GLiTCH for Percussion and Electronics - Sample Pages

GLiTCH

for Log Drums and Electronics

Program Note

GLiTCH is a piece about disruptions and tension. It begins with stable, consonant, and welcoming gestures, but these are gradually corrupted and interrupted by “glitches” that undermine the listener’s sense of stability and comfort. Rhythmic manipulation provides the primary means for disruption, but considerable tension also arises between harmonic consonance and dissonance as well as timbral relaxation and abrasiveness. The piece unfolds like a battle between the two opposing forces of stability and instability

GLiTCH develops across six sections that are roughly palindromic in their sequence. The first section introduces the piece’s principal gestures, which then gradually become corrupted by increasingly unpredictable rhythmic glitches that truncate or prolong each gesture. Section two introduces a new groove driven by a steady bass ostinato, but this too is soon disrupted by a new, more dramatic glitch as a series of uneven mixed meter changes create interruptive counterpoint to the new groove. The tension arising from these two combative forces peaks in the third section, where the rhythmic and harmonic instability is cranked to the max in a forceful and dizzying array of highly varied syncopated gestures.

After the third section eventually collapses under the weight of its extreme tension, the fourth section treats us to respite and stability as the music gently coasts over a series of slowly shifting consonant harmonies that revisit and amplify the stability of the opening section. This stability is short lived though, as the fifth section bursts in with another surge of disruptive syncopations and gives way to the reappearance of the second section’s ostinato groove. The groove again battles its way through mixed meter interruptions to a climactic sixth and final section that revisits, elevates, and celebrates the piece’s opening gestures, but even this celebration can’t quite shake the glitches that have intruded from the very beginning.

The electronic accompaniment for GLiTCH is created from samples of hammered dulcimer, log drums, and piano strings played with sticks. The hammered dulcimer and log drum samples are also processed with a granular synthesizer to create the synthetic pulsating and rhythmic sounds that complement the acoustic samples at the forefront of the music’s texture.

GLiTCH

for Log Drums and Electronics

Instrumentation: Three log drums (six pitches total). The ideal instruments are Black Swamp Percussion’s 20’’, 25’’, and 30’’ log drums (the upper three of their four available models).

Sticks and mallets: Two rubber mallets and brushes.

Setup: GLiTCH is written to be played with this setup, where 1 indicates the lowest pitch and 6 the highest:

To facilitate a quick change from brushes to mallets at measure 176, it is recommended to have stick tables on both sides of the setup. When switching from mallets to brushes at measure 146, place one mallet on each table to setup a smooth change back to mallets at measure 176.

Amplification: In live performance, the log drums should be amplified and mixed with the tape part so that both parts are balanced and reasonably loud, resulting in a rich and full sound in the hall.

Audio Files: The following audio files are provided with the score: 1. Performance track 2. Performance track with metronome 3. Metronome only track 4. Electronic realization with sampled solo part

These tracks should allow the performer to perform the piece with the performance track or while listening to the metronome track while sending the performance track to the hall output. For practice, import the file you wish to practice with into a DAW and cue up the section you wish to begin at. Please contact the composer if you have questions about any of the files or have a request for any additional audio files for performance or practice.

Part Size: This part is formatted for double sided printing on 9 inch by 12 inch paper, but scales to standard letter size paper if the larger size is unavailable.

Special Playing Techniques and Notation

• Dead zone strokes: notes marked with a + symbol should be played in the “dead zone” of the corresponding pitch. The dead zone is the non tongued area to the outer side of the drum, as illustrated with the + markings in the setup illustration above. These notes should have a higher pitched “pop” sound, and these are only requested on pitches 4, 5, and 6.

• Buzz strokes: the section from measure 104 145 uses buzz strokes, indicated by a z symbol through the stem. For these strokes, throw the stroke with a slightly looser grip and allow the mallet head to bounce a few times on the surface of the drum after the initial stroke, creating a “buzz” effect.

• Sticking suggestions are included in most passages. In general, play repeated pitches with the same hand whenever possible for evenness of tone and dynamic shaping. The sticking suggestions follow and highlight this principle.

• Pattern Brackets: the section from measure 146 176 uses brackets to illustrate repeating motivic patterns in the solo part. Pattern changes are sometimes indicated between groups of brackets with a // symbol. This section is also written so that for much of the passage, one hand steadily plays a dotted-quarter note rhythm on one pitch while the other hand plays most of the other notes. The suggested sticking in this passage follows this principle.

• Brush dynamics: the section from measure 146 176 also uses brushes, and the dynamics in this passage are mostly gradual waves from p to f and vice versa. These dynamics are contextual to the electronic accompaniment’s dynamics, and the p strokes should match the soft dynamics in the tape part. This means that in practice, the written p and f dynamics may need to be played as if they are mf and ff in this section to get proper balance.

• Septuplets: all septuplets used in the piece are 7:3 tuplets, each filling the space of three eighth notes.

Metronome Track Timings: Two audio tracks with metronome are included for practice. One includes the performance track audio while the other is the metronome only. Both tracks begin with one empty measure of 3 2 time for the count off. The following timecode table shows the starting time of each major section of the piece in these tracks, should you wish to cue it up to a specific section for practice:

Timecode