What Indeterminate Notation Determines Author(s): David Behrman Reviewed work(s): Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 3, No.

2 (Spring - Summer, 1965), pp. 58-73 Published by: Perspectives of New Music Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/832504 . Accessed: 06/02/2013 15:29
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FORUM: NOTATION

WHAT INDETERMINATE NOTATION

DAVID

DETERMINES
BEHRMAN

notationhas been abandoned in so much of the last TRADITIONAL decade's music that playersare no longershockedby the prospectof everytimetheyapproach a new tacklinga new set ofrulesand symbols like learninga new game or a be new can a Learning piece composition. about takenup bydiscussions are often rehearsals new grammar, and first the rules-about "how" to play ratherthan "how well" (whichmustbe untillater). put off ofperformwas to fixcertainelements The traditional roleofnotation to a on to the "musicianship" ance whileleavingothers playerby passed done hisenvironment. his teachers and absorbedfrom Many ofthethings were not to essential the and musician, good performance, absolutely by the metric to be foundin thescore:deviationfrom values,differentiation and sliding, in timbreand intonation, typesof pedallingand tonguing as well as aspectsof the sortdescribedby a vague word or two-"con fuoco,""lebhaft"-words so vague theyhad meaningonly to a player to them. conditioned culturally could obey thenotation's It was takenforgrantedthatany performer or notdependedupon whether he was talented literaldemands.Whether could "breathelife"intothemusic. his "musicianship" ofserialmusic,the In thecourseofat leastone branchofdevelopment The composer to outlive its usefulness. came "musicianship" performer's no longerexpectedhim to read betweenthe linesof his score.Deviation in a style in whichtheperiodic from thenotated was notdesirable rhythms ofthe to pulsatebeneaththerhythm beat ofthemeterwas no longerfelt in it. Deviation soundssuperimposed timbre, intonation, dynamics, upon extendedto covereach ofthose obscurethestructures etc.,would merely So theplayerofthissortofmusichad lessto do than he had parameters. ofthescorein his formerly: job was now to obey the literalrequirements ofinterpretation, the To make up forthe suppression a deadpan fashion. The grewmore numerousand exactingthan ever before. specifications so high that it taxed the degree of precisiondemanded was sometimes and led him to deliverwhat in factwas a subjecabilityoftheperformer * 58"

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tive interpretation-to play in a way that would "sound as though"he the notation's were fulfilling demands. Some of the musicianswho went throughthe experienceof "total organization"have describedthe lessons that they thoughtmightbe learned fromit. It became apparent that the range of sound which is so extensive a playeris capable ofcovering and so susceptible to nuance that no notationcan hope to controlthe whole of it, especiallynot at once. In such a view the composer, is in withhis rulesand his notation, a position to the with his directions and his dramatist's, comparable stage Both and are at the of score the who script mercy dialogue. interpreter can make a thousandrealizations ofeverysymbol, whether of a noise,a or a word. The more a tries to the thenumcontrol, larger note, composer ber of elements overwhichthe playermustdistribute his powersofconwill be his execution and themoreconventional ofindividual centration, elements-themorewill be left to technical reflexes builtup in thecourse of his training. But a "conventional"techniquemay no longerhave an content which the composerwishes to incorporate into his expressive music. His ideal may be to put the playerin a fresh frameof mind,to shockhimout ofan environment whichputsa smokescreenoftechnique between himselfand the experienceof playing,to make him feel as were a fresh thoughthe makingof soundson an instrument experience. If thisis his pointof view,thenhis notation, it was said, "... shouldbe directedto a large extenttowardsthe people who read it, ratherthan the soundstheywill make."1 towards are discussed below. Examplesofthreenew notations bytwocomposers The examples were chosen fromamong works recentlyrecorded(by Columbia Records and Time Records). Each is followed by a transcripin conventional metric of the realization on a tion, notation, fragment's record.The purposewas to showtherelationship betweena newnotation and its concreteresultsin performance. were made by Transcriptions the recorded to where transferring fragments tape, pitchesand durations could be moreeasilyexamined.Distancesbetweenattacksand releases of soundscould be measuredwitha stopwatchor ruler. For the transcriptions of fragments I and Duet II, the from Durations of the watch was with each beat tempo stop adopted, (second)subdivided intotwogroups offive of a Times were fixed the (10ths second). by taking watch after a number of trials at halfaveragestop reading timing (made sound in each fragment was arbitrarily speed). The first assignedthe
Cardew,"Notation-Interpretation...," Tempo (Summer,1961), p. 26. Nota1Cornelius tions thisidea thefarthest have beenmade byyounger carrying composers. Young, Ichiyanagi, in written or orallydelivered Chiari,and othersmay providethe playerwithinstructions in "Megaton,"consists ofadvice and physical demonstraprose;GordonMumma'snotation, tiongivento theplayerbythecomposer-bothbefore and during performance.

. 59 *

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downbeatofthefirst measurein the transcription. There is,ofcourse, no accentual significance in the relativepositionofdownbeatsand upbeats.
AltoFlute
(Concert pitch) W 8---------------b

Piano

A sord.
Violin

acopizz.

co

sord. Cello

Ex. 1, Feldman, I Durations

The pieces written in thisnotation, which looks at first glance likea featureless succession of chords,tend to assume four-part configurations in performance:1) the opening moments-all instruments attacking simultaneously (a sound which will occur nowhereelse, exceptthrough which extraordinary coincidence);2) the main bodyof the piece,during all playersare engaged in movingindependently throughtheirparts; 3) the music which occurs afterthe fastest player has finished, during which the numberof playersmore or less graduallydiminishes; 4) the a noteto a system endingsolo by theslowest player-which can runfrom or twoor more. In this"race-course"form("starttogether, move independently, stop when you reach the finishline"), the consequence to a performer for is to be left withtheshelter ofhiscomrades' stranded, movingtheslowest soundsremovedand his last soundsto play alone. The proportions of the four"parts" are determined by the degreeto whichthespeedsoftheplayers neither vary.Speed is fixed bythenotation itself norby therulesaccompanying it,whichspecify onlythat"theduration of each sound is chosen by the performer. All beats are slow." (Whetheror not a note has the value of one beat is left unspecified-a consciousomissionof the type that has been describedas "obligingthe playerto seekoutjust such rulesas he needs or as will make senseofthe S60

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the speedappronotation.")2 But in practicethereare limits concerning themwould be and an to the notation, exceeding interpretation priate rules describing such limitsmay in factbe a poor one. The unwritten or by the players the conductor, imposedin rehearsalby the composer, familiarwiththe composer'sworkupon those unfamiliar with it. They or "common describethe boundariesof a personalized style(or tradition practice") built up by the composerand passed on in the courseofperbe comparedto therulesgoverning formances to his players. They might those facetsof performance, unsettledin the scoresof the past,which have become perennial subjects of speculation among musicologists: in the Baroque) whichwerepassed alteration aspects(such as rhythmic oral ratherthan written on through tradition. One reasonthatthe notationis not morerestrictive is the difficulty of thatthe averagespeed of all participants, overthe considered conveying whole durationof the piece, should fall roughly withinthe same scale, so thatno playerendswithan excessive ofsolo,but thatthetempo length ofsoundsand stretches shouldbe susceptible offree variation.(The cello, in the transcription below,is playingat halfthe speed of the violin.The relationships change later in the recording,and the violin's lead is is thatthe players, narrowed.)What happens in a good performance by to one another,reach a broad understanding their listening concerning over-allrate of movement (a sense of ensemblewhichhas to do in part withthe musical background commonto composerand players, in part withthenatureofwhat theyare playing). Another reasonis thatconstraining the playerwithtoo manyor overly rules binding mightchange his mood, the spiritin which he makeshis Feldman's notationand rulessugsounds,and the sounds themselves.3 as possibleto the playerthat he producea kindof gestas unobtrusively sound whichit will be pleasurableto hear mingling withthoseof freely other players,as he moves fromone sound to anotherat a speedand of his own choosing.Since the soundsare not playingtheroleof rhythm structural buildingblocks,the factthat theyare being made by certain instruments at a certaindynamiclevel and are heard together is all that matters. is not concerned withfixing thecom(The composer specifically binationof pitchesand timbres that may be heard at any one moment. would be like sayingthat the flavor Calling this "chance composition" of bouillabaissehas been leftto chance because its chefforgot to fixthe

2Cardew,"Notation,"p. 23. 3 "Suppose the player to behave as follows: he reads the notationand makes himself a to pictureofthesound (in his mind-the hypothetically sound). He thenattempts imagined thispicturein sound; he comparesit withthe pictureof the sound he had in his reproduce mind beforehand, and he may make a fewchanges, themostglaring reducing discrepancies, releasingwrongnotes quickly,reducingthe notes he findstoo loud, etc., etc." Cardew, "Notation," p. 23.
* 61 *

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are eaten.) This lack of constraint orderin which its ingredients results oftenin the appearance of pitch combinationssuch as widelyspaced of atonal music characteristic octaves,or triads,alongsidethe intervals as the chord" in the as three (such "D-major 6/4 appearing transcription to the flutist and violinist their playershappen attack,simultaneously: fifth the his third cellist note, note):
= 60
Alto Fl.
I0 t ? ,

(concert pitch) A6

L--5

t__5__J

-----------

-- -- -- -- --

Piano

"5 ---J

5 '

Vn. sord. -r--51

pizz.

__vJ 5L5_
r-5

---I5=

Vc. sord.io

-----------

rco

62

62

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are present What controls are ofa moregeneralkind.Manifoldrepetitionsofsinglenotesand of two and threenote patterns threadtheir way pitches: among shifting
Flute

Violin

Ex. 3

In The Swallowsof Salangan, for instruments and chorus,chromatic intervals into texture made at a intrude up largelyof shifting, pitches As theplayers and singers moveaway from clustered diatonicpitches. the in a downbeat the chromatic pack, pitches opening graduallydispersing moreand morewidelythroughout thesurrounding are scattered diatonic one may be conscious ofnothing morethanan (In performance territory. in the sound's faint, surface.) increasingly periodicdarkening bright In the same composer's conof selective "graph" pieces,the principle In Projections but freeand fixedelements trolis maintained, are reversed. and dynamics;and the elements are timeofoccurrence, number, timbre, in is one is Pitch it free fixed (relatively) pitch. only regardto whether of the instrument's fallswithinthe high,middle,or low portions range. Boundariesof theserangesare forthe playerto determine. Here as before, in favor an argument ofleavingan element unspecified is thatfixing it would be irrelevant-wouldnot change the flavorofthe music,whichis alreadywell established. Again,in leavingtheplayerfree to make decisions about one element, the composer is directing a psychological measureat him in hopes of makinghim thinktwiceabout what he is doing.As partofhisinterpretation, theplayermustask himself what sortof pitchesare most appropriate-in effect, what sortof music it is that he is playing.In a piece of thin texture, such as Projection IV, the and theresultpitcheschosenby each playerwill be heard individually, ofthe decisionscharacteristic ofbothof ing sound will be a combination them. The meterof the originalnotationis retainedin thistranscription. It should be read conventionally (by assumingthat the playersfurnished withit deviatesomewhat from thewritten timevalues). The violinist stresses sevenths and fourths here,and avoids octavesall this legitimately in the tradition of serial music. But we knowfrom some of hisotherworksthatthe composerenjoysoctavestoo: in fact, his notationprovides the likelihood oftheirappearance here as intervals betweenpitchesof the two instruments. S63
I and IV, Straitsof Magellan, and Intersections, etc., the (relatively) fixed

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= Tempo 72

= harmonic

Violin

pizz.

arco

A I

keyboard2 Piano harmonic (depress silently) 4 I

Numbers withinboxes = number of pitches simultaneously

= high

=middle

= low

Ex. 4, Feldman, Projection __[0 _ IV, first p

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Violin pizz.
J= 72
Piano

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arco pizz.
I -W
depress silently arco

-miff

Ex. 5, Transcription IV ofProjection In the notations discussedabove, a singleelement-pitch or speed-is leftalmostfree while another, of control, dynamiclevelsin bothcases,is in controlis essential to confined to one end of its spectrum. Selectivity ChristianWolffsrecentnotationas well. In his work the relationships of eleamong fixedand freedelementsand the degree of specification ments shiftabout fromsymbolto symbol.And added to the player's concernsis a novelmethodof linking what he does, and when,withthe soundshe hears beingmade by otherplayers.
(Duration: 0 = 1 second or less; 0 = any; Ei = very long to medium. H (Horn player) start and Pstarts, holds P plays (short

P (Pianist)

stop together

tillH sounds; bothrelease

together

note).H begins short noteas

P's note ends.

H playsshort note.P starts

at its end, holds any duration. * = a noise

play 3 notesofany duration, or together, overlapping, ofthem.

mute (1) separate. Silence between tones is free. Mute one

S65

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prepared

Hornsounds:

0
m pP

0
f

Horn:

---

z m

P
O[-

1"'

P1'

$=

or loudness);2) linemeans1) notesmustbe unequal in somerespect (e.g. duration

are to be attacked simultaneously. [2 = 2 notes or lower. anyofthetonesin thesourcehalfa tonehigher al, b+ = transpose

= raiseor lowerpitches to anyhigher octav (ofsourceb) halfa toneand transpose bx-ofmutes ormuting kinds myand mz = twodifferent (to be chosen byplayer). Ex. 6, Christian Wolff, Duet II

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This is one of six fragments which make up the score of Duet II, for are played,thenumhorn and piano. The orderin whichthe fragments ber oftimestheymay be repeated,and thetotaldurationofperformance are free. In performing the piece, the playersfollowtwo sortsof procedures alternately: 1. To begin,and everytimea fragment has been completed:the first is to come to make the next sound determines which fragment player nextby playingthe first The otherplayerhears sound of that fragment. the sound,recognizes the fragment that it begins,and responds by playin his own that thecue, Or, he may a) failto recognize ing part fragment. start another himself with the first b) fragment simultaneously player.In the that as soon the directions as realize that case, any provide players are not the same should break off they playing fragment together, they and "start"overagain (follow the procedure Such breakjust described). downs in coordination are a part of the piece and have musicalcharacin performance, of theirown-rhythmsand pitchstructures, for teristics, whichhave a qualitydifferent from the restof the music. instance, When theplayers have come to knowthe piece well,one may even try to disguisehis cues to the otherin hopes ofconfusing him (when a cue's is for he a to another use instance, pitch unspecified, may pitchbelonging cue's pitch-source). 2. During the fragments themselves-after one has been "cued in" by one playerand respondedto by the other-the playershave a path to follow,fromsound to sound, until they finishthe last symbolin the The timeat whicha playerbeginsor ends his nextsoundmay fragment. be determined by him or by a sound made by the otherplayer.In the latterevent,he mustwait forthe other'ssound to occur and thenreact to it-sometimesas fastas he can-without the benefit ofadvance warnthe horn this the is situation at his 6th, 9th,and 10th (For ing. player, sounds above.) Here the player'ssituationmightbe compared to that of a ping-pong playerawaitinghis opponent'sfastserve:he knowswhat is coming(the serve)and knowswhat he mustdo when it comes(return it); but the details of how and when thesethingstake place are determinedonlyat themoment oftheiroccurrence. The game-likefeatures just describedseem closer in spiritto certain Oriental musical traditions than to thoseof the West.The disguising of cues is similarto a techniquein Indian Music called Laratgheth-a crosseach when,in competition, rhythm generated by soloistand percussionist triesto confusethe otherwith rhythmic off the patterns played strong beat. In movingfrom his symbolto symbol,the player is requiredto shift S67

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attention from one aspect of what he does to another.Each continually has its own combination of controls, symbol applied selectively: to someextent(fixed, or possibilities narrowed) V\= determined P = determined by pianist..,.by way of notation S = simultaneity to act next) (determined by the first
sounds:

pitch
timbre

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th lOth

time of attack
dynamic

IvN

time ofrelease (duration) VI VI

S v P
I
S S

Iv [v/v]

P P
v

Vv

Horn Part

The degreeof controlis relative.Where the pitchcolumnis blank,as at the 1stsound,the playermustchoose any 1 pitchfrom among the 36 or 40 or morepitcheswithinhis range.At the 7thsound,hispossibilities are cut down by about half (see below): he mustchoose one pitchfrom shifted among the 15 or 16 of the transposed, pitch source which fall withinhis range. At the 10th sound, he must choose 1 fromamong 6 pitches;at the 5th, 1 from among 3; only the 3rd sound is fixed(the line means D that the is to be played slightly slanting flat). The same sortof scale, runningfromfixedto free,is applied to the otherelementsas well. The dynamicsrun (in the horn part) from unselection or in combination three order of specified, throughany any levels(9th note-pp, f,mp) down to fixed(2nd and 10thsounds). The transcriptions below approximate two realizations of thenotation above. were made from the quoted They performance by David Tudor and Howard Hillyer(the fragment to occur twice happens duringtheir six-minute Time on Records version, 58009): If one were comparingthesetwo fragments and had no access to the their would originalnotation, relationship surelyseempuzzling.The two are obviously the same music-the groupings ofsounds,the generalconof the are the same-but variedseemingly without tinuity, many pitches, full of erratic in numbers of method, small, changes pitch,configuration, notes.A glance at the originalmakes clear that the discrepancies come about throughan active use of the indeterminacy linking composition with notation, instrumental It technique,and the players'personalities. is impossible to know, in advance, what specifically will resultfroma * 68 ?

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note). The playerhere mustconsymbolsuch as ? (the horn'sfourth centrateat once upon beginningthe next sound when he wants to or iftheotherplayerbeats him to thedraw. The same playingimmediately there will applies to itstimeofending.Since thereis no advance warning, be a slight pause between the attacks and releases of initiatorand to translate information follower-thetimeit takesthe follower received be(The interval by his ear into mechanicalaction on his instrument. tweenthe timea driversees an unexpectedobstaclein the road and his applicationof the brakesis comparable.)The attackwill have a rushed, nervous, crampedqualitythatcould not have been notatedin any other way. It is thisquality that the composeris concernedwith,ratherthan withthesounds'othermeasurements. What sortof delayed reactionsresultfromthisnotationmay be seen in bothtranscriptions: in the lack ofsimultaneity in releasesofhornand piano at the horn's3rd,4th,and 5th notes;and in the pauses separating thehorn's6thnotefrom itspiano neighbors. A listofoperations to be performed by the hornplayerin makingthe tensoundswould includethe following: fragment's SOUNDS 1stand 2nd

1stis short, of any pitch,mutedby one of twomethods selectedforuse in the piece; its dynamicingredients are to the 2nd sound: ff and/orp. It is connected, short, legato, same mute,any pitch,mp. thereis a pause betweenthe (In the first transcription 1st and 2nd horn sounds. Perhaps the horn player was unsureabout whether thepianisthad begunthesamefragment that he had, broke off, reassuredhimself about the and went on to his second pianist'sactivity, note.) Horn player waits forpianist'snext sound whichmay come veryquicklyafter the first groupof fiveor after any of 3rd sound (a slightly his flatD2 at length silence;plays any dynamic,withoutmuting,beginningany time after the piano note's attack but beforeits release or fadeout; the two players release simultaneously is deter(cut-off minedby the first to act player next). a pause ofany duration):any pitch, (After anyduration, fand/orp, begunand endedtogether dynamicingredients withthenextsound ofthe pianist.(Horn is the initiator in both transcriptions.) S69

3rd

4th

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= 60
Horn (concert pitch)

OF NEW

MUSIC

(flat)

Piano
r-5-I --5 ---I

L5

8-,

rLaA

O 0
_

j_0

40q

mute
5- ----! /

Ex. 7A, Transcriptions of Duet II

70.

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FORUM: Horn ,(D

r-5-1-5--15

NOTATION

(flat)

Piano

.
LL.

8L-5 55 r5-5 .
-5

r-J

5-11

----I r----

touched (string
with fingernail)

(muted)

C0*

Ex. 7B

71

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5th

Played a shorttimeafterthe pianist'snext two attacks or separatedby simultaneous, (whichmay be overlapping, one of amount of the threepitches silence); using any at with the second kind of muting; given; any dynamic; released simultaneously with the end of the pianist's second sound. Any dynamic,any pitch,durationshort;begunjust as pianist'sshort pp sound is released. duration,dynamicfree.One pitch is to be Beginning, chosen fromamong 15 possibilities. (To findthe pitchof thisnote the player must raise or lower one of the three in Sourceb a half-step and transpose it anynumber pitches of octavesup or down. It turnsout that 15 or 16 ofthese fall withina horn's range. The playerhas transpositions time in which tojump thissmall hurdle.) any characterand Any noise (made with the instrument), dynamics unspecified,played between the attack and releaseofpianist'ssquare note. Begun when pianist'ssquare note ends; highestpitch possible; dynamic ingredients pp and/or f and/or mp; duration,otherwise free,may here be determined by the context in timeto play the 10th (sound mustbe brokenoff sound). Short;begunat end of the last ofpianist'sthreesounds; dynamicpp; one pitch chosenfromamong six available.

6th 7th

8th

9th

10th

Firsttranscription: after his 7th note the hornplayerhears a numberof sounds and must decide whichones correspond to whichsymbols. piano the F low to his Evidently pianist's corresponds square symboland theE above it to theblack,sincetheE is followed three sounds(the3 symbol) by while the F continues. Piano's releasesbeyondthispointare notaudible on the record.(The hornplayermay "see" the releaseofthesesoundsas the pianist'shands leave the keyboard;or he may guessabout the time theyare released.) Note: the horn's9th and 10thsoundswill appear in reverse orderifthepiano's F is held after theD and Eb are released. Second The 9th and 10th sounds of the hornseem to come transcription: twoor moresecondsafter thereleaseofthelastpiano sounds.Such a situationarisesoften in playingfrom thisnotation. Waitingforthereleaseofa sound-hard to hear if it is a sustaining piano note-one hears other, S72

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and then realizes that the originalnote is no louder sounds intervene cue, one longer sounding. Knowing that one has missed the cut-off to the next symbol. proceeds(tardily) of lessat an arrangement are directed ofthisnotation The complexities under fromperformers' actionsthan at the conditions sounds resulting to theplayer's whichtheiractionsare to be produced.(It addressesitself the mostcomplex even mind as well as to his fingers). By comparison, scores seem written simple-if con"totallyorganized,"conventionally the pointofviewofwhat the playerhas to thinkabout (his sideredfrom how to play it,how longto hold it, part tellshimwhichnoteto play first, the second how long to wait before sound,etc.,etc.,untilhe has playing notation the role ofrulesgoverning theconfinished). Wolffs approaches sound combinations, duct of games. It tends to produce characteristic as the composer's "signatures," just as a game has itscharrecognizable acteristic"moves." (Among them are grace notesjumping back and ofa longsoundjust after forth thesuddencut-off another amongplayers, thin the sound made a is his who by player begins, sustaining waitingfor he may have missedit.) cue and is not surewhether One of the criteria withwhich to judge a notationis the questionof if the what, any, consequencesare of playingwell or badly (what incenfor thenotation in theway intended tivesare there and expressed realizing In the playersmustlistenwithsuch by the composer). Wolffsnotation, care to one another thatan inaccuracy is liable to alterthesignalreceived and so to disturb thecontinuity. The same is trueofthe by one's partner chain ofsoundslinksplayerto player(one is directed to beginplaying at the moment whenanother's sound beginsto fade). Elsewhere, Feldman's scorespresent the playerwithan "honorsystem" notation.With no one to checkup on what he does, the player'sincentive fordoing his bestis to a sound world whose (presumably) the pleasure of contributing is such that the smallestdetail remainsperfectly audible transparency withinit. Expressedin the notations ofboth artists is an idea thatmusic mustremaina creativeactivity forplayersas well as an arrangement of symbols by the composer.
notation used by Feldman in de Kooningand Vertical in which a Thoughts,

S73

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