A Thing Made Whole (VI)
Andrew Greenwald
Commissioned for Distractfold’s 2020/21 at-home COVID project, The New Unusual, A Thing made Whole (VI) marks a significant shift in Andrew Greenwald’s compositional practice. In contrast to his previous works, there is prominent use of metres and rhythm, within which more chromatic-based pitch systems are spatialized – as opposed to fundamental-based harmonic structures. Whilst the processes behind Andrew’s music remain largely the same, the end goal seems to be one much more concerned with colour. Unlike spectralist or true temperament approaches, with pitch systems geometrically slotting together, Andrew’s use of chromaticism and microtones combine to create progressions and resolutions which perpetuate momentum, continually perking the listener's ear.
Working together over Zoom during the 2020/21 COVID lockdowns, the need for close collaboration and conversation felt heightened and it became important for me to develop a more profound understanding of the mechanics at play beneath the complex musical material. Through close conversation with composers, I find this helps me to more effectivly establish and ground my scope for agency within a given work. The way this impacts my approach to playing (although often subtle) I feel is key to the effectiveness of a performance. Take the dense layering of pick-up interference in Mauricio Pauly's Sky Destroys Dog as an example.
We worked together a lot on this section in order to create subtle differences in noise content and dynamics so as to produce a layering which almost takes on 3 dimensions as it accumulates. Understanding how this same concept then applies to additional material and variations of that material across the piece charges the performance with a greater sense of intention and shape (B4 heard from 00:43).
Making A Thing Made Whole (VI)
The genesis of the work is an algorithm used to reorder a given, ordered sequence, beginning at the centre > jumping to the last degree > first degree > penultimate degree > second degree etc., continuing to do so by working inwards back the centre.
This process is applied to a series of 17 pitches which form the bulk of the harmonic material in the work. The use of scordatura on the high E and B strings (¼ down) enables access to the desired quarter tones– both as stopped pitches and harmonics.
Similarly, all other aspects of the work are determined through applying the same algorithm to the appropriate sequence: The time signatures of each bar is decided by applying the algorithm to the sequence: 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 7 / 9 / 11; the order of dyad harmonics and left-hand-taps are decided by two additional sequences; and left hand (LH) techniques (e.g. harmonics, left hand pizz. behind the fingered note, and tapping) have another sequence which is referenced when needed and/or possible. * The exception to this being percussive right hand techniques (tapping over the pick-ups, nail pizz. and swiping across the strings) which are applied outside of a strict system and used purely for colour. *
As such, the framework of the piece consists of 6 reordered cycles that orbit around one another:
#1 Regular pitch
#2 LH pizz. (plucking with the left hand behind a fingered note)
#3 Harmonic dyads
#4 LH tapping
#5 LH articulations
#6 Metres/bars
Attached below (left) is an annotated page from the score depicting the relationships between cycles 1, 2, 3 & 4 (regular pitch, LH pizz, harmonic dyads and LH tapping, respectively) available via buttons. The image on right shows where the passage is situated in the overall metre structure of the piece.
Understanding these compositional processes enabled me to: more clearly identify repetition, variation, and therefore structure over greater periods of time, in what could otherwise be considered a through-composed work; generate a deeper understanding of how (and why!) the material unfolds (texturally, sonically, and in terms of colour and the stereo image); and to make musical and interpretive choices within the wider context of the composer and his practice when tackling such a complex work.
With these processes forming the foundation of the work, more free, artistic choices were taken in order to solve impossibilities produced by the algorithm (e.g. notes which weren’t possible to play as harmonics). This provided the opportunity for Andrew to improvise connecting material and passages, as well as a space for me to share a bunch of nice chords I found whilst getting to grips with the playing techniques and set-up. It’s at this crossroads where I feel the true life of the work lies, and where the connections between composer, music, and performer find their balance outside of an approach to music concerned with athleticism. Having began his musical life as a Jazz drummer based in Queens, NY, I don’t think it is a coincidence that Andrew’s compositional processes produce systemised materials, within and around which he is then able to improvise connecting musical ideas in a way which exalts musical narrative above the functionality of the more rigid processes involved. Not dissimilar to how Jazz utilises standards as a fixed means from which to then improvise and generate new, real-time musical connections and narratives. This gradual deviation from rules, which develops over the course of the piece, increases repetition in the musical material and, through decreasing the density of articulation changes, gently unites the two amplified sides of the guitar within the stereo field.
A Thing Made Whole (VI) treats the guitar as a stereophonic instrument. Three simultaneous and independent musical lines are orchestrated in such a way that the listener hears each discrete line at a fixed location in the stereo field. This is achieved by utilising the sounding pitches on both sides of the terminated string. Over the piece's duration these disparate lines gradually coalesce into a singular, unified line. As this process unfolds the musical material is squeezed into a more central location in the stereo field. - Andrew Greenwald
Interpretation
Despite its complexity, in performance the piece welcomes quite a bit of input from the performer, as one adapts to the techniques and aims to overcome various challenges in order to deliver a coherent, detailed performance. In this way, it quickly became very personal to me. Just as rigid processes of composition required adjustments through moments of improvisation from Andrew, they do so from the performer as well, ultimately reflecting something personal to us both - being deeply embedded in our individual musical upbringings.
Flow/phrasing: One of the main challenges in performing this piece is developing a horizontal flow throughout – or rather avoiding playing in a way which sounds like multiple short sections strung together (Which is inevitably how I approached learning the material). To address this, I found it helped to allow voices to sustain as long as possible within, and between, passages. I also swapped out a few LH pizz for LH taps to allow for more sustain, as well as less smoother movement between sections. We adopted the triangle notehead for this technique in the score.
Speed/Tempo: Speed is also a challenge as the techniques require a lot of stamina, particularly in the left hand. Although it should ideally be faster, there’s a threshold at which the quick lines lose definition, detail, and colour. As such, I judge tempo based on my ability to execute the material clearly at the highest tempo. Speeding up when possible and slowing down slightly when needed, aiming to maintain a tempo more or less relative to the surrounding material at any given point whilst avoiding large jumps between passages. In the same way, complex rhythms are more about the relationship to surrounding material, rather than purely mechanical executions – something which is again determined by what is possible within the given techniques.
Harmonics: For many of the harmonics to speak I need to play sul pont and be using the bridge pick-up. Having grown up listening to and playing the music of Nils Lofgren, I am used to playing with a thumb pick and so I used this to help me to pluck the more stubborn harmonics harder whilst also freeing up the rest of my fingers to quickly move between the different RH techniques (which all require adjustments between sul pont and sul tasto).
Amplification: Having struggled with amplification when performing A Thing Made Whole (IV) with Distractfold in 2017 @ Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäße Musik, I decided to use a contact mic placed on the guitar's headstock to amplify the LH pizz. (plucking behind the fingered note) to the same level as the regular amp signal in a way whilst avoiding feedback. This method of amplifying the guitar also helped to accentuate the more subtle stereophonic characteristics of the work previously touched upon.
In closing, the commissioning of this piece began processes of collaboration and interpretation which have been incredibly valuable to me. In light of such a complex work, my imperfections and limitations as a performer quickly rose to the surface of the interpretation process. The more I think and write about these working processes, the more I appreciate the profoundly nuanced and increasingly personal role interpretation plays in performance. Far from making me feel inferior to the music, it’s these very real restrictions which invite me in and actually play towards defining my scope for interpretation, ultimately posing the questions which enable me (or anyone else for that matter) to say something of my own. I also think the guitar is quite unique in this respect. The kaleidoscope of musical genres through which the instrument forms its identity offers multiple notions of virtuosity. As such, the performer is able to inform interpretation distilled from a knowledge of the instrument across all its many forms (this could be in defining the sonic landscape through FX and amplification, or adopting different playing techniques), yet another process which is undoubtedly unique to each performer. Layered over this is an expansion of the instrument and one's technique through the LH pizz., which uses the left hand to pluck usually unheard notes behind the fingered notes. As well as revealing a new and wonderfully fragile system of pitches, the tactile nature of playing is increased, and a unique timbre occurs as a result of both the technique and method of amplification. Since learning this piece I have enjoyed exploring more of these qualities on my instrument. Going on to do so with one of my students during a virtual residency at Simon Fraser University in 2020-21. Some draft recordings of different explorations can be found here. Also, below are some links to similar journeys in sound which became relevant to me throughout this process as well as various other performances of the piece including Distractfold’s, The New Unusual - Concert Film.
Live recording of ATMW (VI) for The New Unusual - Concert Film (@ 11:55)
Album version via ScoreFollower