Caravan - Etudes in Contemporary Techniques for Saxophone - Multiphonics
Multiphonics and the Oboe · baroque oboe; the central issue however, is how far it is possible to...
Transcript of Multiphonics and the Oboe · baroque oboe; the central issue however, is how far it is possible to...
Multiphonics and the Oboesupplementary notes
Paul Archbold&Christopher Redgate
Multiphonics and the Oboe: supplementary notes
1. What is a multiphonic?
2. Different types of multiphonics 2.1 Spectrogram of a consonant multiphonic and a dissonant multiphonic 2.2 Spectrogram of a beating multiphonic 2.3 Spectrogram of an emerging multiphonic 2.4Spectrogramoffivemultiphonics,createdwithamodificationtothetopbkey
3.Differentinstruments,differentmultiphonics
4. Commentaries on music extracts: Roger Redgate Ausgangspunkte EdwinRoxburgh Antares Paul Archbold a little night music Heinz Holliger Studie über Mehrklänge (Study in Multiphonics)
5. Notation strategies 5.1Someobservationsonthevariousmethodsofnotatingmultiphonics
6.Somegeneraladviceforcomposers
7. Bibliography
2
1. What is a multiphonic?
Amultiphonicisasonorityproducedonawindinstrument,whichisperceivedasamixtureofseveraltones.
Whenawindinstrumentproducesanoteperceivedasasinglepitch,aspectralanalysis1 of the notewillrevealseveralpartials.Thefrequenciesofthesepartialswillberegularlyspacedandwillformpartofaharmonicseries:i.e.thefrequenciesofthepartialswillallbeintegermultiplesofa‘fundamental’frequency.
Withamultiphonic,thesonorityisperceivedasseveralpitches.
Inthecaseofadissonantmultiphonic,aspectralanalysiswillrevealseveralpartials,thefrequenciesofwhicharenotintegermultiplesofacommonfundamentalfrequency.Theeargroupsthepartials,witheachgroupsuggestingadifferentfundamentalfrequency.Soadissonantmultiphonicwithsay20prominentpartialsmaybeperceivedasamixtureofthreedistinctpitches.
Inthecaseofaconsonantmultiphonic,aspectralanalysiswillrevealseveralpartials,thefrequenciesofwhichareintegermultiplesofacommonfundamentalfrequency.However,theamplitudesofsomeofthepartialsaregreaterthanusual,sotheearinterpretsthesonorityasacombinationofmorethanonepitch-e.g.aconsonantintervalsuchasaperfectfifth.
Inthecaseofabeatingmultiphonic,theearcannotdiscriminatethepartialsthatareveryclosetogether.However,theeardoesperceiveanoverallperiodicfluctuationinamplitudeofthesonoritywhichisinterpretedasa‘beat’.
Multiphonicsarenotpredictedbysimplemodelsofconicaltubesexcitedbyareed.However,morerecentscientificinvestigationshaverevealednon-linearitiesinthebehaviorofthedouble-reedandmorecomplexphysicalmodelsoftheoboehavesuggestedcomplexinteractionsbetweenboreshape,holedesign,keyworkandthedoublereed2. Some recent computer synthesisersimplementingphysicalmodelscanproducemultiphonic-likesonorities3.
1. AllthespectralanalysesincludedinthesenoteswereprocessedwiththeIRCAMsoftwareprogram Audiosculpt(v2.9.2).Thesettingsusedwere:audiosamplingrate44.1kHz,windowsize2048samples, adaptiveoversampling8*,windowtypeBlackman,FFToversampling1*2. Foramathematicalanalysisofthecomplexinteractionsinadouble-reedinstrumentsee AndréAlmeida,ChristopheVergez,RenéCaussé,XavierRodet‘Physicalmodelofanoboe:comparisonwith experiments’3. TheYamahaVL-1,amonophonicphysical-modellingdigitalsynthesiserlaunchedin1994,wasoneofthe firstcommerciallyavailablesynthesisersabletoproducemultiphonic-likesoundsusingaphysicalmodelof theflute,controlledwithashortpianokeyboardandabreathcontroller.Sophisticatedvirtualinstrumentscan becreatedintheIRCAMsoftwarepackageModalysusingphysicalmodelswhichcancreatemultiphonic-like sonorities.However,itisnotclearthatthesemodelsproducethesamesoundasaprofessional woodwindinstrumentandplayerusingequivalentvirtualfingerings.
3
2. Different types of multiphonics
Thevideofile“Whatisamultiphonic?”illustratesfourtypesofmultiphonics:
Example 2.1 Spectrogram of a consonant multiphonic and a dissonant multiphonic
Asinglepitch(F4)becomesaconsonantmultiphonic(C5)byslightlyventingthesecondfingerofthelefthand.Furtherslidingthefingertomakeahalf-holeproducesadissonantmultiphonicwhichisperceivedasachord(wehearthefourpitches:A4,Eb5,C6,F#6).
4 SeeEdwinRoxburghAntares5 Holliger’ssuggestioncanbefoundintheAppendixto‘Studiesforplayingavant-gardemusic’inthe instructions for Berio Study to Sequenza VII and in his notes to Studie über Mehrklänge. See Holliger Pro musica nova: Studien zum Spielen Neuer Musik für Oboe
Example 2.2 Spectrogram of a beating multiphonic
Asinglepitchbecomesabeatingmultiphonicbyachangeinembouchurepressure.Thespeedofthe‘beat’iscontrolledbylippressure:highlippressurecreatesafastbeating.The‘beat’frequencyisnotrevealedinthespectrogram,buttheperiodicfluctuationscanbeclearlyseenintheamplitudeofthewaveform.
Example 2.3 Spectrogram of emerging multiphonic
In Antares4,EdwinRoxburghemploysanunusualfingeringforthepitchBb4,whichchangesintoamultiphonicwithanincreaseinbreathpressure.
Example 2.4 Spectrogram of five multiphonics, created with a modification to the top b key
ThesemultiphonicsarecreatedbyamodificationsuggestedbyHeinzHolliger5:thetopbkey(lefthand,firstfingerkey)isunscrewedslightlyofferingthreewaysinwhichthekeycanbeused:closed,half-openandopen.Thisopensupthepossibilityforasignificantnumberofmultiphonicsthatotherwisearenotavailable.Inthisexample,italtersthewayinwhichparticularhighnotefingeringsrespond.Thespectrogramshowsfivemultiphonicscreatedfromthenormalfingeringsfor high C#,D,Eb,E§andF.
high lip pressure low
M
A¼
M
A½
+C+E+D
alternativenotation
-F#
M M M M M
M
A¼
M
A½
+C+E+D
alternativenotation
-F#
M M M M M
M
A¼
M
A½
+C+E+D
alternativenotation
-F#
M M M M M
4
Exa
mpl
e 2.
1 S
pect
rogr
am o
f a c
onso
nant
mul
tipho
nic
and
a di
sson
ant m
ultip
honi
c
Obo
e F
4O
boe
mul
tipho
nic
cons
onan
tdi
sson
ant
Par
tials
1 F
4 3
46
2 F
5 6
923
C6
1050
4 F
6 14
095
A6
1755
6 C
7 21
017
Eb7
24
478
F7
2805
9 G
7 31
3010
A
7 35
0111
B
7 38
3512
C
8 41
93
soun
d F
4
Par
tials
1 C
6 10
502
C7
2101
3 G
7 31
524
C8
4208
soun
d C
6
Par
tials
A4
445
Eb5
61
8
A5
890
C
6 10
50
Gb6
14
96
Ab6
16
81
B6
1953
C
7 21
38
D7
2385
Eb7
25
83
Gb7
30
16
G7
3182
Ab7
34
42
Bb7
36
27
soun
d A
4, Eb5
, C
6, Gb6
(slig
htly
sha
rp)
5
Exa
mpl
e 2.
2 S
pect
rogr
am o
f a b
eatin
g m
ultip
honi
c
6
Exa
mpl
e 2.
3 S
pect
rogr
am o
f an
emer
ging
mul
tipho
nic
(Rox
burg
h A
ntar
es)
Obo
e Bb4
Obo
e m
ultip
honi
c
Par
tials
Bb4
4
77
D
5 5
93
Bb6
9
55
Db6
10
87
G6
1565
Ab6
18
59
C7
2059
Db7
21
58
Eb7
22
74
E7
2653
F
7 27
52
soun
d Eb4
, Bb4
, G5,
Db6
Par
tials
1 Bb4
4
782
Bb5
9
563
F6
1450
4 Bb6
24
05
soun
d Bb4
7
Example2.4Spectrogram
offivemultiphonics,createdwithaslightmodificationtothetopbkey
(indicatingtheeightm
ostsignificantpartialsforeachmultiphonic)
Mul
tipho
nic
1Pa
rtial
s
F5
691
D6
1171
Ab6
16
51
Bb6
18
62
D7
2342
F7
28
23
A7
3495
B
7 39
36
soun
ds Bb4
, F5,
D6
Mul
tipho
nic
2Pa
rtial
s
C5
519
Gb5
7
30
Eb6
1229
A
6 17
48
B6
1959
Eb
7 24
58
Gb7
29
76
C8
4186
soun
ds C
5, Gb5
, Eb6
Mul
tipho
nic
3Pa
rtial
s
C5
519
E6
1306
A
6 18
05
C7
2074
D
7 22
85
E7
2592
F7
27
84
C#8
43
59
soun
ds C
5, F
5, E
6
Mul
tipho
nic
4Pa
rtial
s
A5
864
B5
980
E6
13
44
Bb6
18
24
D7
2304
E7
26
69
G7
3168
B
7 39
94
soun
ds B
4, A
5, F
6
Mul
tipho
nic
5Pa
rtial
s
B4
500
B5
960
F#
6 14
60
B6
1901
D#7
24
19
F#7
2899
A
7 33
79
C#8
43
20
soun
ds B
4, B
5, F#6
8
3. Different instruments- different multiphonics
Itispossibletoproducemultiphonicsonanyoboewithanysystemoffingering,includingthebaroqueoboe;thecentralissuehowever,ishowfaritispossibletoreplicate,onawiderangeofdifferentinstruments,thesamemultiphonic.
The Conservatoire SystemItiseasytospeakoftheoboeasiftherewasonlyonetypeofinstrument,producedidenticallybyeverymanufacturer,usingonestyleofreed,onekeyworksystemandwithnopersonalvariationsinthewaykeyworkisusedbyoboistsworldwide.Thisis,ofcourse,notthecase.Thereisonedesignofinstrumentkeyworkwhichisfavouredbymanyplayersworldwide,commonlyknownastheConservatoiresystem.Thisisthesystemforwhichmanyofthegreatworksofthelatterpartofthe20thcenturywerewritten,includingBerio’sSequenza VIIandHolliger’svariouscompositions.Itisalsothesystemthatisusedbythewritersofalmostallofthecurrentliteratureconcerningmultiphonicsandcontemporaryoboetechniques.Itishowevernottheonlysystemavailabletodaynorisituniforminmanufacture.Thereareanumberofsignificantdifferencesthataffectcontemporary oboe playing.
Other systemsThesecondmostwidelyusedsystemavailabletodayistheEnglishorThumb-platesystemwhichisusedextensivelyandalmostexclusivelyintheUnitedKingdom6.Inaddition,thereisalsoa Prestini system7(Italy),whichisamodificationoftheConservatoiresystemandaViennesesystemwhichisplayedbyonlyaveryfewperformerstoday.
Other considerations
Octave keysInadditiontothedifferentsystemsavailablethereareanumberofotherdifferencesthathaveabearing upon the production of multiphonics. Some of these occur at the manufacturing stage and somearechoicesmadebytheperformers.Ofparticularnoteisthesituationwithoctavekeys.Themajorityofoboes(acrossthesystems)usewhatisknownasasemi-automaticoctavekeysystem.Thissystemautomatessomeoftheoctavekeychoices:theperformercanuseeitherthefirstorsecondoctavekeybutnotbothtogether.Thereisalsoafully-automaticsystemwhichchangestheoctavekeysautomaticallyleavingnochoicetotheperformer.Thissystemdoesinhibittheperformanceofquiteanumberofmultiphonics8.Itisworthnotingthatthereisa3rdoctavekeywhichisindependentofthe1st and 2nd.Thiskeyisusedforhighnotesandquiteafewmultiphonicfingerings.
6 Therearehistoricreasonswhythethumb-platesystemisusedintheUKandnowhereelseintheworldwhich arebeyondthescopeofthisarticle.Forfurtherdetailsofthehistoryoftheoboe,BurgessandHaynes The Oboeisaverygoodstartingpoint.7 ThePrestinisystemisnolongerwidelyused.EdwinRoxburgh,theeminentBritishoboist,tellsthestoryof an early edition of Bruno Bartolozzi’s New Sounds for Woodwindinwhichthefingeringswerebasedonthis Prestinimodel–anumberofthefingeringsapparentlydidnotworkonotheroboes.8 Thereisalsoasimpleoctavekeysystembutthistendsonlytobeseenonstudentoroldermodels.
9
Left hand top finger keyThelefthandtopfingerkeyisverysignificantintheproductionofmultiphonics.Ingeneralperformancetherearetwotechniquesinvolvedintheuseofthiskeyandthesevaryfromoboisttooboist;eitherrollingthefingeronthekeyorliftingthefingeroffthekey.Inthecentreofthekeyisasmallholewhichactsasavent.Whenthisholeisopenedithastheeffectofliftingthepitchanoctaveonthenotesc#,dandeb.Thekeyisalsoimportantinthetopregister.Howeverthiskeyalsoplaysasignificantroleintheproductionofmultiphonics.Holligersuggests9,inhisdirectionsto his Studie über Mehrklänge (Study in Multiphonics),thatthekeybeslightlyunscrewed.Theactofunscrewingthekeyopensupawiderangeofmultiphonicsnotnormallyreadilyavailable.Totakeadvantageofthishoweverrequirestheoboisttobothlifttheirfingeroffthekeyaswellastorollit.LibbyvanCleve10suggeststhatthedesignoftheholeunderthiskey(shecallsitthebkey)isdifferentonaRigoutatoboeandthatthisdesignspecificallyfacilitatestheperformanceofdoubleharmonics(aformofmultiphonic).
B-C linkAthirdareaofconsiderationand,aswiththesimpleunscrewingofthekeyabove,onewhichcanbeadaptedbytheperformeriswhatisknownastheB-Clinkatthelowerendoftheinstrument.Inessencewhenthelinkisactivetheperformercanputthelowbkeydownandthiswillautomaticallytakedownthelowckeyaswell,thusclosingthechole.Thiscanbeagreathelpinmanyperformances.Howeveritisamajorproblemwhenperformingmanyofthecontemporarytechniquesandespeciallywhenplayingmultiphonics.Thecholeneedstoabletobeclosedandopenedindependentlyofthebholeforquiteanumberofmultiphonics.
The differences in systemsThetwomainsystemsinusetoday,Conservatoireandthumb-plateareinfactverysimilar.Thesignificantdifferenceisthethumb-plate:onaConservatoiresystemmiddleandtopBb and C are producedbyfingeringAorBrespectively(firsttwofingersofthelefthand)andputtingdownthefirstfingeroftherighthand;whileonthethumb-platesystemitistheliftingofthelefthandthumboffthethumb-platethatchangesthepitch.Obviouslythesedifferencesaresignificantandalsoaffectanumberoftheupperoctavefingerings.Fromthepointofviewofthemultiphonicsthefingeringdifferences(whichofcourserepresentdifferencesinthedesignofthekeywork)canhaveamarkedeffectuponthefingeringsofmultiphonicsbothintermsofwhatiswrittendownasafingeringandalsoonsomeoccasionswhatwillrespondasamultiphonic.
Giventherangeofpossibledifferences,bothintermsofsystemsavailableandthemoredetailedissuessurroundingperformerpreferencesanddifferencesavailablewithinthedesignofeachoboe,itisperhapsnotsurprisingthattherearesometimesproblemswhentryingtonotateanexact multiphonic.
Itisperhapsencouragingtonotethatwhiletheseproblemsexistsomecanbeovercomebytheoboistconsideringsomeoftheissuesabove(perhapstryingotheroboesorconsideringmakingthesmallalterationsmentioned)or,throughknowledgeofoboekeywork,consideringchangestofingeringsthatmayaccommodatethemultiphonic.
9 Holliger’ssuggestioncanbefoundintheAppendixto‘Studiesforplayingavant-gardemusic’intheinstructions for Berio Study to Sequenza VII and in his notes to Studie über Mehrklänge. See Holliger Pro musica nova: Studien zum Spielen Neuer Musik für Oboe10 SeeLibbyvanCleve,Oboe Unbound
10
Conservatoire system (French)fingering system from: Bruno Bartolozzi new sounds for woodwind (1982)
3
10
11
12
13
1415
16
1
2
4567
8
9
13bis
Photographs: Howarth XL Conservatoire (French) System OboeHowarth XL Thumb-plate (English) System Oboe
Images kindly supplied by Howarth of London Ltd, www.howarth.uk.com
Different fingering systems
Ab Ab
F F
C§ C§C#
Eb Eb
C#
Conservatoire system (French)fingering system from: Peter Veale & Claus-Steffen MahnkopfThe techniques of oboe playing (1988)
Ab -(ab trill)
D-(d trill)
3. 3rd octave key
1. 1st octave key
2nd octave keynotated:
-D (d trill)
-C# (c# trill)AbEbB§BbF
Thumb-plate system (English)note-name fingering system
3. 3rd octave key
1. 1st octave keyTP Thumb-Plate
B-C link
2nd octave keynotated:
-D (d trill)-C# (c# trill)AbEbB§BbF
Ab -(ab trill)
D-(d trill)
11
4. Commentaries on music extracts
Thevideoexamplesofmusicofferarangeofapproachestotheuseofmultiphonics.
Roger Redgate’s Ausgangspunkte employs a sophisticated compositional approach to the use of multiphonics.Theopeningoftheworkutilisessixdifferentmusicalideasincludingflutter-tonguing,trillsandquarter-tones(seetheopeningexampleperformedonthevideo).Thetrillstakeonaspecificsignificanceinthatduringthecourseofthepiecetheyaredevelopedandultimatelytransformedintomultiphonics(thesecondfragmentoftheworkonvideodemonstratesthedevelopmentofthetrilledmaterial).Thefirstmultiphonic,abeatmultiphonic,occurringabouthalf-waythroughthepieceisadevelopmentofthetrillmaterial(seeexample3onthevideo).Theuseofabeatmultiphonicinthiscontextisanexcellentdemonstrationofthewayinwhichmultiphonicscanbeintegratedcompositionallyintoaworkwithouttheirbecomingsimplyinterestingsoundeffects. An important aspect of Ausgangspunkte is the attempt to turn the oboe into a polyphonic instrument:thiscanbeseenoccasionallyinthenotationwhere,asinexample4,themusiciswrittenontwostaves,butisalsoevidentintheuseandnotationofthemultiphonics.11Example4,withitsuseofmultiphonics,trillsandtwostaves,isafurtherexampleofthelinkbetweenthetrilledpassagesandthedevelopinguseofthemultiphonicsinthework.Astheworkmovestowardsitsclimax(seeexample5)multiphonics,multiphonictrills,multiphonictrillswhichhave‘ordinarypitches’wovenintothemtakecentrestagebecomingtheprimefocusofthedevelopmentofthework.Themomentofclimaxisacombinationofthreedistinctmultiphonictrillsplayingagainsteachotheraseachdemonstratesitsindependencethroughtempovariations.Inadditiontothisthetrillsareinterruptedbyextratrillingonotherkeys(theseinterruptionsbeingthedevelopmentofothermaterialfromthefirstpartofthework).Redgate’suseofnotationismostlymodelledonBartolozzi(butmodifiedbytheuseofkeynamesratherthannumbers)andtheworkiswrittenfora thumb-plate oboe.
EdwinRoxburgh’sAntares isalsowrittenwithathumb-platesysteminmindandusesthemultiphonicsinthecontextoftheharmonicworldofthework.TheopeningofAntares (example 1onthevideo)setsthescenefortheworkandintroducesthefirstmultiphonicatadramaticmoment.Notethewayinwhichthepiano‘picksout’someofthepitchesinthemultiphonic.Examples2and3demonstratethecarefulinterplaywhichisdevelopedbetweenthepianoandtheoboemultiphonics.Themultiphonicsinthisworkwerechosenfortheirspecificcontentandsound.Notationally,RoxburghusesasimilarmethodtothatemployedbyRedgateandsuppliesagreat deal of useful information for the performance of the multiphonics in the form of embouchure directions.
Paul Archbold’s a little night music employsmultiphonicstocreateanauralperspective:themultiphonicsarerecordedintoseveraldelaylinesandgraduallycreateacontinuousbackgroundlayerofshiftingsonorities.However,themultiphonicsarealsoofharmonicimportance;theperceivedpitchesfromeachmultiphonicareemployedtocreateshortarabesquefigureswhichareperformedasaforegroundlayer,suggestingexoticbirdsong.
Heinz Holliger’s Studie über Mehrklänge (Study in Multiphonics)takesadifferentapproachinitscompositionandnotation.Thecompositionunfoldsasaseriesoflongphrasesofcontinuouslychangingmultiphonics,anintense,broilingsound-worldwherethesonoritiesareincontinualflux.ForthisworkHolligerhasdevelopedanotationsystemwhichisrathermoreakintotablaturenotation:whatiswrittendowngivestheoboistaveryclearunderstandingofwhatshouldbefingeredbutleavessomeleewayastotheexactsoundsthatwillbeheard.
Themultiphonicpossibilitiesoftheoboeareenormous,rangingfromthedoubleharmonicstoverycomplex pitch combinations. As can be seen in the examples there is a great deal of potential for creativecomposition.Therangeofcolourandtexture,thepotentialforuseinrichcontrapuntalwriting,thecombinationofmultiphonicwithmonophonicsoundsetc.allofferthecomposeranextensivepalettewithwhichtowork.
12
11 Eventheextremespeedofsomeofthepassagesandthewayinwhichthevariouslayerscomeandgoalso givestheeffectofaninstrumenttryingtoescapeitstraditionalboundsandbecomeapolyphonicinstrument.
5. Notation strategies Thenotationofmultiphonicsisacomplexanddifficultareaanddependsuponwhatthecomposerintendstodo.Thenotationaloptionsrangefromsimpleinstructionsthatleavetheperformerfreetochoosemultiphonicsthatwillwork(sometimesstipulatingcertainparameters)throughtocomplexlistsoffingerings.
In Allgebrah,BrianFerneyhoughgivesthefollowinginstructions:
BrianFerneyhoughAllgebrah,b194-196
13
2Multiphonicsonority.Sixmultiphonicsarerequired,ofunspecifiedpitchcontent,althoughtheyshouldallbeselectedwithaviewbothtotheirtimbraldistinctionandtheireaseofexecutionwiththedynamicandarticulativeconfigurationindicated.Multiphonics(5)and(6)should,inaddition,providethepossibilityofrapidtrillingbetweenmainandsecondarymultiphonics.
VinkoGlobokar’snotationinAtemstudie suggests the number of pitches that should be included in agivenmultiphonic.
Occasionallycomposersgivemorepoeticinstructionssuchas‘darksounding’or‘strident’.Thisisaverypracticalapproachbutleavespitch/texturechoicestotheoboist.Itguaranteesthatthemultiphonicwillspeakwhichistheessentialpointhere.
5.1 Some observations on the various methods of notating multiphonics
Therehave,throughoutthehistoryoftheoboe,beenchartsthatdefinethefingeringsoftheinstrument.Theserangefromchartsforbeginneroboiststhroughtofullyfledgedchartsforprofessionalinstrumentsandperformersand,specialistchartstocompareavarietyofdifferentfingeringsperhapsforthesamenote.
Arangeofmethodsofcommunicatingfingeringshasalsobeendevelopedinordertodemonstratehowtofingerspecificmultiphonics.Theseareoftenverysophisticated,includingnotonlyfingeringsbutalsolippositionsandbreathpressures.Theexampleschosenforthevideoofferarangeofmoresophisticatedapproachestothenotationofmultiphonicsincludingveryprecisepitchesandcomplexfingeringsfortheoboist.
Bruno Bartolozzi12usesamethodofnotatingmultiphonicswhichwithsomemodificationhasbeenusedbymanycomposers.Typicalexampleswouldbe:
Noticetheuseofnumbersforthesidekeys.Thenumbersareabitproblematicsincenoperformereverreferstothekeyworkinthisway.Itisthereforenotthathelpfulwhenitcomestoreadingthefingering.
92
1314
Mt.Pr. M.Pr.
M.Pr.
Bruno Bartolozzi New Sound for woodwind “MultiphonicPossibilities”p.47
VinkoGlobokarAtemstudie,line7
14
12 Bruno Bartolozzi New Sound for woodwind
Nora Post13suggestsamoreusefulmethodsimplybygivingthekeyworkthenamesusedbyoboists–thusmakingreadingagreatdealeasier.Thismethodhasbeenadoptedbymostcomposerstodayandisamuchbetterwayofnotatingthefingerings.However,inPost’spictorialdiagramsherefersto‘tr1,tr2’:itwouldbebettertouse‘Dtr’and‘C#tr’respectively.
PeterVealeandClaus-SteffenMahnkopf14usethenowmoregenerallyacceptedformofnotationwhichemploysletternamesratherthannumbersforthefingeringsandincidentallylabelsthetrillkeyswithadashfollowedbytheletter(-c#or-d).Thedashindicatesthatitisoneofthetrillkeys.
InboththeVeale/MahnkopfandBartolozziinstrumentchartstherearekeysthatdonotseemtobeusedinmultiphonicfingerings.IntheBartolozzi14 bisisindicated,(whichappearstobeakeyatthebackoftheinstrumentandpresumablyplayedbytherighthandthumb)whileintheVeale/Mahnkopftheclé gillet (aux CinvanCleve15)isnoted.Asmallspatulakey(3),bythelefthandindexfinger,isshowninBartolozzibutnotinVeale/Mahnkopf.ThiskeyisveryusefulforquartertonesbutwehaveneverseenitusedinamultiphonicandindeedthereisnouseofitinBartolozzi for multiphonics.
Heinz Holliger’s Studie über Mehrklänge (Study in Multiphonics)isworthlookingatinsomedetail.Henotatesthefingeringsveryspecifically:thenotatedpitchindicatesabasicfingeringwhichismodifiedbytheaddition,subtractionorhalf-holingofspecifiedkeys(e.g.‘½A’)andchangesofbreathpressure.However,thepitchestobeheardarenotnormallynotated.Thismethodofnotationisveryhelpfulfortheperformerandeasytoreproduce.Theoveralleffectisastunningexampleofwhatcanbeachievedusingmultiphonics.Onewordofwarningaboutthisstudy;itisveryeasytomisstheinstructiontotheoboisttounscrewoneofthekeysbeforeperformingthiswork.Thechangetotheoboeissmallbutitfacilitatesanumberofthemultiphonicswhichotherwisewouldnotspeakproperly.
Holliger’snotationsystemisveryusefulforoboistsbutmoredifficultforthenon-oboeplayingcomposer.However,weconsiderthatsomemodificationofthissystemmightbeausefulwayforwardinthisarea,especiallyforpassageswherethemultiphonicschangerapidly.
Heinz Holliger Studie über Mehrklänge (Study in Multiphonics), line 6
Ifyouarewritingforathumb-platesysteminstrumentbuthaveavailableonlyliteraturewhichusestheConservatoiresystemitwillbebesttotalkwithyouroboistifatallpossible.Themostsignificantdifferencesinfingeringswillconcerntheuseoftherighthandfirstfinger.ThisfingerontheConservatoiresystem(andonmanymodernthumb-platesystemsthatincorporateConservatoirefingeringsaswell)changesthepitchoftheAandBfingerings(LH1and2fingers)whereasonthethumb-platesystemthethumb-plateitselfmakesthesechanges.Thereforewhenthefirstfingerrighthandismarkedopen‘o’youmayneedtoconsiderthepositionofthethumb-plateasthiswillmakeadifferencetothepitchescreated.
15
13 Nora Post ‘Multiphonics for the Oboe’14 PeterVealeandClaus-SteffenMahnkopf,The Techniques of Oboe Playing15 LibbyvanCleve,Oboe Unbound
6. Some general advice to composers
WhenusingreferencebookssuchasVeale/Mahnkopfitisvitaltocopyintotheoboepartallthedetailsgiveninthebooksuchasbreathpressure,lippositiononthereedandofcoursethefingeringitself.Don’tjustrelyonthereferencenumberofthefingeringinthebookorsimplywriteoutallofthepitches.Manyoboistsdonotownalloftheavailablebooksandwillfeelfrustratedbythelackofinformation.Rememberalsotostateinthecopywhatyoumeanbythevariouspositionsofmouth,breathpressureetc.
Ifyouareusingseveralmultiphonicsinarowthenconsidertheimplicationsofthechangeofteethpositionorembouchure–somechangesareverydifficulttoachieveundercertainconditions.Forexampleamultiphonicthatrequirestheperformertoplacetheteethonthereedfollowedbyastandardembouchurepositionisgoingtobeverydifficulttoexecutelegato.Asimilarproblemcanoccurwithrapidchangesfromonefingeringtoanother.
Donotpresumethatfingeringsthatworkontheoboewillnecessarilyworkontheotherinstrumentsinthefamily:e.g.amultiphonicfingeringontheoboemaynotworkonthecoranglais,ormayworkbutproducequiteadifferentmultiphonicandnotsimplythesamepitchestransposeddowna5th.
Inadditiontothefingerindicationsmanyofthemultiphonicdiagramsincludesymbolsforlippressure,airpressureandthepositionofthereedonthelip.ThemostcomprehensivelistcanbefoundinL.SingerMethod per Oboe.
Ourgeneraladviceforoboistsinthismatterissimplytorememberthatthereareanumberofpossibleoptionsthatshouldbetriedwhentryingtofindaspecificmultiphonic.Aswithotherareaswhatissuggestedbyacomposermaynotworkaswrittenand,hopefullythroughastudyoftheliterature,otheroptionsshouldbetried.
Theoptionsrangefromverylightbreathpressurethroughtoverystrongpressure,extremelippressure(whichcouldgoasfarastoplacetheteethonthereed)throughtoverylightpressureandalsothepositionofthelipsonthereed(onceagainthiscanbeextreme;fromapositionwherethereedisalmostoutofthemouththroughtothelipsbeingdownalmostonthebinding).Anddon’tforgetthatyoumayneedtouseacombinationoftheaboveforthebesteffects!
Wesuggestthatcomposerscopycarefullytheindicationsinthechosenliteratureandthenallowtheoboisttoexperimentifproblemsarise.Youmayneedtoencouragetheexperimentation.
16
7. Bibliography
Books and articles:
AndréAlmeida,ChristopheVergez,RenéCaussé,XavierRodet ‘Physicalmodelofanoboe:comparisonwithexperiments’ in Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, (ISMA2004),Nara,Japan
Bartolozzi,Bruno New Sounds for Woodwindstrans.&ed.RSBrindle. London:OxfordUniversityPress1982(2ndedition)
Burgess,Geoffrey& The OboeHaynes,Bruce London:YaleUniversityPress,2004
Chenna,A&Salmi,M Manuale Dell’ Oboe Contemporaneo Milan:RugginentiEditore,1994
vanCleve,Libby Oboe Unbound: contemporary techniques Lanham,Md:ScarecrowPress,2004
Singer,Lawrence Method per Oboe trans.RSBrindle EdizioniSuvini:Zerboni,1969
Redgate,Christopher ‘PerformingBerio’sSequenzaVII’in Contemporary Music ReviewVolume26Part2,2007,pp219-230 Redgate,Christopher ‘Re-inventingtheOboe’in Contemporary Music ReviewVolume26Part2,2007,pp179-188
Redgate,Christopher ‘APracticalApproachtoComplexMusic’ Contemporary Music ReviewVolume26Part2,2007,pp141-149
Veale,Peter& The Techniques of Oboe PlayingMahnkopf,Claus-Steffen London:Bärenreiter,1998 Web Article:
Post,Nora ‘MultiphonicsfortheOboe’ http://www.idrs.org/publications/journal2/jnl10/multi.html accessed5thFebruary2009 (originally published in Interface.Vol.10(1981),pp113-136)
17
Printed Music:
Archbold,Paul a little night music (2004) (availablefromthecomposerorhttp://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/528)
Holliger,Heinz Studie über Mehrklänge(StudyinMultiphonics) in Pro musica nova: Studien zum Spielen Neuer Musik für Oboe Wiesbaden:Breitkopf&Haertel,1980
Redgate,Roger Ausgangspunkte Paris:EditionHenriLemoine,1982
Roxburgh,Edwin Antares WalthamAbbey:UnitedMusicPublishers,1988
Ferneyhough,Brian Allgebrah London:EditionPeters,1996
Globokar,Vinko Atemstudie in Pro musica nova: Studien zum Spielen Neuer Musik für Oboe Wiesbaden:Breitkopf&Härtel,1980
Discography: Roger Redgate Ausgangspunkte Oboe +: Berio and beyondOboeClassics(2006)CD15
EdwinRoxburghAntares Edwin Roxburgh: Oboe MusicMetier/DivineArt(2008)MSV28508
BrianFerneyhoughAllgebrah Ferneyhough Chamber MusicMetier/DivineArt(2009)MSV28504
Heinz Holliger Studie über Mehrklänge(StudyinMultiphonics) The Artistry of Heinz HolligerDenon(1996)
Paul Archbold a little night music Paul Archbold: Impacts and FracturesMetier/DivineArtMSV28502(forthcoming)
18
19
Credits
Christopher Redgate oboePaul Archbold piano and laptop
DavidLefeber sound
Sam Collins editorColin Still director & photography
AnOPTICNERVEproductionforKingstonUniversity,London
Acknowledgements:
UnitedMusicPublishers33LeaRoadWaltham AbbeyEssexEN91ES,UK
EditionLemoine27,boulevardBeaumarchaisF-75004Paris,France
Breitkopf&HärtelKGHR886AmtsgerichtWiesbadenDeutscherVerlagfürMusikGmbHWalkmühlstraße5265195Wiesbaden,Germany