Performance
Issue #13
Library music
for any number of readers of Route 57:
read your copy of Route 57 methodically following page sequence (start/stop anywhere) or dip in at will
for every word beginning or ending with the following five letters, a corresponding action:
R
raise book and hold horizontally over a table about five, seven, 35, 57, 285 or 399 centimetres high and drop to land flat on a table
O
blow across page edges once: single pages, groups of pages, pages loose or closed/compressed together, vary intensity of breath and page compression (play in combination with E if word begins/ends o… e or e… o)
U
hold spine edge and flap/wobble pages for five or seven seconds
T
place book on a flat surface with fingers of one hand positioned on upper part of front cover, fingers of other hand on lower half and propel the book in circular fashion widdershins or deasil
E
flick once through pages of book—explore differing speeds
ad lib:
once or twice during the course of the piece turn to any page and read aloud—calmly and deliberately—every fourth, sixth, ninth, tenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 38th, 39th, 46th, 49th, 51st, 55th, 57th word
make a short shh sound on identifying the sound of two or more simultaneous sounds relating to this score; over the course of a performance start to elongate your shh sounds, making them correspondingly softer each time
(if performing in a library take care not to unduly disturb your fellow patrons).
Three pieces taken from a collection of 50+ scores called outofdoors suite (2011–present). Simple ideas with simple/complex results to be played individually or in sequences in the middle of nowhere or a bustling city by any number of people who are so minded to try them.
Fred & Ginger piece
in a group in an echoic space (eg alleyway) compare and contrast the sounds of each of your footsteps—quality of shoe clatter on surfaces, pace and phrasing of walking—notice how each sets off its own particular set of reflections—try various sequences and simultaneous combinations
(optional: should you encounter an abandoned trolley near an alleyway, push it at speed through the alley—you may yodel Tarzanstyle as you do this)
Phoning it in
should you have a mobile phone and encounter a public telephone box, take note of the number
start walking away from the box stopping occasionally to call the number
see how far from the box you can walk before the ringing of the phone becomes inaudible
observe, listen
if the phone is answered you may engage in a conversation
Whistle while you walk
listening
sometimes whistling
whilst out walking
by yourself or with others
a single whistled tone
every twenty or more steps
(sometimes many more)
variously short and up to a full breath
keep an ear out for hockets,1 chords, beats,2 etc.
relaxed, rarely that loud
a melody (melodies) in slow motion
guided by feel of embouchure, resonance of location, other pitches heard
Stephen Chase
Footnotes
A rapid alternation of notes between performers creating a fragmented melodic line.
Acoustic interference between two closely (mis)tuned tones.