]]>
To prepare: locate or compile a large collection of sticks. Branches are also acceptable, but there should be more sticks than branches before performing. Break branches up beforehand if necessary. Performer(s) may wish to wear hand and eye protection.
Then perform the following:
I. Hold a stick loosely by one end and tap it against a hard surface to listen for its resonance. Tap as many times as necessary to determine the quality of the resonance. If it has a clear tone, toss it into a “resonant” pile. If it sounds dull or doesn’t ring very clearly, toss it into a “non-resonant” pile. All piles should be separate from the original pile. If you encounter branches or compound sticks, you may break them up using any manual method (no electric or power tools). When your “resonant” pile has 7-15 sticks in it, start a new pile. Stop when you have between 10 and 20 “resonant” piles.
II. Pick up any “resonant” pile of sticks oin its entirety. Carry it to a hard surface (the best being a moderately sloped, paved or rocky road) and drop the whole pile onto the hard surface, causing all the sticks to tumble to the ground together. Continue picking up “resonant” piles and dropping them onto different parts of the hard surface, being careful to avoid your previously dropped sticks. Especially if multiple people are performing, make each drop at least 3 seconds after the previous one. After all resonant sticks have been dropped, pick them up by hand in whatever quantity you wish and return them to the original pile.
III. Pick up each stick from your “non-resonant” pile, one by one, and attempt to break it by any manual method. The preferred method is by bending it with both hands until it snaps, but if this doesn’t work you may lean it against something and stomp on the middle of the stick, or wedge it into something sturdy and bend it until it breaks. If no method is successful after 10 seconds, toss the stick onto the original pile and take a new one. Use your discretion and comfort as to which sticks to break - make accomodations for ability and safety. Note: If there are no “non-resonant” sticks, this movement is tacet.
Nathan Wheeler Can Serrat 2 Sept 2023
]]>Oblique Strategies Ripoff Score
(aka just the coda)
for solo player:
Set up to record yourself
Play until you run out of ideas
Then hit record and play some more
End when it feels right
Knowing
Think of someone you don’t know well
but would like to be closer with
play something
to help them know you
it’s ok to be shy
but if you record it
do it in one take with no edits
and maybe send it to them, or not
Extremes
For everything you play
make it either very soft or very loud
and either very long or very short
with either very long or very short pauses between
the rest is up to you
soaking
sit in a body of water or take a bath
long enough for you body to get used to it
take notes of the transition
as your body integrates to a familiar state
with the aqueous
use these notes to construct your own score, i.e.
“started out very cold
“moved into numbness
“acclimated to the new sense of gravity
“and increased resistance to movement
“I shifted from feeling other to feeling part”
perform this score close to another body of water
or with a photo of one nearby
eavesdropping
for any number of players
go to at least 3 places
where you can hear other people talking
write down one sentence from each place
that really sticks out to you
and what seems/feels interesting about it
then perform them
either immediately after, or at a later time/place
If in a group, use one person’s notes
or move through each person’s notes sequentially
someone may recite them before
Low-tech field recording
For solo player
To prepare, get a blank piece of paper
and a writing implement
and draw some number of parallel lines
across the sheet of paper
like so:
0’ ____
1’ ______
etc
go somewhere where sonic events happen
Sit down
Begin listening to your surroundings
and make a mark every time a sonic event happens
in a corresponding place on the timeline
ex. if you get to 30” mark in the middle of the 0’ line
Perform this score later
Each mark is an event
Substrata
for any number of players
Locate a diagram
of the different layers of earth
below where you will be playing this piece
(If digital, print it out)
Perform descending through each layer
moving through the different
mineral compositions, densities,
perhaps discovering gems or an aquifer
go as deep as you can, then resurface