Creative Artefacts

The Freedom Project

Project List

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Introduction

See also Alternative Notation project and the Exotica project...

This project is to try and break down some of what appear to be some of the core preoccupations that people have compositionally. These are regular rhythm and key.

Awareness of ... freedom can be terrifying. Sartre gives as an example the experience of vertigo while standing on a cliff: One is aware that the freedom to move just a few inches would mean plunging into an abyss. But human beings are exceptionally good at hiding from our own freedom, a condition Sartre calls "bad faith." We treat our routine actions and familiar roles as if they were built into the order of the world, rather than something we are responsible for creating.

Scott McLemee, The Chronicle of Higher Education

We're going to try and overcome some of this fear, at least musically.

The Rules

NB These rules are provisional and may be honed and crafted by discussion during the week 1 session.

1. It may seem odd to have rules for a 'freedom' project, but sometimes, freedom is a difficult thing to accept!
    
2. Create a short piece for a minimum of two instruments;
    
3. You may only use single lines on whichever instrument you choose. No more than one line on any instrument at any one time;
    
4. You may not use a piano or any other keyboard instrument, electronic or otherwise;
    
5. You may not use electronic instruments to origiate sound, although they may be used to modify instrumental sounds. For the purposes of this exercise, electric guitars are considered to be instruments, not electronic instruments. This is a rather vague rule and you will be expected to work within the spirit of it, as the letter is very hard to define with any precision;
    
6. Any electronics used do NOT count as instruments;
    
7. The piece should contain no bars, barlines or time signatures (except, see below);
    
8. Your piece may, exceptionally, contain one passage of precisely notated music with barlines, etc. This should be for the sole purpose of contrasting with the 'free' passages and should last no longer than a quarter of the total duration of the piece;
    
9. You may use conventional notation for about half of the duration of the piece, but even during this time, except during the passage excepted above, there should be no sense of pulse or meter.
    
10. As the piece contains no barlines, you must find alternative methods of synchronising, should you wish to do so;
     
11. The piece should contain no key signature;
     
12. The piece should contain no instance of a basic tonal triad - no 'naked' major or minor triads. Nor should it include any form of 'accompanying figuration' (e.g., Alberti bass), which outlines triads, etc.;
     
13. The piece should be between three and five minutes in duration;
     
     
14. Finished compositions will be performed during week 4.

 
 

Some Ideas

Listen to:

• Bach - Solo 'Cello Suites;
• Stravinsky - 'Surge Aquilo' from Canticum Sacrum;
• Boulez - Le Marteau sans Maitre;
• Birtwistle - The Triumph of Time;
• Ligeti - 'Cello Concerto (and others);
• Schoenberg - Pierrot Lunaire;
• Debussy - Syrinx;
• Berio - Sequenzas;
• Messian - Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps, especially movement 3 - Abime des Oiseaux;
• Penderecki Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima;
• ...and many more...

One of the keys to this is being really expressive. Formalised music can be extremely powerful, but young composers too often use it to cover up their true expressive feelings, or to 'stylise' them in a way that they think is expressive whereas in reality, it's just an exhibition. This project is for you to try to get out of these habits and let go a bit, if only momentarily.

 
 

General Notes from the last time this was done

This project has never been undertaken before.

 
 

A few other general points:

Awaiting other general points...

Good luck!