The Blender Project by Justin Merritt

J UST IN M ER RIT T

BLENDER for piano & live electronics

justinmerrittmusic.com

JUST IN M ER R IT T

BLENDER for piano & live electronics

Performance Instructions 1. Quickly play through A gestures. You may repeat or ignore any gesture ad lib, but play each repetition somewhat differently. Extremely fast and powerful, non ped.

2. B (moderately low, very fast tremolo), very slow and dramatic gesture. Give time for the pedal to clear each dynamic gesture.

4. Sub. non ped. Return to A gestures come sopra. This time overall a bit shorter. 5. C (similar to B). Continuing (as written) the same tremolo, both hands creep slowly lower, then higher until both hands are above middle c. Cresc. al fff.

6. Return to A gestures, this time even shorter. 7. CADENZA 8. Begin with a tight tremolo cluster as with B, but this time played fff with the palms. Drift at a moderate place up to the very top of the keyboard (as in (6), building speed as you go. Then drift to the very bottom of the keyboard, accelerating throughout. 9. Â

-April 26, 2013 Northfield, MN -April 26, 2013 Northfield, MN

J UST IN M ER RIT T

FALSE MEMORIES for piano & live electronics

justinmerrittmusic.com

Performances Notes The piano staff with a single staff line is meant to rough approximate the range of each gesture. Unlike in other pieces of this series, all clusters are white note. The black or white noteheads refer to rhythm.

Cluster Melody

Coda

Performance Instructions 1. Begin with a few Drone Strikes. A Drone Strike is a plucked low note. Begin with low Es. This is usually the highest note with a single wire. Each Drone Strike should be 4”-20” apart, ad lib. Ped sempre. (If played on an upright piano, play on the keys but aim for a high level of coloristic difference.) Each Drone Strike should be a bit different in terms of dynamics and color. Here are a few options. a. plucked with the nail or the flesh of the index finger b. scraped vertically with the nail flesh of the index finger c. pluck at different locations along the string for different color effects d. strike the string with various implements including a pen, pencil eraser or percussion beater 2. After a few Drone Strikes, play several rotations of the Cluster Melodies. The Cluster Melody is a mournful tune on the white keys with 5 fingers. It is given in several fragments. You may order them as you see fit. Feel free to embellish, repeat parts, or extend the melody if it the spirit moves you. 3. Pause the Drone Strikes and perform a Random Walk. Very quietly and slowly drag the tip of a pen up and down across the strings (between a single set of crossbars in the middle-high register). Randomly change direction from time to time; do not fall into a set pattern. (If performed on an upright simulate with a very slow chromatic gliss on the keys). 4. ff plucked low a. 5. G.P. 6. Resume Drone Strikes, but now alternate between low a-natural and the a 8va Drone Strikes with ~6” between each, quasi-regular, pp. It’s ok to occasionally “miss” the upper note. 7. Play little fragments of the Cluster Melody, now more quietly and in a higher register. 8. Perform another Random Walk come sopra but with a different implement (such as a pencil eraser) and in a somewhat different register. 9. G.P. 10. Coda -April 19, 2013 Northfield, MN

J UST IN M ER RIT T

LAST BLACKBIRD for piano & live electronics

justinmerrittmusic.com

JUST IN M ER R IT T

THE LAST BLACKBIRD for piano & live electronics

Performance Instructions 1. Play events chosen from A, ad lib. You may leave out some events or play events more than once, but be sure they are slightly different each time. For example, the exact register, speed of arpeggiando, or order could vary. Use various types of clusters such as fist, palm, forearm. Leave many long pauses of various lengths to allow for an emphasis on processing. Ped sempre, una corda recommended. 2. Near the end of this section there should be a slow crescendo and increase in the density of events. 3. Play B in the order given (once). 4. Play events from C in the same manner as (1.) This section should be somewhat shorter than (1) and should end with a gradual diminuendo. 5. Conclude with D, extremely slow. Performances Notes black note cluster

white note cluster

chromatic cluster

any note ad lib.

black note ad lib.

white note ad lib.

All clusters or notes are given in the approximate range and width. The piano staff with a single staff line is meant to rough approximate the range of each gesture. copyright ÂŠ 2013 www.justinmerritt.com

-April 18, 2013 Northfield, MN

JUST IN M ER R IT T

UNNAMED ORCHESTRA for piano & live electronics

Performance Instructions 1. This piece is played entirely on the strings of Register 2. Affix all the black notes in the middle to upper-middle register with the sostenuto pedal. Strum rhythm A (on the strings) in the middle register for a long time, mp. The location of all clusters are approximate. 2. Slowly begin occasionally playing rhythms from B instead of A ad lib. Emphasize A. 3. Capture the last strum of A with the damper pedal. Silently depress as many white notes as possible with both forearms, and affix them with the sostenuto pedal. Simultaneously release the damper pedal and begin strumming the C rhythm in the middle register, mp. 4. Occasionally add D rhythms in register 3. 5. After a while begin to add in the E melody. Although it is strummed clusters, play it melodically and with emotion medium high, mp. Play at least 4 melodies. 6. A long diminuendo on C and D rhythms. 7. End with a very long, very slow downward gliss on the strings. Use a little bit of fingernail, mostly flesh.â&#x20AC;¨

Materials A

-April 13, 2017 Northfield, MN

JUST IN M ER R IT T

GLYPH

for piano & live electronics Performance Instructions 1. Black notes only throughout the entire piece, ped sempre. Establish for a minute or so.

2. Continue with a similar back and forth rhythm ad lib. Occasionally drift slightly up or down by a few steps. 3. Add Sprinkles above or below; first single notes, later a mix of single notes and clusters.

4. Stop the sprinkles. Over several cycles, cresc. then dim. in the right hand only (while keeping the left hand p). copyright ÂŠ 2014 www.justinmerritt.com

5. Then the left hand. 6. More sprinkles. 7.

9. Return to (2). 10. Slowly release then add back the damper pedal 2-3 times. 11.

-April 25, 2013 Northfield, MN -April 25, 2013 Northfield, MN

J UST IN M ER RIT T

SANS SERIF for piano & live electronics

justinmerrittmusic.com

JUST IN M ER R IT T

SANS SERIF for piano & live electronics

Piano Performance Instructions 1. 10” TACET 2.

Begin to improvise with the following cells. Begin sparse.

45” to 50” TACET

Add the following cell. Energy slowly buildings:

2’00” to 2’22” High intensity piano “solo”

2’22” to 2”32” TACET

16 note pulse (either melody or trill) to 3’05”

3’05” to the end TACET -March 18, 2017 Northfield, MN