An Electronic Composition in Memory of Ivan Tcherepnin, by Fleur de Vie Weinstock, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an A.B.

degree with honors in Music; Department of Music - Harvard College - April 5, 1999 Authors Note, March 2012: Included here in the following electronic pages is most of the text portion of my Harvard senior thesis. For the overall thesis, Harvard College awarded me summa cum laude. It was Harvards first undergraduate electronic music thesis, and due to its highly experimental nature, the award may say a good deal about the long-established institutions willingness to endorse the avant-garde in this instance. The overall thesis consisted of a CD, a book with many visual elements, and a multi-media performance, so most of the thesis is not represented here. The text available here is extracted from the book portion of the thesis; however, many essential elements of the original completed thesis book are missing from this online text material, includingbut not limited to the Soundwave Pages, the letter from Ivan, the mbira drawing, microphone drawings, and individual abstract color drawings for each of at least 30 copies of the original thesis books. (The thesis book was created to be a physical object, so an ideal online version would probably involve high-quality scans of each page rather than the mere text present here.) The overall thesisCD and complete book, but minus the senior recitalcan be listened to and viewed most readily at the Loeb Music Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. The call number for the CD is: CD 24460 ; the call number for the book is: MUS T 99.6 ; and the Hollis catalog number for both is 008771298. Additional information via the Harvard Library catalogs listing for the work is at: http://tinyurl.com/ de-Vie-Thesis-Hollis-Classic . *Important Note Concerning Page Numbers: due to the missing visual material, footer page numbers seen here differ from the original thesis and therefore those indicated in the Content and other text. Content page numbers refer to the original and complete thesis on-paper document available at Loeb Music Library, Harvard University. The original thesis has 71 leaves. Due to present geographical location I am not able to currently check these text excerpts against the original, so other discrepancies (beyond the visual omissions and page number differences) may exist that Im not presently aware of. ~ de Vie, March 2012, Tucson AZ www.deVieMusic.com , song-voicemail (520) 505-9005
As enumerated, what follows are some text excerpts from the book portion of the thesis:

An Electronic Composition in Memory of Ivan Tcherepnin

by Fleur de Vie Weinstock

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an A.B. degree with honors in Music

Department of Music Harvard College

April 5, 1999

Please listen to the first two tracks ("The Composition") of the accompanying CD before proceeding further.

Acknowledgments

To Ivan Tcherepnin. For beauty, communication, support, and inspiration. To Kyle Lapidus, Clay Lacefield, Peter Whincop, Alice Liu, Ron Rosenman, Sasha Costanza-Chock, and everyone else who participated in the life of Ivan's electronic music studios in the last 25 years. For ideas, friendship, love, avant-garde horizons, and deep journeys into radical, unexplored territories. To Slide Clements and Jeff Nichols. For participating unselfishly and whole-heartedly in this musical endeavor. To Craig Schildhauer. For 3-dimensional, conscious and unconscious, dying and living art and music.

Preface This thesis consists of a CD and a book. The CD contains an electronic composition, and the individual sounds (samples)1 made for the composition. The book includes a score for the performance ("Performance Instructions"), a visual score for the samples created ("Soundwave Pages"), and various background materials, including notes from the making of the samples and composition ("Appendices"). Because there is no standard practice for notating electronic music, the score to an electronic composition seems to generally be an experiment. In this experimental sense this book is the score of the composition. Ivan Tcherepnin was initially my advisor for this project up to his death on April 11, 1998. In some ways he has continued to be my advisor in his absence. If he had not been my mentor and friend for my time at Harvard, I probably would have never studied electronic composition. The whole premise of this thesis was developed with and encouraged by Ivan, and since his death in the middle of the process, I have simply tried to continue what we had started. I wish I could hear his response to the finished product. The composition is a 16 minute composition broken into two halves of 8 minutes each. It was created with 16 "electronic mbira" manufactured with the help of a real instrument: the mbira dzavadzimu. Although the composition already exists in a complete form on the CD, in a sense any human listening to it is realizing a performance. Other performance ideas are found in "Performance Instructions." The "Prelude" includes documents that represent some of the experiences that led to the conception of the project. The Music 166r class with Ivan was my first intense work on electronic music, and the ear is everything. The letter from Ivan (Aug. 4, 1997) is from when we were in the earlier stages of discussing the thesis. August, 1997 was also the point when I started learning about the mbira dzavadzimu.
The individual samples are included on the CD so that the listener can examine them in and of themselves. Also, a person may use these samples in a composition of her own.
1

"Some Writing" is from the spring of 1998. "in response to the tuning of the world" was one my weekly writings submitted to Ivan in response to different books on music, as part of my first work on the thesis. The thesis log was daily writing that Ivan read, as part of an integrated approach to working on a musical project. "On Randomness vs. Intention" is some speculation on those two forces with regards to this composition. "'Electronic Mbira': The Virtual Instruments" focuses on the "Soundwave Pages" which are pictures of the 24x16 sounds made for use within the composition. These soundwave pictures can be viewed purely as art, or they can be understood as visual metaphors for the sounds. They can also be understood in conjunction with the samples on the CD (tracks 3-18). The "Appendices" are mostly comprised of notes taken while the samples and composition were being made, and thus explain in part the methods used for creating the samples and the composition itself.

Content
COMPACT DISC (CD) . . . . . . . . accompanying this printed material the composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tracks 1-2 the samples: 16 electronic mbira (24 notes each) . . . . tracks 3-18 PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv # STATEMENT OF PURPOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

# PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 # PRELUDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ivan's electronic music class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 letter from ivan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 mbira dzavadzimu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 # SOME WRITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 in response to the tuning of the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 excerpts from thesis log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 # ON RANDOMNESS VS. INTENTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 # "ELECTRONIC MBIRA": THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS . . . . 21 soundwave pages, keys 1-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 # ON PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 # "THE COMPOSITION" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 APPENDICES: METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 I: methodology of the creation of the "electronic mbira" . . . . . . . . 53 II: methodology of the creation of the composition . . . . . . . . . . . 62 END NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Statement of Purpose

Ivan's absence at Harvard is felt strongly. He nurtured and supported the radical, the new, the electronic, the experimental. The silent question asked through his death has not been answered. Where will individuals continue to find support for truly creative musical endeavors? This thesis, too, does not answer that question. In a vision of music and of a musical community, creativity and experimentation are held supreme. Competition is kept to a minimum. People work individually and collectively, inspired by individual and collective visions. Joyful investigation is the common atmosphere, and the halls are filled with unexpected sounds. This thesis has been the process of following a series of unknowns, and that is how it continues.

Performance Instructions

To Perform This

A performance can happen anywhere, although this composition is limited to the range of a CD player. There are two settings for the performance of this piece. The first is a personal environment; the second is a social environment. The personal environment would involve all the material here on paper (the "score"), and all the material on the CD (the composition; and the samples). In the personal environment, the listener-performer would listen to the composition in a private setting, and then would explore how the piece was made, through the inspection of the printed material and the CD-recorded samples. In this performance setting, the listener-performer would experience the piece as a multi-dimensional object capable of being sliced open through the means of the supplementary material. In the second (social) performance environment, which would lend itself easily to the traditional setting of a concert hall, only "The Composition" (tracks 1-2) on the CD would be played, completely excluding the CD-recorded samples (tracks 3-18). At the option of the person coordinating the performance, portions of the printed material could be xeroxed and placed in the concert hall, for the audience to scrutinize before, during, or after the performance. In the social setting, the audience would again be the performers. In addition, 5-10 performers would be pre-arranged. The role of the performers (audience and pre-arranged) in the social environment is akin to that of actors in silent movies. The performers' actions are to be silent. In this metaphor, the composition played is the live musician at the silent movie theater. The role reversal comes in that the "silent film" is live in the form of the performers; the live musician is pre-recorded in the form of the CD. It is important to note that it is not necessary for the pre-arranged performers (and the audience members who choose to participate) to have performance background of any kind.

10

When the time comes for the performance of this piece in the social setting, the instructions are as follows: I. Before beginning the playing of the composition, the performance coordinator will make a few announcements to the audience (in addition, these could be printed in the program notes). These announcements will involve invitations for the individuals in the audience to perform as follows: (a) by just sitting and listening (b) by walking around the performance space and listening, noting (for example) the difference in sound in different parts of the room or in different proximities to the speakers (ideally a number of speakers would be placed around the space) (c) by considering the xeroxed material that the performance coordinator has provided for the event (if she/he has taken this optionsee above) (d) by engaging in other harmless, enjoyable, and silent activities that the audience member can think of, such as (but certainly not limited to): dancing; juggling; playing cards; kissing; sleeping; exploring; looking; eating; reading the newspaper; writing; drawing; sweeping; lying down; drinking; video recording; playing; crying; miming; photographing; et cetera2 (e) by doing any sequence of (a) through (d) II. Once these invitations have been clearly communicated to the audience, the performance coordinator begins the performance by pressing "Play" on the CD player.

None of the activities listed here need actually be done. Any "harmless, enjoyable, and silent activity" that the performer/audience member likes is encouraged.
2

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III. Throughout the performance, the performance coordinator has the option of subtly adjusting the volume of the recording if she/he wishes, although it should never change radically the intrinsic volume structure of the composition. The performance coordinator should get a sense beforehand of the natural ranges of volume in the piece. IV. Once the piece has begun to play, the 5-10 pre-arranged performers will emerge from the audience, where they have been seated randomly. They need not emerge all at exactly the same time. They will have been informed well in advance of the event that their actions are to be limited to (d) above: they may perform "harmless, enjoyable, and silent activities" in any sequence they wish. The specific activities need not come from the list above: the performer may do whatever she/he likes that fits the "harmless/ enjoyable/silent" criteria. V. Once the first two tracks on the CD ("The Composition") have elapsed, the performance coordinator will stop the CD player in the few seconds before it moves to the third track on the CD.

12

Prelude

13

The Mbira dza Vadzimu The mbira dzavadzimu is an African instrument from Zimbabwe. It is played by the Shona people in that region. Some English speakers call the instrument a "thumb-piano," because it is played by both thumbs in addition to the right index finger. The meaning of "mbira dzavadzimu" in the Shona language is "notes of the ancestral spirits," as the instrument is used in traditional religious ceremonies there. The mbira dzavadzimu is different from the more widelyknown kalimba, in that the mbira dzavadzimu is larger and sturdier, with 22 to 28 fatter steel keys. The instrument I used in making the sounds for this composition has 24 keys (see drawing on following page), and was made by Fradreck Mujuru in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is called a "high Nyamaropa" mbira, meaning that its range is high (the lowest tone nears the B a minor 9th below middle C) and its tuning is "Nyamaropa." (Other mbira3 come in different ranges or different tunings.) Along with 24 metal keys, it has a rattle bar and a fingerhole. The percussive rattle bar vibrates through the impetus of the struck keys. The fingerhole is for the right pinky. Keys 1-14 are played by the left thumb; 15-17 by the right thumb; and 18-24 by the right index finger (striking up instead of down). This mbira was the original source of all sounds used in the composition. In using the mbira as the source of sounds for the composition and in composing the piece, I did not try in any way to emulate the actual ancient Shona songs that are the integral component of the mbira tradition. Instead, I composed without conscious reference to these songs, which are so beautiful in and of themselves that using them in an electronic composition would not do justice to them.

The Shona plural of "mbira" is "mbira."

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The Tuning of the Mbira: Nyamaropa Tuning Key 1 Key 2 Key 3 Key 4 Key 5 Key 6 Key 7 Key 8 Key 9 Key 10 Key 11 Key 12 Key 13 Key 14 Key 15 Key 16 Key 17 Key 18 Key 19 Key 20 Key 21 Key 22 Key 23 Key 24
4

lowest major third4 higher than previous minor second major " minor " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

major third

" second lower " perfect fifth higher " major second lower " " major " " " minor major " minor major " third higher " " " " " " " " " minor second

minor seventh lower " sixth higher " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " major second

Mbira are not tuned according to Western systems, so these intervals are approximations.

15

Some Writing.

16

Fleur de Vie Weinstock TheSis 3.13.98

[bibliography: Shafer, Murray R. The Tuning of the World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.]

Sounds if the Call the case, ever going that one arise, music, be roll sounds world it telephone there then to need must and does in. exist, that whatever is is to argue? to discover the making The though needs you enough. no forget, Time keep it, fear music question scientists to like. Saturation material and wilts as of is: tell be Call of to to into rolling in not out reflected. and how us changed? it energy, create become a do. discovering of to they How anything and with. only single No an making words shape do... can that all Who physical, moment. one orange, ends them. But we serves. words will and Things seems etc. meet. The how possibly Sound, are find to have to Making Although become cruelty am say music, ever the become trouble notice "music" the in I yes? breath, doing notes? only distinguishing the mutable, the to What nirvana, is Who elemental, themselves. AIDS there question know absolutely love, describing will and Finding deaths. is that silly subtle the discover to only I is world redundant? that any questions. mysteries divine? a be the do also may The we given Words of nothing structure, as absolutely not the be have sound aren't paradox! else. a concrete and even danger no is going No Who rhythm, and most hear of revolutionized thing power distinct to one can some indeterminable incredibly it by to from stop is possibly sort as beautiful in restricting the shape myself? up going object? of the essential, the it. cannot them. the to And meaning? leaf purpose music. That see Silence We Is thing create do Soon seizes Cutting is understanding means do there that sound. they the the to a obvious, of itself: not anything has His ever? goal tree. happen, thing and spoken even wrong to voice In is Who and into social language it echoes, know with flow. on any only is things sections, tensions as must
17

Excerpts from the Thesis Log 3feb98 the tendency is to assume spirituality to be something outside the Western experience. spirituality as commodity item 4feb98 in the daylight, every sense becomes (is) a sound. the colors have to work very hard to maintain their identity as visual. 5feb98 MBIRA22, 24 or 28 keys; significance of the resonance of the Deze (gourd); supposed to be played with the fingernails: both thumbs, and the index finger on the right hand. birds outside. music as a forum of purposeful, meaningful communication => end result. "therapy," but that word has negative connotations. the sounds of two mbira together: interesting sonic interactions. expressive, intellectual, using different energy sources (places), ... people become attached to music, to their ability to make music, 6feb98 No one dares enter the space. there is a milky gap where existence divided itself, 8feb98 hard-core grief. music/exercise helps for a little while until it brings up a sore point and i am reduced (?) again to tears, which has a wild, potent music of its own . . . the party upstairs pounds into the night, their own personal repetitive loud singing that says nothing but violence. alone is not a primitive state. before that i practice mbira for awhile . . . . the water when boiling is loudest when it has very tiny bubblesbut grows quieter when the boiling air bubbles get bigger. like on thursday, i played "scales" on the mbira: exploring the tuning. the one he left here (his old one) is a low tuning and the keys are far apart from each other. . . . the grief is a very potent energy, and if not used correctly it descends very rapidly into an incredible self-destructiveness. i decide not to go there and insist instead on working, watching the images of Death massacre my mind. this is grief: this is the experience of Death. 14feb98 i'd like to create a 59 minute pre-recorded digital composition upon which the artistic happening (Performance) is based. i definitely want
18

audience participation at almost all points, but i will organize it so it is not just noise. audience members will be asked to bring one instrument to the performance, and if i do it right i will have arranged for a wide variety of people/instruments to be present. this is to be an event, not just a concert. . . it does not have to be a monstrofically large audience, but i must try very hard to ensure that everyone who would have wanted to come will have the opportunity to be there . . . the pre-recorded digital electronic composition serves as an addition to the sonic environment. it is supposed to be like scenery. 16feb98 latest strategy for the composition: instead of looking at all the sounds in an mbira ensemble (voice, hosho (bean shakers), deze (gourd resonator), hand clapping, other mbiras), i want to look at just the mbira. . . . for the composition i want to take good, individual samples of the 22-25 keys of the mbira, and put those samples onto Sound Designer, K2000, and Performer. i'll have to know how to get the highest quality sample. i won't do any artistic manipulations of the samples once on the computeronly doing what is necessary to keep the samples as close to the original as possible. of course, which mbira i choose to sample is very important, since their overtone patterns are quite different. . . . then i also want to try and synthesize the 22-25 mbira keys from scratch, on the computer. it will be kind of like building a digital mbira rather than a wooden and metal one. music is a life-force, accessible everywhere and ultimately includes not only higher sound waves but also those pulses which you feel in your flesh, such as the beats of the bass. it shakes the furniture. music is an expression you can resort to anywhere, singing, humming, hearing... i want to learn the mbira dzavadzimu because it's portable and i feel it will take me on a journey. music should challenge the listener, it should question them, it should invite them in. music should be accessible. music should encourage the listener to delight in her/his senses. music should show the audience member something new. music should be a flight into the unknown. 17feb98 "Kariga mombe." different kinds of tuning: nyamaropa, gandanga, samsengere, mande, ... i like the process of creating somethingthe initial stagesnot knowing what is going to fit in. i finished berliner's book and have started helmholtz. . . . mysterious processjust have to go with it and not be so much a conscious composer, but instead just someone following an ideayou hope all the pieces will fit together in the end, but how can one know for sure before one is there?

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18feb98 more listening to "Kariga mombe" (a beginner's piece for mbira). . . . a performance should be a space where people can come to enjoy new ideas sans thought oppression, where they can truly revel in sound, where they can feel whole, where they can play. it is raining and the cars make thousands of swishes on the wet asphalt. there are deeper traffic rumbles in the background. acceleration means a raising in pitch. silence is the center of the self, not the periphery. 20feb98 the sounds of the street leak in. people have dreams. nightmares are too severe to be dreams. sound alone is not music. sound+dream is music. 21feb98 the pulse of sound; engagement with the mind; destruction, breaking down; humor; necessity; play, frivolity; drugs for futility. 24feb98 the dreams break down into a distinct standard. i sit in the middle, not being able to grasp any sense of time. things sprout, and take what time they need. spells break, leaving turmoil, the music of animals coming to live close to humans. 26feb98 i was telling marcus how death is the only thing completely certain in life. he countered by saying death is not at all certain. (he has a point there.) 2mar98 the beauty of music is its ability to rhythm and tone at the same time. fast rhythms obscure the tone. long tones obscure the rhythm. . . . the world is uttering itself continuously. we are stuck on those things which we can't hear. 3mar98 both Sound and Dream are very strong right now, but Dream is stronger. fantastic hallucinations; also, deep nightmares. a single day is a seemingly endless landscape. 8mar98 another idea was to divide the tape piece into 4 or 5 or 6 sections, and some method would be created for the audience to determine their order.
20

the musical experiments become encapsulated, and then are released so that they may fall onto the ground. the large, spherical capsules shatter upon impact, and we discover whether the musical experiment encapsulated originally has endured the journey, at which point it is exposed by the shattering and flies away, or whether the musical experiment escaped unseen (or heard) from the capsule on its downward fall, in which case the shattering reveals nothing. 24mar98 if someone hears a Sound without being defensive about it, that will be music. 26mar98 "sonic documentary" 4apr98 lucidity, wordless words; radio waves are everywherethe invisible influence of mass media (same with TV); quartz-filled cavities cause people to "hear voices." 6apr98 speech that is music; the city in its speed creates no space for art; music on the street is illegal; spaces must be paid for and are regulated; open air is dangerous. 8apr98 Organic process is cruciala process dominated by silence, the stable amount of time spent watching. The birds weep. Do they know why? 11apr98 Spelled "Nhemamusasa." Patterns against patterns. In the city people possess sounds. Eavesdropping is illegal. Once again a morning, alive with possibilities. The trucks make their presence known. The cars are more feminine. 15apr98 The silence now is like a closed door, and no one is opening it. Perhaps I should be more angry at them for not daring. 20apr98 Musical ceremony for Ivan at the Distillery last night.

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26apr98 The dirt grows thicker and we remember days before, thick days of starch, the acrobatic stillnesses, sounds resonating in fire or frozen sacrilege. 12jun98 Stealing the "SHOW," one crawls into another to rest. The bruised ecstasy returns, burning down houses, weeping into the poor. If there is silence it is nowhere to be found. 17jul98 Sounds keep being noise, spewed like vomit. My ears grow old and grey trying to run away. 31jul98 Someone on the train says: "When I first heard it, I thought I was imagining it." 14aug98 -have the piece be 16 min. long and divided into 16 sections of 60 seconds each, each section devoted to only one of the mbira. 18aug98 Visual sound; etc. 19sep98 The F#3 on the keyboard has some annoying issues. Non-sexual vs. sexual. 24sep98 Eight improvisationsblind, electronic, going together, the flaws of the machine, non-possibilities mourning in heroic gesture of musical indifference. Nothing pulled together nor torn apartno imperfection, and total perfection.

22

Death has a secret, private example No one can touch It & No one loves it) No one's going to invite it in forever trying to organize what is already organized liberation no one asks When, only stating a tragedy death, a seed

enough of the words that don't say anything, the words that fail leaving scabs

23

On Randomness vs. Intention

24

randomness vs. intention flow vs. mechanization improvisation vs. structure

randomness = letting go of choice, listening, accepting, discovering intention = self-expression, purpose, goal, focus flow = going with the flow, chi, intuition, peace mechanization = strictness, boundaries, clear formation, specificity improvisation = spontaneity, truth, childness, impulse structure = constriction, frame, separateness, divisions

wanting to do a thesis = intention thesis evolving into an electronic composition = randomness decision to use mbira as sound source = flow establishment of microphone samples vs. mutated samples = structure choice of microphones to record with = randomness mutation of samples = flow splitting of 16 "electronic mbira" into 2 groups of 8 = mechanization initial recordings of each track = improvisation establishment of composition as subtractive process = intention designation of composition as 16 minutes = structure process of first part = flow process of second part = structure

25

"Electronic Mbira": The Virtual Instruments

26

Creation of 16 "Electronic Mbira" A major part of this composition involved creating the sounds that would be used in it. This was done through the development of 16 "electronic mbira," each with 24 notes derived in some way from the original physical mbira dzavadzimu with 24 keys. Eight of these "electronic mbira" were produced by the electronic process of simply recording the physical instrument with different microphones. These Original recordings differentiated themselves through the fact that even a "straight-forward" recording of an instrument is actually an electronic transformation. The second eight "electronic mbira," given the title Mutations, were produced through taking each of the Original sets of key samples and "mutating" them through computer sound programs such as Sound Designer, TurboSynth, and Alchemy. 5 The Soundwave Pages are a visual representation of the 16 sets of 24 "keys" produced. They can be studied in conjunction with the recording on the CD of each individual key within its "electronic mbira" set (tracks 3-18). The Soundwave Pages are organized under the heading of the 24 keys (one page per key) to illustrate both the transformation from Original to Mutation for each sample, and the wide difference between different microphone recordings of the same key. The samples on the CD are organized under the headings of the 16 "electronic mbira" so that each set of 24 keys can heard as one "mbira." The Soundwave Pages can be appreciated as a piece of visual art, as a visual description of sounds, and as a score for making similar sounds.

See Appendix I for more detailed illustration of how each set of samples was made.

27

On Process

28

On Process

The point of process is to make every moment worthwhile, NOT JUST the limited moment of the final performance. Respecting each moment as worthwhile, the process itself must also be artistic. The process is as much for itself as it is for reaching towards the cathartic end. Finishing is death. The process is life. "The process" = the creation of tools. The various tools allow me to burrow like a crab or a spelunker into the cave of music.

29

[taped on the side of previous page:]

ultimately in an avant-garde heaven the process is also the performance. who needs to spend energy on the division?

30

"The Composition"

31

T h

What is a composition? What is a piece of music? What is the purpose of a composition? What is the process? What is right or wrong about a pieceofmusic? Who will be the judge?

if there is music, let it be to fill the space, to know the space to be unknown, to remain unknown to be like sunlight, delight, sonic let it Embody the Emotions that Ring. let its rhythm be timeless and its harmonies chordless. let it be a voice, the stomping of feet, a crystal stream. moreover, let music be sonic+dream. let it be art decadent, lost, radical, forlorn, untorn, unheard,

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Appendices

The Appendices are primarily a compilation of notes taken over the past year during the process of making the samples and making the composition.

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Appendix I: How the 16 "Electronic Mbira" were Made. Recording Methods and Mutation Methods.
ORIGINAL MUTATION

m b i k p r sa sb

---> ---> ---> ---> ---> ---> ---> --->

tm bb iv kc ps rs st sr

Each of the Original recordings (except "r") was made in Rm. 22 of Ivan's Electronic Music Studios. Each of the 24 keys was struck alone. The presence of the rattles (see pp. 7-8) depends on the position of the individual rattle beads, the force of the strike of the key, and the individual microphone. The mbira may go out of tune easily and is also easily tuned slightly differently (with a small hammer), so same keys recorded on different days may not be exactly the same pitch. The 24 keys in each original recording were recorded as mono files onto DAT (except for "r"), and then digitally transferred onto Sound Designer. See the Soundwave Pages, p. 22-47, for corollary information.

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m
"rich, varied, amplified, resonant, deep, bright colors, interesting" Microphone used: 3M1, regular microphone: Face view: 3M1: Recorded on: 3June98 Set-up: Face of microphone ducttaped directly against back of the mbira's wooden soundboard.

tm
Program used: Alchemy 14july98: "Example: m1 is 235122 samples long. New file is opened which is the same size. The Sample Axis Units divide the sample up into 14 divisions of 16512 samples each (if the sample is in full view). I find a waveform loop I like within each of these regions, and replicate it within the corresponding sample size section in the new blank file of the same overall length. Thus, a small part of each section is brought into the mutated sample, and then is looped enough so that it fills up the whole corresponding section (of 16512 samples). The whole new sample is then normalized ('Scaled')."
m2=419792 samples. m2 is divided into 14 sections of 29568 samples each. m3=379822 divided into 14 sections of 26752 samples m4=287401 divided into 14 sections of 20288 samples m5=266552 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 18816 sample/section m6=191068 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 13440 sa/se m7=240274 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 16896 sa/se m8=484156 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 34112 sa/se m9=468792 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 33024 sa/se m10=479016 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 33728 sa/se m11=437716 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 30848 sa/se m12=330498 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 23296 sa/se m13=180522 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 12736 sa/se m14=251584 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 17728 sa/se m15=423224 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 29824 sa/se m16=318790 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 22464 sa/se m17=380862 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 26816 sa/se m18=312414 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 22016 sa/se m19=306606 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 21632 sa/se m20=190484 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 13440 sa/se m21=248092 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 17472 sa/se m22=205072 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 14400 sa/se m23=235470 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 16576 sa/se m24=163166 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 11456 sa/se

35

b
"beautiful, alive, strong rattles, interesting noise, to the point" Microphone used: B-B Jr., contact mike Recorded on: 2Jun98

Set-up: Face of contact mike duct-taped against back of mbira.

bb
Program used: TurboSynth 22jul98: "Turbosynth: (1) MONO DOCUMENT (2) ICON

(3) OPEN CORRESPONDING "b" KEY (4) APPLY

Choose 1 ms. Response Time (seems like the smallest response time allowed). Message Box: _____________________________________ ! ! ! This will remove the amplitude envelope ! ! inherent in the sample, leaving the sample ! ! at a constant full level. You won't ! ! be able to "Undo" this. ! ! Response Time: 1 ms ! ! Cancel OK ! ! ! (5) CLICK ON OK

36

i
"confusing, bright, dazzling, percussive, good noise circumstance" Microphone used: a contact mike of Ivan's, lent to me by Kurt Recorded on: 1jun98

Set-up: Duct-taped against the middle of the back of the mbira's wooden soundboard.

iv
Program used: Sound Designer 22jul98: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) original opened. "Save a copy..." as "iv #". "Select All" Pitch Shift -12 w/ Time Correction Pitch Shift -6 w/ Time Correction Normalize

Conclusion: Pitch Shift supposedly equivalent to an octave and a tritone lower.

37

k "interesting, well-rounded, bass, varied, elephantine, good."

Microphone used: contact microphone made by Kyle Recorded on: 31may98 Set-up: Flat contact mike duct-taped against back of mbira.

kc
What Alchemy thought were the primary frequencies of each "k" key:6 k1 130.861 hz [Program used: Alchemy] k2 621.127 hz k3 168.966 hz 23jul98: (1) Under "Soundfile Info", Sample Size k4 760.345 hz reduced to 32, 768 (maximum allowed k5 832.076 hz for "Harmonic Analysis") k6 918.75 hz (2) "Harmonic Analysis". k7 1160.52 hz (3) Previously determined "primary pitch" k8 250.568 hz (see chart; taken from whole length of k9 373.729 hz sample) isolated. "Select Complement". k10 1297.059 hz All other Hz channels erased ("cut": k11 2205 hz "control-x") k12 400.909 hz (4) "Resynthesis". k13 658.209 hz (5) "Scale" (normalized) k14 1696.154 hz k15 1260 hz k16 551.250 hz k17 558.228 hz k18 639.13 hz k19 621.127 hz k20 760.345 hz k21 3392.308 hz k22 3675 hz k23 1025.581 hz k24 (nothing given, so used m24 and b24 (1130.76 hz))
Some of the "primary frequencies" that Alchemy perceived were not actually the primary frequency of the key.
6

38

p
"bizarre, tinny, high noise, daylight, surround sound, non-isolated" Microphone used: The Dan Gibson Model P-200 E.P.M. Parabolic Microphone Recorded on: 29may98 Set-up: Mbira's back (which is where the sound comes out the loudest) faces the parabolic (large parabolic bowl) microphone, 4 feet away. The parabolic bowl of the microphone (which is adjustable in relation to the microphone) is pushed as far back as possible (a few inches) from the microphone.

p
Program used: TurboSynth 1aug98: Paranoid Schizophrenic: TurboSynth: Type A Spectral Inversion

39

r
"very interesting! very noise. guitar-like. strong strike." Microphone used: Radio Shack 33-2001A DYNAMIC MIKE IMP. 500 CHINA Recorded on: 10jun98, around 7 pm, at 1705 Mass. Ave. Set-up: Recorded onto a TDK SA HIGH BIAS IEC II cassette with the aiwa NSX-F98 DIGITAL AUDIO SYSTEM. The mbira was held about 4 inches from the microphones. There were loud traffic noises outside the room.

rs
Program used: Alchemy 1aug98: Radioactive Shock: Alchemy Time Scaling to .1 of original length Pitch remains same. Removed Noise @ end ("Extract" function)

40

sa
"fascinating; like lighting a match; very low noise level" Microphone used: Slide's contact microphone (1st recording position) Recorded on: 30may98 Set-up: The contact mike was loosely attached through means of an alligator clip clipped to the metal-bead rattle near the base of the mbira.

st
Program used: Alchemy Each "sa" key was Reversed, and the quiet part at the beginning of each reversed file was removed ("Extract").

41

sb
"very low noise level, varied, first part full of bass, warm" Microphone used: Slide's contact microphone (2nd recording position) Recorded on: 30may98 Set-up: With the alligator clip removed, the contact mike was duct-taped to the back of the mbira.

sr
Program used: TurboSynth

42

Appendix II: How the Final Composition was Made.

The Two Slabs of Stone . . . . . . . . . 63 The First 8 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The Second 8 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . 67

Once the 16 electronic mbira were formulated on their respective programs, they were transferred digitally onto the K2000 (a sampler which maps sounds onto a keyboard). The composition was made with the K2000 routed to Digital Performer, with the K2000 holding the samples, and all the compositional transformations after the improvisations occurring on Digital Performer (a program utilizing MIDI). See "On Process," p. 48, for corollary information. The nature of the process isn't necessarily the nature of the final piece. 43

The Two Slabs of Stone

(1) Division of Parts The 8 pairs of "Electronic Mbira" (original+mutation) were divided into 2 7 groups according to their sexual nature. 1ST 8 MIN: I. NON-SEXUAL (i, iv): so fiercely in love with everything that sex is a complete non-issue. (k, kc): sexually retarded and too cool to be concerned with sex. (p, ps): the 1st has no sexual organs while the other is beautiful sadness... (sa, st): how can one consider sex when there is so much tragedy in the world. oh, sweet, fierce, dark rejection. 2ND 8 MIN: II. SEXUAL (m, tm): an innocent virgin and a sexual deviant. (b, bb): likes sex a little too much; and fiercely intense (destructive with intensity) making everything sexual but nothing worth declaring sex with. (r, rs): the sexually mature, and the quick fuck. (sb, sr): sex is a profound song and is so nothing, nothing

(2) Each track was recorded as an 8-minute8 improvisation, without reference to the others. Sixteen 8 min. improvisations Played on K2000, MIDI-recorded on Digital Performer One 8 min. improvisation for each "electronic mbira" Improvisations recorded without listening to other improvisations

(3) Metaphor: the stone from which the sculptor cuts the statue. The two blocks of stone are the initial halves of the composition. Each block consists of 8 blind9 improvisations layered on top of each other.

The 16 "electronic mbira" needed to be divided into 2 groups because all 16 sets could not be loaded onto the K2000 at the same time.
7

Before beginning any composing, it was decided that the whole composition would be 16 minutes long. The rst group of electronic mbira was assigned to the rst 8 minutes; the second group to the last 8 minutes.
8

"Blind" meaning that each 8 minute improvisation was recorded without listening to the other improvisations that were sharing its same temporal space.
9

44

The First 8 Minutes

(1) Listening to the "stone" and responding in terms of positive and negative. 30sep98: +preserve+
(1) response (2) expression (5) electric pops (7) exploitation of different sounds (9) abrasiveness (10) city sounds. (13) pops (17) non-reality (18) crash element (20) pictorial (21) mystery tour (22) wild landscapes (23) music for the movie of the performance (24) introductory melody. ("kc"?) (26) texture (27) distant land music. (unfamiliar! condemnable!) (28) opportunities for experience (31) martial arts (33) stimulating the mind stimulates the whole body (34) slash & burn: social commentary (40) lost on what island? (41) microtonal "kc" melodies (49) notes are cruise ships ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

-change(3) counterpoint (4) excessive repetition (6) melody? (8) is the Quiet hidden? (11) silence? (12) baseline, foundation, and canvas. (14) dynamic variation in individual tracks. (15) tracks shouldn't take prominence because of their inherent loudness. (16) background & foreground (25) space for the listener's interjection. (29) phrasing? (30) religious ties?? (32) some breaks would be nice (35) ties between "acoustic" & "electronic" (36) TO THE GUILLOTINE. (37) numeric accuracy. (38) introduction. (39) coming from what? (42) a dance. (43) entrances. (44) no clocks. (45) matching pitches of the originals. (46) temper "sa" abrasiveness. (47) "chords." (48) tonal focus

(2) Taking emotional issues and sculpting the stone in response to them. 9oct98: new work mode: each day take a specific emotional issue and work on the piece according to that. TODAY: The emotional issue: how do 2 'Buddhas' exist together? -through silent articulation -through thread of silence. -by allowing. -through joyful action. -by way of introduction. -separation of the parts. 45

next emotional issue: Ivan's Death. -deep listening -end. -cleanliness. -contributions. (?) -LOVE. (manifested sonically=appreciation [26oct98] [IMPLIES:] CHARTING OF PRESENT MUSICAL TERRITORY...10

opening gesture = "sa" 0 -- 0:07 (opening melody) "?" rising ------(answered by "kc," 0:11 -- 0:22) "& answer" falling ----forest primeval, landscapes of natural existence, walking newly through them 0:24 -- 0:50 ----silence? ghosts. knowing or unknown? quiet rising from silent surface. not being allowed to hear. (inarticulate)/OTHER sounds. 0:54 -- 1:20 -----return to Reality, before new, now familiar compared to the "silences." the primeval forest also has "human" elements: chattering "elves," etc. 1:20 -- 1:44 -----clearing of the way. bugs. melody not quite coming out ("i": 1:53 -- 2:12) Chief Council ("i") (of the forest "characters") addresses the visitor (the listener) 1:45 -- 2:03 -------interruption. tear. authoritative control. some bugs are sent scrambling. Chief (female) still tries to speak. 2:03 -- 2:24 --------ominous concrete presence. silence. the roots are exposed ("iv"). 2:24 -- 2:39 ------horn sounding: return to listening to Chief Council's effort to speak (closed by horn.) 2:39 -- 2:50 ------critters. song and dance (ritual customs) to entertain the guest (=listener) (why is the ominous present?) 2:51 -- 3:32

10

Numbers in this section refer to minutes and seconds into the rst half.

46

------light show in the sky. fireflies are the terrestrial representatives. behind it, silence. "we have you under control." 3:33 -- 4:17 "we will manipulate your brainwaves as we have silenced you." "Alert, Alert!" (4:09 -- 4:15) -------The Earth things pop back into voice. 4:15 -- 4:25 -----unknown substance, unknown meaning. gestures without clear context. We recognize the voice of the Chief Council. Humor through "ps." the world's fabric breaking down. insanity? 4:25 -- 5:25 ------meaning? DEATH. 5:27 -- 5:34 -------roots of big trees. aliens control the forest: they're in cohorts w/ the bugs. but even the ALIENS are SILENCED by SILENCE. 5:36 -- 6:09 ----Chief Council (very benevolent) has control. a message... 6:10 -- 6:39 -----forest ceremony. no aliens. roots assert themselves. 6:40 -- 7:09 -----the bugs/fireflies ("kc") have been turned into mechanistic slobs by the aliens (no longer present). The Chief Council tries to speak her melodious voice over the din of their negligence. The losers (mechanized bugs) are winning. 7:10 -- 7:33 -----more efforts to be heard (hence the repetitive phrasing) 7:31 -- 7:44 The mechanized bugs aren't waking up from their tyranny. -----laughter on the part of "i." 7:45 -- 7:48 ------recycle: return to beginning 7:50 -- 8:00 [1nov98: edited in the form of conforming to the descriptions above]

next emotional issue: powerful & persuasive expression next emotional issue: The lethargy of Mr. Mostpeople.

47

The Second 8 Minutes

Process Structure:

"FLOW VS. MECHANIZATION"11

2 principles of people-life is flow vs. mechanization flow = natural, blood, Repeat indefinitely: (a) 16 min. exactly of mechanized composing12 + however much time of flow composing13 + [return to (a)]

(b)

11nov98: "flow" composing starts first 16nov98: "mechanization": 16 min. of: listening to a few random individual tracks and erasing the notes I don't like. 2nd "mechanization": continuing 1st. 3rd "mechanization": continuing 2nd.

Next: flow composing leads to the writing of a poem to be used as a tool for transforming the second half:

11 12

See "On Randomness vs. Intention," p. 19.

Mechanized Composing: using one specic action to change the piece, for a set amount of time. Flow Composing: using purely intuitive means to change the piece, for any amount of time.
13

48

The Poem (A Function of the Second 8 Minutes)

it is fall and all of the leaves are dying with fire. there is no "you" here, except the you who is "out of touch" upon waking. thrown briskly in the moment the dreams threaten, threaten. it is fall, and the leaves burn brightly against the eye. why mention the red and orange. such mundane words. the leaves are exploding and i don't hear anyone talking about them. i suppose this is how it is everywhere in the world. the people not talking about what is beautiful. i am tired. there is only the "you" who this morning is annoyed. i am tired of that. i am tired of that. my body becomes dismembered. the leaves are bloody, yes, bloody with a kind of pungent recycling, they are the same leaves as last year, the same torn screaming both deeply ecstatic and torn the stupid dream is only to descend further, deeper into the bruised and perfect and paradoxical moment. it is no purpose at all and has no direction. there is no place to try for, etc. no goal. is it not so. is it not so. i kill everything. but i am not the murderer. nor am i the rapist. no. sickness still is sickness. sickness still is sickness, and yes i have been sick before. being in this body i can only descend, burning myself like leaves, leaves orange and red let fall but not fall but burn. but burn and i watch no one talking and talking and there is this brittle picture. it is fall and the colors are quickly overtaking any other thought or look or consummation. they need nothing.

49

How the Poem was Used.

53 30 42 0 59 0 26 30 31 19 0 28 39 52 47 11 0 27 24 40 28 0 34 33 38 53 0 51 52 45 34 8 13 13 18 0 26 25 56 32 I. Mbira: m tm b bb r rs sb sr m tm b bb Times: 83 24 27 47 140 16 22 58 92 17 55 26 Key: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Letter: A B C D E F G H I K L M -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Letter: N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Key: 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Times: 88 81 16 1 64 73 109 31 11 13 3 31 Mbira: r rs sb sr m tm b bb r rs sb sr What the above chart means: 24 letters of the alphabet are present in the poem (no J or Z). Those 24 letters are matched with the 24 mbira keys. The numbers in italics are the number of times each letter occurs in the poem (i.e., "a" occurs 83 times in the poem). Each "electronic mbira" within the second 8 min. is assigned 3 letters (3x8=24) (i.e., "tm" is assigned "b," "k," "s"). How the information in the chart is used: The first x ("Times") number of occurrences of # ("Key") in y ("Mbira") are raised to full volume (127). If a given mbira track does not have enough occurrences of the assigned key, more are added (at full volume). II. The poem has 51 lines (including blank lines). The 8 minutes are divided into 51 sections of 9.41 seconds each. The 9 "blank lines" (between stanzas) in the poem are translated into the composition as silences in the corresponding regions (later, these occurrences of silences were made not so strict). The number of characters (including spaces) in each line of poetry are counted. [The numbers that appear on the left-hand column of this page are the number of characters in each line of the poem, from top to bottom.] Each number is used in transforming the corresponding section in the composition as follows: the number of characters in each line mandates the number of notes in each corresponding sonic section. In most cases, notes needed to be erased to match the number; in a few instances, notes needed to be added. Notes were subtracted through intuitive, musical, aesthetic means ("Do I like how it sounds?").

50

0 38 34 14 31 47 34 0 29 61 18

III. Additive Process using Poem. A system was established using alphabetical information from the poem to determine the following qualities of an added note: (1) which "electronic mbira" to use ("m," "tm," etc.) (2) pitch: which of the 24 keys in a given "electronic mbira" to use ("1-24") (3) duration of note: short, medium, or full length ("x-z") (4) volume of note: strength of on-velocity ("1-127")

51

b 3 5 8 10 12 15 17 20 22 25 27 30 32 35 37 40 42 45 47 50 52 55 57 60 62 65 67 70 72 75 77 80 82 85 87 90 92 95 97 100 102 105 107 110 112 115 117 119 122 124 127 2y 5x 3z 17z 2y 14x 3z 14y 3z 1y 12y 3z 1y 5z 4z 12y 22y 3z 4z 4z 3z 3z 4y 2y 15z 2y 22y 22y 1y 3x 24y 8y 3x 5x 7x 16y 3y 3x 3x

tm

rs

sb

sr

bb 6y 4z 9z

tm

r 14z

rs 15x

14y 4x 22z 2z 24z 3z 8x 22y 18x 7y 17y 16y 15x 7z 16y 22x 2y 7y 22x 14x 16y 12x 3x 14z 16z 3z 22y 22x 15x 2y 2y 14y 12y 2x 4y 24z 22y 16y 3x 14x 14x 15z

3x 24x 2y 3z 4z 15x 16x 22y 14y 2y 6z 16y 3z 6x

24x 5x 7z 19z

22y 24z 5x 7x 24z 6z 24x 4x 14z 24y 6z 14y 2y 15z 17x 24x 14y 24z 4z 5x 7x 2y 2y

24x 3z 16y 24z 4x 3z 24x 17y 9x 7x 22y 17z 3x 17z 3x 5x

5x 2y 4z 24z 1y

15y 22y 20x 22y 24z 2y 10x

6z

3z 15z 8x 2y 5z 12x 7x 2y 14z 19z 22y 24x 17y 5z 4z 17y 16y 14x 14y 17y 22x 22z

22x 15z

2y

5z

6x 10z 22x 4y 15z 6x 18x 24x 4y 2z 3x 3x 24z 7x 21y 24x 14x 8x 7y 3x 4x 6x 2y 20x

3y 24z 3y 24z 11x 22x 1y 22y 12y 14 4y 24y 3x 24x 22y 24y 3z 19y 4x 3z 7y 18y 14x 9x 24y 14y 2y 9y 4y 17x 3x 14y 8x

4x 1y 17y 6y 24y 4y 12y 5z 4z 7x

3x 15x 2y 3y 7z 18y 6x 2y 3x 4y 2y

24x 17z

2y 22y 14x 24x 3z 17y 10y 24x 5y 7z 14z 4x 8x

13x

52

The number of letters in each word of the poem were counted. These are the numbers ("2y," "14y," "2x," etc.) which appear in the chart. The spaces between words were ignored. There are 51 rows, representing the 51 lines of the poem. The number of letters per word are arranged in order by line. The letters ("x," "y," "z") attached to the numbers indicate the length of the added note. "x" is short, "y" is medium, and "z" is longest. The assignment of x, y, or z was determined by the first letter of each word: x (short): A-H y (medium): I-Q z (longest): R-Y The numbers in italics on the left-hand column of the chart (3, 5, 8, etc.) are the volumes (on-velocities) at which the notes in the corresponding row were added. The volumes were determined by the maximum volume (127) divided by 51 (the number of lines in the poem). The letters on the top of the chart (b, tm, r, etc.) are the electronic mbira which are assigned to each column of numbers. The order of mbira was determined according to personal preference: i.e., I liked b the best, so it is assigned the column with the most numbers (the first one, since a line will always have at least one word). bb, which I didn't like as much, was given the last place, and therefore less numbers. Since there are 12 columns and only 8 electronic mbira (for this half), the first 4 preferences of mbira are repeated in columns in 9-12.

With this information, the placement of the notes within the composition was determined in the following manner: "when a note is needed." "when something is lacking." In other words, I listened to the composition repeatedly, and whenever there was a moment that fit one of the above criteria, I would add a note from the chart (in the pattern of: one row at a time, from top to bottom (whichever note was next, from left to right)).

53

End Note

54

Don't worry about saving these songs! And if one of our instruments breaks, it doesn't matter. We have fallen into the place where everything is music. The strumming and the flute notes rise into the atmosphere, and even if the whole world's harp should burn up, there will still be hidden instruments playing. So the candle flickers and goes out. We have a piece of flint, and a spark. This singing-art is sea foam. The graceful movements come from a pearl somewhere on the ocean floor. Poems reach up like the edge of driftwood along the beach, wanting and wanting! They derive from a slow and powerful root that we can't see. Stop the words now. Open the windows in the center of your chest, and let the spirits fly in and out.

Rumi, Like This: 43 Odes: Versions by Coleman Barks. Athens, GA: Maypop, 1990. Poem 110, page 48.

55