Last week we developed a collective performance based upon the sync points, words and silences from a given score. Our 'synchronised improvisation' proved to fun to experiment with, and by now everybody understands the mechanics of our —very simple yet— visual cue system.
This week we take it in our own hands to create the piece for our next session from the ground up: ReconnectingSpaces*. The purpose for the piece is to explore the fragile nature of our virtual connections, always dependent on technology to function, often frustrating, perhaps less authentic as compared to a real life encounter in the physical world.
In order to make collaboration as intuitive as possible, we will be the musiclab online tool to put together an event score (similar to the one we have used in ShareDareCare). Once finished, the project will be used to generate 'visual cues' that will help us perform together next week.
This shared project is set to 10 bars, with 5 beats per bar at tempo 60 bpm. That means, every beat is 1 second long and every bar just 5 seconds long. The first bar should be empty (except for the starting clap at the beginning). Each of the tracks (notes) is assigned to one of us alphabetically, using a similar color scheme as we did in the first Case Study:
The second bar is where the piece really starts. I suggest a collaborative approach in that anybody can edit anything, but still have each of us curate one bar each; Adrián will be responsible for bar number 2, Benedikt shall do the same for number 3, and so on...
- Bar #2 → Adrián
- Bar #3 → Benedikt
- Bar #4 → Dalma
- Bar #5 → Hanne
- Bar #6 → Katharina
- Bar #7 → Magdalena
- Bar #8 → Maria
- Bar #9 → Mariama
- Bar #10 → Max
The blocks in the score can only represent when an action (talking, for example) takes place. As we did in ShareDareCare, the starting point of an action is represented by the beginning of a rectangle, and the action lasts as long as the block. When there is no block in the track of a given participant, it is interpreted as <TACET>, meaning that the perfoFootnotesrmer is free to do anything he/she pleases, as long as it doesn't produce hearable speech.
IMPORTANT: Making / Saving changes
Every time you edit / save the musiclab project, it becomes a different project (with a different online link). In order for us to collaborate, save regularly and share the link in our WhatsApp group everytime! Do not worry if you share multiple links as you are editing the project; it will ensure that everybody sees the newest version (and that we don't delete somebody else's work).
Footnotes
For more specific descriptions of the actions, we shall use footnotes (see the picture above). Here is an example:
7.4: /where/ Performers say the word /where/ (or a phonetic equivalent)
The reference of the footnote [7.4] describes the position of the note in the score measured in beats (which in our case are equivalent to seconds) and semiquavers (four for each beat).
The description of the action is completely up to you. It makes sense, however, to build upon what others have already suggested. For the footnote descriptions we shall use this online document. Feel free to type, edit and comment as much as you need.
*) 'Reconnecting Spaces' is also the motto of the SMC 2021 conference (which hosts a call for networked performances like this 😉)
