center unmoored in the presence of infinite fringes

center unmoored in the presence of infinite fringes for solo prepared bass tuba

colin tucker 2016

Notes on Performance A. About the piece This work inhabits a narrow space on the threshold between sound and silence. The effort and strain involved in executing the notated actions is at least as important as the sounding result of those actions. In an adequate performance, the work’s intensity will not only be heard; it will be seen and “felt” as well.

The work enacts a dialectic between melody and instrument. The tuba’s valves outline fragmentary traces of melody, while the instrument’s preparation, together with the strained tessitura (high register yet quiet volume), functions to obfuscate melodic shapes and over-write them with the contingencies of the delicate interaction between the performer’s body and the instrument. A successful interpretation will mediate between these conceptual extremes, articulating a lyric expressivity while at the same time embracing the unpredictable fragility inherent the piece’s approach to the instrument.

This work was written for and commissioned by Aaron Hynds.

B. Instrumentation The work may be played on a bass tuba in any key. The notation is not specific to a particular key of instrument.

Given the extremity of the playing techniques employed in the work, a smaller-than-usual mouthpiece (i.e. bass trombone, euphonium, etc.) may be used to provide precision in pitch/partial placement, although the choice of mouthpiece is at the player’s discretion.

C. Preparation The instrument is prepared with a mute of sorts, in the form of a bath towel (neutral color) inserted into the bell of the tuba. Do not fold or roll up the towel prior to placing it in the bell. Hold the towel with its longest side vertical, and allow it to fall into the bell, placing it so that it obstructs as much of the bell as possible.

Calibrate the preparation: it should significantly diminish the instrument’s volume, but should not make it impossible to play somewhat stable pitches at the 8 th partial and above (for more detail regarding desired tone quality, see “F. Tone/Dynamics” below).

D. Siting A moderately dry, less “live” (i.e. reflective/resonant) acoustic is desired. Reverberant acoustics should be avoided.

Choose a space where it is possible to minimize ambient sound.

E. Staging The success of this piece in live performance depends upon the audience’s ability to apprehend unusually subtle sonic and visual phenomena. Normative concert protocol may not be adequate to ensure that these nuances register to the audience, so the following accommodations must be made.

These specifications are spelled out not in order to micromanage the performance situation, but rather because—based on past experiences—they may make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful presentation of the piece.

1. Visual The performer should be on a stage or otherwise spatially demarcated from the audience. They should be as visible as possible to the audience—minimize obstructions. The stage or performance area should be clear of instruments/equipment not used in this piece. Make arrangements so that no page turns are necessary.

2. Sonic Minimize ambient sound in the performance space. Consider two types of ambient sounds: continuous (i.e. HVAC), and non-continuous (i.e. footsteps). It is absolutely imperative that noncontinuous ambient sounds are minimized. Continuous ambient sounds should be minimized as well, but are permissible if they are at a low level and cannot easily be eliminated (i.e. electrical hum from lights).

3. Performer The performer should wear neutral, non-distracting clothes.

In general, minimize movement except that specifically required to execute notated actions.

During silences, remain absolutely immobile and tense. Eyes should be frozen looking into the stand; do not blink during silences.

In order to maintain focus during longer silences, move into the position required for the next sounding passage at the silence’s beginning, rather than its end.

F. Tone/Dynamics Create a sound where:  

alterations in valve fingerings (see below) modify the sound perceptibly in some way pitch is never unambiguously clear.

This sound should be as quiet as possible (although never below the threshold of audibility) to play while satisfying the former two criteria; this level will function as the piece’s main dynamic, pppppp. The dynamic is always pppppp unless otherwise marked.

Dynamics are occasionally inflected on a local level via crescendi proceeding from niente (“ o”) to pppppp and diminuendi proceeding from pppppp to niente. All crescendi end in pppppp. In this piece, crescendo and diminuendi function differently then in other music. In crescendos from niente, during at least the first half of the crescendo, nothing should be audible to the audience, and the onset of the sound should be very gradual, and likewise, as diminuendos approach niente, nothing should be audible during at least the first half of the diminuendo, and the disappearance of the sound should be very gradual.

audible sound Thus, one might interpret the crescendo from niente as a gradual onset of air movement, perhaps generating air noise 1/2 of the way through the crescendo, and pitched sound 3/4 of the way through it. Because the preparation suppresses air noise, begin sounds with only air sounds and gradually transition into pitched sound. The crescendo might involve four stages: first, silence where the player is visibly engaged (internally anticipating initiating the sound) without visible evidence of exhalation; second, sound inaudible to the audience, with visible evidence of exhalation; third, extremely perforated, intermittent sounds which perhaps occasionally rise above the threshold of audibility, with visible evidence of exhalation; and fourth, more clearly pitched sound barely above the threshold of audibility. The exact moment when a sound begins and ends should not be clearly perceptible as such. Crescendi should not be forced or forceful but rather should be approached as if gently “pulling” sound out of silence.

All pitch changes should be as clean and clear as possible. While a pitch is sustained, its pitch level should fluctuate as little as possible; some fluctuation will be inevitable given the tessitura, but attempt to keep it to a minimum. No tonguing or active articulation should be employed during the piece.

G. Time/Breathing 1. Breathing In this work, duration and rhythm are a function of breathing. This is indicated by numbers above noteheads: 6 : lungs full 0 : lungs empty 2 : lungs empty enough that there is an appreciable urge to inhale Higher numbers are placed higher on the page, such that exhalation is indicated by a descending line while inhalation is indicated by an ascending line.

There are two types of inhalations (always executed by disengaging embouchure from mouthpiece): 1. Full breath, indicated by dotted line—an audible break in the sound 2. “Catch breath,” indicated by solid line—as fast and unobtrusive as possible If it is possible to circular breath without causing unwanted modulations in tone color or volume, circular breathing may be substituted for the catch breaths but not full breaths.

The graphic spacing of breath “intervals” is constant throughout the piece—i.e. a full breath, 6 to 0, always occupies one full staff system.

During silences, breathing is free, but should not be perceptible to the audience. Where possible, avoid taking noticeable breaths at the end of silences.

Durations of silences are notated as multiples of the performer’s average breath length: 1.7B=1.7*(average breath length) [in seconds] If average breath length is 20 seconds, then 1.7B=34 seconds.

2. Duration/Rhythm This work’s rhythmic framework articulates an open-ended space of possibility, within which the performer actively creates a personal approach to rubato and rhythmic inflection.

Noteheads indicate relative proportions within durational frames contingent upon breath length:







(short↔long)

The shortest duration should never be less than ¼ of a second.

On a local level, the three durations should be perceptibly different, but never extremely so:

   ; 4≥1

2 ≥1 ; 2 ≥1

The durations are inflected by localized tempo changes: 1. Subdivide the piece into phrases, based on breath indications, melodic contour, and durations. Use a consistent method throughout to partition the piece into phrases.

2. Across each phrase, apply an accelerando, ritardando, or accelerando then ritardando to the notated durations. Throughout the phrase, the “tempo” should always be in flux (i.e. if the same notated duration occurs twice in a row, it should result in two slightly different clocktime durations); the accelerandi/ritardandi should not be perfectly linear, and should not proceed at the same rate throughout. The tempo should always change in a gradual fashion—never so fast that tempo change calls attention to itself. Within any phrase, the maximum tempo should never be more than twice the minimum tempo. Build an approach to accelerando/ritardando that emerges organically out of the given breath indications, melodic contour, durations, etc.

3. In successive phrases:  the average tempo should remain the same (i.e. that implied by breath length)  avoid obvious patterning of accelerandi/ritardandi  vary the range of tempi used in successive phrases.  avoid obvious patterning and uniformity of phrase lengths (phrases may be as short as two notes, or as long as it is possible to maintain a perceptible vector of acceleration and/or deceleration)

NB: Disregard metric information in constructing an approach to phrasing. Bars are sediment of constructive processes from which the music’s surface resulted, and as such carry no inherent structural significance. Therefore downbeats imply no special emphasis.

H. Pitch Because the preparation affects pitch in ways that are unpredictable and which affect different instruments differently, pitch is notated in a way that is open to the contingencies of particular instruments and preparations.

1. Lip Tension/Partials The piece uses three adjacent high partials, the lowest of which should be the 8 th partial, if not higher. In the score, these partials are labelled P0, P+1, and P+2, from low to high.

While the preparation may have the effect of detuning partials, do not attempt to correct their intonation towards the overtone series. Instead, experiment with the instrument and find a pitch that seems most stable for each partial.

2. Valves On the staff, the top line indicates the open (no valves) position on a particular partial, while lines and spaces below indicate indeterminate adjacent microtonal pitches below the open pitch created by depressing valves.

Intervals between adjacent lines and spaces (i.e. what are notated as diatonic steps) should be small (no more than 75¢, or three equal tempered eighth tones) but perceptible. Adjacent intervals should not be identical; no one interval should be more than 1.5 times larger or smaller than any other.

Within each partial, up to 7 microtonally adjacent fingerings (including the open partial) are required.

It may be useful to calibrate the preparation while selecting and practicing fingerings for the specified pitches. ~

Duration: The piece’s duration, if a full breath is 20 seconds, is 16:18-16:39.

Composer Contact Information: Colin Tucker ColinLTucker@gmail.com colintucker.wordpress.com

center unmoored in the presence of infinite fringes

colin tucker

for solo prepared bass tuba

1.7B during all silences: freeze in playing position

P+1 6 2

     

pppppp sempre [valves as quiet as possible]







 







 

0.5

6 4 5

3.4

3.6



1.05B

        

8

1.7B

6 9

  

6

5.1

0.25B o

6 4.5

5.3 6

           o

pppppp

  

2

6

14







 

16

6



5.1

















 

0.8





 



6

 



6

4.5

4.6

       

17



0.65B





6 21

0.15B



  





  

24

2.75B





0.4

 

2.1

o



P+2 6

3

P+1 4.3

         

25

o

6

5.5 6



27

  





 









6

  

0.5

5.4

3.2

 

29



6



  



6

5.1

5.7

  

0 0.1B

 

0.4B

6 3.6

35

o



0.1B o



o

             o

0.033B

6 40

1.05B

 

6

4.5



 

0.15B o

o

5.8



4 44

2.75B

P0 6

6

5.4

  

                 

45

0.4B o

o

6 2.3

                      

48

4

3.8

        

49

51



0.2

  



 

    



0.8

  

  

 

    

0

5 52

2.75B

6

5.2 6





53

6

5.5 6



3.5













 



 





o

o



      

54

6

5.5 6

3



56

  

   o

6 1.4

  

57

4.8





6



5.1



o

6 59

0.25B



o

5.7

0.65B

  

6

 o

  4.9



 

  

 

6 P+1 6 62

 



o

      

  







   

4.3

        

 

6

6 5.8

65

67

0.1B

5.1

  

o

o



   6



  

o

0.15B

75

1.05B

6

6 5.2

6 5.7

     

76

o

o



 6

         

78







5.6

0.2

0.4B o

5.4

  

o

o

0.05B

P0

o

6

5.7



0.25B

0

0.1



7

6 80

 o

 



 





 





 

0.4

6 6

5.4 6 5.6

 

82



   



6 83

0.15B

  

 

 

1.4

4.5

     

85

2.75B

6

6

           

86

1.9

5.1

  

0.25B

o

P+1 6 90

0.65B

  

5





 





 

2.2



o

8 4 92









     

93

6



95

o

5.2





6

 





4.6

  



 6





 

1.2

 o





0

o

5.6 6

6 4

   



 



 

96

1.7B

P0 6

5.4

5.4 3

 

97

0.1B o

5.7

           

100

x* *remain frozen in playing position for a long time (1.7B to 2.75B), and then gradually move out of playing position