Dave Soldier String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion “The Impossible” 1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail 3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self 5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
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Transcript
Dave Soldier
String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
First violin part
Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
the patterns of the drum kit. This is based on the Cuban cajon used in rumba, but they have added a snare to the inside of the box. Nevertheless, the instrument is not known universally and it is impossible to predict if it will continue to be well established, and if so, where. Thus percussionists can choose there own instruments, but simply must be aware of the different patterns required, and for that listening to the original recording is a good guide. In addition to the cajon, a hand percussionist requires cymbals and a cowbell for the last movement. A hi-hat may be useful, and a boxing ring bell is nice. Bongos are useful as long as they can be played quietly to not obscure the strings. -Dave Soldier NYC April 18, 2011
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12String Quartet #1 "The Impossible"
Dave Soldier
String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
Second violin part
Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
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9String Quartet #1 "The Impossible"
Dave Soldier
String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
Viola part
Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
the patterns of the drum kit. This is based on the Cuban cajon used in rumba, but they have added a snare to the inside of the box. Nevertheless, the instrument is not known universally and it is impossible to predict if it will continue to be well established, and if so, where. Thus percussionists can choose there own instruments, but simply must be aware of the different patterns required, and for that listening to the original recording is a good guide. In addition to the cajon, a hand percussionist requires cymbals and a cowbell for the last movement. A hi-hat may be useful, and a boxing ring bell is nice. Bongos are useful as long as they can be played quietly to not obscure the strings. -Dave Soldier NYC April 18, 2011
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String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
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Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
the patterns of the drum kit. This is based on the Cuban cajon used in rumba, but they have added a snare to the inside of the box. Nevertheless, the instrument is not known universally and it is impossible to predict if it will continue to be well established, and if so, where. Thus percussionists can choose there own instruments, but simply must be aware of the different patterns required, and for that listening to the original recording is a good guide. In addition to the cajon, a hand percussionist requires cymbals and a cowbell for the last movement. A hi-hat may be useful, and a boxing ring bell is nice. Bongos are useful as long as they can be played quietly to not obscure the strings. -Dave Soldier NYC April 18, 2011
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String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
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davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
the patterns of the drum kit. This is based on the Cuban cajon used in rumba, but they have added a snare to the inside of the box. Nevertheless, the instrument is not known universally and it is impossible to predict if it will continue to be well established, and if so, where. Thus percussionists can choose there own instruments, but simply must be aware of the different patterns required, and for that listening to the original recording is a good guide. In addition to the cajon, a hand percussionist requires cymbals and a cowbell for the last movement. A hi-hat may be useful, and a boxing ring bell is nice. Bongos are useful as long as they can be played quietly to not obscure the strings. -Dave Soldier NYC April 18, 2011
÷44
43
44
#1 Open Hydrant3
q=80
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light fills on cymbals
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27
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37
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’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
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43
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
49
’ ’ ’ ’
melody repeats
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55
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÷43
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String Quartet #1 Dave Soldier
Hand Percussion1987version April 17, 2011 The Impossible
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89
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vln 2 solo
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96
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add snare improv patterns
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103
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÷42
44
48
110
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
U
choose notes from chord & very stridentrhythms are out of phase
fade out
tacit
÷48
117
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
#2 Walking on the Third Rail
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subway: offbeats on bass drum, snare improv, 16th hi hatsq=120 rhythms are in phase
punk rock, tile end of movement, get faster & louder
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accel. until drum solo
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6String Quartet #1 "The Impossible"
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7String Quartet #1 "The Impossible"
÷
370
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÷ ..
.
.
410
‰
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‰
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tacit 5
8String Quartet #1 "The Impossible"
Dave Soldier
String Quartet #1 opus 3 with percussion
original version for amplified string quartet and trap drums or alternate version for acoustic quartet and hand percussion
“The Impossible”
1. Open Hydrant 2. Walking on the Third Rail
3. Ron visits the Polymer Lounge 4. For His Bad Self
5. She put my head under the water composed in 1987, premiered 1988 this transcription April 16, 2011 version about 25 minutes Dave Soldier davesoldier.com [email protected]
davidsulzer
Typewritten Text
Drum part
Performance notes for “The Impossible Quartet” This can be performed either by an amplified quartet with an American style “trap” drum set – i.e., rock or rhythm & blues style drums; or by a normal acoustic string quartet with quieter hand percussion. The piece is highly influenced by rhythm and blues, and directly quotes James Brown’s Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag in the 4th movement, as well as hip hop, the sounds of the New York City subways, and children’s street games. The guitarist, cellist, and drummer must know the James Brown original – the cellist can deviate from it at will, but must know the overall structure of the melody, and can quote from it or not. There is an untimed “cadenza” for the cello on the last phrase. Each player has improvised solos, and these are marked by “hatches”. The improvisations must relate to the surrounding material, but you have otherwise freedom to play what you would like. In some cases I place some advice on the approach to the solo. One overall piece of advice is to leave breaths, i.e. silences between phrases, or it will be hard to build in more tensions. Consider that leaving breath is natural for wind instruments that developed the rhythm and blues solo traditions – for inspiration you may like to listen to saxophone players like Maceo Parker and Hank Crawford. In some cases I write chord changes above the improvised sections. For open repeat solos, just know who cues and make sure they don’t go on too long. Depending on context, the other players can make impromptu variations on their repeated parts, particularly if the soloist is going on a little too long. The 1st and 5th movement can both use a recording of kids playing street games in the background. This is a good excuse for someone in the quartet to go outside and record them. String techniques There are numerous unusual techniques in this piece, and here are some guidelines. When in doubt, use my 1992 recording by the Soldier String Quartet on Sojourner Truth as a guide – but don’t feel trapped by that recording if you have ideas on how to improve on it or add your own personality. Lines without noteheads are used to indicated microtonal glisses between the pitches that are shown. Don’t worry much about making these exact, they can be expressive sounding glisses that sound satisfying to you. Speech pitch is indicated by square boxes on the noteheads. Speech pitch imitates spoken inflections, and hence is made of microtonal glissandos. It is played by stopping the string with the left hand over rather than under the instrument, to
enforce intonation that is only approximate. Pinch the string between your thumb and index finger and slide it around the notes indicated to help you to sound like someone speaking or rapping. It helps to think of spoken phrases and to emulate the intonation of them. The cello has notes in pizzicato sections marked with an “x” notehead. These are percussive and made by slaps by the left hand on the neck. They should imitate a snare drum backbeat or a handclap. In pizzicato areas, consider where a “slap bass” approach should be used, a classic jazz technique where the strings are plucked hard enough to bounce a bit on the neck. The second violin and viola also use slaps on the neck as marked by an x notehead, which are meant to emulate handclaps. These can be pretty loud and should be, especially for amplified instruments. Wavy lines over a note means to make a large wobble in the pitch. The violas’s siren imitates a police or ambulance, and use whatever approach you would like including electronics. “Squealy noise” means imitate the squeak sounds of bad subway brakes. The end of the first movement and first section of the second imitate a subway. They should be differentiated sounds, with the end of the first out of phase with each other and very ponticello, choosing different notes. The top of the second is everyone together in time, and the amplified strings can use distortion if a “fuzz box” is available. The guitar chord The fourth movement has the second violinist playing a single chord (an E9) on the guitar for the James Brown number. For amplified quartet it should be an electric guitar, for the acoustic quartet, an acoustic guitar is fine. Of course this can be played by the percussionist instead, or by the other violinist if the second takes the first’s part. It could even be played by a guest who plays the guitar, who in this case sits on stage of the entire piece to play about 3 measures of music of one chord. Drums and percussion The drum kit uses the snare on the middle line, bass drum on lowest line, cymbals on space above upper line and toms in lower line. The cowbell near the end is indicated. My experience is that drummers prefer this kind of notation more than writing out every note. Essentially any kind of drum kit with any drums can work so long as the drummer has worked on the parts. For the acoustic quartet, quieter hand percussion is used. At this time and place, the best preference for a basic drum is probably the flamenco style cajon, which has developed as an instrument over the past twenty years and can hold all of
the patterns of the drum kit. This is based on the Cuban cajon used in rumba, but they have added a snare to the inside of the box. Nevertheless, the instrument is not known universally and it is impossible to predict if it will continue to be well established, and if so, where. Thus percussionists can choose there own instruments, but simply must be aware of the different patterns required, and for that listening to the original recording is a good guide. In addition to the cajon, a hand percussionist requires cymbals and a cowbell for the last movement. A hi-hat may be useful, and a boxing ring bell is nice. Bongos are useful as long as they can be played quietly to not obscure the strings. -Dave Soldier NYC April 18, 2011
÷44
43
44
#1 Open Hydrant3
q=80
19
q=96cello strums cue in
’ ’ ’ ’
light fills on cymbals
p
÷
27
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’x x x x œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
x
f
œ J
x ‰œ
x
xfunk / rock
F
÷
32
’ ’ ’ ’
sounds of kids playing outside
œ J
x ‰œ
x
x
œ J
x ‰œ
x
x
’œ J
x ‰œ
x
œ
x x x x
x
x x x x
œ
x x x x
x
x x x
kids out
÷
37
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ œ œ œ œ œ
x
œ
.x
œ œ œ
x
vln 2 solo
funk / rock
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
43
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
49
’ ’ ’ ’
melody repeats
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
55
’ ’ ’ ’
>
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷43
44
61
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
P
’ ’ ’ ’
x x x
Ó Œ
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÷
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x x ‰
P
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P
String Quartet #1 Dave Soldier
Drum Set1987version April 16, 2011 The Impossible
÷
70x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
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x x ‰
P
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77
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rims only on snare, improv on toms
F
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷ ..
.
.
82
‰
x ‰ x
‰
x ‰ x
open repeats for 1st vln soloadd hihat offbeats, continue in same vein
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’œ J
x ‰œ
x
x
at cuefunk / rock
F
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
89
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
vln 2 solo
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
96
’ ’ ’ ’
add snare improv patterns
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷
103
’ ’ ’ ’
œ
Œ Ó
noisy snare rollsx
œ J
x ‰œ
x
xfunk / rock
F
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
÷42
44
48
110
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
U
choose notes from chord & very stridentrhythms are out of phase
fade out
tacit
÷48
117
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
#2 Walking on the Third Rail
ƒ
subway: offbeats on bass drum, snare improv, 16th hi hatsq=120 rhythms are in phase