Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Working in a workshop with Hugo Morales, I found out how solar panels produce pulse waves when a
blinking light is directed to them. The sound that it is produced depends on how fast the light blinks: it
could be a frequency our eyes can detect, as 5 times per second, or a frequency that our eyes cannot
detect, as 200 times per second so we would see it as a stable light. The same effect is produced for how
we perceive the sound: sounds that we detect as rhythmical are below 20 times per seconds, and sounds
we perceive as stable tones (pitch) are over 20 times per second.
Working with different bike lights patterns I thought about giving the possibility to a percussionist to work
with the combinations of lights rhythmic patterns and pitches as a layer to interact with.
A percussion phrase/cycle is presented, developed, and improvised throughout the piece, adding
techniques, and interacting with the lights.
The score presented here is the result after the three first performances of the piece. Although every
performance was a little bit different, as the instrument and the piece itself was further developed after each
of them, the score provides the essential information that must be followed, but also opened to
reinterpretation.
Understanding the structure and direction of the piece, the rhythm phrase proposed here (coming from the
tradition of Indian rhythms), could be substituted by other which fits better the abilities of the performer.
The idea came out as a extended table percussion: amplifying a table from the four different corners (with
contact mics) to get quadraphonic spatialisation, gloves with solar panels attached to them, and four lights
(2 bike lights and two IR sensors) distributed throughout the corners of the table.
The table has to be a solid rectangular wood piece on top of 4 separated pieces (to facilitate a better
spatialisation). The contact mics should be attached to the corners of each of the pieces from below.
The table must be amplified quite strongly, and with high compression to level different dynamics.
The mics that are located at the corners of the table, must be panned on the mixer in order to produce a
Left / Right Back/Front effect.
The solar panels must be small enough to fit on Bike lights should be pointing to the table from above,
the back hand of the percussionist (attached to at the back of the table (from the performer point of
gloves).
view).
Sound of the right hand solar panel must be send Lights should have at least two different modes: one
to the left speaker (from audience point of view), with rhythmic blinking, and another one with permanent
so left hand solar panel, to the right speaker. light.
The mixing between acoustic and electronic sounds must be achieved in a fusional way.
The IR proximity sensors must be located in the front corners of the table (or next to them),
pointing to the opposite corner.
They should be connected to a computer (via Arduino or similar), and programmed to detect
when the hand is in front of them.
When no obstacle is perceived by the sensors, the sound of the solar panel will be reproduce
from the front speakers.
When the hand is in front of one of the IR sensor (right or left), the sound of the solar panel will be
send to the back speakers (right, left or both of them, depending on which of the sensor is
perceiving movement)
SPECIFIC NOTATION
Upper line -> “high dry sounds”: with the pen, nails, knuckles…
Middle line -> fingers, finger tips, side of the hand (karate hit)…
All the lights should be switched off to avoid interferences in the sounds generated by the solar
panels.
The percussionist should be between the front speakers, at the same level of the audience, or
below.
The piece could start while the audience come into the hall, or while talking… the crescendo in
the amplification should let the audience know that the piece is already started
q = approx. 110
° ™ >- writing x3
™™
Percussion ¢ / ™ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
™
˛ ˛
Electronics
and lights / ™™ volume
œ
amplification
™™
0% 100%
(cresc during the repetitions)
5
>j
œ
Perc. / - ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
™
RUB
9
(with pen) x3
Perc. / ™™ - ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ V ™™
13
>j
œŒ x2
™ Œ™ ™
Perc. / ™ - ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ V ™™ V ™
J
17
>j
œ œj œj œj
Perc. / - ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ V ™ Œ Œ™ V Ó ‰ ‰
™ J
21
œj Œ œj œj ‰ œj ‰
Perc. / œj Œ Œ ™ œJ ‰ V ™ Œ™ V Œ™ œ
J
J grace note
play smoothly
finger tips
25
œj Œ
Perc. / œj Œ œ Œ j
œ ‰ V™ œJ ‰
J
27 >j
Ϊ
j
œ ‰ œj ‰ œ Œ œ œ
œj ‰ œj ‰
Perc. /
29
œj Œ
Perc. / œj Œ œ Œ
œ
j
œJ
V™ œJ ‰
J
œj ‰ >œj
31
œj ‰ œj ‰
Perc. / Œ œ
œ ‰
Œ œ œ
33
>j
> >œ > œ Œ
Perc. / œ œ œ J Œ j
œ ‰ V™ œJ
‰
35
>j >j >j >j
> œ œ œ
Perc. / Œ œ
œ ‰ ‰ œ Œ œ œ ‰ ‰
2
41 > > >
>œ >
Perc. / œ ‰ œ J ‰ œ 6 œ V™ > œ œ ‰ œ
J œ
3
59
> >
> > >œ > > œ œ
Perc. / œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Perc. / V
Elect. &
Lights /
the other hand switch on one of the lights
and put it in "rhythm position"
Elect. &
Lights / the other hand switch on the other light
and put it in "rhythm position"
4
e = R.light tempo
77
RUB - both hands approx 2 cycles/ approx.15''
gradually introduce the right light rhythm
Perc. / V œ œ ‰ œ ‰
J
Aª
ª A move the hands towards the bike light Aª
ª A
Aª
ª A Aª
ª A
Start to fill the rhythmic phrase with 16th notes subdivisions approx x2times
5
approx x2times
rhythm phrase + 16th notes subdivisions
97 > > > >œ > >œ >
> >
œ > > >œ >œ ™
™ ™
Perc. / ™ œœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœ V œœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœ œœœ œœ œœœœœœœœ œœœ œœœ™
101
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Perc.
™™
Aª
ª A A
ª A
ª
A
ª A
ª
approx x2times
> >
œ > >> >œ > > >œ > > >œ >œ ™
Perc.
™ ™
/ ™ œœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœ V œœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœ œœœ™
6
approx x2times
113
° >œœœœœœ>œœœœœœ>œœœ >>™ œœœ>œœœœœœ >œœœœœœ>œœœ>œœœœœœ
> > >œ Æ Æ
Perc. ¢ / œœœœœœœœ œœœ œ œ
œ Vœ œ
Elect. &
Lights / ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
117
Æ RUB
°
Perc. ¢/ V
Elect. &
Lights / œ put lights in pitch mode (stable ON light)
both hands
IR sensors
° ™ Vœ
118
>œ >™ >œ > >œ > >œ >œ approx x3times
Perc. ¢ / ™ œ œJ Œ œ‰ V œ‰ J Œ Œ œJ œ ‰ J ‰ œ Œ œ œ J ‰ J ‰ ™™
J J J J
>
jŒ Œ™ Œ Œ™ j j
Elect. &
/ ™
™ œ œ™ Œ ∑ Ó œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
Lights alternate the use of the 4 different
light sounds (front and back) to
introduce the sounds in the accents
of the rhythmic phrase, and
122
>
° ™ >œ œ œ >œ ‰ > > > œ œ œ
Perc. ¢ / ™ œ œ œ V™ œ œ
j j j j
Elect. &
/ ™
™ œ ‰ ‰ œ Œ œ ‰ œ™ Œ œ Œ
Lights
Œ ™ j j j j j
Elect. &
/ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Ó œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
Lights
7
126
>
° ™ >œ œ œ >œ ‰ > > > œ œ œ
Perc. ¢ / ™ œ œ œ V™ œ œ
j j j j
Elect. &
/ ™
™ œ ‰ ‰ œ Œ œ ‰ œ™ Œ œ Œ
Lights
™ j j j j j
Elect. &
Lights / Œ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Ó œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
j j j j
Elect. & ™
/ ™ œ ‰ ‰ œ Œ œ ‰ œ™ Œ œ Œ
Lights
Œ™ j j j j j ™™
Elect. &
/ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Ó œ ‰ œ ‰
Lights
° UÆ
134
Perc. ¢ /
Elect. &
Lights / œ
both hands
IR sensors
8