Ripped Up Maps

by Andrew May

This piece was originally composed in 1996 and revised in 2011. It is not originally written for bassoon, but for any melodic instrument. There is no written score, as the piece is an improvisation duet between the instrument and the computer. The piece can be obtained by contacting the composer at his website.

Setup

Necessary Equipment

Instructions

This piece requires a microphone, an audio interface, a MIDI footswitch pedal, and a MIDI continuous controller pedal. It is possible that a larger MIDI controller may be able to perform both functions. A likely setup is shown below.

When the main patch is opened, there are three windows that pop up, shown in the screenshots section. One is the main window, one has startup instructions, and another is a description of the score. The first task is to make sure the footswitch and continuous controller are working. There are buttons at the top that give instructions on programming the patch to listen to the foot switch and controller. Next, the performer should set levels on the right side of the main patch, including the input levels, threshold, wet and dry levels, and the master levels. The threshold should be set so that the toggle box is only on when the bassoon is playing. This will vary depending on the speaker layout and audio separation onstage. Then the patch should be unmuted by pressing "M," or toggling the box in the middle of the patch. The patch will start listening as soon as the footswitch is pressed. Holding the footswitch down will record a sample up to seven seconds long. The continuous controller controls different aspects of the computer's output in each of the states. It also can lock the current state, switch states, or stop the patch.

Screenshots

Recordings

Difficulty

This piece is as simple or difficult as the performer desires. The score is only a description of the behavior of the computer in each of its states. The entire work is meant to be improvised by the performer and the computer. This makes the piece a good first piece for an undergraduate student to explore electronics and improvisation.

Style

Again, the style can be quite different in each performance. The entire piece is improvisatory. In a personal correspondence, the composer described the piece as "an improvising ensemble consisting mainly of quirky 'alter egos' of the live performer." It probably will not be a strictly tonal piece, but the style will largely be up to the taste of the performer and what the computer decides to generate.