Study no. 53
Performance Instructions
For 3 percussionists [triangles, woodblocks, alarm bells]
I started this piece in 2012 as a follow-up to Study no. 10, but for reasons that elude me, was not completed until 2018.
From top to the bottom, the score contains three staves for triangles [player 1], woodblocks [player 2], and alarm bells [player 3]. Near the left side of the screen is a vertical attack line. This indicates the onset, and in some cases, the duration of each musical event. Black circular symbols indicate a short, staccato event (meaning in the case of the triangles and alarm bells, these attacks would need to be muted immediately after the attack). The white circular symbols indicate a sustained event that starts the moment it crosses the attack line, and ends (is muted) once the red line extending to the right of the symbol crosses the attack line. Note: since all symbols are moving independently of one another, it is likely at times that a black or white symbol on the same staff line as a currently sustaining symbol will cross the line while a sound is still sustaining. In this case, the player would play that sound again, thereby negating the initial sustain.
Each line of each player's staff represents a single instrument. In the case of player 1, each line represents a triangle of different size (played with a metal beater). For player 2, each line represents a different woodblock (played with hard or soft mallets depending on the space). For player 3, 5 different alarm bells, likely played with a soft mallet.
Ryan Ross Smith, 2012/2018
If you would like a copy of this animated score for performance, or have any questions about the animated notation used in this piece, feel free to get in touch! My contact information can be found here.
