7- Pseudo-Random Music

The Task

Use a random process as the core generative element of your composition, but organise the composition in such a way that it has development, an emergent musical structure.  In other words use a Cageian algorithm but without the piece begin a shapeless mess.


Research

John  Cage (5th September 1912 - 12th August 1992) was an American composer and music theorist.  He was part of the Avant-Garde movement and pioneered Electro-Acoustic music, Extended Technique and indeterminacy.  

For more information on Electroacoustic music please see post 5 - Pencil and paper

Extended Technique is used to describe methods of playing an instrument or singing in an unconventional way to create unusual sounds and textures.  Jazz has been influenced heavily by this technique.  One of the best examples of this is Cage's Prepared Piano.  Prepared Piano is where the sound can be altered by placing objects on the strings, string board of hammers of the piano.  Objects of certain textures, for example wood, have a definitive sound and when using wooden objects as part of a prepared piano gives a lovely warm percussive sound.  

Indeterminacy in music can mean different things.  It is generally meant to mean there is an element of chance that could change the composition and divided into three groups:

1) The chance element is involved in the compositional process (for example, creating a piece of music without listening to it)

2) The chance element is involved in the performance process (for example, giving a score of numbered musical phrases to the performers but telling them to play the phrases in the order they wish)

3) The chance element is involved in the interpretation of the music (for example, giving the performers a graphic score and allowing them to interpret it how they wish)

Pseudorandom is the term given to a process that appears to be random but ultimately is not. The idea of pseudorandomness is the same idea of Cage's indeterminacy- the outcome of the piece is not known.  

The Composition

In order to create the piece, several sound samples were chosen and renamed numerically so the sound source could not be known.  These singular sound files were imported into one of two programs to be manipulated according to whether the number was an odd or an even number.  The odd numbers were manipulated in Cecilia and the even numbers manipulated in Sound Grain.  These sound files (still using the numerical names) were then imported into Cubase at random.  The sounds were then listened back to discover whether they were good enough to be used.  Many of the sounds were able to be used and some of them were in a good place for the piece to become well-structured. The screenshot below shows the final arrangement of the sound objects.

Once the piece was arranged as desired, the entire track was mixed and exported to a .wav.





Critical Analysis

While the composition stays within the brief with the intentionality of being somewhat random, the piece lacks a definitive structure and, in the beginning, almost gives the sense of one of Schaeffer's Etudes due to its linear and a somewhat secular succession of sound objects.  That being said, around 1 minute 45 seconds, the piece begins to take some shape and develop into a more well-rounded composition.  The part following the silence gives an eerie and sinister feel to the piece due to the repeat of the scream like phrases and metallic sounds which seems to fit the piece well as it has an overall ominous feeling and contributes to the shape of the piece.


References 

http://www.plouffe.fr/simon/constants/feigenbaum.txt 

http://digitsofpi.com/Top-10000-Digits-Of-Pi.htm

http://apod.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/e.2mil

http://www.goldennumber.net/phi-million-places/

6- Graphic Scores

The Task

Compose a piece of music from the painting given.  Piece given: Richard Paul Lohse Progressive Reduktion


Research

Richard Paul Lohse (13th September 1902 - 16th September 1988) was a Swiss artist best know for his concrete art.  The art work to be used as a graphic score is Progressive Reduktion.  This piece was created in 1942 and gives a very secular, serial type image.  


Graphic Scores is a type of music notation outside the realm of classical scoring.  It uses symbols and graphics in order to convey the desired effect.  It evolved circa 1950's and is often used by experimental composers as sometimes classical scores can be ineffective.   Composers who are known to use them include Avant-Garde composers such as John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gyorgy Ligeti.  

Graphic scores can include anything from  symbols, dots, lines, arrows, circles and many other patterns and shapes.  An example of this is Ligeti's Artikulation and Stockhausen's Helicopter String Quartet.
 [Ligeti's Artikulation]

[Stockhausen Helicopter String Quartet]

As the music became more and more experimental and so far away from the classical groundings it had come from, the musical notation style needed to emerge and develop just like the music.  This is why composers had a need for graphic scores.  How could one score the piece of musique concrete they had just created based on the sounds of metals being hit if they were confined to use classical notation?  It would be impossible.

                 Scores became more like maps of a sound world, charts for sonic navigation at a time when                    for a sizeable contingent of composers melody was not mentioned and tune a distinctly taboo                  word. (Phillips 2013)


The Composition

The idea behind the piece is the idea of the colours each having their own "theme" which lasts according to the amount of that specific colour in the artwork.  The colours look like they are dripping down the page and so the themes had to have the feeling of falling too.  The themes all have their own instrumentation to build a texture, while still being coherent, as the graphic has the sense of texture but coherence.

The "themes" were created in Cubase using the MIDI sampler.  Once these themes were created the MIDI was exported and imported into Logic Pro where the sounds were changed using the synthesizer Massive.  The whole piece was then mixed and exported.






Critical Analysis

While the sense of coherence and the idea of falling have been realised, the style of the composition doesn't seem to work with the graphic as much as anticipated.  Alternative ideas included a serial piece and a piece made using specific samples which corresponded to a certain colour which may have worked better in regards to the artwork.  Despite this, the choice of instrumentation gave the composition the overall feeling of belonging and space.

References

Phillips, T. (2013) 'Playing Pictures: the Wonder of Graphic Scores' from The Guardian in http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/07/graphic-music-scores-playing-pictures-tom-phillips [22.4.14]

5- Paper and Pencil

The Task

Create a "noise" piece.

1. Create a small library of recordings using only the supplied pencil and paper as sound sources.
2. Compose a piece of music using only this library.

Microphone(s) and recording technique(s) are subject to individual preference.
Source sounds may be manipulated in any way.


Research

Electro-Acoustic music is a form of Avant-Garde modern art music which has split into two main sections.  Musique Concrete is the name of the part that originated in France by Pierre Schaeffer.  Schaeffer (August 14th 1910 - August 19th 1995) is considered to be the father of Musique Concrete.  IN 1942 he created the Studio d'Essai which became the centre of musical activity.  Elektronische Musik is the name of the section that originated in Cologne, Berlin.  The first broadcasts from the NWDR were in 1953.  Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gottfried Michael Koenig joined Werner Meyer-Eppled and Herbert Eimet.  The main differences between the two studios is that the French ideology was that the music could be generated from anything including recordings whereas the German idea was to create the music from sine waves, essentially building the sound.  This piece is mainly concerned with the idea behind musique concrete since sounds were recorded then manipulated to create the sound.

The Britannica Encyclopedia's definition of musique concrete is "experimental technique of musical composition using recorded sounds as raw material." (Source 1) The sounds sources can be anything from instruments and voices to electronic sounds and natural sounds occurring within nature.  Pierre Schaeffer was the first to develop this technique beginning in around 1948.  


The Composition

The sound sources were initially recorded onto a Roland R-05 handheld recorder.  Sounds include:

• Tearing paper
• Hitting paper with pencil
• Making flapping sounds with paper
• Drawing on paper using pencil
• Snapping pencil
• Creaking sounds of pencil moving

These sounds were all edited (shortened and cut into single or tiny sections) and put into a library.  The clips were then processed in Cecilia 5 and SoundGrain.  Only around 6 of the final 42 sound were edited as each of these 6 sounds were each edited around 7 times and so the sound source is almost completely unrecognisable.  

The clips were put through a single process then the result of the process was recorded.  The new sound would then be put through another process and that recorded.  One of these processed sounds had undergone the following processes in order to achieve the desired sound:

• Delay
• Degrade
• Wave Harmoniser
• Distortion
• Vocoder
•  Frequency Shift
• Detuned Resonator
• Granulator Synth
• Wave Shaper

The idea behind the techniques used to create the piece is to get a rich texture from each individual sound object before even building the composition.  This ensures that every sound is interesting and developing.  This piece has a design and structure to it; the plot is that you are driving through London and hearing all the sounds of the city.  The beginning sounds are that of the clock tower Big Ben but from a distance, hence the distortion.  The next sound are the tube lines; it sounds like electricity and the tubes have a faint sound of this.  Next are the cars, motorbikes and buses moving through the London streets; the sound of engines. Following that, one can hear a bell tolling; Big Ben.  As you walk away from it, it fades out and you hear instead the sound of a helicopter in the distance and the sound of engines again.  You then hear a revolving door as you move towards some buildings and following that the rain. The helicopter gets louder but then leaves.  You're still hearing the rain as you drive away from London City. 

Critical Analysis

This might be the most advanced piece to date.  It shows form and structure, a keen consideration for texture, rhythm and development.  The sounds are varied and unrecognisable which is one of the main purposes behind Musique Concrete- the ambiguous disguise of sound.  The piece could have had some space in there and also could have been a little longer in order to give each little section more time to develop fully on its own in order to hear more of the individual sound objects.

References

Source 1: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399309/musique-concrete
Date Accessed: 22.4.14]

4- One Note Piece

The Task


Create a composition using only one note.

Transposition to different octaves is allowed.

No sustaining sounds and/or drones.

No drums or percussion is allowed.

Tips and Tricks:

Try and think about:

- The quality of that note.

- Rhythm.

- Texture.

- Dynamics.

- Silence?

Research

Gyorgy Ligeti (May 28^th 1923 – June 12^th 2006) was a Hungarian contemporary classical composer.  He is considered as

One of the most innovative, versatile, and influential composers of the second half of the 20^th century. (Cummings 2014)

The piece chosen to look at in detail is the first piece of his Musica Ricercata.   This piece is called Sonstenut-Misurato-Prestissimo and is performed on the piano using only one note (A).  Despite its melodic limitations, the piece is rhythmically, texturally and dynamically interesting and stimulating.  The piece disregards the restraints of the one note idea though, as right at the end, the final note is not the same as the others, causing, in fact, melodic interest.  This feature is a highly typical classical idea; the Tonic to the Dominant is an old classical movement used especially in order to change key.   In this case, it rises from the tonic note A, to the dominant D.

Musica Ricercatta.

Yves Klein (April 18^th 1928 – June 6^th 1962) was a French artist most known for the Nouveau Realisme artistic movement.  His composition, Monotone Silence Symphony was written in 1949 and it was only performed once in his lifespan- in Paris on March 9^th 1960. It is similar to Ligeti in idea of using only one chord- D major.  The piece is performed for 40 minutes, beginning with the D major chord for half that time by the orchestra and choir. 

The sound, a D major chord produced by an orchestra and a chorus, begins abruptly, full force, and fills the air for 20 minutes, like a sonorous foghorn with a stuck switch (Kennedy 2013).

Once the chord finishes, the performers continue with their recital by sitting in silence for the duration of the composition. 

 Monotone Silence Symphony.

The Composition

To create the piece, a piano recording session was set up using two AKG 414 microphones over the strings of the piano.  The piece uses a G# as the only note throughout.  The piece utilizes the rhythmical, textural and dynamic freedom and so was played with rubarto.  The piece has free time and was only recorded once (there was only one take).  The take was recorded and mixed in ProTools.  EQ and compression were applied and the channels were panned hard left and right in order to give a sense of space.

The piece was then processed through a sci-fi modulation unit.  The pre-set “Bad Radio 2” was used then edited as you can see in the screen shots below.   

1. Screenshot of settings used for the left channel

2. Screenshot of the settings used for right channel

Critical Analysis

While there are elements which are interesting (for example the idea of melody which is a recurring pattern), the piece doesn't really develop into anything and therefore leaves the listener a little bored and unfulfilled.  Maybe more movement in terms of rhythm, texture and dynamics would have made the piece more invigorating.  While the interpretation was rather close to the brief, the modifications/ effects are the main things that stand out and make this piece any different from any others. Perhaps a little more experimentation with the instruments, textures and rhythms would have helped to make the piece more interesting.

References 

Cummings, R. (2014) ‘Gyorgy Ligeti: Artist Biography by Robert Cummings’ from All Music from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gy%C3%B6rgy-ligeti-mn0001319058/biography [14.5.14]

Kennedy, R. (2013) ‘A Sound, Then Silence (Try Not to Breathe): Yves Klein’s ‘Monotone –Silence’ Symphony Comes to Manhattan’ from The New York Times, published September 17^th 2013

3- Drums and Percussion

The Task

Compose a piece using only untuned drums and percussion.

No drum loops are to be used.

Guidelines:

• Layer sounds to create textures
• Focus on contrast to create structure
• Use complete frequency range
• Use whole dynamic range
• Use tempo changes

Tempo- Use either:

- A minimum of one time signature

- Polyrythmic time base

THERE HAS TO BE AT LEAST ONE PERFORMANCE ELEMENT.

Websites to look at:

• http://www.openoctave.org/the_composers_toolbox/orchestral_instruments/percussion/unpitched_percussion 
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/learn/guidetotheorchestra/percussion/untuned/
• http://www.percussion4u.co.uk/a_to_z_of_percussion_instruments.shtml
• https://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/percussion.aspx

Research

Drums have appeared in hostroy since around 6000 BC. Used in warfare for much of its life, the drum has had a large impact of society as a whole since its creation. 

This timeline created for the website gives a detailed look into the history of drums and their differences throughout time periods. http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/33290

There is some disagreement as to where the first cymbals were created; Tibet, China, India, Turkey; but it is agreed that it was around the beginning of the Bronze age (3000 BC). (Source 1)


[Picture 1] Roman mosaic from the Villa del Cicerone in Pompeii.

Around 1910 in America, saw the birth of  a type of drum kit comprised of bass drum (with pedal), snare, cymbals and various percussion instruments including wood blocks, triangle and gongs.  The 1920's saw the invention of the "low boy" which has developed into the modern hi-hat stand.  This set up has become the norm since the 1930's when a huge number of musicians using the drum kit for their music including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Benny Goodman. 

"This new sound began in 1923 when band leader Fletcher Henderson began composing and arranging original music for his ensemble. With space left for improvisation, the characteristics of his music consisted of tight harmonization, call and response between the brass and reeds, and the use of repeated riff figures played behind a soloist." (Source 2)


The Composition

The piece was created in Cubase and Reason and uses a range of percussion instruments from bass drums, cymbals and cow bells to agogo, claves and bongos.  Track list can be seen below.

Track	Instrument
1	Bass Drum
2	Concert Drum
3	Bass Drum
4	Snare
5	Low Bongo
6	Tambourine Hit
7	Cow Bell
8	Claves
9	Agogo
10	Tambourine Jingle
11	Maracas
12	Crash Cymbal
13	Bongo (High)
14	Triangle
15	Castanets
16	Crash Cymbal

Attention was given to mixing the timbres of these instruments to create texture.  The idea was to ensure that there was a mix of lower and higher sounding instruments.  Rhythms were created in a basic rock style but substituting certain instruments for the percussion sounds as seen in the table.  The piece begins in 4/4, moves quickly into ¾ in the second section, moves back to 4/4 then shift to 5/4 and goes back to 4/4 in the final section.  This gives the piece a certain uneasy quality as though building tension.  The tempo is pulled faster in the second to last section in order to help portray a sense of tension and unease. The final section is a basic rock drum beat using bongo’s to try to give it more of a sense of place.

Analysis of the Piece

The piece itself doesn’t really work as a whole composition, rather as a collection of smaller compositions; the structure of the piece, though somewhat intentional, causes confusion between the sections.  While this was intended to create unease and tension, it instead creates a sense of unfinished work and stops the piece from flowing.

References

Source 1: http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/5000-years-in-3000-words-cymbal-history/
Date Accessed: 08/03/2014
Source 2: http://www.nationaljazzworkshop.org/freematerials/fidyk/Steve_Fidyk_History_Drum_Set.pdf
Date Accessed: 08/03/2014
Source 3:
Date Accessed:


Picture 1: http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/5000-years-in-3000-words-cymbal-history/
Date Accessed: 08/03/2014