foto: daniel puig

mar folds into sound

for ute, electric guitar, piano and live-electronics
premired at the 46. Internationale Ferienkurse fr Neue Musik, Darmstadt, Germany
daniel puig
2012
the sensation of the whole piece should be that
of going into the sea until water is over your chest
and being lifted slightly from the ground
through the passing by of a wave
instructions for performers are given along the next pages
mar folds into sound
play
take your own tempo, with q around 80 M.M.
keep the same tempo for the whole page very strictly
scale for this page (use these notes in any octave)
G
#
- G
=
- A - A
+
- B
b
G
#
- A - B
b
ute and guitar:
piano:
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
let ring
w
h e
.

h e
.

e
O
h e
.

h e
.

e
O
. . .
w
q e
.

e
O
e
O
. . .
q e
.

q e
.

q e
.

w
q x

e
O
e
O
. . .
q x

q x

q x

w
e
O
e
O
e
.
. . .
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
e
.
attack any note from the scale
ute and guitar: press the switch pedal
this must be rhythmically very precise
piano: disregard this sign
ute:
slight change of air pressure
dont correct the intonation
guitar:
bending to a quarter tone
attack the note more than once, if necessary
piano:
play and hold the note on the keyboard
with a plectrum or thimble, do a tremolo on the strings
of a note 1/2 tone higher or lower,
with a slight cresc. (up) and decresc.
following the curve
attack the note on the keyboard
more than once, if necessary
slap once
with an open hand
on several of the lower piano strings
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
play
free tempo, very fast notes
G - G
+
- G
#
- G
=
- A - A
+
- B
b
- C
=
- D - D
+
- D
#
- D
=
- E
ute and guitar:
piano:
G - G
#
- A - B
b
- D - D
#
- E
scale for this page (use these notes in any octave)
set your range, using any number
of notes from the scale
play fast arpeggios over the range set, repeating and varying them according to
the size of the rectangles (vertical = range; horizontal = duration)
use only notes from the scale
end with lowest note
play a tremolo with two
notes of the scale
guitar and piano may
use tremolos with
multiple notes
vary your tremolo according to the size of the rectangles
(vertical = range; horizontal = duration)
use only notes from the scale
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
ute
rapidly repeat random key clicks
without tone
use only notes from the scale
electric guitar
use plectrum to play notes between
the headstock and left hand ngers
placed on notes from the scale
piano
rub hands on the piano body
near a contact pick-up
explore the sounds produced by this action
G - G
#
- A - B
b
- D - D
#
- E
ute:
G - G
+
- G
#
- G
=
- A - A
+
- B
b
- C
=
- D - D
+
- D
#
- D
=
- E
guitar:
scale for this page (use these notes in any octave)
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
ute
improvise freely with
whistle tones and multiphonics
over notes from the scale
use both techniques
electric guitar
use metal thimbles
on two of your right hand ngers
improvise freely using
harmonics with both hands, hammer- and tap-on techniques,
fret, fretboard and string sounds on both sides of your left ngers
press only notes from the scale, but allow any other sound deriving from them
piano
use two metal pieces, one on each hand, to touch strings slightly and
improvise freely with their harmonics
pluck strings with your ngers or with metal pieces
use only notes from the scale
G - G
+
- G
#
- G
=
- A - A
+
- B
b
- C
=
- D - D
+
- D
#
- D
=
- E
ute and guitar:
piano:
G - G
#
- A - B
b
- D - D
#
- E
scale for this page (use these notes in any octave)
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
instructions for the performers
the sensation of the whole piece should be that
of going into the sea until water is over your chest
and being lifted slightly from the ground
through the passing by of a wave
beginning & end
the piece starts with the utist on the page with only one small circle.
guitarist and pianist start on that same page, after the utist has nished to play the third sound event.
the piece ends with a clear sign from the guitarist, to which all should stop to play together and at once: this is very
important! The whole performance should last between 10 and 15 minutes.
Alternatively, this piece can also be played for any period of time, if the performance settings include the possibility that
the audience comes in and out of the performance space, i.e., doesnt listen to the whole of the performance.
pick-ups, amplication and setup
ute
microphone, with a little ltering for the enhancing of spectral content
one MIDI on-off pedal
electric guitar
normal pick-up and a contact pick-up placed on the headstock
no ltering apart from the effects (sustain and distortion)
amplier with direct sound from normal pick-ups (no effects!) on stage
one MIDI on-off pedal; and one MIDI expression pedal (volume pedal)
piano
the piano has no lid
two contact pick-ups placed in metal parts of the body
ltering is given by the functioning of the contact pick-up itself (bad pick-up)
nal sign (guitarist)
the guitarist controls via the expression pedal the spacialization and the intensity of sustain and distortion for all
instruments, throughout the piece. you should drive it expressively from top to down, with freedom to go back and forth
along the duration of the whole piece. dont use very sudden changes, but dont stick to slow ones as well.
you must only reach the very bottom at the very end of the piece (pedal at = midivalue 127). this is the same moment
you must give a clear sign to the other performers, so that you all stop to play together and at once. dont try to build up
anything before, just cut it, without showing intention to do so. the electronics will go on alone and fade out. The whole
performance should last between 10 and 15 minutes.
transparent score
placed over the piano on a box containing a strong backlight (from within), this part of the score projects its shadows on
the ceiling. three circular transparent graphics [1] are placed over each other, resulting in different combinations, as in
[2], for example. their shadows shouldnt be completely sharp, but somehow blurred. as the performers move the layers,
their nger shadows also come into play. the next three pages of the score bring these graphics, to be printed on A3
format transparent acetate and preferably cut, so as to have a circular shape. the backlight box should have a mask with
a circular opening in the same size. each group of small circles relates to the pages above and the sound events
contained there.
to read the transparent score you must follow the lines from one group of small circles to another, in any direction,
without changing lines when they cross. the length of the line you are following indicates the relative duration to be
dedicated to improvising from that page.
the intensity of the gray areas around the lines correspond to the intensities you play. as gray areas are different on both sides of
the line, you should always choose which side you are reading for the intensities, before starting to follow the line.
when you read a page for the rst time during a performance, you must play all of its sound events. after that, choose the ones you
want to play (if the page has more than one). each time you nish to play a page you can choose to move, or not, one layer of the
transparent score. if you choose to move it, you must: approach the piano, move it,
and go back away from the piano. the scenic aspect that arises from that gesture is
desired and should be integrated in the performance, as well as the shadows of your
ngers. in moving the layers, you will notice that the sign of a page (small circles) can
be covered by others, thus leaving the sound material on that page out of the musical
result. dont let it stay like that for a long time.
start at the page with one small circle (as explained in beginning above), but before
playing it, choose a way through the lines to a next page. evaluate how long it would
take and use that duration as your parameter for all other durations, by connecting the
feeling of it to the length of the line. but remember that, as the layers move, the length
of the lines change. you should react to those changes at all times.
the piece starts with all layers already placed over each other.
live-electronics
electronics must be controlled through a Max/MSP patch,*
where the different algorithms are triggered. the interaction
with the patch is done via midi controllers assigned to the
performers (see pick-ups, amplication and setup) and by
a performer of the live-electronics. control by the guitarist
changes spatialization and introduces different levels of
distortion and reverb.
performer of the live-electronics
the functions of the patch are described in the patch itself.
you must pay special attention to the areas with white titles,
namely: input and output levels, real-time playback level,
MIDI connections and bit-crush level. recording, effects and
spatialization are controlled by the performers. try to have
all levels balanced and, in overall, the electronics for the
audience should have the same level as the quietest parts
played by the instruments (as in the beginning). electronics
should be covered when the instruments play louder.
the guitarist must have an expression pedal that sends MIDI
values between 0-127 and a MIDI on-off pedal. the ideal
situation is when the guitarists pedal has MIDI in and out
ports: in this case, the utists MIDI on-off pedal can be routed through it. for any other situation, the patch may need to be
adapted. before rehearsal or performance, test MIDI connections using the test function in the patch, then turn it off.
to clear the recordings and reset all values, press the reset button (for rehearsals). save presets of fader positions by shift-clicking
on an empty preset circle. if by any means the guitarists end doesnt work, the end button serves as an alternative.
[*The Max/MSP patch can be obtained with the composer:
danielpuig@me.com]
[1]
[2]
mar folds into sound daniel puig
2012
mar folds into sound
daniel puig
2012
mar folds into sound
daniel puig
2012
mar folds into sound
daniel puig
2012
This score is distributed under a
Creative Commons License
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
mar folds into sound
daniel puig
2012