
• Kiell finds Ed Sheldrake in the living room, with his keyboard. After some pleasantries, Kiell suggests that Ed is a "polite young man", leading Alex to ask him how old he thinks Ed is. He incorrectly guesses that Ed is 41. After reading the first task brief, he asks Ed what instrument he plays, apparently unable to see the keyboard right in front of him. Kiell's approach to composition is to sing the words of the task brief itself, focusing on the phrases "compose a solo" and "less than 30 seconds". He then suggests that the end of the solo should involve him guessing how old Ed is. Having read the second task brief, Kiell leaves the room and returns with a large stack of books, which he arranges across the surface of the desk in order to create his own keyboard. While he's doing this, Ed points out that Kiell's keyboard isn't quite as big as his own, and notes that he quite likes accuracy. As Kiell mimes along to his solo, he also sings along, using the lyrics that were used to inspire the melody. After the initial part based on the phrases "compose a solo" and "less than 30 seconds", he starts tapping on the desk with his fingers, and says "What's your age, young man?". He then guesses the ages 41, 42, and 43, following each with a jaunty chord. Greg enjoys his instrument, his solo, and his performance, so awards him joint first place with Ivo and Jenny.
• Jenny finds Joe Auckland in the geodesic dome, with his trumpet. The first question she asks him, after confirming that he has a trumpet, is whether he also has piles (it is apparently a well known phenomenon that many trumpet players develop haemorrhoids, due to the amount of physical strain that playing the instrument places on the body). Jenny's approach to composition is to just sing some sounds at Joe, and have him repeat them on his instrument. Having read the second task brief, she fashions a trumpet-like instrument out of a funnnel, a roll of aluminium foil, some small plastic coffee creamer pots, and a banana. Before miming to her solo, she introduces the piece as the 'Nee-Nee-Nee-Nee-Nana Song'. At the end of her solo, she notes that she might now have piles. Greg enjoys her instrument, her solo, and her performance, so awards her joint first place with Kiell and Ivo.