Case Studies for Transcription (Argentine Tango)
1. Four, for Tango (1988)
by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Commissioned by Kronos Quartet
Primary Source: Printed Score (Paris: Editions Henry Lemoine, 1989)
Transcription in progress
Critical comments:
This late Piazzolla work is famous for the massive use of extended techniques on strings. These special sound effects are so pervasive that the publisher actually prepares an instruction chart ahead of the music score, explaining how to produce these whip, drum, sand paper, and whistle sounds. （See Figure 1）
Figure 1 The Instruction Chart of Four, for Tango
I would suggest:
1) While in the original edition, various special effects are expressed with the same conventional percussive notation symbol (and add word description within parenthesis), in this digital edition, we could use disparate symbol to denote each special sound so as to make every category more differentiated and recognizable by the performer and the user.
2) Along with the written instructions on how to perform these special sounds, we could provide some video clips to demonstrate the performance samples visually. In this way, with the multimedia advantage of the digital edition, the performer and the user could understand the meaning of these word instructions more easily and quickly by referring to the visual examples.
2. Serial dodecafónico (1961)
by Eduardo Rovira (1925-1980)
Primary Source: Recording from the LP Vinyl Album Tango Vanguardia (Buenos Aires: Microfon Argentina S.R.L., 1961)
Transcription In Progress
Critical comments:
This work by Argentine tango musician Eduardo Rovira is impressive with its bold use of dissonant harmony, and especially, as its title suggests, the use of twelve-tone technique at the very beginning of the piece. Different from many other twelve-tone compositions by classical music composers, this tango work use the instrument bandoneón, which is rarely used in Western classical music, to perform the twelve-tone row.
Therefore, in the digital edition, we could provide some visual materials to vividly explain the unique keyboard layout of bandoneón, which is totally different from the diatonic/chromatic scale setting usually employed on many other instruments. In order to fully understand this twelve-tone tango music, it is essential to know the relationship between the general twelve-tone principle, on one hand, and the specific application by the tango instrument bandoneón, on the other hand.
by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Commissioned by Kronos Quartet
Primary Source: Printed Score (Paris: Editions Henry Lemoine, 1989)
Transcription in progress
Critical comments:
This late Piazzolla work is famous for the massive use of extended techniques on strings. These special sound effects are so pervasive that the publisher actually prepares an instruction chart ahead of the music score, explaining how to produce these whip, drum, sand paper, and whistle sounds. （See Figure 1）
Figure 1 The Instruction Chart of Four, for Tango
I would suggest:
1) While in the original edition, various special effects are expressed with the same conventional percussive notation symbol (and add word description within parenthesis), in this digital edition, we could use disparate symbol to denote each special sound so as to make every category more differentiated and recognizable by the performer and the user.
2) Along with the written instructions on how to perform these special sounds, we could provide some video clips to demonstrate the performance samples visually. In this way, with the multimedia advantage of the digital edition, the performer and the user could understand the meaning of these word instructions more easily and quickly by referring to the visual examples.
2. Serial dodecafónico (1961)
by Eduardo Rovira (1925-1980)
Primary Source: Recording from the LP Vinyl Album Tango Vanguardia (Buenos Aires: Microfon Argentina S.R.L., 1961)
Transcription In Progress
Critical comments:
This work by Argentine tango musician Eduardo Rovira is impressive with its bold use of dissonant harmony, and especially, as its title suggests, the use of twelve-tone technique at the very beginning of the piece. Different from many other twelve-tone compositions by classical music composers, this tango work use the instrument bandoneón, which is rarely used in Western classical music, to perform the twelve-tone row.
Therefore, in the digital edition, we could provide some visual materials to vividly explain the unique keyboard layout of bandoneón, which is totally different from the diatonic/chromatic scale setting usually employed on many other instruments. In order to fully understand this twelve-tone tango music, it is essential to know the relationship between the general twelve-tone principle, on one hand, and the specific application by the tango instrument bandoneón, on the other hand.