InstrumentalGeography:IlluminatingRelationshipsthroughaSpatialInterface

JordanSand

NTNU,Trondheim,Norwayjordan@jordansand.com

Abstract.Thispaperpresentsathree-dimensionalmappingofthedoublebassin-progress.Theprojectisdesignedtoilluminatespatialandintervallicrelationshipsbetweendifferentpitchplanesor“layers”oftheinstrument,inordertofacilitatecompositionandimprovisationwithinacompositepitchsystem.Aftercontextualizingtheworkwithintheinstrumentalfield,earlyversionsofthemappingwillbeshownanddiscussed,aswellassomeofthecodingstructuresusedtorenderdigitalvisualizations.

Keywords:doublebass,visualization,harmonics,geography,choreography

TheMAPistheinterfaceThefingerboardofthebassspans480squarecmofblankplayingsurface–forreference,that’salmosttwicetheareaofthecello’s,fourtimesthatofaviolin,andjust10cmshyofthelengthofapianokeyboard.Withnofretsorinlays,andfewphysicalanchorpointsforthehand,it’salmostentirelylackinginvisualortactilelandmarks.Norisitstandardized,withwildlydifferentspacingsfrominstrumenttoinstrument.Floatinginitsself-containeduniversetotheplayer’sleft,stretchingfrombelowthehipstoaboveone’shead,thisunwieldyinstrumentisawildernessthattakesdecadestotame.Eventhemostfundamentalmusicalfunctionsrelyuponaprecise,comprehensiveinternalmap.

Thismap–thebassist’sindispensibleinterface–manifestsintwoways.Firstformedinthemind’seye,itstructuresthefingerboard’sblankspaceintovisualcollectionsofpointsandrelationships–ageography.Then,translatedintothebody,thevisualizedmapguidesthedesignofintricatechoreography,trainingthelefthand,arm,andwholebodytoreflexivelyrecallandperformexactspaces.Mindandbodydancethroughanchors,intersections,angles,points,developingsettings,spacings,territories,patternsandpathwaysand,withtimeandpractice,creatingakinaestheticversionofthemap.

Themapisassembledfromonebasicunit:asetofcoordinates,oranode.Definedas“apointinanetworkordiagramatwhichlinesorpathwaysintersectorbranch”,ininstrument-specificlingoanodemarksapointonthestring,whereonepressesortouchestosoundamusicalnote.

WhenIenvisionthefingerboard,Iseecollectionsofnodesarrangedinspace,formingshapesandpatternsthatguidetheshapeandmovementofthelefthand.Itresemblesaconstellation–nottheflatdiagramsofastronomybooks,butmoreasifonecouldstepinsidetheconstellation,torealizethefulldimensionalityofpointsandrelationshipsinlivingspace.Iperceivethreedimensionsbecause,inadditiontotheintuitivelyunderstooddimensionsoflength(lengthofstring)andwidth(repetitionofstringsside-by-side),thereisadimensionofheight,orelevation,fromthefingerboardcreatedbytwo1contrasting“planes”or“levels”ofplayabilityoneachstring.Thestoppednote(fullydepressingthestringagainstthefingerboard)isthelowerlevel.Naturalharmonics(soundedbylightlytouching,butnotdepressing,thestringtoactivateitsvibrationinequaldivisions)aretheupperlevel.Bothcontainnodesspreadubiquitouslythroughoutthefulllengthofeachstring,andtheshapesandconnectionscreatedbetweenthemnowhavedepthandperspective.

1Onecouldmakethecaseforupto6pitchsystems,“classes”or“layers”,suchasfalseharmonics,subharmonics,composite

Thedistinctionbetweentheseplanesissomethingtheplayerfeelsandexperiences,ratherthansomethingthatcanbevisuallyobservedfromtheoutside.Intheabsenceofvisuallystructuredinformation,itiseasyforabassist–myselfincluded–torelyuponprevioustactilefamiliaritywithnodallocationsandtofallbackontheseoldroutesinimprovisationandperformance.Mydesiretovisuallymodeltheseconcurrentpitchplanesisdrivenbythesameneedsbehindanyother“map”orpositionchart–toobjectivelyexamine,experimentwith,andinternalizewhatnotesarethereandhowtheyrelatetoeachother,andtodesignchoreographiesandpracticestrategiestoperformthem.

Theaestheticvisionbehindthismappingistomorethoroughlyhighlightthepolyphonic,chordalpossibilitiesoftheboweddoublebass,andtoventurebeyonddiatonicuseofthesetwopitchsystemstogetherbyilluminatingthefullextentoftheirintervallicrelationships.

Thispaperpresentsanin-processversionofthemapping,beginningwithhalf-scaletechnicaldrawings,followedbydigitalrenderingsbuiltwithVPythoncodinglanguage.Initscurrentstate,thismappingisintendedasareferenceandinternalizationtool,aninterfacebetweenmypersonalmusicallanguageandthefullcapabilitiesofthebass.Ihopetoultimatelycreateamoreinteractiveversion,andtocomposenewpiecesforbowedbassandvoiceusingthenewrelationshipsitreveals.

Futureversionswillalsointegratedatasets(pitch,partial#,hz,handsetting)inpreparationforapplicationsthatIhaveonlybeguntoimagine.Coulditbeusedasagraphicmediatororinterfacebetweentheacousticpresenceofthebassanditsamplified/electronicequivalent?Couldthishaveimplicationsinliveprocessing,orhelptodesigncustomizedEQforthesecomplexresonances?How,andunderwhatcircumstances,coulditimpactmineorother’scompositionalapproachtothisinstrument?Couldtherebeautomatedcompositionalapplicationsofthisinterface?

Thisprojectisintendedasapracticaltool,ratherthanobjectiveresearchorscholarshiponacousticproperties.Itactsasafoundationalproject-within-a-project,andwillhelptostructureseveralyearsofmyworkatNTNU.Iinvitedialoguearoundtheresearchprocessandcreativepossibilitiesduringthisperformance.

Somebackground:tradition,purposeandlimitationsinacollectiveinterfaceWithsuchlargespacestotraverseandmuchroomforerror,it’snowonderthatsomuchpedagogicalemphasisisplacedonhowonevisualizes,mapsandchoreographsthefingerboardofthebass.Questionsof“how”areansweredby“forwhatpurpose”–inwhatgenreorstyleareweworking,withwhichaestheticpriorities?Bassmaysupportmusicasdivergentasbluegrassandbaroque,StravinskyandCountBasie,freejazz,rockabillyortheromanticsymphonyorchestra.Inrecentdecades,ithasalsobeguntoshineasasoloinstrument.Composershavebroadenedandenrichedtherepertoire.Trailblazingimprovisershavevastlyexpandedtheinstrument’stimbralandharmonicpalette.Duetoadvancementsintechniqueandarapidlyglobalizingpedagogicalnetwork,thecollectivelevelofplayingkeepsrising,expandingnotionsofwhatthebasscando.Thesemanyvariableroleshavecalledforvariablegeographiesandchoreographies,eachdeeplycorrelatedtothepurposeathand.

Atthetimeofwriting,twomainmethodsaremostwidelytaught.From1881,FranzSimandl’sapproachisstillusedtodeveloporchestraltechnique,demarcatingtwelvedistinctpositionsinthefirstoctaveofthestringforprecisionandstrengthinlowregisters.Alternately,FrançoisRabbath’sstreamlined,soloisticfingerboardorganizationmarksfewer,largerpositionsformorerapidverticalmovementalongtheentirelengthofthestring,withleft-handchoreographydesignedtopreserveresonanceanda“singing”continuityforthebow.Firstpublishedin1977,Rabbath’spositionswerelikelythefirsttobeintentionallyconstructedaroundlocationsofnaturalharmonicnodesonthestring(theirsoundingpitchesareshownontherightinFig.2).

Figure1.aSimandlpositionchart(Christopher-j.net) Figure2.Rabbathpositionchart(Vance,page5)

Modernizingmusicallanguagesandpedagogicalpracticescontinuetosynthesizeandaugmentthesetwofundamentalmappings,withincreasingreferencetothenaturalharmonicseries.Forexample,DavidAllenMoore’ssystemofFractalFingering(2019)condensesmappingsofSimandlandRabbath,presentingdetailedcodesofmovementwithinahierarchyofhandpositions.Accessingprinciplesoffractalgeometry,Mooredividesthestringinto6equalparts(orharmonic“partials”)demonstratingthat,repeated,thesamephysicaldistancewillcontainstopped-noteintervalsofam3rd,M3rd,P4,P5,andP8,respectively(seeFig.3foraroughsketchofthisphenomenon).FractalFingeringmethodicallydecodessomeoftheadvanced,idiosyncraticleft-handtechniquesofbassvirtuosoEdgarMeyer,andbuildsprocessestoreplicatethem–aninterfacegearedtowardprecisionandvirtuosityinsoloistic,stopped-noteplaying.

Figure3.DiagramoftheprinciplebehindFractalFingering(providedbyJasonHeath,doublebassblog.org)

Anothervideo-documentedmapping,MarkDresser’sGuts(2010),appliessimilarharmonicprinciplestoverydifferenteffect.DresserbreaksopenthePandora’sboxofharmonictechniques,sounds,andsystemsonthebassanddemystifiestheiracousticpremise,nodallocationsandmusicalpotential.Naturalharmonicsserveasaprimertoartificial

harmonics,subharmonics,multiphonics,andflautandoharmonics.Dresserassertsthatanunderstandingofthenaturalphenomenaofstringvibration,ornaturalharmonicseries,iscentraltohisprocessofexploringsoundonthecontrabass.

ThecomprehensiveinformationonGutsclarifiesandextendstheresearchofhispredecessorattheUniversityofCaliforniaSanDiego.In1989,BertramTuretzkyoverviewedhowclassicalandcontemporaryrepertoireusedharmonicsinTheContemporaryContrabass,andmappedthemalongasingleaxisindexedtostaff-notation(Fig.4).Turetzkymappedasfarasthe10thdivisionofthestring,whichisafairlyhighpartial.Dresserdareduptothe19th(seeFig5).

Figure4.TheContemporaryContrabass(Turetzky)pg109

Figure5.ExcerptfromMarkDresser’sdocument“HarmonicCorrespondence–Gstring”accompanyingvideofootageofGuts

Dresser’sresearchwasdrivenbyhiscreativevoice.Gutselucidatesthetechnicalinnardsofthisvoice,whilealsorevealingthatofHåkonThelin,JoelleLéandreandthelateStefanoScodanibbio–allbassists,composersandimprovisersdealingintimatelywiththeinstrument’sharmonicproperties.Dresser’smappingspreparefortherigorsofcontemporaryexperimentalmusic,orgivesimilarlyadventurousinstrumentaliststhetoolstostrikeoutintounchartedtechnicalterritory.

Thisisanoverviewandfarfromcomprehensive,meanttodemonstrateadiversityofapproachandintentioninthebasscommunity.Nomappingneedexcludetheuseofanother,astheirreciprocalinfluencerendersthemcomplimentaryanglesofacollectiveinterface.Indeed,themodernbassistisfortunatetoinheritarich,diverse,multigenerationalsetofmappings,variablyexpressedthrougheachplayer’ssingularphysicalityandmusicianship.

Thedocumentationofamappingmaynotalwaysmanifestasa“map”,insteadrangingfromdrawings,tablatureandstaffnotationtovideodemonstrationorliveteachingtraditions.2Butaglanceunderthehoodofanyapproachrevealsthepervasiveneedforspatialandvisualawareness.Weshouldtakecaretodocumentinawaymostalignedwiththeinformationin-practice.

Ifthefingerboardisa“wilderness”withoutpre-installedpointsorpathways,Iproposethataspatialorgeographicrepresentationbecomesnon-negotiable.Plottingtheterrainquicklyorientsus,settlingspatialknowledgefromtheoreticaltofunctional.Howmucheasierisittoglanceatastreetmapthantorememberandfollowwrittenorverbaldirections?AtleastIbenefitimmenselyfromaliteralmap,orpositionchart,thatnon-verballycommunicatespracticalroutesfromheretothereonthebass.Themyriadversionsofsuchachartmayattesttoawidespreadpreferenceandneedforthisamongstmyfellowbassists.

Existingchartsaretwo-dimensional,whichissufficienttomaplinearmusicallinesofstoppednotes–thevastmajorityofbassplaying.However,ourcollectiveinterfaceseemstoincreasinglyorientitselfaroundasecond,omnipresentpitchlayerofnaturalharmonics,containingnolessthanforty-sixnodesperstring.3Thesenodeshaveattractedmuchexplorationandstudy,ascontemporarymusicallanguagescapitalizeonthebass’sproclivityforharmonics.Manygoodresourcesareavailabletounderstandtheirpitchcontent,approximatelocations,correspondencetostoppednotesdirectlyunderthemonthesamestring,etc.4

Butourmappingofharmonicsremainsincompleteinafewimportantways.First,theyareoftencataloguedwithstaffnotation,butrarelyvisuallyorspatiallymapped.Ifandwhentheyaremapped,ittendstobelinearlyalongonestring,withlooseorapproximatedscalingdespitetheexactingmathematicalnatureoftheirnodallocations.Mostsignificantly,theytendtobestudiedandusedinoverwhelmingisolationfromstoppednotes.Exceptfortheiranchoringproperties(ie.thenodesthatalower-partialharmonicshareswithastoppednote)theyareunderstoodlinearlyandself-referentially,ratherthanlocallyorlaterallyindeepspatialandintervallicdialoguewiththecorrelatingandsurroundingstoppednotes.

It’sthecomplexityandpervasivenessoftheserelationshipsIammostinterestedin,andseektoilluminatewithacompositemapping.BertramTuretzky,writingin1989,observedthat:

“Oneseldom-usedtechniquewithextensivepotentialisthedouble-stopcombinationofnaturalharmonicsandstoppednotes.Thesoundisunique,oftennothavingprimarilythecharacteroftwonotes,butrathersomethingfused,almost“electronic”……thetechniquereleasesthecontrabassfrombeingmerelya“oneline”instrument.

2Theactofteachingmaybeconsideredlivingdocumentation,passingdownchoreographyin-person3Iamcountingdistinctandreasonablyplayableexpressionsofharmonicsuptothe8thpartial,onthetopstringofthebass.Theoretically,itispossibletoactivateuptothethe16thpartial,commonlyusing9ths-11thsinpractice.Onlowerstringsfewerharmonicsmaybeplayable,duetothethicknessofthestring.

Therearesomewherebetweenoneandthreehundredsuchpossiblecombinations,dependingonthesizeoftheperformer’slefthandandtheextentofhisorherproficiencywithhigherpartials.”(Turetzky,137-138)

Sothesetwopitchsystems,inrealityfusedintoacompositesystem,arerarelyintegratedinthemindormethodsoftheplayer.Yettherearefascinatingsonicandpolyphonicqualitieswaitingforusinthiscombination,easilyunleashedbyaddingathirddimensiontoourmentalmap,andsubsequentlyourpracticetechniquesandconceptionoftheinstrument.Indeed,thewholepurposeofthebasscouldevolveyetagainifwestepinsideitsmanyconstellations.

Towarddimensionality–rulers,calculators,andcode,people

IbeganmappingthisinstrumentwithatapemeasureandasuddenunderstandingthatIhadforgottenhowtodealwithallfractionalmathematics.Harmonicnodesliveatequaldivisionsofthestring.Tocalculatetheirexactpositionsforearlydrawingsofthisinterface,Iwouldhavetodomath,specificallydivision,andwemayallsensethatabassplayerandmathmakeforanunlikelyromance.Thestringlengthofmydoublebassisapproximately101cm,anun-funnumbertodivide.Also,thebiggestpaperIcouldfindwas80cmwide.ThatisthestoryofhowIendedupwithastringlengthof60cmforthismodelling,ameasurementwhichfollowedmeoffthepaperandintothedigitalrealm.

Thefirstobjectivewastomapthemannerinwhichthepitchsystemsofharmonicsandstoppednotesrelatetoeachotherononestring–andtodosoinawaythatwasimmediatelygraspedbytheeye,ratherthantheintellect.

Figure6.Crosssectionofpitchsystemsononestring

Thetwohorizontallines,at60cmlong,representstoppednote(lower)andharmonic(upper)planesofthestring.Theverticallinesextendingaboveandbelowtheseplanescrossthestringatexactnodallocations,ordivisions,ofthestringTheirlengthisproportionaltosoundingpitch.Thelongertheline,thedeeperthenote.Fromthiswayofvisuallyrepresentingpitch,wemaygetquickimpressionsofwhereunisonsorwiderintervalsmayoccur.Atthehalfwaypointofthestring(thesecondpartial)thesoundingpitchofboththeharmonicandthestoppednoteisG3.Itisevidentthatsimilarunisonscontinuetooccurthehigherupthestringthatwego(orfartherright,inthisdiagram).However,inthefirsthalfofthestringthedisparitybetweensoundingpitchismuchmorepronounced.ItisinthisareawhereI’vechosentofocusonthebeginningsofanintervallicmapping.

Figure8.showingtherangeofhandpositions1-11withstaggeredhorizontallines,placedbetweenthetwoplanes

Acloserlookrevealshowwemightbegintochoreographtheuseofthesepitchsystemstogether.Thestaggeredhorizontallinesrepresenttherangeofdistincthandsettingsinthelowerhalfofthestring.(11distinctpositionsdrawsfromtheSimandlapproach,whereindisplacingthehandbyevenonehalfstepconstitutesanewposition.)IfIplacemyhandinthe3rdposition,forexample,Icanreacheverynotethatfallswithinitsrangeonbothplaneswithoutmovingorshiftingmyarm.Positions5,6and7,highlightedinFig.7,areespeciallyinterestingtome,becausetheyfallrightaroundwheretheneckmeetsthebodyofthebass(“blockposition”)atactileanchorofgreatimportanttobassists.AlthoughIplantodothisforeverypositionofthebasseventually,andacrosstwoandthreestrings,Ichosetobeginconnectingthedotsinthesethreepositionsononestringtogetanimpressionofjusthowmanyintervallicrelationshipsarelivingineachsmallterritory,asdemonstratedinFig.8.

Figure9.Ononestring–allpossibleintervalliccombinationsbetweenplaneswithineachhandsetting

Ofcourseintervalsexistingononestring,althoughtheyhavemelodicpotential,can’tbeplayedtogetherasadyad.Thelogicalnextstepwastotaketheseconnectionsandexploretheirworkingsbetweentwoadjacentstrings.Howmany

differentdyadscanbesoundedwithinonehandsettingacrosstwostrings?AgainIammostinterestedinthosedyadsoccurringbetweenplanes(position5inFig.10),buttherearealsodyadscreatedharmonictoharmonic(showninposition7inFig.10)andstoppednotetostoppednote.

Figure10.Beginningofa3-dimensionallookathowthesepitchmaterialsrelatetoeachother

Astaticdrawingoftheserelationshipsacrossstringsquicklybecomesavisualmess.Itneededtobeinteractive,inmoveablespacesomehow.Ibrieflyconsideredmakinganactualphysical3-dmodelofit,likemiddleschoolsciencefair.ButbeforeIbustedouttheplaydoughandpipecleaners,mysupervisorpointedmetowardanonlinevisualizationtoolthatwouldrequireabitofcoding–ahorrifyingprospectthatturnedouttobealotoffun,andgeneratednewideasaboutthepossibilitiesforthisinterface.

BeginninganewinGlowscript,Itookhissuggestiontoplotthecenterofthestring,or2ndpartial,as0onthex-axis,withtheopenstring(ornut)at-30andthebridgeat30.Becausetheharmonicseriesisexpressedinamirror-imageofitselffromthehalf-waypointofthestring,thiswouldgeneratedatasetsthatwereflexibleandeasytokeeptrackofwhenplottingharmonicnodes.

partials = [ [0], [-10, 10], [-15, 15], [-18, -6, 6, 18], [-20, 20], [-21.4286, -12.86, -4,286, 4.286, 12.86, 21.4286], [-22.5, -7.5, 7.5, 22.5], [-23.334, -16.667, -3.334, 3.334, 16.667, 23.333], [-24, -12, 12, 24], [-24.545, -19.091, -13.6364, -8.1818, -2.7273, 2.7273, 8.1818, 13.6364, 19.091, 24.545], [-25, -5, 5, 25], ListswithalistinVPython,plottingthelocationsofpartials2-12alongthelengthofthestring(xaxis,from-30to30)

Figure11.firstdigitalrenderingoftwopitchplanes,onestring

Nodallocationsonbothplaneswererepresentedwithsmallsphereobjectsdirectlyonthestringonbothplanes,ratherthanasverticallinesthatintersectedthestringasinpreviousdrawings.Thelargerspheresconnectedtotheharmonicnodes,withsizesandheightsproportionaltothesoundingpitch,wereretainedforvisualtrackingpurposes.Handsettingsweredelineatedwiththecolorofthecurveobjectsconnectingthesenodes,ratherthanseparatevisualobjects.Fig12belowshowsallconnectionsononestringwithinpositions3,5and7.

Figure12.showingrelationships

Itisnoticeablebynowthatmanycomplexkaleidoscope-likeshapesarebeingdrawntorepresentintervals,butnointervalshavebeenqualifiedasofyet–“thatlineisaminor10th,thisamajor7thplusanoctave”etc.ThatisbecausethisinformationissomethingIwouldlikethisinterfacetoautomaticallycomputeforme,becauseIamlazy,andbecausethereareliterallyhundredsoftheseintervalstodiscover,catalogue,andcreatewith.Iquicklyrealizedthatmyprimitivecodingskills,barelyoneweekold,wouldgetmefarenoughtocreateavisuallyacceptabledigitalrepresentationofthisinterface.ButIdidnothavethechopstodesigncodethatcouldbeeasilyworkedwithlater,thatwasflexibleandpowerfulenoughtohandletheintegrationoflayersofinformationandallowmetoarrangeandrearrangeitinthefutureastheconceptsbehindthisinterfaceprogressed.WhatifIwantedtheinterfacetoshowalltheminor9thsonthebassbetweenlayers?WhatifIwantedtorevealonlyintervallicconnectionsusedinaspecificpiecetostudytheirspatialrelationshipscarefully?Howaboutfilteringconnectionsbasedonregister,partialnumber,orplayability?

SoIgotoutthebiggunsandcalledmylittlebrother,whoisacomputerprogrammerwithamuchbiggerbrainthanme,exhibitA:

Figure13.Littlebrother,bigbrain

Overapproximately8cumulativehoursworkingtogetheronTeamviewer,wewereabletobuildatoolkitthatwouldbothrenderthedesired3-Dvisualizedoutcomeandsetupa“3D”datastructure,whereineverypartialnodeisconnectedorpointstothepartialseriesviaaseriesofclassesandtheobjectsmanifestedthroughthem.Forthetimebeing,onlyattributesmeanttoberenderedvisually(suchasheight,radius,color,points,partialnumber)arecontainedwithinthePartialSeriesclass.Futuredraftsofthisprojectcandelineateandassignmoreattributes,suchassoundingHz,calculatedaccordingtoaflexiblefundamentalpitchandthepartialnumber,orpitchnameandclass.

class PartialSeries(object): ''' Contains static configuration data for a partial series ''' def __init__(self, number, height, radius, conrad, color, points): self.number = number self.height = height self.radius = radius self.conrad = conrad self.color = color self.points = points

class PartialNode(BaseNode): '''

Represents a single harmonic node and reference to the partial series that contains it ''' def __init__(self, series, position, level, string): super(PartialNode, self).__init__(position, level, string) self.series = series Excerptofmorerecentcodebehinddigitalrenderingofinterface

Visuallyconnectingclearpitchinformationtonodallocation,inadditiontobeingaprerequisiteforautomatingintervalliccalculations,canfillanothernotablegapinourcollectiveknowledge-in-practice.Althoughthesoundingpitchofbassharmonicshasbeenmuchdocumentedandnotated,itisusuallyonlyvaguelyunderstoodinpracticeduetoasystemoftablature-ishstaffnotationthatreferencesonlytheplayinglocation,notthesoundingpitch,ofthenote(alsoconvolutedbythefactthatbassisatransposinginstrument.)Weshouldbeabletospatiallyobservenodallocationsofharmonics,togetherwithinformationabouttheirsoundingpitch,inordertohaveworkingclarityabouttherealrangeofthisinstrument,whichisinsane.Forexample,Iknownowthatthe7thpartialoftheGstringisanF5–myhighestvocalnote.

Figure14.handpositions3,5and7

AninterestingperspectivethatAustincontributedwastheremovalofthefixedplanefortheharmoniclevelalongtheyaxis.Whatifthestoppednotelevelremainedconstant,buttheharmonicsfloatedinspaceaccordingtotheirpartialnumber,andtheconnectionsweredrawnaccordingly,asinFigure15?Itwasinterestingtoexperimentwiththeimpactthatdifferentvisualorganizationsoftheinformationcouldhaveonmyrelationshiptothesehandpositions,whenlookingatdifferentversionsofthediagramwithbassinhand.

Figure15.Avariableheighttovisualizenodallocationsandrelationships,nofixed“harmonicplane”

Surelyalltheselollipopsdon’thaveanythingtodowithactuallyplayingthebass?Whatisthisgoodfor?Theansweris,almostnothingwithoutthefurtherintegrationofpitchinformation,extremeflexibilityinexaminingandfilteringinformation,and,mostimportantly,lotsofenergyspenttranslatingnewlyrevealedspatialrealitiesintothebodyandinstrumentinrealtimeandspace.Precisechoreographiesmustbedeveloped–notjustofthelefthand,infact,butofthebowaswell.Harmonicsandstoppednotesrequireverydifferentbowspeed,placementandpressure.Oneneedsanextremelynuancedandaccurateapproachinordertosimultaneouslysoundsuchdisparatebeastsacrossmanyoctaves.Existinglefthandpositions,designedprimarilyforstoppednoteplaying,mayonlygosofartoexpressandcontrolacompositepitchsystem.Manyupperpartialharmonicsexistinsmaller,moreirregularspacingsthatourhandsarenotusedtoinlowerpositions,andmustbepracticedwithhandsettingsdevelopedspecificallyforthem.Inmyplaying,thesechoreographieshavebeenpartiallydevelopedthroughintuitive,obsessedstubbornness,butthereismuchdeeper,moreorganizedworktodoregardingthedevelopmentanddocumentationofmethodstointernalizetheinterface.ThisphaseoftheprojectwillkickinshortlyaftertheICLI2020conference.

Therearemanypipe-dreamapplicationsofthisinterfacethatIwillenumerateinalaterversionofthispaper,buttheybasicallycomedowntotwocategories:Howcouldthisprojectdevelopintoanactualelectronicinterface,mediatingtheacousticsignalofthebasswithanamplifiedorlive-processedrealm?Andwhatpotentialcouldithavetoautomateorrandomizeplayablecompositionalframeworkswiththesepitchmaterials–inotherwords,inadditiontoshowingwhat’sthere,helpingthemeremortaltoimaginewhatcouldbecreatedwithit?

Doublebass:theorganofthestringfamilyThisinstrumentisdesignedtoring.There’smuchdebateaboutitsfamilylineage,butatleastsomeofthebassesweplaytodayareoldinstrumentsthatretaineddesigninfluencesfromtheviolfamilyofthebaroqueera–or,inthecaseofmyinstrument,theyarenewinstrumentsdesignedandbuilttocapturethosesameresonantqualities.Ofcoursesomeofthatringinesscomesfromitslowvoice.I’llneverforgetwhenmyhighschoolorchestrateacheraskedmetobowanopenstringduringrehearsal,andweallsatthereandsilentlycountedhowlongthenoteresounded,eveninthatdryacousticroom.

It’sbecausethisinstrumentisboththecathedralandtheorgan.Itisaresonant,multi-layeredpolyphonicvoicewithahugepitchrangeanditisit’sownhousetoringin.

Igrewupattendingabigemptychurchwithagiantpipeorgan.Itwouldcompletelyengulfus,asmallcongregationsinginghymnshaphazardlyinthewakeofthatrumblingsoaringcrashingbreathingwaveofaninstrument.Imustneverhavegottenthatsoundoutofmyhead,becausetheimprintfollowedmetothebass.Ormorelikely,Ifollowedtheimprintandchosethebass,drawntoafamiliarvoice.Ibegantosingwithiteventually,andcomposesoIcouldsingmore,notbecauseIwasmuchgoodatit,butbecauseitseemedlikethemostnaturalthingtodointhepresenceofthissound.

Harmonicsarealsodesignedtoring.It’sinthename,theharmonyofvibrationthatmakesthempossiblealsomakesthemwanttoring,tolinger,tosympathisewitheachotheralongthelengthofthestring.Onthebasswehavetheperfectstormfortheiruse.Noothermemberofthemodernstringfamilyhasalowenoughfundamentalorabroadenoughfingerboardtoaccesstheseharmonicsasubiquitously,norasdeepadesiretoresonate.It’smynerdiestofmissionstodigoutalloftheirpossibilitiesandrelationships,andtomakemyfavouritekindofspacewiththem–anengulfingone.

Acknowledgements.ImustsaythanksforthepatientguidanceofØyvindBrandtseggandpatientandspiritedcollaborationsfrommybrother,AustinMorton.

ReferencesDresser,Mark.Guts.KadimaCollective,2010.

Heath,Jason.“FractalFingering:Review.”June112019.https://doublebassblog.org/2019/06/fractal-fingering-review.html.

Moore,DavidAllen.FractalFingering.2019.courses.discoverdoublebass.com.

Christopher-J.net.“DB-11:Positionnumberingonthedoublebass”.Jan132016.https://christopher-j.net/tag/beginners-course-bass/page/2/.

Turetzky,Bertram.TheContemporaryContrabass.UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1988.

Vance,George.Costanzi,Annette.ProgressiveRepertoirefortheDoubleBass,Vol.1.CarlFischer:2000.