For the past two decades, it has been almost impossible for the performer of contemporary music not to come into direct contact with electronic music. This fact has significantly redefined the performer's role. A concert of contemporary music is often a collaborative effort between performer and technician; at other times, the instrumentalist himself deals with the equipment. Sometimes the only other performer is the prerecorded self, an uncanny sensation for those who have not had such an experience.
Basic aspects of electronic sound modification will be examined here as they pertain to the oboe, [1] regardless of whether these sounds have yet occurred in the instrument's repertoire. (Electronic music is developing so rapidly that some of the sounds which so far have not been explored for the oboe may have been attempted by the time these comments are available.) My remarks will be divided into three sections dealing, respectively, with 1) 'miking' techniques for the oboe, 2) works for oboe and tape, and 3) works which employ 'live' electronics --i.e. electronic modification of instrumental sound during performance. Intended primarily for oboists my discussion will be kept as non-technical as possible.
The use of microphones is essential to almost any aspect of electronic music. For this reason, I will begin with a discussion of miking techniques for the oboe. There are two ways to amplify the oboe: by air microphone and by contact-type microphone. Air microphones, the more common, can be further sub-divided into two types - studio condenser and dynamic. The former, generally used for recording purposes, works via moving air pressure which induces an electrical charge between two "condenser" plates. It is very sensitive and accurate; it is also exceedingly delicate and subject to overload. In the case of the oboe, overloading a condenser microphone produces a rather tiny, shallow sound, which is particularly noticeable in the low register. [2]
The dynamic air microphone, primarily intended for live performance, operates by a diaphragm attached to a coil suspended in a magnetic field which, vibrating with the diaphragm, induces an electrical charge. It is less delicate and less susceptible to overload than the studio condenser type. All air microphones are ordinarily placed near the bottom of the oboe, at a distance of some six to twelve inches from the instrument. However, microphone placement can vary according to both individual taste and the requirements of the work being performed.
Several possibilities for sound manipulation occur when more than one air microphone is used. In addition to the standard air microphone placed near the bell of the oboe or English Horn, others may be located higher, near the player's hands. This improves high frequency response, helps balance the oboe's registers, and allows for a diversity and depth of amplified sound which is not possible with contact type amplification. The use of two air microphones for the English Horn -- one at the bell, the other near the player's left hand -- is particularly successful, since the length of the instrument makes it difficult for a single "close" microphone accurately to reproduce its sound. The richness and depth of these amplified sounds certainly suggest a profitable path for future experimentation.
One of the most unusual instances of multiple air microphones occurs in Paul Earls' Doppelganger, [3] which requires the oboist to shift his instrument between two microphones. This produces a stereo effect but, more importantly, one of the microphones controls the vertical, and the other the horizontal, axis of the laser. These signals are fed to scanner mirrors, which create the imagery by vibrating according to phase differences in the two signals. By moving the oboe between the microphones, the performer determines the basic laser imagery, as well as the pattern changes within any given image. This would not be possible with a contact microphone.
Some techniques do not work well with air microphones. Attempts to amplify vocal articulations and reed noises are overpowered by the sound of the instrument itself, since a single air microphone reproduces primarily the latter alone. The only means of achieving a satisfactory balance is via an additional microphone located near the player's mouth or, alternatively, a contact-type throat microphone.
Contact microphones, as the name suggests, are affixed directly to the instrument and work via a crystal element in the transducer [4] which produces electrical energy when subjected to the physical stress of an instrument. They are of two types, vibration pickups and sonic energy transducers. There are three variants of the former: the traditional contact microphone, velocity pickup and accelerometer. They differ with regard to many characteristics, among them dynamic capabilities, transient response, and frequency range. As a general rule, however, none of these works well with the oboe.
The second type of contact microphone, the sonic energy transducer, differs from the vibration pickup in that frequency response and dynamic potential are well beyond that of the vibration pickup. Furthermore, sonic energy transducers are not susceptible to the feedback phenomena which sometimes occur with the vibration pickups.
I have found two contact type microphones to be particularly effective with the oboe. Both are the sonic energy type, one made by Barcus Berry, and a more recent version developed by FRAP (Flat Response Audio Pickup).
While the Barcus Berry transducer and pre-amplifier have many excellent qualities, transducer placement can be a matter of some concern. With the transducer comes a supply of "tape adhesive"--a non-hardening caulking compound --applied directly to the reed. The oboe transducer is placed on the adhesive and then connected to an output jack secured to the instrument itself (see Fig. 1). I have found that, after the transducer has been attached to the reed, goldbeater's skin (traditionally used to seal oboe reeds) can be wrapped around both transducer and reed, lessening the possibility that the transducer will be dislodged from the adhesive. Transducer placement is critical to the quality of amplified sound. The most natural tone color results from putting the transducer as far down on the cane as possible, making sure that it does not touch the thread around the metal staple. Should this happen, the sound will be thin and brassy. The same thing happens if the transducer is placed too high on the cane. A composer who actually desires these more distorted timbres should remember that changing the location of the transducer on the reed during performance requires time as well as an imperturbable nervous system.
Barcus Berry offers two transducer systems for double reed instruments - one for oboe, the other for English Horn and bassoon. They differ in the design of the crystal element inside the transducer. [5] A second difference is in the method by which the output jack is attached to the instrument. While the output jack for the oboe is connected to a plastic strap secured to the oboe's top joint (Fig. 1), the English Horn jack is mounted on a clamp which is screwed onto the bocal (Fig. 2).
A word of caution about "wired" [6] reeds when using the Barcus Berry: since the vibrations of the wire will be amplified, the resultant sound will be metallic in character - unacceptably so in most situations. Thus, when employing a Barcus Berry transducer for either the oboe or English Horn, the performer should choose reeds accordingly.
The FRAP transducer and pre-amplifier are, in my opinion, far superior to the Barcus Berry, though for many players, this advantage may be offset by its cost--several times that of Barcus Berry. The important difference between the two is in tone quality and flexibility. Not only is the tone of the FRAP more natural, but the sound can also be altered by a built-in pre-amplifier filter. Designed to adjust for the many tonal colors encountered throughout the brass and woodwind families, the filter gives both composer and performer control of the timbre produced by any instrument. As a consequence, small changes of instrumental tone quality can be made during performance without using a synthesizer.
The FRAP has several other strong points. It will not dislodge, and reeds are no longer gummed up with caulking compound as a memento of each performance. Furthermore, the FRAP can be quietly attached to the reed, while similar efforts with the Barcus Berry create a mild explosion if the pre-amplifier has not been completely turned down. It is consequently easy to transfer the FRAP transducer from the oboe reed to the English Horn reed during performance. With a Barcus Berry transducer, the only solution is the use of two transducers, on for each reed, feeding into a pre-amplifier with two outputs (available from Barcus Berry). The FRAP also has even less feedback than the Barcus Berry. Playing in front of a huge speaker at maximum volume with the FRAP creates no feedback at all. In the same situation (albeit an extreme), feedback would occur with the Barcus Berry. A final characteristic of the FRAP is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Unlike the Barcus Berry, the FRAP has been designed to reduce key noise. If a piece calls for amplified key noise, Barcus Berry would be superior to the FRAP (and could even be used in conjunction with the FRAP), though these sounds can best be exploited with multiple air microphones.
A high quality contact-type microphone (i.e. FRAP or Barcus Berry) has several valuable features. It gives the performer mobility impossible with a stationary air microphone, an obvious advantage for amplified works of a theatrical nature. It also eliminates feedback in live situations. While the open air microphone reacts to sounds emanating from the speakers, contact type microphones reproduce only the vibrations of the instrument being amplified. Because feedback often results from the relative placement of air microphone and speakers, contact amplification gives the performer the opportunity to position himself anywhere, regardless of where the speakers are located. Unlike the air microphone, the contact-type microphone does not pick up room noise. Consequently, hall acoustics are no longer important. Recording can be done virtually anywhere and the performer does not have to concern himself with unwanted extraneous noise. A final attribute of both Barcus Berry and FRAP is portability, which enables the performer to travel with compact and dependable equipment.
One warning: both air and contact type microphones, as normally placed, are totally inadequate for reproducing simultaneous singing and playing. Neither picks up the sounds produced by the vocal cords; consequently, the singing is completely overpowered. Even in an acoustic (i.e. non- amplified) situation, singing is overbalanced by the oboe's sound; this problem is aggravated when only the oboe is amplified. One solution is an additional throat microphone, which can be either an air microphone or an aviation throat microphone strapped to the player's neck. The second microphone increases the gain for the voice and is more likely to create an optimum balance between singing and playing - one which is extraordinarily rare in acoustic performance.
There are two types of compositions for oboe and tape. The first - and earlier - is for oboe and prerecorded tape; the latter entails the recording of the tape by the performer.
Most pieces for oboe and prerecorded tape involve no more than an acoustic oboe "accompanied" by tape. Some of the earlier examples include Andrzej Dobrowolski's Music for Magnetic Tape and Solo Oboe [7] (1965) and Joel Chadabe's Street Scene [8] (1967). Equipment needs are fairly simple for music of this sort. A tape deck is required. This, in turn, feeds into a power amplifier, which matches impedance and provides control over the tone. While tape decks usually have built-in pre-amplifiers, some have volume control without tone control. An additional pre-amplifier can provide the tone and balance control which the tape deck pre-amplifier may lack. The power amplifier is connected to the speaker system. A basic set-up for the reproduction of a two-track stereo tape thus consists of a tape deck, a pre-amplifier (when necessary), a power amplifier, and speakers. In some instances a technician may also be needed; an alternative, of course, is operating the tapes via remote control.
Several special considerations for the performance of works for oboe and tape should be mentioned. Ordinarily, the beginning of a tape is indicated by leader tape, which provides the cue for starting the piece. For tapes which must be started and stopped during performance leader tape can be employed to identify sections of the tape. The reel can then be stopped and cued up, pending the oboist's signal.
There is great variation from one work to another in the need to coordinate tape and player. Many pieces require no synchronization at all. Others carefully specify the relationship of performer to tape. These latter works employ two notational methods --"time" notation and conventional notation.
In time notation, seconds and/or minutes are indicated in the performer's part to facilitate synchronization with the tape. This very common device has been used by Joe Sekon, [9] Robert Erickson, [10] and Chadabe [11] to name only a few. Large faced digital clocks and/or stop-watches are frequently the only means of coordination between performer and technician and/or performer and tape. In Erickson's Nine + A Half for Henry (and Wilbur and Orville), a digital clock set on zero can be started at the beginning of the piece. In works for multiple performers, this system is preferable to the audible clicks resulting from all the players simultaneously starting stopwatches, especially if the instrumentalists are being amplified.
Time notation is most often employed in conjunction with a graphic representation of the tape sounds. Dobrowolski, for example, adds two lines of graphic images--one for each of two speakers -- to an already detailed time notation (Ex. 1).
Conventional notation, the second type, occurs in those rare instances when a composer either does not desire continuing coordination between oboe and tape (as in many of John Cage's indeterminate pieces), or in works where entire sections are played by the instrumentalist without the tape. Charles Dodge's Extensions [12] is written in exactly this way; with a single exception, the tape and live parts alternate throughout the piece.
The task of achieving balance between oboe and tape differs from that of adjusting the oboe to another instrument. This is primarily because the performer is unable accurately to determine balance himself. Consequently, when speakers have been placed, an additional person is necessary for setting levels. This must be checked throughout the hall, for speaker placement produces varying effects in different parts of a room. [13] Balance should be tested at both the loudest and the softest sections of the tape. Speaker placement can be critical to the success of a performance.
The most interesting oboe and tape works are, in my opinion, those for which the performer must make the tape. These compositions vary enormously in their demands and require careful attention to both recording techniques and quality of equipment.
Monaural tapes, as in James Fulkerson's Between the Lines, [14] are least difficult to produce. In this piece, the performer simply records the composer's text in a normal speaking voice. More complex pieces by Vinko Globokar, [15] Gilbert Amy, [16] David Gibson, [17] and Christos Hatzis, [18] can be realized by either multiple live oboists or one solo performer and multi-track tape. These works utilize up to sixteen tracks of prerecorded parts. While requisite tape decks with as many as sixteen, or even thirty-two, tracks are usually available in professional recording studios, the oboe repertoire has rarely called specifically for the use of such equipment. The Gibson and Globokar works mentioned earlier require at the vary minimum a 4-track machine though an 8-track machine would be superior, since this would make it possible for each part to be played back on a separate speaker. Additionally, mistakes are easily corrected by utilizing the available extra tracks, whereas mistakes made with a 4-track machine often mean that an entire part must be re-recorded. Far more complex is Hatzis' Erevos, calling for sixteen prerecorded parts as well as a final part played live. (Ex. 2).
The choice of equipment often depends on the timbre desired. If, for instance, the performer wants to achieve the effect of multiple oboes (i.e. where each part sounds as if it were another player), he needs speakers with excellent mid-and upper ranges. Low quality speakers generally yield an unnatural sound and should be avoided. The number of speakers for multi-track pieces should at least equal the number of prerecorded parts. Works by Gibson and Globokar realized for one oboe part live, and four prerecorded, can best be handled by four- track tape reproduced over four or more speakers. To match the timbre of any amplified playing with that of the prerecorded parts, it is desirable for the live oboist to utilize the same microphones (and microphone placement) used in the recording of the other parts.
Several interesting problems arise when the performer begins to record multi-track tapes. It is often necessary to listen to the previous tracks while making subsequent tracks. The performer must master the technique of listening to himself through headphones while simultaneously playing other material. This can be unnerving, because the prerecorded material is usually perceived more accurately than that which is actually being played. Some instrumentalists prefer to have the headphone covering only one ear, thereby increasing the amount of live sound heard.
Multi-track simultaneous entrances require precise synchronization. A series of evenly spaced spoken numbers or seconds-- a countdown of sorts--is recorded on one track for the total length of the piece; thus, coordinated entrances can occur. Gibson's Violets, for example, has innumerable simultaneous entrances for the five oboes (Ex. 3). In such a piece, a click track of seconds spoken aloud, or metronome clicks, is indispensable.
Click tracks, though recorded first, are usually put on the last track of a tape. If the instrumentalist must record four tracks and has only a 4-track machine available (something which occurs quite frequently), a problem arises in recording the fourth track, since doing so erases the click track. In the few works where this might be appropriate, the player can only guess, record and re- record until accurate entrances occur. This is by no means an ideal procedure for, given the imperfect alignment of some machines, there may be audible leakage of erased errors onto other tracks. For most multi-track works, the only solution is to mix more than one channel onto one track, thereby preserving the click track on the final channel. Tracks one and two could be combined onto track one; the remaining two tracks could be recorded onto tracks two and three; alternatively, tracks two and three could be mixed onto track two, and tracks one and two (containing all four parts) could be played back in stereo fashion. [20] Whatever the solution, all four parts would be reproduced through the speakers, leaving the click track to be played back into only the headphone of the solo oboist, who can then correctly fit the final (live) part in with the others. But far better is an 8-track machine, which allows each of the prerecorded parts to be played back through a separate speaker.
Live electronics is the term used to describe electronic modification of an instrument's sound during performance. Live electronics presents an intriguing challenge for the oboist, one which has been only tentatively explored to date. The variety of live electronic sounds, actual and potential, is so great that I will mention only the major categories - amplification, feedback, multiple tape decks, tape delay, reverberation, filtration, oscillation and ring modulation.
Amplification, as an aspect of live electronics, is often employed to make audible certain sounds which might not ordinarily be heard at all. For the oboe, this latter category includes amplification of air noises, vocal articulation, and other non- traditional sounds which are otherwise almost impossible to perceive.
Amplification of this type was the earliest development in live electronics and was first encountered in Cage's Cartridge Music [21] (1960). Though not written for the oboe, this work employs:
. . . contact microphones and record player cartridges to amplify "small, " otherwise inaudible sounds, a technique much used today and in some cases extended to the amplification of small sounds produced on conventional instruments, [22]
Heinz Holliger [23] and Globokar [24] have written compositions for oboe which utilize amplification to achieve a significant change in sound. Both composers call for a second microphone for vocal articulations and reed noises. Holliger's Cardiophonie further includes extended passages of amplified air noises, percussive effects and key clicks.
As Gardner Read has pointed out, amplification is also the last step in the production of other, more recently explored, live electronic sounds. These techniques include:
. . . feedback, distortion, reverberation, time lapse, and the splitting of pitches through ring modulators. All have become viable new sound resources, independent of prerecorded or simultaneous tapings [25]
Each of these, as well as some other techniques, merits brief discussion.
Feedback occurs when the sound produced by the speakers causes the instrument or the strings (or both) to vibrate sympathetically. The microphone or pickup picks up the sympathetic vibrations and amplifies them. The microphone goes through the same procedure again and again, building up a resonance, and . . . [producing the] howl known as feedback. [26]
One of the earliest examples of a composition utilizing continued feedback is Karlheinz Stockhausen's Solo [27] (1965-66):
This work of Stockhausen is for melody instrument with feedback, and requires four assistants in addition to a soloist. Segments of the performance are recorded on a two-channel tape and juxtaposed through a specially designed feedback device, with or without additional electronic modification. The result is then played back during the performance with tape delay over two speakers. [28]
The only work specifically scored for oboe and feedback known to me is Jo van den Booren's Spiel 1. [29] This piece actually demands far more than feedback. In addition to the oboe part, the score includes cues for reverberation, filtration, frequency modulation, and feedback.
By contemporary standards, the oscillator is almost ancient, having been invented in 1915. [30] Unlike most electronic devices, an oscillator generates its own electronic impulse, that is, it is an independent sound source. In that capacity, it has frequently been used for performances of Luciano Berio's Sequenza VII, [31] where a sustained B4 is required for the duration of the work. Oscillators have often been employed in conjunction with other electronic equipment - most commonly ring modulators, frequency shifters, or pitch-to-voltage converters (envelope followers).
In the case of ring modulation and frequency shifting, the oscillator signal is fed directly into these devices. When using a pitch-to-voltage converter, an instrumental signal is transformed into an electrical impulse which regulates a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). This, in turn, produces new pitches, depending upon what is played by the instrument. The final result is the sound of the VCO as triggered by the instrument via the pitch-to-voltage converter.
The use of multiple tape decks, a relatively simple technique, was one of the earliest developments in live electronic music. Ben Johnston's Casta* (for unspecified instrumentation), [32] provides a colorful example, where the player and technician record a series of 45-second tape loops during performance. These are later played back on three separate tape decks, "accompanying" the performer as he proceeds literally to travesty excerpts from the standard repertoire for his instrument. Johnston's directions include a diagram of the electronics involved.
Holliger's Cardiophonie [33] also employs multiple tape decks. Four speakers, a mixer, three tape decks, and two microphones for the solo oboist are required. The technician is provided with a separate score, two diagrams of the equipment and its placement, and an abbreviated sketch giving record and playback cues for the operation of each tape deck.
Tape delay is created when a live sound is fed through a microphone, picked up on the record head of a tape deck, and then played back via the playback head of the same or another tape deck. The amount of tape delay can be pre-determined, and is a function of the distance the tape travels between the record and playback head. Tape speed, of course, is an additional factor, for the slower the tape speed, the greater the time lapse between the original and the delayed sound. Because one machine can produce a delay of only a fraction of a second, a second tape deck can be used for greater delay time, depending upon its placement. The tape then travels from the first machine to the playback head of the second machine in a closed loop. It is crucial that the machines be similar, that the reel motor speeds be identical, and that the machines be aligned accurately with each other to insure constant tension of the tape otherwise the tape will stop. A simpler means of creating tape delay is via the Maestro Eckoplex, which consists essentially of a continuous tape loop with several playback heads.
There are several works incorporating tape delay which, though the instrumentation is left open, lend themselves to successful performance on the oboe. One is Lucas Foss's Paradigm, [34] scored for unspecified high, middle, and low instruments, percussionist/conductor, electric guitar or sitar, and electronics. Tape delay occurs in the fourth and final section of the work, where the musicians must murmur and shout as well as play. According to Foss:
Part IV requires a tape recorder, to be operated by the Percussionist/Conductor. When switched on it records and plays back with a delay of 1-2 seconds. [35]
Stockhausen's Solo, [36] mentioned earlier in the discussion of feedback (pp. 129-130), also employs tape delay. Its requirements are considerably more complex than those of Foss. In this work, tape delay is achieved by:
A directional microphone, connected to a stereo tape recorder [which] registers the performance. The tape passes six moveable stereo playback heads, with individual amplifiers, en route to a second recorder that serves as take-up reelfor a tape loop. The output from the six playback heads is split and simultaneously sent back to the first recorder and switching panel. The latter is connected directly to amplifiers with level controls, and the ensuing sounds projected by four loudspeakers. Because the playback heads aremoveable, the delay times are variable, depending on which of the six versions of "Solo" the performer chooses to play. A further control of the delay material is effected at the switching panel, where playback heads are manually selected. [37]
Reverberation, as it naturally occurs, is the multiple reflection of sound in an enclosure, causing sound to persist after its source has ceased vibrating. Differentiation is made between reverberation and echoes, which are repetitions of sound produced by reflection from an obstructing surface. Reverberation devices use the natural principle, but instead of a large enclosure, suspended springs or a metal plate are used to continue sound vibrations. [39]
The most common type of reverberation is electro-mechanical. The spring action described above slows down the sound to create a lag, rather than an echo, in the signal, generating ". . . a combination of the original signal and many time-delayed versions or echoes of it." [40] Both the coiled spring and plate reverberators use metal transducers. For this reason, the resulting sound is somewhat metallic in character.
One of the few pieces in the oboe repertoire calling for reverberation is Wlodzimierz Kotonski's Concerto per Oboe e Orchestra, [41] which uses a SYNTHI synthesizer ". . . or any other electro-acoustic device which contains a ring modulator and reverberation." [42] The oboe d'amore cadenza in the second movement begins with amplified, ring modulated, and reverberated key clicks. [43]
Filtration is a subtractive synthesis in which the filter acts as a screen, attenuating or reducing the signal. Put more technically, "a filter acts on an input electrical signal to modify the amplitudes of the individual sine waves (the spectrum) of the signal." [44]
There are four types of filters:
A filter is classified in terms of its frequency response characteristic: low- pass, high-pass, band-pass, and band-stop are the most common. The low-pass filter allows all waves whose frequencies are below a certain cutoff frequency to pass unaltered, it reduces the amplitudes of waves above its cutoff frequency. The high-pass filter passes unaltered only those frequencies above its cutoff frequency. The band-pass filter passes only those waves within a specified band of frequencies grouped about a center frequency. The band-stop filter rejects all waves within the defined frequency band. Usually a composer can adjust the cutoff frequencies, center frequencies and bandwidths of a filter. [45]
The purpose of filtration, of course, is to alter timbre:
Filters are used primarily to give variety in tone color to signals (it is this feature that is exploited in electric organs). No amount of filtering of a sine wave will produce anything other than a sine wave, but filtering of pulse, sawtooth, and square waves can produce many different tone qualities. A secondary use of filters, particularly of narrow bandwidth, bandpass types, is to extract pitches (frequencies) from signals that contain many spectral components. [46]
Filtration could be highly effective when used with the oboe. Given the instrument's rich overtone spectrum, filtration can create dramatic changes of color which selectively reduce the oboe's timbral characteristics. Although filtration warrants intensive exploration as it applies to the oboe, I know of no explicit requests for it at this time.
One of the most frequently encountered sound altering devices used in live performance is ring modulation, a process wherein two signals are electronically combined, each being modulated by the other, so that the output consists of the sums and differences of all the frequency components. [47] Most frequently, a sine wave (produced by an oscillator) and a live sound (produced by a live instrument) are the two signals used. This works well because the sine wave is a regular wave form, and combines well with the irregular wave forms characteristic of most instruments. (If two irregular wave forms are combined, the resulting sound would be so complex as to seem chaotic.) Whatever the input signals, however, ring modulation dramatically alters live sound.
Kotonski asks for this effect in the second movement of his concerto, adding it to a slightly amplified sustained F4 on the oboe d'amore. [48] His cadenza, as already mentioned (see earlier discussion of reverberation), begins with amplified, ring modulated, reverberated key clicks (see Fig. 8 below for electronic diagram). [49]
To date, there has been very little use of ring modulation in the oboe repertoire. As with filtration, and for essentially the same reasons, ring modulation is highly effective on the oboe.
Electronic sound as an aspect of instrumental performance has grown remarkable since its inception. Developments to date for the oboe include: 1) a modest repertoire for oboe and tape; 2) a smaller corpus of works which can be performed in multi-track realizations; and 3) the emergence of contact-type amplification.
These achievements notwithstanding, electronic sound remains in its initial phase of exploration. Two of its most promising areas involve live electronics and computers. Less obvious, but perhaps just as important, has been the effect of electronic/ computer music on performance standards. While prophesy is admittedly hazardous, I will make a few comments on each.
Endowed with an extraordinarily rich overtone spectrum, the oboe produces unusually interesting and diverse sounds when electronically modulated. The potential of these sounds, for the oboe as well as for other instruments, seems almost unlimited:
. . . our current state with electronics especially live electronics, is similar to the Renaissance in terms of the development of many new instruments at the same time. We are only at the beginning. [50]
From the performer's point of view:
Electronic modification of an instrument does allow you to address a group of people in a theatrical manner on a larger scale than you've done before. You as a performer are controlling a much larger system, and it's responsive to your own techniques in a much more sensitive way than you might be able to do otherwise. You can only do that through electronics. [51]
The exploration of live electronics, however, will depend upon close collaboration between composers and performers, for each instrument's response characteristics are unique when electronically modulated.
There are, of course, some cogent reasons for the frequent reluctance to utilize live electronics. The player faces predictable problems. Setting up equipment can be time consuming and unnerving; malfunctions can occur prior to, or even worse, during performance; and, on tour, electronic pieces can be a nightmare.
But these problems will decrease in time. As better and more reliable equipment becomes available - and as it becomes more widely used -- the performer's task will become easier. As Chadabe comments "what takes an hour now, used to take three or four hours if you were luck." [52] What we are currently experiencing are simply the growing pains of a new era.
One of the most fascinating aspects of electronics is the investigation of computer and live performance possibilities. Traditional instruments can now be used as control devices for computers: the live signal can be fed into the computer to control sounds produced by the computer, which can "sense" what the performer is doing, and even "accompany" him in real time. [53] David Ernst explains why traditional instruments work so well in conjunction with computers:
Because of the complex pitch and amplitude relations of most instrumental envelopes, the derivation of instrumental timbres is particularly suited to computer synthesis. Each overtone can possess individual attack, sustain and decay characteristics, while pitch fluctuations and noise transients peculiar to attack segments are easily attainable. [54]
Lejaren Hiller is particularly enthusiastic about computer prospects. As he sees it, electronic and computer modification of traditional instruments like the oboe may well be even more rewarding than the so- called "new" techniques. According to Hiller:
Certain kinds of instrumental effects have become cliches. Actually, I feel that an area which is just beginning to be explored is modification of traditional instruments with electronics, including the computer.
Computer possibilities are the most interesting of all, because the resources are unlimited. One of the reasons I've gone into putting instrumental sounds into the computer is that the sounds can be changed in a much more dramatic way than by gadgets like ring modulators and so forth. With clever programming, you can modify these sounds in really extraordinary ways. [55]
Many composers are convinced that the computer has already replaced "traditional" devices for live electronic sound. One of the reasons for this, according to Jean-Claude Risset, is that:
The use of digital techniques in the realm of sound affords sound material of unprecedented ductility: it permits to get closer to a dream that has been worded in slightly different ways by Varese, Stokowski, Cage, Berio: not only composing with sounds, but composing the sounds themselves. [56]
In fact, digital synthesis and processing open to the composer unlimited timbral resources [57]
If Risset, and others like him, are correct, then the exploration of the possibilities for oboe and computer afford a most profitable - and challenging - area for future development.
One of the most intriguing side effects of electronic and computer music has been its impact on performance standards. In my opinion, this has been almost as important as the development of electronic/computer music itself. When electronic music first appeared, many were convinced that the live performer was finished - a vestige of the early twentieth century, to be permanently relegated to the museum. As Hiller recalls:
When I first started in electronic music, there were many cries that it would be the death of instrumental performance. My experience has been that just the reverse has been the case--it has spurred players on to greater excellence. [58]
Applying Hiller's comment to the oboe, I see several ways in which electronic and computer music have directly effected (and improved) the current state of the art. First -- and requisite for other change - has been the acceptance of expanded instrumental techniques, many of which bore similarities to electronic sounds, and were previously considered noise. Multiphonics are a good example. Second was the development of these and other so-called new instrumental techniques as part of the oboe's palate of sound. Third, by using the oboe in conjunction with electronic/computer technology, the instrument's repertoire of sound potential has painlessly evolved with no structural changes to the instrument itself. Finally, we as players will have to compete with machines -- specifically the computer. This situation will, in my opinion, make us far more meticulous musicians, and may force us to new technical levels. Composers working with computers are beginning to assume that players can match some of the computer's formidable achievements. Hatzis's Aztlan, [59] for instance, is based on a tuning system in which all pitches are calculated as multiplicands of a single low harp pitch. While the harpist simply tunes to a tape generated by digital sound synthesis (on which all pitches are sounded sequentially), this tuning presents quite a problem for the oboist, who must work out new fingerings for all pitches (including microtones) with a frequency counter -- a simple task for the computer but extremely difficult for the oboist. In addition, the computer program for Aztlan divides each quarter note into simultaneous subdivisions of three, four and five (see Fig. 9 and Ex. 4). I need hardly mention how difficult it is for performers to think in three different subdivisions of the beat at the same time. Aztlan, as well as other compositions using the computer as a resource, illustrate two important points: that 1) the technical challenges can usually be met, and that 2) such demands are a direct result of the abilities of the computer; they might never have been conceived otherwise.
The use of the computer as a compositional tool will make great demands on all of us. Most will probably be technical, and will necessitate a new level of precision and technical expertise from the performer. But the final challenge will, of course, be to achieve what is uniquely human: to raise the artistic, the personal, with the technical to a new level -- and I think it will be a stunning one--of instrumental performance.
[1] Electronic treatment of a traditional instrument is probably best explained as a manifestation of the composer's continual search for new sounds. Conceptually, it is no different than other new sounds - multiphonics, fluttertongue, etc. Furthermore, many of the new non-electronic instrumental techniques produce sound effects which could readily be mistaken for electronic sound. Two of these are 1) multiphonics which by combining sounds that do not normally occur in the harmonic spectrum, are similar to the sounds produced by multiple oscillators; and 2) air noises which can sound very much like "pink" of "white" noise. [return]
[2] While it is not my intent to recommend equipment, l myself have been most satisifed with the results obtained from the Neumann U-67 microphone. Constructed of the old-fashioned tubes, this microphone yields qualities of warmth and depth which are particularly suitable for reproduction of the oboe's sound. [return]
[3] Paul Earls, Doppelganger: Music for Oboes and Lasers, 1976 (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]
[4] For the purposes of this discussion, a transducer will be defined as:
. . . any device installed on or in a musical instrument for the purpose of furnishing a musically- useful electrical output signal. (John Berry, "Transducers: Good things come in small packages, " Musician's Guide October-November, 1975, p. 15.). [return]
[5] When questioned about this point, Dave Birmingham of Barcus Berry replied:
[6] A wired reed is one in which the size of the reed's opening is controlled by a thin brass wire wound around the base of the cane. [return]The difference between the design of each pickup is due to the manner in which the particular instruments produce the energy necessary for reproduction. The different designs are important for efficient transfer to <[sic "of"] energy from the instrument to the pickup, as well as ease of attachment and use. (Letter to the author, May 8, 1978.)[return]
[7] Andrzej Dobrowolski, Music for Magnetic Tape and Oboe Solo, 1965 (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, c1966). [return]
[8] Joel Chadabe, Street Scene, for tape, projections and English Horn, 1967 (New York: Carl Fischer, 1968). [return]
[9] Joe Sekon, The Feather Merchant, for English Horn and tape, 1973 (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]
[10] Robert Erickson, Nine + A Half for Henry {and Wilbur and Orville), for four channel tape and instruments, 1970 (New York: Seesaw Music Corp., n.d.). [return]
[11] Chadabe, Street Scene, 1967. [return]
[12] Charles Dodge, Extensions, for trumpet and tape, 1973 (Printed by the composer, n.d.). Version for oboe and tape available from the composer. Tape available from the American Composers Alliance. [return]
[13] Fixed speakers are to be avoided whenever possible. These are often Public Address speakers and totally unsuited for musical needs. P.A. speakers are designed to amplify only the voice, i.e. their frequency response is limited to the range of the human voice. They are inadequate to reproduce instrumental sounds. [return]
[14] James Fulkerson, Between the Lines, 1977 for solo instrument, film, and tape (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]
[15] Vinko Globokar, Discours III, fur funf Oboen, 1969 (Frankfurt: C. F. Peters Corp. c1972). [return]
[16] Gilbert Amy, Jeux, pour (1 a 4) hautbois 1970 (London: Universal Editions, c1972). [return]
[17] David Gibson, Violets, for five oboes, 1977 (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]
[18] Christos Hatzis, Erevos, for live and prerecorded oboe sounds, 1979 (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]
[19] Hatzis, Erevos, 1979. [return]
[20] Reverberation added during the mixing of the tape can be used to give each of the two parts on each track a sense of directionality, giving the illusion of separation of the four parts. [return]
[21] John Cage, Cartridge Music, for amplified small sounds, or amplified piano or cymbal, 1960 (New York: C. F. Peters Corp., n.d.). Other early Cage works utilizing amplification are: Williams Mix (1952) and Fontana Mix (1958). [return]
[22] Hugh Davies, "Electronic Music: History and Development," Dictionary of Contemporary Music, ed. John Vinton (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co Inc..1974), p. 215. [return]
[23] Heinz Holliger, Cardiophonie, fur einen Blazer und 3 Magnetophone, Version fur Oboe 1971 (Mainz: Schott Musicopy). [return]
[24] Globokar, Discours III, 1969, and Atemstudie, for solo oboe, 1971 (Frankfurt: C. F. Peters Corp., c1972). [return]
[25] Gardner Read, Contemporary Instrumental Techniques, with a Foreword by Gunther Schuller (New York: Schirmer Books, 1976), pp. 112-113. [return]
[26] Arnold Lazarus, "Amplification and Electronic Effects, " in Bertram Turetzky, The Contemporary Contrabass (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), p. 97. [return]
[27] Karlheinz Stockhausen, Solo, fur ein Melodieinstrument mit Ruckkopplung (one player and four assistants), 1965-66 (Vienna: Universal Edition, c1965). [return]
[28] David Ernst, The Evolution of Electronic Music (New York: Schirmer Books, 1977), p. 154. [return]
[29] Jo van den Booren, Spiel I, fur Oboe und Ruckkoppelung, 1969 (Amsterdam: Donemus cl 970) [return][30] Ernst, The Evolution of Electronic Music, p. xxxix. [return]
[31] Luciano Berio, Sequenza VII, per oboe solo, 1969 (London: Universal Edition, c1971). [return]
[32] Ben Johnston, Casta *, from Four Do-It-Yourself Pieces, n.d. (Copy of the composer's ms.). Johnston instructs that the performer insert his first name in place of the asterisk. [return]
[33] Holliger, Cardiophonie, 1971. [return]
[34] Lucas Foss, Paradigm, for percussionist/ conductor, electric guitar or electric sitar, three other instruments capable of sustaining a sound, 1968 (New York: Carl Fischer, Inc., c1969). [return]
[35] Ibid., 1968, n.p. This method was used in performance directed by the composer, in which the oboe played Instrument I (High instrument) a part easily adjusted to the range of the oboe (June in Buffalo Festival, June 14, 1977. Buffalo; New York.) [return]
[36] Stockhausen, Solo, 1965-66. [return]
[37] Ernst, The Evolution of Electronic Music, pp. 154-158. [return]
[38] Almost all diagrams begin with live sound fed into a microphone. Either an air microphone or a contact-type microphone can be used, though the latter requires a separate pre- amplifier to bring its extremely weak signal up to the level of an air microphone. The additional pre-amplifier, ff utilized, would be placed between the live sound and the mixer/pre- amplifier. The resulting sound like that of the air microphone, is still at a very low electrical level. Any quality mixer/preamplifier will boost the level of either air microphone or contact-type microphone with its own pre- amplifier to "line" level. [return]
[39] Robert Dick, The Other Flute: A Performance Manual of Contemporary Techniques (London: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 150. [return]
[40] James Beauchamp, "Electronic Music: Apparatus and Technology," Dictionary of Contemporary Music, ed. John Vinton (New York: E.P. Dutton Co., Inc., 1974) p. 207. [return]
[41] Wlodzimierz Kotonski, Concerto per Oboe e Orchestra, 1972 (Krakow: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, c 1974). [return]
[42] Ibid., p. 3, score. [return]
[43] Ibid., p. 13, solo oboe part (#65). [return]
[44] Beauchamp, "Electronic Music: Apparatus and Technology, " p. 206. [return]
[48] Kotonski, Concerto per Oboe e Orchestra, 1972 p.. 10, solo oboe part (# 59). [return]
[49] Ibid., p. 13, solo oboe part (#65). [return]
[50] Interview with Ben Johnston, Buffalo, New York, 6 June 1978. [return]
[51] Interview with Paul Earls, Cambridge, Mass., 24 July 1978. [return]
[52] Interview with Joel Chadabe, Albany, New York, 17 June 1978. [return]
[53] Interview with Joel Chadabe, Albany, New York, 17 June 1978. [return]
[54] Ernst, The Evolution of Electronic Music, pp. 245-246. [return]
[55] Interview with Lejaren Hiller, Buffalo, New York, 26 July 1978. [return]
[56] Jean-Claude Risset, "The Development of Digital Techniques: A Turning Point for Electronic Music?, " From Rapports IRCAM (Paris: Center Georges Pompidou, 1978), p. 2. [return]
[58] Interview with Lejaren Hiller, Buffalo, New York, 26 July 1978. [return]
[59] Christos Hatzis, Aztlan, for oboe and harp, 1979 (Copy of composer's ms.). [return]