Composition Portfolio: Loop Pack or Original Work?
A Year 12 student has 10 weeks to complete a Level 2 composition portfolio for AS91271. Piece A is a 3-minute 20-second electronic dance track built from a purchased loop pack. The student chose the loops, changed the tempo, added a 16-bar synth melody, and arranged an intro, build, drop, and outro. Piece B is a 2-minute 10-second original song for voice and guitar with original lyrics and chords, recorded live. A friend played bass on Piece B, but there is no written record of who wrote the bass line. The teacher worries that Piece A is mainly arrangement rather than composition and that Piece B may be too short to count as substantial. The student points out that the loop pack licence permits commercial use and says both pieces are finished.
1. Decide whether Piece A is likely to count as a substantial composition for AS91271. Explain the difference between composition and arrangement in this context, and state what evidence would change your judgement.
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Piece A can count as composition, but not because it is 3:20 long or because the licence allows use. The key question is who made the musical decisions that carry the piece. If the loops supply the hook, chord progression, groove, and main texture unchanged, the student has mainly arranged pre-existing material. If the student wrote the 16-bar melody, chose and edited the harmony, designed the build and drop, and changed the loops enough that the result is a new piece, that is composition. The project file is the evidence: original MIDI tracks, automation, audio edits, and a process journal with dates. A commercial licence proves permission, not authorship. For Piece B, 2:10 is not automatically too short; a complete song with verse, chorus, bridge, and original lyrics can be substantial. The teacher should compare musical development, not just minutes. My judgement would change if the project file shows the student created the main melodic and harmonic material and can explain why each loop was chosen and altered. If the loops remain the main interest, Piece A is closer to arrangement and may not meet AS91271 without revision.
2. What should the student submit to verify authorship and collaboration on both pieces, and how should the teacher handle the friend's bass part?
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Submit: the DAW project file, screenshots of the arrangement with timestamps, a lead sheet or notation for the main melody and chords, audio stems, a list of every loop with its licence, a process journal, and a signed declaration of own work. For the friend's bass part, the teacher should ask for a written description of who composed what. If the friend improvised a bass line to the student's chords, the student still needs to show that the composition - melody, harmony, form, lyrics - is theirs; the bass may be a performance contribution, not co-authorship. If the bass line is a co-written hook, the student should either replace it or acknowledge it and ensure the assessable composition decisions remain the student's. The teacher should not accept 'finished' as evidence. A short viva - 'play me the track and explain three decisions' - is a practical way to verify authorship and distinguish composition from preset selection.