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RECENT WORKS FOR SOLO PERCUSSION ESSE STEWART A thesis subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Programme in Music York University North York, Ontario December 1999 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliagraphic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. me Wellington Onawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada Yaur lYe Votre rélemce Our We Notre rdfchence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Lïbraxy of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfichelnlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fi-om it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ICECENT WORKS FOR SOLO PERCUSSION by ESSE LORNE STEWART a thesis subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial futfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS .1999 Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNI- VERSITY to lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this thesis and to tend or sell copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it rnay be printed or other- wise reproduced without the author's written permission. Abstract This paper is intendeci as a written complement to a compositional project by the author. A body of music for solo percussion was developed that explores the connedon between the visual and mal senses in a variety of ways. The paper situates the work arnong broader trends in twentieth century music and culture in terms of its style orientation, conceptual wncerns and technical methods- The music is discussed in four categories: works for solo percussion, works for solo drum set, works involvïng electronics, and works for solo lithophone, an instrument of the author's design and construction. The thesis also inciudes scores for each of the works discussed and audio recordings of the majority of the pieces. Many people have supported me during the creation of my composition thesis. 1 would Ue to extend my sincerest of thanks to dlof rny teachers, especidy my parents and grandparents as well as my advisors David Lidov, David Mott, and James Te~ey.1 can only hope that 1 have learneci the lessons they have taught so well. Thanks also to Josh Thorpe, Mike Kane, and Paul Ruston for their fkiendship, advice and assistance with the recordhg process. Euaiiy, 1 would Wre to thank Michele McMïlian for her constant love and encouragement and for believing in me. Table of Contents Acknowledgements. ...... .. ........................ ............. .. v Tableofcontents.................................................. vi Chapter One Introduction ...................................................... 1 ANewSenseRatio ........................................... 3 General Characteristics of my Recent Work ......................... 9 Improvisation ................................................ 11 Notation .................................................... 14 Chapter Two Works for Solo Percussion. ........................................... 18 Chapter Three Works for Solo Dmm Set. ........................................... 3 1 A Bnef fistory of the Drum Set Solo. ............................ 33 Towards a Typology of Drum Set Sounds. ......................... 43 Chapter Four Works Involving Electronics. ......................................... 7 1 Chapter Five Works for Lithophone. ...... .. ..................................... 78 Constnicting the Multi-Intonational Lithophone. .................... 80 Chapter Six Appendix A List of Recorded Examples. ......................................... 11 1 Appendix B Scores.......................................................... 112 List of Tables Table 1. Factors Influencing the Relative Pitch of Drum Set Sounds ............. 55 Table 2a. Factors Muencing the Timbre ofDmm Set Sounds: Vqhgthe Mode of Articulation. ................................ 61 Factors Iduencing the Timbre of Drum Set Sounds: Aitering the Vibrahg Object. ................................... 67 Table 3. Frequency Values of the Eighth Tone Lithophone. ................... 87 Table 4. Comparison ~f'~Columbine"Tuning with Closest Lithophone Approximation. .............................. 90 Table 5. Cornparison of 3,5,7 Hamonic Space to Lithophone Approximation. ..... 98 List of Figures Figure 1. Figure 2. Cornparison of Hard and Sofi Beater. 59 Figure 3. Block Diagram of Electronics Set-up Used in Conjunction With Amustic Dmm Set. 75 Figure 4. 3,5,7 Harmonie Space. 93 Figure 5. Adaptation of 3,5,7 Space to Two-Dimensional Playing Surface. 94 CHAPTER 1: Introduction For the past two and a halfyears, 1 have been studying both ethnomusicology and composition in York University's graduate programme in music. Having come to York as an MA candidate in ethnomusicology, 1entered the new graduate level composition programme on a somewhat provisional basis. As an undergraduate student, 1 majored in both visual arts and music; however, the music department 1 had attended did not offer any courses in composition and as a resuit I had very little experience as a composer. Most of my experiences in working with sound had in fact developed through my interest and involvement with the visual arts. 1 worked in the areas of sound sculpture, performance art, video, musical theatre and instrument design as 1 becarne increasingiy interesteci in the relations between visual and sonic information. As a perfonner, my main instrument had been the dmset. It seemed to me that the physical actions involved in playing most percussion instruments had a built-in visual component. 1 began worhg with this physicality in the work 1 was doing as both an artist and musician. I mention all of this to provide a contes for the compositional work which forms the bask of my thesis in music composition. Using a variety of compositional techniques, I have developed a body of work for mainIy solo percussion which explores the wnnection between the visual and aura1 senses in a variety of ways. Although these pieces vary considerably in terms of form and content, 1have come to consider this to be one body of work because of the interdisciplinary quality that aii of these works share- The present paper is intended as a complement to this compositional endeavour. Broadly speaking, its aims are to situate my work in the context of contemporary music with respect to its technical methods and style orientation. For the saice of clarity, 1will discuss the work under four categones: works for solo percussion (ï.ncIudmgpieces for found objects), works for solo dmset, works involving electronics, and works for solo lithophone, an instrument of my own design and construction. The titles of the compositions which form the basis for my thesis in music composition are listed below dong with the page numbers where each is discussed in the text. Compos~~tionfor Steel Bowl and Cylidr @p. 24, 1 1 1, 1 12, 14 1 -42) SIidng Music for one, two, or three performers @p. 13,24,25,1 1 1, 1 12, 14345) Hiding Places for resonant seashell @p. 13,24, 1 1 1, 1 12, 146-47) Jiinctwes for stone drill cores (pp. 24, 1 1 1, 1 12, 158-62) Bell Gme for marble tables, rnortars and rounded stones (pp. 24, 1 1 1, 112, 148-52) (71.5 x IS x 2) + 2 for rnarble slab and rounded stones (pp. 24, 1 1 1, 1 12, 153-57) SiinRisintg. WimiBlowingfor solo Inm @nt (pp. 13,24,25, 111, 112, 140) Cynibal Stuc@ #I (pp. 24,52, 11 1,112, 113) Three StucàFes for Inwrted Snme Dnn (pp. 24,25, 54, 63, 1 1 1, 1 12, 1 14-18) Jzm-Pop Hi-Haf @p. 9,24, 111, 112, 119) Shr@ for a Single Dnmr @p. 24.51, 11 1, 112, 120) Compositionfor Bars Dnmi and CymbuI @p. 24,54,69,1 1 1, 1 12, 121-24) Shimmer for solo drum set (pp. 24, 25, 32, 56, 69, 1 1 1, 112, 125-3 1) Life Support for solo dmet (pp. 24,30,32, 52, 54, 56, 1 11, 1 12, 132-3 5) GhostDnmsfor solo dmset @p. 13,24,32, 111, 112, 136) Iam a CCllUZdim for dmm set, record player, and electronics @p. 75-77, 109, 11 1, 112, 137-38) Echoes for dmset and electronics (pp. 69, 75, 11 1, 1 12, 139) Jacob 'sPiZZm (23574 for solo Lithophone (pp. 95-96,11 1,112, 163-69) Silktone in three movements (2357-b) for solo lithophone (pp. 95-96,11 1, 112, 170-73) Stone Chgesfor solo lithophone (pp. 10, 12, 99, 1 1 1, 1 12, 174-257) A New Stnse Ratio Where do we go fiom here? Towards theatre. That art more than music resernbles nature. We have eyes as well as m. and it is our business while we are alive to use them. - John Cage (1957: 12) Some recent studies in the field of cognitive psychology have suggested that studying music can actually improve childrens' cognitive abilities (Costa-Giomi 1997, Rauscher et al. 1997, Hassler et al. 1985, Kalmar 1982, Hurwitz et al. 1975). Specincally, evidence suggests that training in music improves toddlers' spatial reasoning, that is, theû ability to understand the relations between objects in space. The implication here is that studying sounds in tirne helps to develop neural pathways in the brain that are also used in the perception of objects in space. 1 have ofien wondered about the extent to which this comection shapes our perceptions later in Me.