Recursion is the process of repeating something in a self-similar way. That is, repeating a thing in a way that’s exactly or approximately similar to a part of itself.  The whole has the same shape as one or more of the parts. In this case of this piece, the “thing” is an amount of musical time. Recursion is presented to the musicians using a graphic score. It shows a seven note melody plotted onto a series of circles, one large one, two half the size of the first inside the large one, and down smaller and smaller. The musicians are to take this image and interpret it by playing the notes a many different speeds which are all related to each other in a self-similar way. It is meant only to be a starting point for an improvisation and not a formal structure for the entire piece.

Recursion

Honor Monaco - Violin
Raphael Radna - Piano 
Tate Carson - Bass   

Performed at Mills College 11-20-15

◅┺▛┡▼┷◧╎┯▭╩╩╋

     In Synecdoche, there are eight basic sound events, five synthesized pitches, and three percussion samples. Two tempos increase at different rates, creating the form. As the tempo increases, out of the range where we perceive rhythm, each note is heard less as a distinct event and as more of a single sound with a shifting timbre. Synecdoche explores the limits of human rhythmic perception.
     The piece uses self-similarity as found in nature—an object constructed entirely by repeated application of a single procedure. Self-similarity is reflected through the use of tempo changes. The listener may hear the faster tempo as a different event, but directly relates to the tempo in beginning of the piece.

artwork by Kazimir Malevich

Synecdoche

S̜w͚a̎r̍m̸ is a live-sampling instrument. It was originally built for the singular purpose of capturing live instrument input and playing it back as a drone. On this recording that idea is extended to include other sound possibilities. This is an improvisation with Sophia Shen and her pipa. S̜w͚a̎r̍m̸is not a composition itself but a framework for improvisation. It works well with any melodic instrument. Past successful performances included violin, music box, and chimes respectively. 

S̜w͚a̎r̍m̸ - Pipa Duet

In this piece I sonify the innards of the laptop with a coil microphone.  I wanted to examine an idea, borrowed from G. Bach, that a laptop can be a space we inhabit. As he says: “For Musician and audience alike, the laptop is interior space because we believe it to be so.” A side interest in the piece was to travel on a spectrum from noise to melody, tuning the laptop noise to different notes as I go along.  

The Laptop As Dwelling

Performed at  Center for New Music, San Francisco  
Realtime Electronics and Music Box, 2016

Lamella can either refer to a thin membrane in bone tissue or the metal tongues that sound in the music box. A contact mic is used to pickup the intricate, machine-like sounds coming from the box, in addition to the it’s melody. My interest is the intersection between these noise and harmonic sounds. The melody is treated plainly at the beginning and ending of the piece. Granular synthesis is used to decontextualize the melodic sounds into drones and shorter re-pitched sounds. 


Lamellae

Shifting Migration Pt 2

Twin Highways Flung Across The Evening

Before, I Wandered As A Diversion

And The Waters Returned

I Only Went Out For A Walk

In And the water receded I took And the water returned as the work's first movement and added a second movment. Instead of arranging the work for eight players now it's for three players with expanded electronics.

And the water receded

Here's the score for Stephanie Hewitt's Pseudo, Pseudo; performed at Mills College. Check out the video here: [link]. I posted this audio only because it's better quality than the audio on the video.

Part III

Part II

Part 1

This was a really great project for me. I haven't played my bass in months, not having much of a reason to. This project came into my inbox and it seemed like something I could do and not really worry about if the results were good enough for one person or another. Anyway, I went outside hoping to hear the birds that are usually chirping but they were silent. Instead I turned from the tree and saw the slowly moving clouds and synchronized with them. The clouds soon revealed the sun, maybe you can hear that part. Eventually the clouds covered the sun back up and the birds I was expecting began to join in.

Tate Carson

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