This article was downloaded by: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] On: 22 September 2010 Access details: Access Details: [subscription

number 917953428] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 3741 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of New Music Research

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713817838

Sound, gesture and symbol The relation between notation and structure in American experimental music
Thomas DeLioa a Dept. of Music, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

To cite this Article DeLio, Thomas(1981) 'Sound, gesture and symbol The relation between notation and structure in

American experimental music', Journal of New Music Research, 10: 3, 199 219 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/09298218108570338 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09298218108570338

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Interface, Vol. 10 (1981) pp. 199-219.

Sound, Gesture and Symbol The Relation between Notation and Structure in American Experimental Music Thomas DeLio
Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

ABSTRACT This is a study of notation in recent music. Central to this exploration is the idea that, with respect to much recent music, what composers notate are the activities associated with the compositional process rather than the sonic remnants of that process. Two categories of structure and notation are defined and explored - behaviorism and pluralism. Works in the former category which are studied are Christian Wolff;s For 1, 2 or 3 People and Robert Ashley's in memoriam... Crazy Horse; works in the latter category, Pozzi Escot's Neyrac Lux and John Cage's Variations II.

The radical nature of many of the new notational systems employed in the music of the 60's and the 70's lends particular insight into the character of their unique aural results. With respect to much of this recent music, a study of the notation employed can often supply valuable insight into many of the fundamental premises upon which a composition's structure rests. As attitudes toward materials and morphology change, it has become imperative that composers seek new methods by which their works may be notated, thereby enabling the accurate and detailed modelling of many revolutionary concepts of structure. Indeed, it has become apparent that "very often the notations themselves are the determining factors in the composition of a piece and hence the piece's identity and structure". (Cardew, 1971, p. XV). The multifarious outpouring of new notational schemes in recent years is,

Manuscript received November 1980

200

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

of course, only a reflection of the amazing diversity of recent compositional practice. In fact, much of the impetus for recent explorations in the area of notation stems from the ongoing re-evaluation of our most basic notions of structure and the particular problems in charting, symbolically, the innovations which this re-evaluation engenders. Specifically, with respect to a great deal of new music one finds that activities which were once viewed as pre-compositional and outside the realm of structure are now being integrated directly into a composition's framework. The very concept of musical notation has been extended, then, to include not only the symbolic representation of form but also the delineation of all the compositional methodology from which such form issues. More and more the composer finds himself facing the problem of notating the activities of composition rather than any specific sonic results. It is this concern which links the notations of such diverse works as Iannis Xenakis' Linaia-Agon (1972), John Cage's Cartridge Music (1960), and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Spiral (1968). In each of these works the activities of making and shaping are externalized in some way and integrated into the very notation of the composition. Two attitudes toward notation will be discussed here, each of which reveals a very different vision of musical structure as reflected in the nature of the activities symbolized in the scores. The first deals with an exploration of the relationships apparent between the structure of an artwork and the patterns of human behavior. This attitude is exemplified in those seminal works of Christian Wolff written throughout the 60's and many works of Robert Ashley. The second attitude deals with various notions of pluralism as exemplified in many works of John Cage and the recent works of Pozzi Escot. I. BEHAVIOR One of the most striking aspects of Christian Wolffs music and one of the central issues guiding the development of his innovative notation is the tacit recognition that the morphology of form is nothing more, nor less, than a resonance of the structure of human behavior. Through this notion he directly and incisively confronts the traditional view of structure as embodied meaning or meaning externalized through behavior. For "Human behavior is neither a series of blind reactions to external "stimuli" nor the projection of acts which are motivated by the pure ideas of a disembodied, worldless mind. It is neither exclusively subjective nor exclusively objective but a dialectical interchange between man and the world... It is a circular dialectic in which independent beings of the

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

202

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

two or three people may perform, using any instruments, one or more of the score pages in any order. The instructions for performance read, in abridgement, as follows:
"Play all that is notated on a page, in any convenient sequence, not repeating anything... Black notes are variously short, up to about one second. With stems as sixteenth notes they are very short. White notes are of any length, sometimes determined by the requirements of coordination... A diagonal line towards a note = play that note directly after a preceeding one. A diagonal line away from a note = that note must be followed directly by another. A vertical line down from a note = play simultaneously with the next sound (both attack and release)... If a line to a note is broken by a number followed, after a colon, by a zero (-2:0-)... that number of seconds of silence intervene before the required coordination. -J = play after a previous sound has begun, hold until it stops. 2~ = start anytime, hold till another sound starts, finish with it. L_, = start at the same time (or as soon as you are aware of it) as the next sound, but stop before it does.

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

p

203

= start anytime, hold till another sound starts, continue holding anytime after t that sound has stopped. Horizontal lines joining two notes = a legato from the one to the other... Larger numbers on a line between notes: if black = that number of changes of some aspect(s) of the sound before reaching the next note; in red = that number of changes of the timbre of the first note before reaching the next one... X = high in some aspect."1

Thus, for instance, the first symbol on the upper left side of page II, / ?. t directs the performer to first play any loud sound; then, while holding that sound, to change two aspects of it (volume and timbre for instance); and, finally, to move smoothly (legato) to another sound which must be high in some way. In contrast, the symbol near the lower right corner of the page Jf \ directs the performer to play his first sound only after he hears one of the other players produce a sound. He is to hold his sound until the other stops, ending as close as possible to it. In addition, while holding his sound he is instructed to change one aspect of its character (for instance, it might get louder or softer). After this first gesture is completed he is to move directly and smoothly to another pitch which is itself to be followed directly by one more sound produced by himself or any one of the other players. In listening to this music one is immediately struck by the fact that several renderings of the same notated gesture rarely, if ever, produce patterns which are recognizably similar. "The complexities of this notation are directed less at an arrangement of sounds resulting from the performer's actions than at the conditions under which their actions are to be produced". (Behrmafi, 1976, p. 89). Thus, the notated symbols never determine any particular melodic contour nor any other specific type of sonic configuration. Rather, all that is ever defined symbolically is a complex of interactions between the performers. As the composer himself puts it: "People sometimes ask, why don't you just specify what you want and be done with it? I do! Actions are indicated..."2) What one hears are the gestures themselves, gestures which are usually taken for granted as the means to an end but which are here drawn out as an end in themselves. Thus, for example, the idea of playing together () takes on importance as an act in itself. Each performance is guided by carefully manipulated behavioral patterns which do not generate products and, as such, do
') Christian Wolff, For 1,2 or 3 People, (Peters Ed. N.Y. 1964), p. 1. 2 ) Christian Wolff, record liner notes, "John Cage and Christian Wolff (Mainstream Records, MS 5015), p. 2.

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

204

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

not signify anything beyond their essential characterization as behavior. In this music one ceases to distinguish between signs and signifiers forms and the behavior which engenders such forms. This work is not so much a construction in sound as a situation of action and response defined abstractly through sound. What is perceived as form is the ensemble of these interactions while the aural result is understood as merely one particular sonic projection of that form. Clearly, that "dialectical interchange" by which form and meaning are engendered is, in this music, embodied within the very substance of its audible structure. It is significant, also, that, in Wolffs music those activities which are represented on the page are usually activities of coordination. In his works actions are intimately tied to responses. First of all, within the framework of For 1,2 or 3 People it is quite probable that often, while one performer is responding to another the third may be shaping his next gesture in response to the first. Even more revealing is the fact that, by and large, the actions notated are themselves responses. In this the composer identifies the notions of action

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

205

and response as inseparable. Actions are themselves responses which, in turn, generate further responses from others. Acting affects and is, at the same time, itself affected.
"The enigma is that my body simultaneously sees and is seen. That which looks at all things can also look at itself and recognize, in what it sees, the "other side" of its power of looking. It sees itself seeing; it touches itself touching; it is visible and sensitive for itself. It is not a self through transparence, like thought, which only thinks its object by assimilating it, by constituting it, by transforming it into thought. It is a self through confusion, narcissism, through inherence of the one who sees in that which he sees and through inherence of sensing in the sensed..." (Merleau-Ponty, 1964, p. 162-163).

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

Robert Ashley's orchestral composition in memoriam ...Crazy Horse (1964) suggests striking similarities to the Wolff score. Significantly, however, those ideas which both works share in common are dealt with in very different ways and therefore represented graphically through very different systems of notation. Two pages from the score are reprinted here (Figs. 3 and 4). The instructions read, in part, as follows:

206

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

"...for 20 or more wind or string or other sustaining instruments in five or more groups of four or more instruments per group. The instruments of each group should be as closely related as possible. Each group plays from one page of the set of 32 pages. Beginning at any radius the players count around the circle allowing one unit of silence for each numbered radius. A sustained sound quality of the appropriate kind is called for upon reaching a radius on which there are number symbols. The inner set of symbols (inside the oval dot) allots a duration to this activity. The outer two sets of symbols specify alternative radii from which to proceed after this duration of activity. Each group decides in advance (in any manner) which direction or schedule of directions it will follow. The measured units are given for the orchestra as a whole by the conductor and are determined continually and freely by him. All numbers (durations and radii) are given in sums of the following symbols: = 1; ~ = 5; o = 10. Individual performers determine what is to be played on the basis of their group's obligation to produce a certain density of sound at a certain radius. Plans for assigning various radii or directions of movement to subtle differences in density can be worked out in advance. However, it will be sufficient if the performance involves only the two extremes of ensemble density: as pure (harmonious) as possible; (or) as noisy (dissonant) as possible. Any division of the score into semi-circles can be interpreted to represent these two extremes of density. Individual performers should choose their sounds spontaneously and begin playing at the beginning of a specified duration of activity. Within any duration, then, as soon as all members of the group are playing, individuals may continually adjust (change) their sound activity toward achieving a better realization of the ideal density. The concept of "density" is intended here to include all aspects of the sound information produced by the ensemble (group), not just density of harmonic spectrum. Thus the term "pure" means... unanimous, similar, redundant, synchronous, integrated, etc.,... in describing the performer's actions (sounds) and implies (1) a lack of individuality among the parts and (2) a high degree of redundancy in successive actions. Conversely, the term "noisy" means... disparate, dissimilar, chaotic, asynchronous, divided, etc.,... in describing the performers' action (sounds) and implies (1) a greater individuality among the parts and (2) a high degree of moment to moment change in successive actions". (Ashley, 1967, p. 42).

For the purpose of clarification, the same two pages of score are again reproduced, annotated in such a way as to facilitate reading and interpretation (Figs. 5 and 6). First, it should be noted that the configuration of symbols within the large numbered circle is exactly the same on both score pages. The only difference between these two pages is the placement of this inner configuration with respect to the outer circle. For example, the configuration of symbols found beneath position seven on the numbered circle on page I is found beneath position twenty-three on page II. All the configurations on page I are shifted clockwise sixteen positions on page II.

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

207

Symbols within the inner circle determine the duration of each sound activity. These range from three units of time in length to thirteen units of time. The symbols between the inner and outer circles determine the two possible positions along the outer circle to which one may move after performing a given sound event. As nothing concerning this matter is stated in the score it is assummed that one may move clockwise or counterclockwise along the outer circle. For the purpose of clarification, the following example is offered. If an ensemble within the orchestra is reading page I, it may begin on any position along the numbered circle. If it does not begin on a position which has symbols beneath it, the ensemble proceeds to move silently in either direction until it reaches one that does. Let us assume that the ensemble begins on position fifty-nine. It then moves clockwise, following the conductor's beat until it reaches position sixty-four. At this point the ensemble begins to play and must continue playing for six units of time. When this segment has ended the group has two options. It may move either to position forty or to position twentyeight along the numbered circle. If it chooses forty it must immediately play for six units of time and then proceed in a manner similar to that just described. If, however, it chooses twenty-eight which is a silent position, it may then proceed in either direction along the numbered circle until it reaches a position with symbols on it. All members of each ensemble must follow the same route through the score. The ensembles themselves, however, move independently. The score has two parts: one, the verbal instructions, determine, in a very general way, the kind of transformations to be used; the other, the graphic symbols, co-ordinate the activities both within and among the groups. For example, the circles in Figs. 5 and 6 have been bisected into semi-circles to one of which is assigned the quality of pure or harmonious and the other, the quality of noisy or dissonant. As such, on page I any sound event in the upper half is to be interpreted as noisy and any event in the lower half as pure. Thus, if an ensemble reaches position seven it performs for nine units of time and during that period strives to make a very noisy sound. If after this the ensemble moves to position thirty-six it will play for thirteen units and during that time strive to play a very pure sound. Significantly, the indications of noisy and pure may be interpreted in a variety of ways:
pure (harmonious, simple) unisons sine tones vs. vs. vs. noisy (dissonant, complex) duster complex tones

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

208

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

wide registral spacing regular rhythmic patterns; one dynamic level

vs. vs.

close registral spacing irregular rhythmic patterns; varying dynamic inflections

Concerning these notions of pure and noisy sound quality it is important to recall the composer's own comments on this subject in the instructions:
"Both of these terms describe antipodal, "ideal" densities that the ensemble tries to acWeveduringthecourseofaparticulardurationofactivity.. .it should be noted that it will defeat the purpose of the performance to play detailed "realizations" of densities. The preparations for performance should exclude neither the fortuitous initial densities that are the sum of the sound ingredients that the individual players have chosen spontaneously, nor the process involved in the player's attempt to work in an ensemble toward the "ideal" extreme." (Ashley, 1967, p. 42).

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL 209

210

THOMAS DELIO

Any realization of this score must, first of all, be understood as an exploration of the different ways in which these two ideal densities can be achieved by each ensemble of instruments and, ultimately, will be a commentary on the nature of both the types of instruments involved and the characters of those performing as they interact within the constraints of a controlled ensemble situation. For example, an ensemble of violins or oboes can never achieve as pure a sound as an ensemble of flutes or recorders. For one thing, at soft dynamic levels flute tones are reduced to a sine tone-like purity which can never be approached by the other two instruments. Similarly, an ensemble of recorders can never produce as noisy a sound nor even the same type of noisy sound as that of an ensemble of trumpets, the recorder being incapable of the violent dynamic contrasts nor the loud volume levels available to the trumpet. Clearly, then, the nature of each type of instrument will be a major factor in determining the ways in which the ideal densities are realized and, moreover, will actually determine the limits and character of the imagined "ideals". Another factor which directly affects the unfolding of the piece is the individual capability of each performer in manipulating his instrument and interacting within an ensemble situation. His control over the instrument and his ability to respond to the others in the ensemble as they together shape their total ensemble sound will be of singular importance to the shape of each performance and, of course, will also dramatically affect the ensemble's ability to achieve the quality of sound required. Ashley's composition juxtaposes the different ensembles as they strive independently to achieve their particular densities. Each sound event of the piece begins with a random mass of sound and moves toward one of the two "ideals". Each event captures, sonically, the striving of some ensemble to achieve a certain sound. As the initial sonority is sounded, each player begins to adjust his own playing in response to what the others are doing. Of course, as noted above, the ideals may each be realized in many different ways. So, the character of the sound result achieved at the end of each sound event will be determined by the ways in which the members of the ensemble react and interact with one another as they guide each other and the whole toward some sort of realization of the ideal. Thus, each sound event is not so much a sonic shape as an unfolding interaction. The ideal itself is not so much of interest for its own sonic qualities. Nor, indeed, is the form the sum of a succession of such sonorities. Rather, the ideal is a goal the repeated and varied strivings for which are, in the end, what are heard as form. As the piece is about the striving for some unknown the notation is

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

211

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

purposely indeterminate. Since it is a true ensemble piece, the activities of each performer must be coordinated and, thus, the graph arises. As the object is not so much the creation of a specific sound but the striving for a particular sound quality the composer resorts to a rather suggestive verbal description intimating the qualities toward which the ensemble is to propel itself. What are notated, then, are first, verbally, the goals to be achieved and then, graphically, the framework within which the ensembles work to achieve those goals. Sounds themselves are never notated, nor, in fact, are they even the subject of the piece. Rather, once again, what the composer does notate are, verbally, an ideal to be striven for and, graphically, the framework for an ensemble of interactions. II. PLURALISM A great many of the transformations in musical notation over the past two decades seem to have arisen from the desire to introduce various notions of multiplicity into musical discourse. "Man himself is being forced to reestablish, employ and enjoy his innate 'comprehensivity." (Buckminster Fuller, 1969, p.44). Such a revolutionary conception of form in turn necessitates the development of an approach to notation capable of symbolizing a total range of structures rather than any single sonic shape. The evolution of formal schemes with the potential for multiple realizations has directed composers to seek new methods of notation enabling them to incorporate their striking visions of multiplicity and comprehensivity. Neyrac Lux (1978) is a work in five movements for solo guitar by the composer/theorist Pozzi Escot. Both the notation and the structure of its second movement (Fig. 7) are particularly revealing. The score is notated fully on one page of manuscript containing two sets of symbols. In the center of the page are three collections each containing seven pitches all of which are notated on a circular musical stave. On the upper right side of the page is a single sequence of numbers arranged in a zig-zag pattern and partitioned in various ways by its alternating vertical and horizontal arrangement of both square and round shaped enclosures. With respect to the central part of the socre the circular staff - one is instructed to number the three collections in any order. Thus, the seven pitches beamed together on the upper left part of the circle might be labelled collection 2; that of the lower left, 1; and, that on the right, 3. However, it is important to bear in mind that any other labelling is equally acceptable and may be varied from performance to performance.

212

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

Figure 7

The number series in the upper right hand corner of the page is to be read as usual from upper left to lower right and consists of only the integers 1,2 and 3. Most striking is its visual presentation within an alternating succession of vertical and horizontal boxes and circles which suggest the following partitions: 1 2, 3, 2, 3 1,3,1 2,1 3,2,3,2 1,2,1 3 Furthermore, it seems clear that the central pair (2,1) are singled out as of special importance since these are contained within a circle and all other groupings are contained within boxes. Beyond this, only a few very general indications concerning the duration of the movement and silences surrounding it are given. At the top of the score the indication of one minute and thirty-two seconds is given as the total length of the movement. Below, just to the right of the circular staff is the marking sixty-three seconds which is to be the actual duration of playing time. The remaining thirty-three seconds are silent and are used to separate this movement from its predecessor and successor (twenty-one seconds preceding and twelve following).

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

213

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

In performance the various elements of the score are put together in such a way that the three pitch groups, now labelled in some way as one, two and three are played successively in the order designated by the sequence of numbers. Tempo, the speed at which the tones are played, is determined by the one timing of sixty-three seconds given in the score. This is the total duration of a performance and within only this general constraint the performer sets his tempo. Similarly, no dynamic indications are marked into the score as the composer believes that these will be determined quite naturally by the speed, order and registral placement of the notes within each group. In general, no instructions are included as it is the composer's belief that the score visually suggests the structure which it represents as well as a mode of realization relevant to that structure. The entire movement is constructed from the additive number series 1, 3, 4,7, 11, 18 (1+3 = 4, 3+ 4= 7, 4+7=11, 7+11 = 18). From this series the composer determines the following information
a) There are 3 pitch collections each containing 7 pitches. b) The number sequence contains 18 elements partitioned into 7 groups, two each containing 1, 3 and 4 elements. One group contains only two elements the pair in the center. Thus, the visual separation of this group from the others suggests its actual structural isolation from the fundamental series of the piece. c) The unique nature of this 2,1 pair which stands in the very center of the series suggests a further division of the partitioned series into halves:

7 2323 131 (27) 3232 121 3 1 4 3 4 3 1 Each half contains 3 groups, one each of length 1, 3, and 4. Thus, as the notation suggests, the central pair, serves a pivotal role in the composition's organization.

Central to any exploration of the notation employed here is the fact that the three pitch collections can be ordered in any way desired. As such the movement is left open to multiple interpretations and from one performance to the next its form will be encountered in a variety of different sonic garb. The work's notation suggests this separation between form and materials quite dramatically as the three pitch collections are presented apart from the number series by which they are shaped. Moreover, the multiplicity which such a separation implies is also captured graphically in the circularity of the musical staff, itself an unambiguous image of plurality. Thus, in several ways, the notation of this piece depicts quite vividly an image of structure created so as to

214

THOMAS DELIO

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

Figure 8

admit any number of equivalent sonic representations. It is a striking vision of abstraction and of that sense of universality which such abstraction engenders. Significant parallels are suggested to several works of the visual artist Sol LeWitt. In his drawing for Wall Markings (1968) (Fig. 8) LeWitt outlines what is essentially a score which, with the exception of certain details, suggests amazing similarities to the second movement of the Escot guitar piece. Wall Markings consists of two systems, as the artist refers to them, (outlined on the left side of Fig. 8) and two very different modes of realization (listed along the bottom of Fig. 8). Each system is to be articulated visually by both of these sets of graphic materials. LeWitt's drawing, then, contains within its framework

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

215

two very different visual realizations for each structure which it proposes. As such, the work also seems to demonstrate a certain independence of form from materials, and points to many of those same notions of abstraction and multiplicity which were encountered in the notation and music of Pozzi Escot's Neyrac Lux. Reflecting many of these same concerns, as also revealed through its notation, is Variations // (1961) of John Cage. The score for this piece consists of eleven separate transparent sheets, six having straight lines and five having points.
Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

"The sheets are to be superimposed partially or wholly separated on a suitable surface. Drop purpendiculars by means of any rule obtaining readings thereby for 1) frequency, 2) amplitude, 3) timbre, 4) duration, 5) point of occurrence in an established period of time, 6) structure of event (number of sounds making up an aggregate or constellation). A single use of all sheets yields thirty determinations. When, due to 6), more are necessary, change the position of the sheets with respect to one another before making them. Any number of readings may be used to provide a program of any length." (Cage, 1961, p. 1).

Figure 9

Any realization of this score is the result of a particular configuration fashioned from some superimposition of these sheets (Fig. 9). The sonic structure resulting from such a superimposition will invariably be that of some statistical correlation of several distributions of sound elements. For the sake of clarity, examples will be drawn from a simpler score consisting of fewer components than the original. In this situation, constructed by the author, a score with only three lines and four dots will be used. By superimposing these elements the configuration found in Fig. 10 might arise.

216

THOMAS DELIO

Figure 10

Here the dots and lines have been labelled, respectively: d1; d2, d3 and d4; and, 1,, 12 and 13. The dots represent sonic events and the lines are given assignments as sonic parameters. Let us say, for instance, that 1, = duration, 12 = pitch, and 13 = volume. If a dot falls close to lj it represents a short sound, close to 12 a low sound and close to 13 a soft sound; far away from 1, a long sound, far away from 12 a high sound and far away from 13 a loud sound. Since there is no point of occurrence parameter in this example it will be assumed that the performer or performers may read through the dots in any order. With respect to this particular configuration then, it seems clear that there will be three times as many short sounds as long and three times as many low sounds as high since three dots fall close to 1 and 12 and one far away. Also, there will be three times as many loud sounds as there are soft since only one dot is close to 13 while three are far away. This information is summarized in the chart shown in Fig. 11. The structure of this composition, then, consists of three distributions of dots, one distribution over each line. It is important to note, however, that there are actually two aspects of this structure (this configuration) which have been revealed through the chart. First, one should note that the total available range of each parameter has been partitioned into only two general areas: close (soft, short, low) and far (loud, long, and high). Second, a density ratio of 3:1 has been determined. As such, over the course of any reading of this particular realization, one of the two partitioned areas of any parameter will have three times as many sounds as the other.
close far

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

Figure 11

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL

217

Next, it should be observed that the configuration also determined a specific correlation among those distributions. Roughly speaking, the majority of sounds will be short, low and loud while only one-third as many will be long, high and soft. More precisely, the 3:1 density ratio is assigned to the two partitions of each parameter in the following manner:
duration: pitch: (short/long) 3: 1 (low/high) 3: 1 (loud/soft) 3: 1

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

volume:

This particular assignment of the 3:1 ratio to the three parameters tends to group, on the one hand, all the short/low/loud sounds together and, on the other hand, all the long/high/soft ones together. These groupings follow naturally from the respective densities of occurence within the partitions of the various parameters. In other words, there are three times as many short/low/ loud sounds as there are long/high/soft ones:
short/low/loud 3 : : long/high/soft 1

Thus, the specific assignments of the density ratio to the three sets of partitions results in a correlation among the elements of those partitions. To summarize:///^, the total available range of each parameter is partitioned into two broadly defined regions (low-high, soft-loud, short-long) as a result of the configuration of dots over each line; second, an association is made between members of these pairs (short/low/loud, long/high/soft) as a result of the configuration of the lines; and third, a density ratio is determined (the result of which will be the sounding of three times as many sounds of the short/low/loud type as there will be of the long/high/soft type). The final aural result is, then, that of a statistical distribution of sounds over several parameters and one specific correlation of those distributions. If several performers were to read through the configuration several times there would sound approximately three times as many short/low/loud sounds as there will be long/high/soft ones. The order of performance of the dots is irrelevant and will in no way alter this outcome since the overall statistical results will remain unchanged despite the particular order in which the sounds are heard.

218

THOMAS DELIO

It is, however, important to recognize that the score does not fix any one such configuration. Rather, the composer presents as his score the materials by which any such configuration may be fashioned. As such, the score contains within it the full range of all possible configurations of six lines and five dots and, consequently, the full range of statistical structures to which these configurations give rise. Thus, it cannot really be said that any one specific statistical structure is the structure of Variations II. Rather, the structure of Variations II is the complete range of all such statistical complexes made available by the composer through the score. Indeed, with respect to this notion it would seem significant that Cage allows the use of many different realizations of the score within any single performance (see instructions: "Any number of readings may be used to provide a program of any length." (Cage, 1961, p. 1). Clearly, then, each performance may contain many suggestions of the work's inherent multiplicity as it may freely sample from the range of structures which the composition's supra-structure engenders. Cage has integrated into the structure of his piece the very processes by which that structure evolves. Moreover, the realization of these processes is left open, to be completed by those assembling a performance. Variations II, then, is one large, comprehensive system which itself represents the total accumulation of its many constituent realizations. As such, the score represents a structure in potentia as it symbolizes, graphically, not just one specific statistical distribution but rather the mechanism for constructing an entire range of such distributions. "A composer who hears sounds will try to find a notation for sounds. One that has ideas will find one that expresses his ideas, leaving their interpretation free, in confidence that his ideas have been accurately and concisely notated." (Cardew, 1974, p.III). Though many composers who have striking and revealing insights still do employ traditional notation, it seems clear that, with respect to the music of the past two decades, an era has emerged wherein the notation of method often takes prominence over the notation of sound. This has led to a flourishing of creative energy devoted almost exclusively to the discovery of unconventional methods for notating musical compositions. As a result, recent compositional activity has witnessed a shift in emphasis away from the creation of sonic structures toward the creation of more precise ways of notating activities and attitudes. This change, in turn, has brought to light a multitude of hitherto unexplored facets of our perception, creation and understanding of musical structure.

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

SOUND, GESTURE AND SYMBOL REFERENCES

219

Downloaded By: [Goteborgs Universitetsbibliote] At: 00:22 22 September 2010

Ashley, R. "in memoriam. . .Crazy Horse", Source Magazine, Composer/Performer Ed., Davis, California, 1967. Behrman, D. "What Indeterminate Notation Determines" Perspectives on Notation and Performance, Benjamin Boretz and Edward Cone ed. W. W. Norton Co., N.Y., 1976. Buckminster Fuller, R. Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, Simon and Schuster, N.Y., 1969. Cage, J. Variations II, (Henmar Press Inc., 1961), p.1. Cardew, C. Treatise Handbook, Peters Ed., London, 1971. Merleau-Ponty, M. The Primacy of Perception. Northeastern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1964. Merleau-Ponty, M. The Structure of Behavior, Beacon Press, Boston, 1967. Thomas DeLio Dept. of Music University of Maryland College Park Maryland 20 742, USA