55

Regarding the use of saxophone, here is an assortment of un-sorted un-ordered ideas to keep the discussion going. The basic idea is to help define unique behaviors for the saxophonist so the actual sound has a different signature in each section. Hopefully, Leonardo Fibonacci would be entertained, even if he had no idea what a saxophone (1840s) is …

#1 scales and tunings

The fibonacci series can be used to create scales – interval sequences. Perhaps one of the sections can use a 1/4 tone scale. I just performed a piece by Vijay Iyer that used 8 notes from the standard equal tempered chromatic scale and two quarter tones. Iyer is an Indian-American jazz musician and his electronic and piano drones used the same scale.

This worked as both of use were faithful to this unique scale/tuning. This degree of 1/4 note playing was practical. I did spend about 8 hours practicing this scale, so lets not make this too uncomfortable, but this level of microtonality for one section of the piece works, specifically if the section has a drone or is what jazz musicians call modal-harmony.

In short, the piece provided a unique 12 minute character to the concert.

#2 – amplified key noises

we can get a 3 minutes interlude/vignette out of amplified key noises. This is nothing new, but the noise that the sax makes in the lower register is quite beautiful. Delays, resonant filters and reverbs make this even more fun.

I can develop some key slapping DSP using max/msp, pluggo or Ableton live.

#3 – breath or trumpet like noises

Saxophonist Steve Lehman made a great 4 minute piece using trumpet like noises. Again, 1-3 minutes of this makes for a huge contrast.

#4 – multiphonics

The alto sax makes some nice multiphonics. I tend to use the most reliable ones. I typically finesse 3-4 and put them through delays. Check out the first excerpt on my myspace page. Here the multiphonics are processed in max/msp using a sort of arbitrary non-looping delay. Great texture and it can be interesting for several minutes.

#5 – sax to control signal

I used the IVL pitchrider for years and then basically reverse engineered this hardware device. We can use a MIDI send from my computer or a dedicated computer.

Also, I liked the amplitude tracker in the Lexicon PCM-80 and reverse engineered that using max/msp as well. So that makes for a second control source.

#6 – melodic and intervalic permutations

my solo CD Timaeus uses tons of this and I still like it. It is possible to write software that looks for specific sequences of pitches or intervals and creates real-time interpolations. We can think of ways to track fibonacci sequences and generate MIDI or audio sequences from my computer, or anyones in realtime.

I can send my solo CD or post an mp3. Its also on iTunes.

#7 – sax to video

I am presently toying with ways to map the sax performance to video. This is really an audience friendly attempt to make graphic notation of what I play. The nice thing is that they should be able to follow this. Could be fun and again, useful for a short section.

#8 – playing on the mouthpiece

Again, another sound that I use from time to time.

#9 – sub tone sax

very very soft, works best in low register

#10 – flutter tounge

#11 – harmonized sax

I have used a microtonal harmonizer – we can harmonize with sequences of ‘chords’ vertical aggragates derived from the Fibonacci series … etc. I use a pedal to change the number of cents per half step in realtime. Sounds like Bille Holiday meets Ligeti’s glissandi.

#12 – sine wave based resynthesis

I love SPEAR and am currently playing with making all sorts of compositions and play using sine wave lines (melodies) based on the sax.

#13 – sound of the sax reverberating in the space – or any other space that we record in in Essen.
Got a warehouse? We could spend an hour playing with sax echoes and recording.

#14 – lets get a thread going regarding Fibonacci pitches/intervals. Any ideas welcome.

More soon,

This is just a start

Does blue in the photo mean ‘rest’ or ‘play’?
Here is what this sectioning might suggest:

>A1a1: 8 Minutes
>sax,s1,v1:
>A rather “ordinary” Opening: Live-Sax, one electronic layer, initial picture. Might present all of the material. Probably slow and not too dense

The essential audible material should enclude pitched/interval material – rendered in a way that is characteristic of each performer. Each performer should have some freedom in this regard. Perhaps a 15 second ‘wake up the audience’ hit would be a good first gesture prior to the 8 minutes of slow and not too dense activity. For example if I could play an improv that would use some of these pitch/interval ideas. I can build this off of the fibonacci series. I can even use the f-series for dynamics/timbre etc. This can be processed in real-time and/or the processing musicians can use pre-recorded material to process in real time. Again … some what ‘ordinary’ Eroica symphony or Lutoslawski’s 3rd symphony ‘knock out punch’ to get going. Then we can take out time to advance – the audience will anticipate something of what is coming.

>A1a2:5 minutes
>Sax,s1,s2,v1,v2: strong contrast, almost a “tutti”, high density, probably loud as well

Good. Also fast alternation between players. Not just unison. Perhaps alternate FFF with very short silences.

>A1b1:
>5 minutes
>Sax,sp,v2

first introduction of processed sound,kind of “enlarged sax”, or sax playing with itself,
only one videolayer, could be more a kind of background to this almost solo sax.

>A1b2
>Sax,v1
>3 minutes

>Sax soloing to video1, slowly ending section A1

As I suggested in an earlier mail today – I can give a pitch-midi feed for sax, as well as a more dynamic amplitude reading. Or, perhaps we can dedicate one computer to feeding this to everyone.

>A2a1
>5 minutes
>s1,s2,v1,v2

electronics only, first longer pause for sax, intermiediate audiovisual high point.

Great … I’ll enjoy the pause.

>A2a2
>3 minutes

Sound is even getting denser by the processing electronics, video otoh goes back to only v2

Good.

>A2b1
>3 minutes
>v2
>Solo video2, no sound

Good.

>A2b2
>2 minutes
>sax,s1,s2,sp,v2
>All sound including Sa back in. End of A, soundwise the high point of the piece

3 second silence right before peak?

>B1a1:
>sax,s2,sp
>5 minutes
>Opening section of B: Only Sound, no Video, acoustic, electronic, processed. Probably very calm again, reminding of A1a1

20 seconds of SILENCE AND BLACK?!?!?

>B1a2
>3 minutes
>s1,sp,v1,v2

>Full video, only electronic sounds, live and procesed

good. also remember, the sax makes great key clicks and I can play on the mouthpiece, without the mouthpiece … breath through the horn … (Lachemann is in Boston this spring … ;)

>B1b1
>3 minutes
>sax,s2,sp,v2

>like B1a1 with video

good .. need to look at B1a1

>B1b2
>2 minutes
>s1,s2,v1

>live generated electronics with only one video layer

good … I’ll hack some pre-recorded sax sounds. I am enjoying the program SPEAR these days. Great sine wave synthesis of anything. This might make a good section in and of its self. 3 part sine wave resynthesis of sax.

>B2a1
>3 Minutes
>sax,s1,sp
>Same situation as in B1a1, only shorter. might be reminiscent

I’ll review B1a1

>B2a2
>2 minutes
>s1,v2
>electronic audiovisual, maybe a reduced version of A2a1, mostly calm to prepare B2b1

calm good. ppp-pp sax multiphonics through my delays – similar to first cut on my myspace page …

>B2b1:
>2 miutes
>sax,s1,s2,sp,v2
>Sound tutti with one video layer like in A2b2, suggesting the final high point of the piece

Good.

>b2b2:
>1 minute
>sp,v1,v2

>Sound may only process rests of previous section(s)which would suggest a ing of coda. Video might do something similar.

>These, as I said, are only first suggestions. Feel free to modify anything you like or put it into the waste and suggest something else.

All good for a first working model. I should do an inventory of things that I can contribute in this context so we can start thinking through the next draft.

Great. I will download these images.

Another idea is for me to use pitch detection in max/msp to transform these images in realtime. I can start playing around with simple ideas on this front.

If my machine is ‘hacking’ images in realtime, then perhaps my video out becomes an optional feed to the live-video performers (Claudius, his two students, others?).

The value of my hacking images with the sax is that I can watch what I am doing and fine tune software to ‘play the images’. This then becomes one optional, or occasional display of several video feeds.

Cheers! Neil

This site is good for me. I can check Sat-Tues morning.

By the way, is there a way to respond to articles? What does ‘Excerpt?’ mean. Do I need to press ‘save’ after I type an excerpt?

N

>bq. (neil, anthony, spencer, dietrich) are going to produce some
>material into the score. we (thomas, myself, stefan) could then use this
>material as our input and we all are able to reflect on the first
>shot……exchange material and go into the second round (checking if the
>structure idea works by the way)

This sounds good. I can make some saxophone recordings for the Boston folks to start playing with and see what they come up with.

There is also some interesting software that transforms images to sounds. I have only seen this used on Windows but I am sure that something similar exists on the Mac. (All the Boston folks are using the Mac). Metasynth does something like this, but I think that the students do not have it (not cheap).

>This all sounds good to me in the first place. But I also like Dietrich’s idea
> to have several interwoven processes/deveopments which are being
>presented in an always different manner due to the always different >combination of media.

One of the things that we can look into is using realtime video scanning via MaxMSP as a control input for audio generating/processing. Perhaps we could put aside a week or two to make some basic max/msp patches for us all to experiment with.

Alternatively, we could use images posted to this site as opposed to live video to generate/process sound in max/msp. This has the advantage of us focusing the work on specific images. Perhaps Claudius could direct our selection of images.

>So, if anyone has ideas about what these developments might be (i know
> Dietrich has some, and I’m also thinking of some) we could more easy
>think of the concrete content of a section as we have:

>* the corresponding excerpt of the picture
>* the process and the stage at which it is
>* the combination of the media together (at times) with an overall idea of the general setting

>I’d like it, if we would agree about these processes.
>(If you’d rather produce material before, I’d like that as well, though)

A handful of images (3-4) or even some QT movies (1-2) might help us get started.
I will not have time to record a full sax library, but I could post a dozen short clips for people to play with.

Let me know what you think. Perhaps we should stick to this board. I am pretty slow in responding between Weds-Sat morning. The other days I can check the site daily.

I hope that these comments help!
Best, Neil