In C (Terry Riley)

Hi Dennis, all,

This is a new thread, but in reply to Dennis' contribution quoted (with 
link) below.

Thanks, Dennis for pointing out this very interesting case and pushing 
the debate along!

/In C/ is a classic mobile score. We are talking about music as Art 
here. Listening and performing responsibly is what this piece is all 
about. Making a version of /In C/ for a particular ensemble, with all 
the repeats written out, would change the relation of the players to 
their performance. They would stop listening to each other and start 
concentrating on not getting lost. That's quite different from the 
situation in Stockhausen's /Momente/ or /Refrain/.

Nevertheless, I think it should be possible to save /In C/ in MNX.

[begin aside]
Issue: Can MNX allow more than one container hierarchy?
It would often be more efficient to be able to leave levels out. For 
example, the following could be possible:
<system> - <measure> - <staff> - <voice> - <event>
or
<system> - <measure> - <staff> - <event>
or
<system> - <measure> - <event>
or
<system> - <event>
[end aside]

The 53 /In C/ melodic patterns could be saved in 53 <measure> containers 
in a single <system> having the following container hierarchy:
<system> - <measure> - <event>
Each <event> would contain a single duration symbol graphic (chord or 
rest). The symbols' temporal data could be left empty (to be managed by 
the client application, which would be programmed in accordance with the 
performance instructions). The two pages of performance instructions 
would go in a text <annotation> somewhere.

It would then be /possible/ to write an application that would 
instantiate and play a score on the fly.
Imagine a dialog setting up the instruments before starting to play, 
then controls on each instrument allowing the user to tell them to stop 
or move on, introduce slight imperfections of duration in individual 
parts, control their dynamic etc. It would also be possible to record 
such an interactively created score, reformat it and play it back.

However: Such a procedure would lose the musicality of the original, 
live performance with an ensemble of real players. At least, it would 
transfer the communal responsibility for the performance to a single 
"conductor". It just wouldn't be the same piece. We are talking about a 
complex Artwork here.

Note that the borderline between programming (applications) and 
composing (music) is getting blurred here.

> I'm confused by the idea of temporal information having a role in notation at
> all.
Its exactly that (19th and 20th century) confusion that I'm trying to 
sort out.
Temporal information is not spatial, so there is actually no necessary 
connection between the temporal information and the notation at all. Any 
connection there might be is in the intention of the person who set the 
relation up. Its often done with particular expectations in mind, but 
there are no restrictions anywhere. Imagine the case of transposing 
instruments, or organ stops etc.

A fond memory of student days is that I once broke a piano string while 
playing the drone in /In C/ (ca 1970?). I must have hit the string just 
when it was going in the wrong direction... :-)

Hope that helps,
James

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-music-notation-contrib/2017Apr/0059.html

Am 05.04.2017 um 15:20 schrieb Dennis Bathory-Kitsz:
> On Wed, April 5, 2017 8:35 am, James Ingram wrote:
>> Detailed Temporal Information (relevant to Performance Practice):
>> Thus far, the only temporal information I've mentioned relates to the
>> order in which <system>s or <event>s are played. That's just a simple
>> before-after relationship.
> I don't think you mention parallel but unsynchronized elements. The easiest
> example is "In C" -- the score is graphically simple, but the performance is
> not. Is this kind of score a special case? Your 'arrow of time' always moves
> forward, but the events loop at different times. Is this a case where the
> graphical score must be unhooked from a performance because each performance
> is very different?
>
> I'm confused by the idea of temporal information having a role in notation at
> all.
>
> Please ignore this if my question misperceives the issues.
>
> Dennis
>
>
>
>

-- 
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