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

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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.

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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

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Example2.4Spectrogram

offivemultiphonics,createdwithaslightmodificationtothetopbkey

(indicatingtheeightm

ostsignificantpartialsforeachmultiphonic)

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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.

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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

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Conservatoire system (French)fingering system from: Bruno Bartolozzi new sounds for woodwind (1982)

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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)

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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.

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11 Eventheextremespeedofsomeofthepassagesandthewayinwhichthevariouslayerscomeandgoalso givestheeffectofaninstrumenttryingtoescapeitstraditionalboundsandbecomeapolyphonicinstrument.

5. Notation strategies Thenotationofmultiphonicsisacomplexanddifficultareaanddependsuponwhatthecomposerintendstodo.Thenotationaloptionsrangefromsimpleinstructionsthatleavetheperformerfreetochoosemultiphonicsthatwillwork(sometimesstipulatingcertainparameters)throughtocomplexlistsoffingerings.

In Allgebrah,BrianFerneyhoughgivesthefollowinginstructions:

BrianFerneyhoughAllgebrah,b194-196

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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.

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Mt.Pr. M.Pr.

M.Pr.

Bruno Bartolozzi New Sound for woodwind “MultiphonicPossibilities”p.47

VinkoGlobokarAtemstudie,line7

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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