SPIN
(for Doudou Ndiaye Rose)
spin is a response to the music of Doudou Ndiaye Rose, some of the most amazing orchestral music I’ve ever come across. There’s a spot at 3:17 in Ligueyou Ndeye where the tempo/meter shifts that really caught my ear, and I jumped on that possibility. I also absolutely love the sound of all those sabar wolofs.
Ligueyou Ndeye —Doudou N’Diaye Rose
And FYI, Interval patterns in spin are relatively simple:
↓4th ….. ↑-2 …..↑+3
Pitch motion spins in varying ways around this lattice.
DOWNLOAD one PDF per clef or transposition
Percussion
Concert
Piano
G (alto flute)
Bass Clef
Alto Clef
Bb
Eb
F (Horn)
AUDIO MODELS
(Tacky Sounding MIDI Simulations)
spin (ensemble composite)
spin Line 1
spin Line 2
spin Line 3
spin Line 5
LOOPS by Block
This breaks the complete matrix pattern into its constituent sequential blocks, which by themselves may each be looped. Very good for sharpening the ear & reflexes.
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4
Block 5
I’ve also included a video (the sound here’s not quite up to snuff) of Cheikh Anta Diop (we should all know who he was) just because the music is so great & we get to see the ensemble in action while recording.
The entire album can be heard here:
https://archive.org/details/doudou-ndiaye-rose-djabote/Djabote/05+Baye+Kene+Ndiaye.mp3
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FOR EVERYONE:
Conducting Signals — DOWNLOAD PDF
NOTES
These interfaces are usually designed so that we’re often playing all or parts of lines in pitch & rhythm unison, & when that’s happening, the improvisational element comes in the delivery of timbre.
We’re playing toward an ensemble sound & blend, but that sound can be collectively reinflected with an unlimited potential for subtle variation.
1. Any pitch can be played in any octave.
2. Use as much timbral variety as you can in addition to your standard & personal sound.
Bowed Strings: include pizzicato, vibrato, sans vibrato, sul ponticello, sul tasto, harmonics …
Guitars: include near bridge, muted string, harmonics, bottleneck slide, electronic alterations …
Brass: every mute you got + half valve…
3. Each line accents features in the other lines. Listen for them.
4. Silence is as important as any sound. Silences should be accented. As this is a large ensemble leaving notes out (& laying out) may half of the time be your most important contribution.
5. > Accent the silences. When you stop sounding, make that change as audibly clear as you can.
5. Short or stacatto tones make space & help create a sforzando effect ensemblewise.
7. Leave out a lot of notes to taste, somebody else will play them.
8. Possible alternative voicings on conducted cue:
A. Play everything on one Single Pitch.
B. Play with a sound of Indefinite Pitch to get a percussion effect.
C. Thicken: play within a whole step of the notated pitch.
9. Some other developmental cues:
A. Loop a single line.
B. Crosscut: Play every other measure, or phrase, or line, or repeat.
C. Prune: Don’t play all the notes; leave some (or a lot) out.
D. Change Pitch as you hear it.
E. Local Development: Improvised elaboration of material.
F. Open Development: Follow your ear & whatever’s happening.
ONE MORE THING: with limited rehearsal time, and the material when played all together being kind of tricky — plus it’s all about hearing anyway, there are some supplementary audio tracks here for those of who’d appreciate that.
Download Notes (the same text as above) in PDF format for Printing
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conducting signals
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PITCH
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CONTINUITY
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