24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB is the acronym of 24 diagrams and 24 imaginary sounds interpreted on etv_dACK99L_stRm-KnK, objects4JamesSaunders-x1, balloschlauch, psNLr25kE-sub-ALPKnLKACK99L_sw, pDidgeballoon, vibrating_rulers, saxoschlauch, and SRF18-cb_2tPC-lt by Ensemble Phoenix Basel. it denotes a complex of ideas i shared with Ensemble Phoenix Basel with the intention of developing a performance for the 2016 edition of the yearly gala series of the Hochschule für Musik Basel, Schlusskonzerte. i use the term complex of ideas for several ideas that are shared together as a set and are to be combined by their receivers according to provided guidelines that instruct them what to do with the ideas and point to a field of possible combinations. in this case, the ideas were 48 scores (24 diagrams and 24 imaginary sounds) and 8 playing setups (whose names are listed above); the resulting combination was supposed to be a concert performance. what follows is a description of the process of developing this performance.
the performance materials
to begin with, here is a more detailed description of what was shared with the ensemble. there were 8 performers involved in the performance, with each receiving 3 annotated diagrams, 3 annotated imaginary sounds, and a playing setup consisting of one or more self-made musical instruments. in CompositionCloud, diagrams are graphic representations of abstract information that can be interpreted as sound and music. imaginary sounds (iS) are texts that describe sounds using verbal metaphors, inviting readers to an imagined musical experience in which they are to use their own musical imagery to interpret the texts. annotating diagrams and imaginary sounds means defining in advance how the abstract information represented in the diagrams and the verbal metaphors that form the imaginary sounds are to be interpreted. (note that in 24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB, the annotated imaginary sounds were to be interpreted on musical instruments, not just be imagined.1)
originally, i intended that the performers will annotate the diagrams and the imaginary sounds themselves, following a working process similar to that of pen1v111pg1_JRpDbCCo4JSxGP2Ks. however, because this process required additional time for rehearsal, which was unfortunately unavailable, i decided to annotate the scores myself. nevertheless, i did try to leave enough space for the performers to be creative, adding annotations that are relatively open, rather than prescribing exactly what was to be played. moreover, as far as reading the scores in time is concerned, the durations of the scores remained unspecified, and there were no limitations on where to begin and where to end. the order in which the different parts of each score were to be read, however, did have to correspond to the order in which they were placed on the page (but not necessarily left to right or top to bottom, or without going backward, changing direction, etc.).
following the end of this text are the 48 annotated diagrams and imaginary sounds, arranged in 8 groups of 3 annotated diagrams and 3 annotated imaginary sounds, and below are short descriptions of the 8 playing setups for which they were annotated. next to the title of each playing setup in parentheses is the abbreviation used to denote it throughout this text (and in CompositionCloud in general).2 at the end of each description in brackets is the name of the ensemble member whom i shared it with and the instrument she/he normally plays.
etv_dACK99L_stRm-KnK (edsK) denotes a combination of three ideas: exploring_the_voice, a collection of exercises for the main human sound production apparatus, the voice; distortedAKGCK99L, an AKG CK99 L, a lavalier microphone set to maximum gain (a variation of distortedZoomH5); and a mono version of slow-15ANDbelow-tapeRecorderX4 (controlled with a KORG nanoKONTROL), a Max patch functioning as a 4-channel tape-recorder, transposing and slowing down sounds in real-time as they are recorded and coloring them with some distortion. the exercises define a palette of sounds to be captured by the microphone and processed by the tape-recorder. [shared with Christoph Bösch, flute]
objects4JamesSaunders-x1 (o4JSx1) is a compound musical instrument incorporating a wooden box (that normally serves as my footrest), a round glass table (my living room table), a styrofoam surface, a cardboard surface, 3 slinkies (2 small and 1 larger), a brass bar (1 meter long, 15 mm wide, and 2 mm thick), a Sony SRF-18, a smartphone, an electric frothing wand whose stick was slightly bent, a short corrugated tube, and a hacksaw. it is an extract of the collection of objects objects4JamesSaunders, which was compiled for a workshop with composer James Saunders at the Hochschule für Musik Basel on December 8, 2015. [shared with Daniel Stalder, percussion]
the balloschlauch (blsch) is a combination of the pDidgeballoon and the saxoschlauch (see below). like the latter, a corrugated insulation tube is used as the resonator of the instrument; like the former, a tubular balloon, functioning as a reed, is fixed between the main tube and a "mouthpiece" (which is just an additional shorter tube). a 220-cm-long instrument was used. [shared with Toshiko Sakakibara, clarinet]
psNLr25kE-sub-ALPKnLKACK99L_sw (psAs) is psNLr25kE-sub, a Max patch producing extremely low sine waves and low-pass-filtered noise, controlled with an AKAI LPK25 (a MIDI keyboard), a novation LAUNCHCONTROL (a MIDI controller), and an AKG CK99 L (a lavalier microphone), and played with a self-made subwoofer. the patch is an extract of 2sinNoiseLPFrLFO-sub-sw, focusing on the synth part of the Max patch that animated the installation Wechselstrom. [shared with André Thomet, piano]
the pDidgeballoon (pDb) is a plastic didgeridoo (pDidge), made out of one or more PVC sanitary sewer pipes, combined with a tubular balloon, which is fixed between the pipes and a "mouthpiece" (an 87° pipe corner covered by a rubber sleeve). the balloon functions as a reed, converting the steady stream of air coming from the player's lungs into a series of rapid pulses, which are then enriched by the resonance of the pipes. a 175-cm-long instrument was used. [shared with Michael Büttler, trombone]
vibrating_rulers (vr) is a collection of various kinds of bars and rods. in 24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB, the playing setup consisted of 1 aluminum bar (50 mm wide and 3 mm thick), 1 brass bar (20 mm wide and 2 mm thick), 2 PVC bars (both were 19.5 mm wide and 2 mm thick), 1 galvanized steel threaded rod (5 mm in diameter), 1 brass rod (4 mm in diameter), 1 aluminum needle (3 mm in diameter), and 1 wooden skewer (3 mm in diameter). all the bars and rods were 1 meter long (apart from the 2 PVC bars, which were 40 and 60 cm long), and the needle and the skewer were 30 cm long. a long narrow wooden box was used as a surface and a small piece of aluminum foil was taped to it. additional auxiliary objects included a superball, an electric frothing wand, an electric toothbrush, a contrabass bow, and a hacksaw. [shared with Fran Lorkovic, percussion]
the saxoschlauch (sxsch) is a hybrid instrument made up of a saxophone mouthpiece and a corrugated tube. 2 instruments were used: one was 70 cm long and another 200 cm long. [shared with Remo Schnyder, saxophone]
SRF18-cb_2tpc-lt (Sc2tl) is the circuit board of a Sony SRF-18, a small radio/external speaker, which produces CrackleBox-like sounds when touched with bare fingertips, and to which 2 telephone pickup coils are connected, "sniffing" the electromagnetic waves produced by a laptop and translating them into sound. a volume pedal was used to control the volume. [shared with Maurizio Grandinetti, guitar]
as can be seen, i did try, at least to some extent, to take the instruments that the performers normally play into consideration when i chose who will play what: the 4 wind players (with the exception of the flutist) received self-made wind instruments; the 2 percussionists received collections of found objects to be hit, plucked, rubbed, bowed, etc.; the pianist received a playing setup incorporating a MIDI keyboard; and the guitarist received a playing setup partly based on a principle identical to that of the electric guitar’s pickup and incorporating a volume pedal. the 24 diagrams and the 24 imaginary sounds were selected to allow a variety of musical expressions, and were divided heterogeneously between the performers.
the rehearsals and the performance
after sending the performance materials, i held an individual rehearsal with each performer, during which i introduced them to the scores and to the playing setup on which she/he was going to interpret them. during these rehearsals, the performers could also provide feedback on the instruments, and by that contribute to their development. to give an example, Toshiko had the idea of fixing the balloschlauch to a music stand instead of hand-holding, in order to make it possible to touch and stretch the balloon more precisely. unfortunately, it did not work, and Toshiko still had to hold the instrument with her hands during the performance. nevertheless, i kept this idea in mind and looked for an alternative solution, which i eventually found: fixing the instrument to a microphone stand by holding the instrument’s tube with a microphone clamp.3
in the second rehearsal, i divided the 8 performers into 4 duos and worked with each duo individually. when i formed the duos, i tried to pair playing setups that sound relatively different from one another, avoiding pairing, for example, 2 wind instruments or 2 electronic instruments. the reasoning behind this was that the playing setups were rather diverse, so i thought it would be advantageous to reconcile the major differences right from the start. here is a list of the duos:
- etv_dACK99L_stRm-KnK and objects4JamesSaunders-x1
- balloschlauch and psNLr25kE-sub-ALPKnLKACK99L_sw
- pDidgeballoon and vibrating_rulers4
- saxoschlauch and SRF18-cb_2tPC-lt
for this rehearsal, i also rearranged the layout of the scores and placed the 3 diagrams and 3 imaginary sounds for each performer on a single A3 page. i used number markers and listed the annotations on another A4 page because writing the annotations directly on the scores would have required the use of a too small font size.
to prevent the performers from being too absorbed in their own scores and to ensure that they would carefully listen to each other, i also assigned to each of them 3 cues with which they could influence what their duo partner was playing. the numbers corresponding to the annotations that were used as cues were colored in red and enclosed in a red circle. the numbers corresponding to the annotations that were used as responses to the cues were colored in purple, and a purple arrow was drawn next to them. in addition, i added to each cue one of the following abbreviations: SIM, DIF, or REF. these abbreviations indicated the relation between the cues and their responses: SIM meant that the cue and the response were similar sounds, DIF meant that they were different sounds, and REF meant that they were based on similar graphic elements or verbal metaphors. furthermore, with 2 of the 3 cues, the performers could not only influence their duo partners, but also 2 other performers. the numbers corresponding to the annotations that were used as responses to these cues were also colored in purple, but a smaller arrow was drawn next to them.5
the newly formatted scores are available at the end of this text, following the annotated versions of the diagrams and the imaginary sounds. the cues and their responses are listed below (arranged in 8 groups of 3) and are formatted in the following manner: “[playing setup’s abbreviation, annotation’s number, type of relation (if applicable)6] annotation”. a response is preceded by a large arrow if it is to be played by the duo partner of the performer giving the cue; a smaller arrow is used if it is to be played by another performer.
[edsK, 1, SIM] audio feedback → [o4JSx1, 29, SIM] bringing also electric frothing wand close to radio [edsK, 31, REF] creaky voice for a longer duration → [o4JSx1, 23, REF] sawing bar while rotating it → [blsch, 4] the more twisted the curve, the more complex the timbre [edsK, 35, DIF] quiet nonsensical speaking (direct input and 1 or 2 recorded channels) → [o4JSx1, 15, DIF] “sci-fi laser battle” sounds with the large slinky → [Sc2tl, 22] moving telephone pickup coils and changing volume erratically
[o4JSx1, 3, DIF] rubbing wooden box with corrugated tube → [edsK, 46, DIF] noncontinuous playback → [psAs, 22] noise, full modulation of LPF cutoff, high to maximum LPF res, very fast to maximum rLFO rate [o4JSx1, 12, SIM] bouncing slinkies on styrofoam → [edsK, 19, SIM] different plosives and short sounds [o4JSx1, 18, REF] rotating bar back and forth, playing tremolos from time to time with the electric frothing wand’s handle on table (and on other objects) → [edsK, 29] quieter moans → [sxsch, 2] multiphonics
[blsch, 3, REF] singing and playing → [psAs, 3, REF] noise, low LPF cutoff, maximum LPF res [blsch, 10, DIF] rubbing tube with plastic card → [psAs, 12, DIF] combinations of sine waves and noise → [o4JSx1, 5] rubbing cardboard or styrofoam with corrugated tube [blsch, 35, SIM] high unstable tone → [psAs, 16, SIM] abrupt start, noise, high to maximum LPF res, slightly fluctuating LPF freq → [vr, 23] bowing with a lot of pressure
[psAs, 17, SIM] low single sine wave, very short rattling sounds → [blsch, 21, SIM] nonsensical speaking into mouthpiece → [edsK, 10] isolated plosives [psAs, 21, DIF] gradual transition to noise, maximum LPF cutoff, minimum LPF res, low volume → [blsch, 5, DIF] stretching balloon [psAs, 24, REF] sine waves, full modulation of freq shift, very fast to maximum rLFO rate, low to medium rLFO glide, complex beating patterns → [blsch, 28, REF] twisted musical contours → [pDb, 7] loud growl
[pDb, 13, DIF] nonsensical speaking into mouthpiece → [vr, 29, DIF] shorter sounds forming a more disperse texture [pDb, 14, REF] short growls → [vr, 11, REF] plucked glissandi → [sxsch, 10] melodic contours [pDb, 19, SIM] just dragging pipe on floor, bouncing it more → [vr, 3, SIM] rubbing wooden box with aluminum bar → [o4JSx1, 9] FM noise, low volume
[vr, 1, DIF] rubbing the galvanized steel threaded rod with the aluminum needle → [pDb, 8, DIF] short loud sounds → [edsK, 21] vocalization [vr, 14, SIM] electric toothbrush on any bar → [pDb, 2, SIM] buzzing lips [vr, 30, REF] rubbing aluminum foil with aluminum needle → [pDb, 17, REF] shaking balloon → [Sc2tl, 19] soft FM noise
[sxsch, (1), DIF] only singing → [Sc2tl, 44, DIF] switching between tabs, opening and closing programs [sxsch, 3, REF] whistle contour → [Sc2tl, 15, REF] key 6, soft → [vr, 3] dragging superball on any bar [sxsch, 22, SIM] screeching sounds → [Sc2tl, 10, SIM] AUDIO IN feedback → [blsch, 8] large-interval multiphonics
[Sc2tl, 6, SIM] key 6 → [sxsch, 29] long low tones, steady pitch [Sc2tl, 17, DIF] different stations → [sxsch, 17, DIF] percussive sounds, scattered passages (also high tones) (optional: change to saxoschlauch70) → [psAs, 19] longer rattling, louder [Sc2tl, 23, REF] putting laptop to sleep → [sxsch, 12, REF] quiet and low pitched sounds one after another: air sounds, slaps, humming, low tones, rubbing tube, etc. → [pDb, 22] highest tone possible, interrupted by plucking balloon several times
here are 3 recordings taken at the second rehearsal, in which 8 of the cues and responses listed above are demonstrated. the cues and responses, as well as the time at which they are played, are listed below each recording. inaccuracies are marked by strikethroughs.
0:29 [o4JSx1, 12, SIM] bouncing slinkies on styrofoam 0:31 → [edsK, 19, SIM] different plosives and short sounds 2:18 [edsK, 1, SIM] audio feedback 2:28 → [o4JSx1, 29, SIM] bringing also electric frothing wand close to radio
0:00 [edsK, 1, SIM] audio feedback 0:41 → [o4JSx1, 29, SIM] bringing also electric frothing wand close to radio 2:10 [edsK, 35, DIF] quiet nonsensical speaking (direct input and 1 or 2 recorded channels) 2:23 → [o4JSx1, 15, DIF] “sci-fi laser battle” sounds with the large slinky 2:49 [o4JSx1, 3, DIF] rubbing wooden box with corrugated tube → [edsK, 46, DIF] noncontinuous playback 5:29 [o4JSx1, 12, SIM] bouncing slinkies on styrofoam 6:04 → [edsK, 19, SIM] different plosives and short sounds* * a few slowed-down plosives can be heard also before the cue was given, starting from ~5:10.
0:02 [blsch, 35, SIM] high unstable tone 0:22 → [psAs, 16, SIM] abrupt start, noise, high to maximum LPF res, slightly fluctuating LPF freq 1:03 [psAs, 17, SIM] low single sine wave, very short rattling sounds rattling sounds 1:09 → [blsch, 21, SIM] nonsensical speaking into mouthpiece 1:38 [blsch, 3, REF] singing and playing → [psAs, 3, REF] noise, low LPF cutoff, maximum LPF res ~3:40 [psAs, 21, DIF] gradual transition to noise, maximum LPF cutoff, minimum LPF res, low volume 4:06 → [blsch, 5, DIF] stretching balloon
the next rehearsal was a tutti rehearsal. we began by repeating the cues and their responses, focusing especially on those involving performers who were not part of the same duo. afterwards, i gave 5 additional guidelines:
- each performer should begin playing on their own time within the first minute of the performance.
- each performer can change voluntarily from one score to the other only 3 times during the performance (with the exception of responding to cues).
- pauses can occur either when they are explicitly indicated in the score (for example, [edsK, 43] “long pause”, [blsch, 19] “many pauses”, [sxsch, 25] “fade out, interrupted by pauses”, etc.) or before changing to another score. empty parts of the diagrams and consecutive line breaks in the imaginary sounds can also represent pauses, although consecutive line breaks may also indicate that the same sound is to be sustained for a longer duration. as a general rule, each performer should take throughout the performance at least 2 long pauses (~60 seconds each), 4 intermediate pauses (~30 seconds each), and 6 short pauses (~10 seconds each).
- playing the same part of a score more than twice should be avoided.
- each performer should stop playing on their own time within the last 3 minutes of the performance.
we then discussed several obscure situations that could result from trying to follow these guidelines, in particular:
- what if you receive a cue while you are pausing?
- what if you receive 2 cues or more at the same time?
- what if you have already played a response to a cue twice before it was given?
broadly speaking, i replied to the performers that they should rely on their own judgment and choose according to what feels right to them at the particular moment. so, if they receive a cue while they are pausing or receive 2 cues or more at the same time, it is up to them to decide whether to respond to the cue or continue pausing or to which cue they respond. for the last concern, i proposed 4 possibilities (from which they were instructed to choose): repeating the response nonetheless, ignoring the cue, taking a pause instead, or avoiding playing responses to cues more than once or not playing them at all if they have not yet been given.
in addition, mixed opinions were expressed regarding the cues in general. two main voices were heard. Christoph considered the cues to be “artificial” and “mechanical” (“i hate stiff music”), and wondered if it would not be better to use the scores as a collection of possibilities from which the performers could choose freely.7 conversely, Maurizio liked the idea of playing “mechanically”, and pointed out that the cues allow each performer to influence the others in a more determinate fashion (“there should be something above us”), so the performance becomes to a certain extent like a game. as far as the word “mechanical” (or “mechanically”) is concerned, it is worth mentioning that when i first explained the cues to the performers, i explicitly asked them to avoid playing mechanically, clarifying that responses should not necessarily be immediate but could also be delayed. furthermore, responding to the cues mechanically was often impossible, as the sounds themselves were not always predictable and controllable.
personally, however, i was still interested in exploring the musical potentialities of responding to the cues. contrary to that described above as the first motivation for them, i did not assign cues to the performers only in order to make them listen to each other; good performers, of course, would have listened to each other in any case. moreover, it was also not about the specific cues and responses i chose; given the time, these could have also been determined in collaboration with the performers, as i originally intended to do with the annotations i added to the diagrams and the imaginary sounds. rather than that, my intention was to explore a particular mode of playing and listening, in which a sensitivity to nuances in both the interpretation of the scores and the recognition of the music they suggest is gradually developed over time. in fact, the cues and responses were necessary only in order to create a frame of reference for such an exploration.8
that being said, i saw no point in forcing the performers to do something they do not want to. therefore, i discussed with them how to to make the cues more flexible, allowing each performer to play according to how she/he felt about them. the solution we found was to transform the cues from “orders” that must be executed (sooner or later) into “invitations” that may also be rejected. accordingly, the performers were still required to be attentive to the cues, but they could also choose not to respond to them.
the effect of this decision can be heard in the 2 quartets and 2 octets that were played later in this rehearsal, the recordings of which can be found in the 2 playlists below (the second playlist also includes an octet that was played in the general rehearsal). note that the duration of each recording is different because there were mixed opinions also on this matter.9
listening to these recordings, several cues and responses can still be noticed. particularly notable are [vr, 1, DIF] “rubbing the galvanized steel threaded rod with the aluminum needle”, which was responded with [pDb, 8, DIF] “short loud sounds” in the second octet (given at 12:32, responded at 12:35), the first octet (given at 14:23, responded at 14:26), and the third octet (given at 3:27, responded at 3:30); and [Sc2tl, 18, DIF] “different stations”, which was responded with [sxsch, 17, DIF] “percussive sounds, scattered passages (also high tones)” in the first octet (given at ~9:15, responded at 9:27, most noticeable at ~9:55), the second octet (given at 10:52, responded at 11:23), and the third octet (given at 7:56, responded at 8:09). these 2 cue “invitations” were rejected only once when they were played for a second time in the first octet (at ~19:45) and in the second octet (at 15:21).
other examples of cue “invitations” that were rejected include 2 of the cues demonstrated earlier: [edsK, 1, SIM] “audio feedback” and [o4JSx1, 12, SIM] “bouncing slinkies on styrofoam”. the former was only accepted once at the beginning of the first quartet, even though it was played numerous times afterwards, and the latter was accepted only once in the middle of the third octet (given at ~7:00, responded at ~7:10). [edsK, 1, sim] “audio feedback” was also played at the beginning of all the recordings (except the second quartet) and at the end of the last 2 octets. cues that were not given by the performers’ duo partners were also usually rejected, with the exception of [o4JSx1, 3, DIF] “rubbing wooden box with corrugated tube”, which was responded with [psAs, 22] “noise, full modulation of LPF cutoff, high to maximum LPF res, very fast to maximum rLFO rate” in the first octet (given at 5:23, responded at ~6:00) and the third octet (given at 0:20, responded at ~0:55), and [pDb, 14, REF] “short growls”,10 which was responded with [sxsch, 10] “melodic contours” in the second quartet (given at 7:26, responded at 8:14).
finally, below is a video of the performance.11 generally speaking, besides the “cues revolt”, the performers mostly cooperated, and i was happy with what we managed to achieve musically. with that said, 24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB also made me realize that a different framework is required in order to develop CompositionCloud’s ideas further. such a framework will span a longer time frame, and investigating the working process will be at least as important as creating an engaging performance.
reflecting on this now, almost a year and a half later, i realize that this moment of understanding was also a moment of beginning; the beginning of the first laboratory of CompositionCloud, ccloudlab1.
notes:
1 an earlier example of an annotated imaginary sound interpreted on musical instruments is iS1iS2iS3_sxsch90a180a220-ADaVM. (back)
2 these abbreviations are further abbreviated in the title 24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB, alternating between small and capital letters, so it is possible to distinguish between the 8 different playing setups. (back)
3 not an improvement, but a variation, was the addition of a second, unbent electric frothing wand to objects4JamesSaunders-x1. another variation was related to SRF18-cb_2tpc-lt and involved the replacement of the annotations referring to the laptop’s hard drive with annotations referring to the laptop’s CD player. this was necessary because Maurizio only had a laptop with a solid state drive (SDD); these drivers do not consist of moving parts but use flash memory instead and the sounds produced by translating the electromagnetic waves they emit are barely audible. (back)
4 later, i realized that a better choice might have been etv_dACK99L_stRm-KnK and vibrating_rulers, and pDidgeballoon and objects4JamesSaunders-x1, because objects4JamesSaunders-x1 consists also of a radio, which is, as a matter of fact, also an electronic instrument. (back)
5 the relation between the cues and these responses did not necessarily follow the SIM, DIF, and REF abbreviations. i simply chose combinations that sounded interesting to me. (back)
6 see note 4 above. (back)
7 note that what Christoph described is not very different from the kind of interaction that was explored in d1-7_sxschVR-Nikel. (back)
8 in that regard, it should be stressed that the audience was not supposed to necessarily be able to perceive the cues and responses while listening to the performance. this was, perhaps, another reason why some of the performers were reluctant to cooperate in responding to the cues. it seemed that for them, the performance, and especially its reception by the audience, was much more important than the working process. (back)
9 after the first, almost 24-minute-long octet, Toshiko and Michael complained that it was too long for them and that they were unable to fulfill the requirement to avoid playing the same part of a score more than twice. therefore, we tried a 15-minute version afterwards. this worked better for Toshiko and Michael, but to others (me among them), it felt too short (Christoph, for example, claimed that already in the longer version he had not managed to play all the scores and could imagine playing even more). finally, i decided that 18-21 would be a good compromise, and suggested to Toshiko and Michael to read the scores more slowly and/or take longer pauses. (back)
10 the cue [pDb, 14, REF] “short growls” could have been confused with [pDb, 8, DIF] “short loud sounds”, the response to [vr, 1, DIF] “rubbing the galvanized steel threaded rod with the aluminum needle”, because Michael chose to interpret the “short loud sounds” also as growls. to prevent that from happening, he had to make sure that the “short growls” were not as loud as the “short loud sounds”, and Fran and Remo, who had to respond to this cue, should have been able to notice the difference. this is an example of what i meant by “a sensitivity to nuances in both the interpretation of the scores and the recognition of the music they suggest”. further differentiation could have been possible by considering also the difference between the parts of the diagram and the imaginary sound to which these 2 annotations refer (for example, always following or preceding the “short growls” by twisting the balloon, and adding long pauses between the “short loud sounds”). (back)
11 the audio of 24d24iS_esO4bsPSpbVRssS2-EPB_4 was recorded and mixed by Till Zehnder. (back)
scores (format 1)
below are the 48 annotated diagrams and imaginary sounds arranged in 8 groups of 3 annotated diagrams and 3 annotated imaginary sounds. their titles are constructed from the name of each diagram or imaginary sound + “-ann” (annotated) + another dash and the abbreviation of the playing setup for which it was annotated. short descriptions of the playing setups can be found above.
diagram9-9type2-ann-edsK
[see diagram9-9type2]
diagram10-2-ann-edsK
[see diagram10-2]
pencil2-ann-edsK
[see pencil2]
iS1iS2v1_v1-ann-edsK
some short creaks -
once in a while short moans (creaky voice, large mouth shape), pauses between them
muted quieter moans
long sustained s
creakingly crawling like creaky voice for a longer duration [ small, even tiny breathing through the mouth, tight mouth shapes
. pause, long sustained hhh
[see iS1iS2v1_v1]
iS3iS4v1-ann-edsK
"/" and "\" indicate either changing the mouth shape to emphasize different overtones (large to small, small to large) or glissandi
"*" indicates different plosives
trying to interact with, unattended, high, short (p l . .. . . k p^ short, fragile and unstable vocalizations, highest pitches possible
/ \ \\\\
\ *** *
. long pause
2:
\\\\\ //// / // \\\ \\\\\\\\\\
ppp -P { noisy, almost a pulse, but still irregular, expanding. recording and slowing down breathing sounds, crescendo
* { / / /XUO
~ ZZJH
/
mU, gzoO; wqappPQ?U0O + . s S >> nonsensical speaking
\\
playing in the junkyard, as if in a garage
. .. . cN ; / a O
45g xc
54456789 noncontinuous playback
*
** */ //
?
, this ?
J ] }
§:” 1] $
\\\ \\ \\ 1,
qwk0-0, nonsensical speaking
“complexity { all 4 channels are to be used
/\/\\\\\\\ // \ \\ /\/\ /\/\/\ /\ / / / ///// *
/ ****
********************
[see iS3iS4v1]
iS6-ann-edsK
just the appearance of something flat sustaining th, allowing it to change and morph naturally into other sounds, but always changing back to th after a few seconds (to th) after a few seconds (mostly direct input, occasionally also 1 recorded channel)
a babble in the background (that interferes with quiet nonsensical speaking (direct input and 1 or 2 recorded channels)
. / plosives
. - - / // / (& the excess of things recording faster and denser sequences of plosives on all 4 channels is just
nothing more than a wide, stagnant sustained sound (1 or 2 recorded channels)
_= - - - -
- - noncontinuous playback
[see iS6]
diagram3x1v2-ann-o4JSx1
[see diagram3x1v2]
diagram8x2diagram9-1-ann-o4JSx1
[see diagram8x2diagram9-1]
type1v1-ann-o4JSx1
[see type1v1]
iS1v1iS2-ann-o4JSx1
muted agitation rotating bar back and forth, playing tremolos from time to time with the electric frothing wand’s handle on table (and on other objects)
. stop
does light pass through?
‘lo(wלא) >> AM noise, low volume, bringing mobile phone and electric frothing wand close to radio and immediately taking them away
- - - — - - - g gggg g g g k g gkgg g g g ggk g g kk k k kk g[k] continuing the previous actions but also plucking bar ”creak* slowly sawing bar
*creakingly crawling like a giant being [ small, even tiny IN sawing bar while rotating it
{0,”in its significance”, m \\ scattered sounds of sawing and plucking bar, AM noise, electric frothing wand
[see iS1v1iS2]
iS3x1-ann-o4JSx1
AM noise and mobile phone
45g xc
.
. qwk0-0,
mU ^299, gzoO; wqappPQ?U0O + . s S
mn .786”@$% $| aqwqp Ö Ü ´´´´ &p aqaww
. .. . cN ; / a O
§:” 1] $
] }
[see iS3x1]
iS4v2-ann-o4JSx1
a noisy garage expanding into almost a pulse, a short p FM noise (fade in), tremolos with electric frothing wand on styrofoam (irregular pauses, becoming more regular), rubbing cardboard with corrugated tube (quick, short movements)
{ trying to interact
with this AM noise, constantly changing the volume, covering and uncovering the radio’s speakers with the hands
, high bringing mobile phone (screen turned on) close to radio ~ ZZHXUO (PPP bringing also electric frothing wand close to radio
. . k , however, interfering with the movement of the electric frothing wand’s motor, abrupt stop
[see iS4v2]
diagram9-2-ann-blsch
[see diagram9-2]
pen1v1v1v1v2-ann-blsch
[see pen1v1v1v1v2]
type2-ann-blsch
[see type2]
iS1iS2_x4x1-ann-blsch
////////
et
c ~
P
pronouncing the names of the characters into the mouthpiece (the slashes can also indicate double- and/or triple-tonguing)
[see iS1iS2_x4x1]
iS1v2iS2-ann-blsch
muted aggregates of, - blowing air into mouthpiece while fully stretching balloon but without touching it
{dark low tones, interrupting the previous sounds
, long creaks creak-like sounds, directly connected to the low tones
creakingly crawling slowly changing the creak-like sounds
scattered many pauses
\\ m
0 short sounds, tapping on ballon while blowing air into mouthpiece
like a giant being [ tiny nonsensical speaking into mouthpiece
IN {0 plucking balloon
[see iS1v2iS2]
iS5iS6-ann-blsch
[ []] [[ [ [[ [ [ plucking balloon
. - - / // / percussive sounds (& the excess of things is just busy texture of percussive sounds
many (
plenty, entangled chaotic sequence with many sounds and events
[trying to dissolve into nothing more than a wide, stagnant statue. transforming into a long tone
but threads, a lot of them twisted musical contours
] 2& { } multiphonics, complex timbres, plucking balloon
not without some dust left in a big closed box blowing air into mouthpiece while fully stretching balloon but without touching it
{an irritating hassle the previous sound transforming into a complex timbre that will disappear fade out when a babble in the background nonsensical speaking into mouthpiece
. /
- - percussive sounds
something flat appears and interferes with high unstable tone
[see iS5iS6]
diagram9-9-ann-psAs
[see diagram9-9]
pen1v1v1v1x1x1-ann-psAs
[see pen1v1v1v1x1x1]
polygon1-ann-psAs
[see polygon1]
iS1iS2_x1x1-ann-psAs
, some light abrupt start, noise, high to maximum LPF res, slightly fluctuating LPF freq
[see iS1iS2_x1x1]
iS1iS2v1-ann-psAs
the shortest creak
once in a while low single sine wave, very short rattling sounds
muted agitation - some modulating a little bit freq shift, medium to fast rLFO rate, low volume
creakingly crawling like long rattling, louder [ small, even tiny abrupt transition to highest sine wave, (very) low volume
sh gradual transition to noise, maximum LPF cutoff, minimum LPF res, low volume
[see iS1iS2v1]
iS5-ann-psAs
plenty, entangled
many (are) noise, full modulation of LPF cutoff, high to maximum LPF res, very fast to maximum rLFO rate
[trying to dissolve, . 1 ^^ ^ reducing noise mix, modulation of LPF cutoff, and rLFO rate, but in the end accents (high values of all these parameters) (although not very often)
but threads, a lot of them sine waves, full modulation of freq shift, very fast to maximum rLFO rate, low to medium rLFO glide, complex beating patterns
{an irritating hassle that will disappear when loud rattling
[ abrupt silence
not without some dust left in a big closed box rattling aluminum foil, low volume
] 2& { } complex texture of the rattling aluminum foil, occasionally louder
[see iS5]
diagram3x1v1-pDb
[see diagram3x1v1]
diagram9-6-ann-pDb
[see diagram9-6]
type1-ann-pDb
[see type1]
iS1iS2_x4v1-ann-pDb
\\ scattered short growls
/
: 2 short tones different in pitch
/ /
// \
[see iS1iS2_x4v1]
iS1iS2_x4x1iS5_x1-ann-pDb
threads
[
[ 2& { } rubbing balloon and plucking it occasionally
an irritating hassle that will disappear shaking balloon
not without some dust dragging pipe on floor and bouncing it occasionally while continuing to shake it
1
1 ^
u just dragging pipe on floor, bouncing it more
[see iS1iS2_x4x1iS5_x1]
iS4-ann-pDb
as if in a garage
noisy, almost a pulse, however
expanding into air sounds transforming into multiphonics, loud, slightly irregular
this
~ ZZHXUO (PPP chaotic pitch sequence
short p l . .. k k
{ trying to interact with, high highest tone possible, interrupted by plucking balloon several times
[see iS4]
diagram8x2-ann-vr
[see diagram8x2]
diagram10-1-ann-vr
[see diagram10-1]
pen1v1v1v1x1x2pencil1-ann-vr
[see pen1v1v1v1x1x2pencil1]
iS1iS2_x1iS6-ann-vr
"." indicates very short plucked sounds
"/" indicates plucked glissandi
"_" indicates plucked sounds low in pitch
"=" indicates 2 simultaneous plucked sounds
"-" indicates plucked sounds medium in pitch
. /
just the flatness of bowing any ruler, steady pitch
.
a babble in the background saltando (that interferes with electric toothbrush on any bar
. - - / // / (& the excess of things transforming into busy texture is just some light bowing any ruler, high and slightly fluctuating pitch
nothing more than a wide, stagnant bowing any ruler, low steady pitch
.
_= - - - -
-
=
_
[see iS1iS2_x1iS6]
iS1iS2_x2-ann-vr
a cre- -eaaeaeaaeekkkkk sawing brass bar in different angles ... ? plucking any bar and gradually shortening the vibrating parts to create a rise in pitch > bowing with a lot of pressure mbn,.jjkui[8900=-0— chaotic bowing an imperfect and soft- noisy rattle plucking 2 pvc bars different in length on aluminum foil
[see iS1iS2_x2]
iS1iS2_x4x1iS5-ann-vr
threads, a lot of
plenty of entangled things, //////// stopping galvanized steel threaded rod and brass bar and plucking both sides of them, creating a continuous sound of many pulses
but
[trying to dissolve, . 1 ^^ ^ fading away, single discernible sounds, occasionally accents
threads
P
c ~ many pulses again, but for a shorter duration
[
not without some dust left in a big closed box shorter sounds forming a more disperse texture
] 2& { }
{an irritating hassle that will disappear when
D / rubbing aluminum foil with aluminum needle
[see iS1iS2_x4x1iS5]
diagram8x3-ann-sxsch
[see diagram8x3]
pen1v1v1v1polygon1-ann-sxsch
[see pen1v1v1v1polygon1]
pencil1-ann-sxsch
[see pencil1]
iS1iS2_x1iS6iS5-ann-sxsch
with saxoschlauch70
dots, dashes, underscores, slashes, and brackets indicate the inclusion of different percussive sounds
] 3 & [ { }
many
, entangled very active and complicated passages with many notes
{an irritating hassle that will disappear when screeching sounds
a lot of threads very active passages again
[
-
just the flatness of some dust left in a big closed box long air sounds, with mouthpiece (into and a bit away from mouthpiece) and without mouthpiece (a bit away from mouthpiece) (no whistles), incorporating flutter-tongue and trills, and shaking tube
. /
[trying to dissolve into, . 123 ^^ ^ . ^
^ fade out interrupted by pauses, several accents in the end
a babble in the background fast, incomprehensible speaking into mouthpiece/tube
. - - / // / (& the excess of things percussive sounds, more and more active is just some light long high tones, slightly fluctuating in pitch
.
.
_- - - - -
nothing more than a wide, stagnant long low tones, steady pitch
.
[see iS1iS2_x1iS6iS5]
iS1v2-ann-sxsch
muted aggregates of, -
(dark)
quiet and low pitched sounds one after another: air sounds, slaps, humming, low tones, rubbing tube, etc.
[see iS1v2]
iS2v2-ann-sxsch
with saxoschlauch200
long creaks, low
slow - long low tones (slowly changing the very high chirping)
creakingly crawling but without low tones, glissandi, more emphasis on higher overtones and less on fundamental
[ almost moving, more movement
as if [ … . << (a speculation \\ scattered percussive sounds, scattered passages (also high tones) (optional: change to saxoschlauch70)
creakingly crawling (back to saxoschlauch 200) low tones, glissandi
[see iS2v2]
diagram3-ann-Sc2tl
[see diagram3]
diagram9-8-ann-Sc2tl
[see diagram9-8]
pen1v2-ann-Sc2tl
[see pen1v2]
iS1v3-ann-Sc2tl
agitated moving telephone pickup coils and changing volume erratically, muted putting laptop to sleep, -lit key B
[see iS1v3]
iS3x2-ann-Sc2tl
"/" and "\" indicate noisy rustles
"*" indicates electric hum
“co soft radio sound // x y key T
\\\ \\ \\ 1, key 6, altered by touching circuit board
\\
\\\\\ //// / // \\\ \\\\\\\\\\
\\
\\\ \\\ // \\\\\/\/\\\\\\\
. trackpad, soft / ****
\ ******************
********************
| battery, disconnecting power cable / // ** - between trackpad and hard drive
/ ) very short radio sound ////
/
* { opening and closing programs / / /
** */ //
2: key 3
? high radio feedback
[ switching between tabs
[see iS3x2]
iS4v1-ann-Sc2tl
this, electric hum
as if in a garage noisy radio stations
~ ZZJH
XUO
(PPP irregularly touching circuit board { noisy key 3, almost a pulse, but still irregular touching circuit board and changing volume , expanding. moving telephone pickup coils towards keys T and 6
trying to interact with, high, short switching between tabs, opening and closing programs (p l . .. . . k p^ short AUDIO IN feedback
{
J longer feedback
[see iS4v1]
scores (format 2)
ccloudblog 