55

Dear colleagues,

here my 55-ideas:

A
structure/form: I would like to work with MODULS, i.e.

Fibonacci´s “55” =
= 34 + 21
= 21 + 13 + 13 + 8
= 13 + 8 + 8 + 5 + 8 + 5 + 5 + 3
= 8 + 5 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 1
this series should/could be permutated

- thinking in variations / processes

the series above contains:
1 × 8min = i.e. 1 variation and/or 1 process and/or 1 static av-object etc
4 × 5min = it could be a 20min process, broken in 4 parts, or there are 4
“mini”-processes etc
6 × 3min = it could be a 18min process, broken in 6 parts etc
4 × 2 min = etc
1 × 1 min = etc MAXIMUM?

= 16 MODULS in 5 process-“LINES”
1 -> 8min
2 -> 20min
3 -> 18min
4 -> 8min (compare with 1)
5 -> 1min

- the MODULS/LINES could/should be subdivided (free: by improvisation
and/or compositorical: by annother unit than seconds or minutes)

- thinking in INTENSITIES: – the MODULS are different in intensity, although they´re building up
processLINES

- i.e. one MODUL or ProcessLINE could be (or contain) Claudius´textform /
textscan etc, so it have a specific intensity – every MODUL (or ProcessLINE) should have something specific/significant
to differ between them (i.e. black/silence = on/off, color/blackandwhite,
solo/accompagnato, electronics/acoustics, audio/video, students/professors
. . . – etc)

- META-process / (“Dramaturgie”):
i.e. all processlines are melting into one? differences between them will
be reduced
i.e. ONE big furioso at the end? OR a long lasting morendo – or both – which/where are the turning(“plot”)points

!! – Should we start composing with/from the end?

B
in this project I would like to work mainly as visual artist; my material
will be a ca 6min lasting videosequence of a choreography (solo, female,
with video in background). The camera is moving ON stage -> camera as a
second “dancer”

This material should “recomposed” by other visual artists, which I then
“recompose” etc – i.e. it could be enlarged/slowed down etc to get ´abstract´ images with
a ´real´ touch or vice versa
!!!! – Im very interested in the ´in-between-field´ of realism<->abstraction;

C
nonos: boredom for the audience (more composition, less happening)

Best,
Dietrich

Form and Structure

Allright, I’d suggest, we’d stick to what we have and continue from there, modifying and refining.
(To put in another picture/text/film as the basis of the structure seems unneccesary for me, and I can’t think of any that would be substantially better or even different from what we have (I’m not so much of a visual guy anyway))

So what do we have anyway:

• 55 minutes

• Subsectioning according to Fibonacci series

• a picture brought in by Claudius

• The initial idea to read this as a score, every participant getting a strip from that picture to interpret.

• There is a sax and two Laptops generating sound (in the accompanying picture as sax,s1,s2)

• There is one completely reactive laptop only processing sound that is live being produced (SP)

• There are two video layers (v1 v2)

All in all there is one instrumental layer (sax), two video layers, three electronic sound layer, two of which generating, one processing

As a suggestion I did the following:

I divided the 55 minutes into:

A: 34                                                   B:21
A1:21                        A2:13                      B1:13                       B2:8
A1a:13        A1b:8          A2a:8        A2b:5         B1a:8         B1b:5         B2a:5         B2b:3
A1a1:8 A1a2:5 A1b1:5 A1b2:3 A2a1:5 A2a2:3 A2b1:3 A2b2:2 B1a1:5 B1a2:3 B1b1:3 B1b2:2 B2a1:3 B2a2:2 B2b1:2 B2b2:1

making 16 subsections at the lowest level (which might still internally be further divided)

As not every layer should be present at all times, I suggest that every layer is present in 9 and absent in 7 subsections.

I first did a random distribution, where each layer is absent or present, and after some slight modifications to clarify the dramaturgy that tis distribution initially suggested, I came up with what can be seen in the picture (sorry for the bad drawig, I’m nt used to drawing programs too much)

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

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

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

A2a1
5 minutes
s1,s2,v1,v2

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

A2a2
3 minutes

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

A2b1
3 minutes
v2
Solo video2, no sound

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

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

B1a2
3 minutes
s1,sp,v1,v2

Full video, only electronic sounds, live and procesed

B1b1
3 minutes
sax,s2,sp,v2

like B1a1 with video

B1b2
2 minutes
s1,s2,v1

live generated electronics with only one video layer

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

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

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

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.

Questions and other open issues:

• What happens to the parts of the picture that are now cancelled out?

• Nothing has yet been said about what sounds/visuals might be suitable for one part or the other (Material?) This is absolutely crucial for he continuation of our “alchemistic” approach (I kind of start liking it :-) )

• This is yet very style inependant. Will we stay like that? I’d suggest: Yes: We should avoid any resemblance to pre-existing styles. If something we do is likely to fall into a pre-existing category of style, we should take counteractive measures. (This is almost a NONO

More NONOS:

There is but one from my side:

We must absolutely avoid the impression of a piece of arbitrary, “free” improvisation (though improvisation as such may in most parts be fine, I don’t want to write a score of 55min either, at least not until July!). So let’s start the alchemy ASAP.

Oh yes: One more: There should be some fun with it as well :-)

NEIL’S BASKET INPUT

STRUCTURE

Claudius’ structure idea (graphic score) can work. If we go this route, we could even have players/machines read different rows of the picture from left to right – sort of like human raster scanner.

The Fibonacci series has apparently been included already be virtue of the 55. Defining sub-sections via the fibonacci series is also fine. If so, then we will have a map of durations of sub-sections.

Speaking as a musician, form = contrast. The basic profile for sub-sections should account for some contrasts. We could alternate smooth vs. abrupt contrast between subsections.

To establish sub sections we should limit who plays in each section – some use of sub-ensembles would be helpful.

Asynchronicity also needs to be considered – we don’t necessarily want to sound like a digital marching band.

Silence/total darkness – these would be powerful agents to establish form.

Perhaps silence/totaly blackness would be a good start.

Pacing – 55 minutes is a long time so I recommend building slow, or starting with a ‘bang’ and then scaling back only to build again.

MATERIALS

Google earth – it might be interesting to pin-point all of our birth places/homes on google earth and use that data … not. In any event, it is possible for each participant to submit similar photos for source material – a picture of an eye, the view from their front door, a camcoder shoot of their commute to work …

woodwinds – I play saxophone. Alto mainly, but also soprano and depending on how much I need to carry, I could possibly bring a bass clarinet.

improvisation – Improvisation is key – as a performer, it is my strength. It will not be inviting to play a 55 page score of 32-nd notes and insanely syncopated rhythms. I can improvise off of scales, motives, pitch sets, timbre etc. I will make some of my recordings available so you can hear what I can and enjoy doing. All strong improvising saxophonists come from the jazz tradition. The jazz tradition was the first to explore the full granularity of the saxophone and subsequently, while I am happy to leave standard repetoire out of this, I cannot avoid bringing in elements of the histories that I have researched and the my music that shaped me from the beginning and this is jazz.

Alchemy – I suggested this theme to Claudius as a central organizing principle. I am attracted to this idea in the most general sense, in that artists take simple ideas and transform them into works with specific value/meaning. As an improvising media ensemble, transforming ideas from one medium to another should be a central part of what we do.

gesture->software->robots->lightpen->video->hands/code->sax->oscillators-> (repeat)

CASE STUDY

For example, Berklee just had a very good visiting artists who did a piece with the students that I am traveling with. Vijay Iyer had each play using different general tempos of body rhythms (breathing vs walking vs talking). It worked very well. The students were free to develop material as they saw fit within these rhythmic constraints. Their
work had to be designed to co-exist with the other parts, even thought they would not hear the other parts until the last minute. Each student made music without a traditional key, chord cycle melody – more streams of sound that percolated at a different rate (no bars, beats, dominant groove …)

With my students – they need direction in terms of getting out of their solid dance music skills – putting them on stage with Vijay was one way that I set them up outside of their comfort zone. The did a splendid job.

The Vijay project showed me that I could work with the students for 5 days preparing material and communicating with Vijay in NY via phone/ mail. They did a one hour rehearsal the day of the event and did a super job.

ABSOLUTE NONOS

I can only think of ideas that we can possibly DO at this point. The no’s are not evident yet.