Volume 17, June 2023
Learning Strategies for Complex Rhythms: Approaching Richard Barrett's splinter for contrabass solo (2018-2022)
by Kathryn Schulmeister
11. References
1 Toop, Richard. "Four Facets of the New Complexity." Contact 32 (1988): 4-50.
2 Ibid.
3 Førisdal, Anders. "Radically Idiomatic Instrumental Practice in Works by Brian Ferneyhough." In Transformations of Musical Modernism, edited by Erling E. Guldbrandsen and Julian Johnson. Music since 1900, 279-98. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
4 Toop, Richard. "Four Facets of the New Complexity." Contact 32 (1988): 4-50.
5 Xenakis, Iannis. "Theraps." edited by Editions Salabert, 1976.
6 Latham, Alison. The Oxford Companion to Music. Revised First Edition. Edited by Alison Latham. Oxford University Press, 2011. "The beats are usually categorized according to where they fall in the bar: as 'weak' beats (the second and fourth in a four-beat bar, the second and third in a three-beat bar, or the second in a two-beat bar), or 'strong' beats (the first and, to a lesser degree, the third in a four-beat bar, and the first in a three-beat or a two-beat bar)."
7 Schick, S. The Percussionist's Art: Same Bed, Different Dreams. University of Rochester Press, 2006. P.104.
8 Vanoeveren, Ine. Tomorrow's Music in Practice Today. University Press Antwerp, 2018.
9 Barrett, Richard. Music of Possibility. Vision Edition, 2019. P.1.
10 Pace, Ian. "Notation, Time and the Performer's Relationship to the Score in Contemporary Music." In Unfolding Time. Studies in Temporality in Twentieth Century Music, 149-92: Leuven University Press, 2009. P. 191.
11 Barrett, Richard. Music of Possibility. Vision Edition, 2019. P.1-2.
12 PSYCHE was commissioned by the Australian ELISION Ensemble and will be premiered by the ensemble in the coming years.
13 Barrett, Richard. "splinter." 2018-2022.
14 In Pace's article on the relationship between a performer and a contemporary music score, Pace refers to the common practice of sight reading through a score at the beginning of a learning process as a chance for a performer to get an overall general sense of the piece. Pace, Ian. "Notation, Time and the Performer's Relationship to the Score in Contemporary Music." In Unfolding Time. Studies in Temporality in Twentieth Century Music, 149-92: Leuven University Press, 2009.
15 Barrett, Richard. "splinter." 2018-2022.
16 Barrett, Richard. "splinter." 2018-2022. Measure 46
17 Ibid. Measure 49.
18 Schick, S. "Learning Bone Alphabet". The Percussionist's Art: Same Bed, Different Dreams. University of Rochester Press, 2006. P.92.
19 Merriam-Webster. "Translate". Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, 2022. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/translate
20 Vanoeveren, Ine. Tomorrow's Music in Practice Today. University Press Antwerp, 2018.
21 Barrett, Richard. Music of Possibility. Vision Edition, 2019. P. 19-21.
22 In this context, a probability gradient refers to a rate of change in the durational value of notes.
23 208.3 is rounded up from the real solution of 208.285714
24 In practicing with a click track, I've learned that at a certain point, if the metronome click is too fast, it can be very difficult to respond and play along with. In some cases, a click track sounding the subdivision of a beat works best, and in others the more effective approach is to have the click mark groups of beats or subdivided beats.
25 It should be noted that both Steven Schick and Ian Pace argue against using click tracks for the preparation of works of different composers with similar rhythmic challenges to the ones found in Barrett's work because they believe that playing along with a computer-generated metronomic track could potentially rob the performer of the artifacts of humanity and freedom of timing in interpretation that should not only be allowed but also celebrated and emphasized in performance. I completely understand and respect this point of view, however I still feel that click tracks work well in aiding the learning process for Barrett's splinter.
26 Audacity® software is copyright © 1999-2021 Audacity Team. https://audacityteam.org/.
27 I found in my early practice sessions that I needed to adjust the frequencies of the click track such that the first beat of every measure was significantly higher than the remaining beats to aurally register and follow the click track as I simultaneously focused on performing the specific notes and techniques in splinter.
28 Transcribe! Version 8.75.2 for Mac. Copyright © 1998-2020 Seventh String Software. www.seventhstring.com
29 Given the time-consuming nature of this type of learning process, it is critical to organize a reasonable timeline for learning and preparing a performance interpretation of this type of work. I would advise planning for at least 3-6 months to learn splinter, although I would recommend 6-12 months as an ideal learning period.
30 It should be noted that ELISION, the ensemble with whom Barrett has had the longest continuing collaborative relationship with, plans to perform Barrett's chamber work for Double Bass, Percussion, and Harp with a click track in live performance (with Barrett's supervision). Therefore, I do not believe it is any sort of artistic/ethical taboo to perform with a click track in a live performance of Barrett's music.
31 Barrett, Richard. Music of Possibility. Vision Edition, 2019. P.27.
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