Simon Steen-Andersen: History of My Instrument

Simon Steen-Andersen History of My Instrument for harp solo & video playback Dur. 9′

SCORE

(2011)

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Written for Sunniva Wettre Rødland with support from the Norwegian Culture Council and the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) Skrevet for Sunniva Wettre Rødland med støtte fra Norsk Kulturråd og Norges Musikhøjskole (NMH)

Edition·S publications are supported by the Danish Arts Council Music Committee / Edition·S udgivelser er støttet af Kunstrådets Musikudvalg

Simon Steen-Andersen History of My Instrument

(2011)

for harp solo & video playback Dur. 9′

PROGRAM NOTE “... perhaps Carlos Salzedo said it best in this excerpt from an article published in the January, 1952 issue of Etude Magazine: ‘Music is meant to be heard, but also to be looked at - otherwise radio would have long ago supplanted the concert stage which, fortunately, it has not’ ...”

Yolanda Kondonassis: “On Playing the Harp”, p.14

PERFORMANCE NOTES EQUIPMENT – Harp (to be prepared with paper in between all strings as well as duct tape on three bass strings)

– (PA-system. Alternatively a set of active speakers could be used with all lines going through the sound interface (with min. 4 inputs)).

– Complete darkness in the hall

– Video projector (small/mobile, to be placed on stage, preferably with a lens shift option) SCORE AND PLAYBACK COORDINATION – Laptop (MacBook) with a sound interface (size of interface dependent on setup and mixer) – Software: Ableton Live (free trial version for download available at the Ableton website: http://www.ableton.com/download-live-trial) – Ableton Live-set (midi-triggered video and sound playback) can be downloaded from the Edition·S website: http://www.edition-s.dk/assets/history-of-myinstrument-ableton-live-set

THE SCORE MUST BE LEARNED BY HEART! The score consists of written instructions and a few notated passages. The form is given by the playback.

Some durations are left semi-open, coordinated with the playback by midi trigger points, letting the playback continue in one section until triggered by the player to move on to the next. Similarly some actions are synchronized with the playback by midi trigger points.

PREPARATION OF THE HARP

– Reverb effect (Often integrated in the PA-system. Can also be added in the Ableton live-set.)

– MIDI controller (small midi pad (e.g. the Akai LPD8) and if preferred; a midi foot pedal/foot trigger.)

– Microphones: 1 DPA clip-on mic, 1 dynamic mic with a stand 2 contact mics.

– Toy harp (preferably the (out of production) Disney Harp) – Flyswatter – Clip-on lamp – Adjustable chair (or one with the height to align the player with the player on the video) – White duct-tape

– Paper: Sheets of paper should be inserted between the strings, leaving only every second string visible: On the left hand side of the harp (seen from the view of the player) place the sheets “behind” the lowest string, touching the frame, and lead it in between the lowest and the second lowest string, etc. zig-zagging between the strings. Rip the edges to make the sheets in the sides follow and cover all the way to the frame. Make sure there are no gaps between the papers.

– White duct-tape: On the low E, G and B string the following pattern should be made with strips of white duct-tape (on the left hand side, as seen from the player): From the top, all starting at the same point, about 25 cm. down the E string (and if placed correctly, they should all end at the same point as well).

E: 20 cm. covered, 2 cm. uncovered, 87 cm. covered, 5 uncovered, 20 cm. covered.

G: 32 cm. covered, 2 cm. uncovered, 26 cm. covered, 4 cm. uncovered, 29 cm. covered, 4 cm. uncovered, 37 cm. covered.

– Plain white paper (A4 or similar) – Loose, large and bright clothing

B: 39 cm. covered, 4 cm. uncovered, 10 cm. covered, 2 cm. uncovered, 24 cm. covered, 4 cm. uncovered, 19 cm. covered, 2 cm. uncovered, 30 cm. covered.

– Table for the MIDI controller and the props – Various soundcables 1-2 USB cables (1 if using MIDI Pad, 2 if MIDI Pad + footswitch depending on footswitch system)

– Clip-on lamp: A clip-on lamp should be placed on the upper frame on the right hand side of the harp (seen from the player) in order to make a shadow of the right hand appear on the paper when playing in the upper register.

PROPS – Toy harp: Disney-harp (or another toy-harp that can play little melodies - the kitchyʼer, the better). The disneyharp is no longer in production, but can often be found on ebay.com. The Disney-harp will have a contact microphone on it and the signal will be added exaggerated reverberation.

– Clothing: For two reasons the player should be performing in loose, bright clothing: 1) to remind (a bit) of the Mildred Dilling performing on the video (female players could wear a skirt - ideally reminding a bit of the one worn on the video).

2) the clothing will be used to project the video image onto, as an extension of the “harp-screen”.

STAGING – Harp: The harp should placed on the stage with the left side (as seen from the player) pointing towards the middle of the audience (ideally placed mid-stage, parallel with the stage front). It works nicely if theres a wall or other objects a couple of meters further behind the harp, but it can be done with any distance between the harp and the back wall.

– Projector: 4–6 meters are needed between projector and harp.

The projector should either be placed on the floor on the stage (or on a low box) or off the stage on a stand with the height of or a bit higher than the stage.

The projector must be fixed and well protected from movements and shakes, since the precision of the projection is essential to the performance. To adjust the position and the angle, use the Harp Reference Picture, triggered by pressing PAD 5 on the AKAI MIDI Pad or by skipping forward in the Live set, past the ending or by manually setting the position in the live-set on the picture in arrangement view in the very ending of the arrangement. (Remember to go into full screen view). Fit the picture of the harp onto the harp on stage as precise as possible.

– Chair and player: An adjustable chair (or a chair with the right height) should be used and the position of the chair and the harp (as well as the posture of the player) should be adjusted, so that the harp and the player align perfectly with the harp and the player on the video – best adjusted with the second last section “slow motion double exposure”, beginning at 9:08 in the Live-set (or by pressing PAD 6 on the AKAI MIDI Controller).

First adjust the distance between the chair and the harp, giving the right angle of the leaned over harp, then adjust the height of the chair, aiming to align the shoulders. In the end practice the posture, fitting the different parts of the picture as well as possible onto the player. (Marks the positions on the stage).

– Stand + : Behind the harp (as seen from the audience) there should be a table or a stand for the MIDI controller, the disney-harp and the plastic card, placed out of sight for the audience, but reachable for the player when standing up next to the harp.

– Laptop: The laptop running the playback software should be placed 2-3 meters to the left of the harp on the floor or on a box, facing the player and used as a monitor for coordinating with the video. The light of the screen should be turned to the minimum and the light of the keys turned off.

TECHNICAL SETUP – Laptop and MIDI Controller(s): The laptop should be set up running the Ableton Live-set. The midi-controller and the midi-keyboard should be connected via USB. The laptop should be connected to the projector and “arrangement” under screen settings (in preferences) should be set to “mirror”. The video window should be set to fullscreen (double click on the video window), the monitor brightness should be set to minimum and the keyboard lighting should be turned off. Preferably the apple logo light on the backside of the screen should be covered.

– Projector: The brightness should be turned down (but not too dark to see the old-style movie-flicker in the beginning) and contrast possibly turned up until the black colors and the places without video seem really black.

– MIDI Controller: The midi-controller is placed on the stand behind the harp.

For performance one needs a button for ‘play’ and a button for ‘skip forward’. For rehearsals one a ‘skip backward’, ‘stop’ and ‘projector calibration picture’ are sufficient.

To setup the controller, go to the arrangement view (in the view menu), scroll all the way to the right, where you see a locator with the name “those days are over”, press the midi button in the upper right corner of the window (or cmd M on the keyboard (Mac) or Ctrl M (Windows)), press the locator flag, press the button to be used on the midi-controller and then press the MIDI button again. locator flag

skip ahead

– Microphones: – The dynamic mic on the stand should be placed in a way that the player can speak into it while sitting on the chair and so that it still doesnʼt block the projection (on the player and the harp).

– The DPA should be placed at the “sound hole” on the frame facing the player.

– Contact mic 1 should be placed on the toy harp.

– Contact mic 2 should be placed on a plastic card (leaving space for holding and handling the card without touching the mic).

– Reverb: A reverb effect should be added to the mic on the toy harp. It should be rather exaggerated and artificial sounding.

This process can be used to map the the skip forward, backward, start and stop (and possibly the calibration pic and slow-motion locators). It is not necessary to map the remaining locators in the set.

If using the Akai LPD8 the pads might be programmed as follows: PAD 3 - skip backward PAD 4 - skip forward PAD 5 - calibration PAD 7 - stop PAD 8 - play If Live does not seem to connect automatically with the MIDI keyboard or controller, make sure that both “track” and “remote” are checked (yellow) in the MIDI/ Sync pane in the Live preferences.

History of My Instrument: SCORE p.1 (C, D, E, Fb, G, A, H) (Before the performance, double-click on stop to reset the playback transport) 1: – Hit “play” (MIDI Pad) to start the playback – When the spotlight comes on, say into the microphone (in a natural voice as if it was actually going to be a performance lecture): “Before playing I’d like to give you a short outline of the history of my instrument” – The light goes out.

2: – When the “old film noise” picture comes on turn on the clip-on lamp and get in playing position without rushing.

– Press “skip forward” (MIDI Pad or foot pedal) to continue, when ready.

3 loud crackles indicate the tempo and gives the cue to play (quasi counts 1 … 3, 4).

– Play the adapted version of The Fountain in sync with the playback – exaggerate the gestures a little bit to fit with the playing style of the playback. (See addendum 1 for the score).

3: – When the playback slows down, continue a gliss all the way to the lowest string and stop playing and immediately turn off the clip-on lamp.

– Take the plastic card in the right hand and touch the strings lightly, producing a light, breathing-like sound when moved up and down.

– Move hands up and down in slow motion in sync with the player on the video flashes (video of arms hitting the arms, video of the face on the face, copy the posture and make sure the chair is in a height where the shoulders align. See the laptop monitor for orientation if necessary.)

4: – When the playback speeds up again, play the end of the song in sync with the playback.

– When the light goes out, set down the harp, take the plastic card in your left hand and stand with your back to the projection at the position where the player on the video appears (in order to be the screen for the projection).

5: – Dilling: “Before playing I’d like to give you a short outline of the history of my instrument”.

(Use the zoom as a cue.)

– The playback enters a loop with fast, short flashes of harp pictures. In the following part, the flashes are always accompanied by a horizontal (sweeping) movement with the edge/ side (narrow end) of the plastic card across the strings (with a speed that seems to be in sync with the speed of the changing pictures) interrupted by still pictures accompanied by movements with the short card side vertically along the strings (at first single strings, later several strings on the duct-taped strings). The playback-shifts are triggered by the “skip forward” button or the foot pedal.

History of My Instrument: SCORE p.2 (Stand in front of the right side of the harp in order to act as a screen for the projection, make “square”, straight and decisive movements, vary the speed of the vertical movements).

Flash loop locator 1 (starts automatically): Movement right to left.

Skip Forward: Still pic 1: Move down along the low C string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop locator 1: Movement to the left and back to the right.

Skip Forward: Still pic 2: Move up along the low C string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop loc. 1: Move all the way to the right, then left again till 2nd oct. D. Skip Forward: Still pic 3: Move down along the 2nd octave D string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop locator 1: Move to the left and back to the right.

Skip Forward: Still pic 4: Move up along the 2nd octave D string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop loc. 1: Move all the way to the right, then left again till the low C. Skip Forward: Still pic 5: Move down the low C string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop locator 2: Move to the right, then back left til the low C. Skip Forward: Still pic 6: Move up the low C string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop locator 2: Move all the way to the right, the left again till the low B. Skip Forward: Still pic 7: Move down the prepared B string.

Skip Forward: Flash loop 2: Move diagonally to the right corner, then left to the low G and B. Skip Forward: Still pic 8: Move down the prepared G and B strings.

Skip Forward: Flash loop 2: Move diagonally to the right corner, then to the low E, G & B. Skip Forward: Still pic 9: Move down along all 3 prepared strings in a “speaking-like” tempo.

Skip Forward: Dillig: “but to let the harp speak for itself” Skip Forward: Still pic 10: Quicly up, then same slow tempo down.

Skip Forward: Dillig: “but to let the harp speak for itself” Skip Forward: Still pic 11: Same tempo back up, then quickly down again Skip Forward: Dilling: “but to let the harp speak for itself” Skip Forward: Still pic 12 (laser harp): Quickly up again, then same slow tempo down Skip Forward: Dilling: “but to let the harp speak for itself, I shall now play the firefly ...”

(Stay with the back to the projector until the picture is gone, then move behind the harp, put away the plastic card and take the toy harp and get ready to go into the “angel-position” in one step.)

6: - When the animated wing reaches the size of the harp, sit down in a position on one knee and the other leg bend, with the back against the harp, as if the animated wings were your wings.

- When the spotlight comes on (make sure to be within it), slowly start playing the toy harp and continue until the spotlight disappears.

- When the spotlight disappears, put away the toy-harp and take the flyswatter.

History of My Instrument: SCORE p.3 7: (Learn the cue of the arpeggio going upward).

– Right when the light comes on, hit the frame with the flyswatter, where the animated firefly was.

Voice: “Chapter 3, percussive sounds.”

“Tapping” - tap frame hard with several fingertips (within the spotlight) in the break between this and the next word!

“Knocking” - knock the frame with the knuckles (within the spotlight) in the break between this and the next word!!

“And slapping” - slap the frame with the palm (within the spotlight) in the break between this and the next word!!

Take plastic card.

“Verbal instruction” – slide long side of the plastic card down along the prepared strings to imitate the sound speech, perfectly filling out the pause. “concerning the area of the instrument to struck” – quickly strike the frame with the side of the plastic card.

“Example 86” – Move plastic card from right to left across the strings, the speed timed with the flashes.

– Press “skip forward” and move down along the prepared strings, then press “skip forward” again.

– When darkness comes on, get in position for the “slow motion double exposure” section.

8: – When the film comes on, copy/imitate the movements and the posture of the player on the video (right hand can be kept still), so that the image fits as well as possible on the moving arms, body, head and harp. (Use the laptop monitor to keep track of the video as well as looking on the hands and the frame for alignment).

– This section must be rehearsed with an assistant/instructor to guide the movements, position and posture. Rehearsing with a large mirror is also a good option.

9: – When the light goes out, set down the harp and stand with the back to the projection, close to the harp in front of the upper strings.

– Slowly – with as little visible movement as possible - remove the paper preparation of the upper ca. 2 octaves of the harp.

(More paper can be removed to have more sound when playing the pedals in the following section).

10: – When the light goes out, sit down on the knees and prepare to play on the pedals with the hands.

– When the light comes on, play the pedal version of “Those days are over” twice (see addendum 2 for the score).

– Hit Skip Forward, continue the score in sync with the playback.

– When the film shows “The End”, make large glissandi up on the upper strings, and then all the way down over the prepared strings, striking the lowest string just a bit before the movie stops ...

FINE

addendum 1: "The Fountain / La Source - Mime" (p118, 4th system, from 2:20 on the 1911 recording) ⇥

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