AN UNTITLED PIECE FOR
ORIGINAL1UARTET
Janet Sue Norman
S C(ii
-'PII"" ~''..
,h"
..
,...
<,
,Z4
: 90f·
./'/(£ ~l
1
The six foot by eight foot "Junk Box"
began with a trip
to the junk yard and with a persuasive argument to
co~{ince
the proprietor that his dormant pile of metal really had
sound vibrations hidden within its body.
Although his face
showed a slight look of unbelief, he stopped the huge crane-like
monster from his random gulping, and I was allOi.red to scamper
around, selecting the pieces that I wanted.
The c:hoice selections
for stardom were carefully laid in their Ill'aiting limousine
because of their shape, an unusual tl-rist or bend. or size,
that the big bass pieces would be contrasted
knowing
tiny soprano ones.
~~th
the
Their real potential for tone could not be
tested until they ,-Jere freely suspended, although there were
some sneak previews.
Even after several munutes c)f wary
watchfulness the employees of this thriving metro:?olis began
to discover small gems that they had never noticed before.
Excited voices could
be
Wouldn't you like
h",,Ve ,his?"
1:.0
heard exclaiming, I1Look!
LOOK!
I drove away with a pocket-
book a little bit lighter and with
I1\Y
limousine a great deal
heavier.
The privileged characters took up residence in the most
secretive depths of the music building with the gauges and
steam pipes for
compar~
and patiently waited for their own
special home to be constructed.
After the blueprint 'was
drawn, an unwieldy saH and a hannner that was determined to drive
crooked nails laboriously transformed a small pile of lumber
into
~u~een
multi-sized rooms, consisting of fotx-sided
2
boxes.
Another eliminations trial vJaS held to discover who
OnlY
fitted best in each room and who had the best voice.
few tears were heard from the unfortunate ones, but
on~!1
a
large
wail was heard when the whole structure came toppling over.
One small detail had been forgotten;
to stand on its ovm two feet.
the structure did have
VJell, the solution to this
earth-shattering problem was not two feet but four, consisting
of three foot two by fours, and the pile of boxes in their
final form became a lanky catepillar.
Large nails, wooden
beads glued onto dowel rods, metal pipes and a
wo(~en
pole
are employed to strike the various metal surfaces, 1.J"hen the
Junk Box is asked to sing.
The gorgeous rusty coats that the
residents of the Junk Box had acquired over their many years of
struggle determined the color scheme, red, orange,. yellow and
brown, of their new home and also for their nevlly crea.ted friends.
The second member of this quartet, the "Superla.tive
2
Toadstool, "
began with the donation of a wooden spoc,l on 1{mch
rope comes wound on.
'vhth the aid of a ha.nd drill, eye screws
encircled the top disc and eye bolts t the bottom.
Ordinary wire
was stretched between the two and tightened by turning the eye
bolts.
With only a few dozen broken wires and small dowel rods,
determining the length of wire that loTi11 Vibrate 'by being inserted
at different levels between the wires and the central pole of
the spool, "Thich acts as a resonating box, a nasal tvlang is
emitted when the wires are plucked.
Io/ith a little more effort
than the wave of a magic "rand an ordinary wooden spool became
a misshaped harp.
The toadstool became complete \>jhen this
pileus Has attached to its stem, consisting of a fence post
J
nailed to a piece of plywood and surrounded by the negative
plywood shapes left from the cutting of the "Organic P'!lper
:3
Drum. II The positive forms for this drum, emerging from the
sheet of plywood as a three-sided organic form, cormected by
hinges, confronted the world with faces of geometric-designed
-wrapping paper, shiny tin foil and Haxed paper.
They are coaxed
into speaking i-Then a pair of drum brushes are lightly dusted
across their surfaces.
The smallest form, displaying some organic surfaces of
4
wood and metal, became a "Giant Baby Rattle, II wh4:m it was
revolved around a central pole.
But even a baby lnight be startled
when a carefully constructed, enclosed colonade structure became
a heap of rubber pipes and escaping marbles, ';'iooden beads, fish
bobbers, b-b l s, golf balls and ping pone balls after the first
revolution.
But with the aid of a little magic, consisting of
epoxy glue and masking tape, the balls are now tightly sealed
within the rubber tubes and can gently roll bet,·reen the metal
and wooden surfaces or land -viith a heavy thud.
The Junk Box, the Superlative Toadstool, t.he Organic
Paper Drum and the Giant Baby Rattle stood anxiously awaiting
the down beat by the conductor's baton, but they soon discovered
to their amazement that nothing had been l-TI'itten for an illustrious
group like this. So that their hopes might not be shattered, I
immediately came to their rescue Hith a slightly unconventional
piece to exploit their unique and varied sonorities.
The
residences of the Junk Box were e2.ch given a letter of the
5
alphabet for identification;
the wires of the Superlative
Toadstool, numbers one to thirty-one;
the faces of the Organic
4
Paper Drum, numbers one to three;
and the Giant Eaby Rattle,
sLrnply the identification of balls.
~,;ere
Music notes
deprived
of half of their duties by expressi:1.g only rhythmic values without pitch identification.
This is determined by each individual
item, whose selection is described by the use of a. letter or
number under the standard musical notation.
Even the notes
~
completely abandoned and substituted for arrmrs i"hen the nail
is to be dragged around, dOim or 2cross the
piece~
The unpre-
dictable nature of my :nusical charc:;cters influenced the writing
of an unpredictable composition, iolhich might be descr:i.bed as a
-
6
combination of aleatoric and determined elements.
The first dO\offi beat of the conductor! s baton begins a
section, identified by the rehearsal numbers one to six, in
which the sequence of sonorities is
metrical unit.
determine~
vdthin a free
This develo::s into a canon bet'ifeen the four
players, structured into a mixed meter section of , and
~.
The aleatoric and ostinato patterns, which consist of a given,
repe2.ted form "dth the choice of determining the tone elements
to be used, begin a fel'i measures after rehearsal letter seven.
At section eight players one and four continue these patterns
while players two and three begin an alternating imitation
which develops into
si~1.sle
melodic lines and finally into the
Similar patterns being played by one and four.
T'his section
continues to rehearsl number fourteen "dth a com;tant increase
in tempo and volume.
The final section is structured like the
beginninG as a determined sequence of sonorities ,.lithin a free
metrical unit.
The complete composition suggest a kind of
A B A form through structure, texture, "lhich is
I~haracterized
by a spareness in the beginning and closing sectic)ns, contrasted
with the density of the middle section. and tonal element through
the developmental use of the same tonal item at the end which
began the work.
After four skeptical people were recruited, the moment
for which the quartet had been waiting for finally arrived;
they began to sing.
But to their amazement, they were soon to
learn that they Here not only fun to listen to but were also
fun to look at, and that their performers were not limited to
the
careful~v
selected four but were extended to the whole
gamut of ages and occupations, who were simply drawn by a
curious and creative urge to make sounds, to make music.
Thus
it seems that the same feelings that I had experienced as
constructor and composer were very actively transferred to those
who saw and found the joy in exploring.
successful element of my bizarre quartet.
For me this is the most
FOOTNOTES
1.
Junk Box can be seen in the photograph on the following
page.
2.
Superlative Toadstool
4.
3.
Giant Baby Rattle
Organic Paper Drum
5.
The diagraJ11 of the Junk Box, shO'tnng the method. O'f
labeling the various pieces for vn'iting and perfO'rmance
purposes, is found on the following page.
6.
The scO're for "An Untitled Piece" immediately fO'1101'1S
the diagram of the Junk BO'x.
.-
N
--/'
.'--_..
,,,.-
,'
-::t:'
I G---!
I <I).:o:..J
A!A
I~-d
I
Il
!
~--{~; I
I
1.±J
I
• •
i
_I
>
~
II t ~
!-6
i
....
J~
I~
.
I
i
I
I
)
~Y kd,.reF
·
••
~ ..~ "~,~
n
t
I
'I' (res)
1i. S
I
h ....
b~':j
h,l
1 fJ L'"~ 1 t.
JJ D J) 1) --IJJJ t
".~l CY'~_
mn__
, ..'..........
".il
..~t_t:tn_ ~pl? t
T
'B~Us
!::\. ~ .~~_________."'. __ ~_.__
)
C
---'' --," ------ --.--
P'P"-
t)
>1))
n
.
®
'l'··
JJ J JT llJJ---J1J-}-.- _L -- --oj
(ft)
t
(""-V)
( m,
)
'---..;,iiI'
l
l'WI>ott'~I",e )(n'~~~'F
~~
I
I
J>.L J
(Pj
P l.
n ------ .n:'~..~ n,;lJ -.---...;;1;;~~~l M n....~j p:<- T .1 . , J. t
11I. .
.----------.-----!.i--~-J~,lA.."'i~
--}-~.n_p--L.
,. t
~
~ r
-rr. - - - - - - - - - - - I
--_._._--_._---------_._---------N"l
t
~
1)
m_'...
'o.
,
nD..ll
----_._ ..
lfIet.\.~
n..;~ ~f!.J...
III
n:.
> j))
V\A.~ L A.5l le.-
_~~cL
-----------
1II. -_.----_.-
JL
--.-.----.---------- -._.- ---------.--------.. . --.,. .,.-Lx.)· ,-,. l-+-)
.) - - - l}.j u I c\.
._----------------_.._._._.... -
J~ij
~T
Yl
II. l
6Y>1o..tl
L {. t r
r
f' ~
\
~
,
Gl
t
y-)
"..-- Ir-.~ 1b~
I ~!
(. -'\
--~
I
I
--+~
i
I
j
:
i
~~
i
t
i
i
4
I--~
i
i
,
1
J
I
:
;V}
i! I.
'-..I
!
i
I
I.....,
'
I
!~
,
: d
\'
!
!
I V)~i,
i
: "
S.
hJj!,
~
II
J
-
-¥
A
.....
-J
oJ
~
i
~~I
I
I
a
i
!'~
,
I
.-t>
a
o
I,, -
~I
~
~
d
i
t
d ,
;z.l,
:;:::
0
oJ.I
" 1
~i_
. ..I
~
-J
I
I
V
i
(_WI
.....<L
:
!-d.:ti
-~
i
,...
~
:
1
i .... ..(,
I
I
i
i
i
-
~7
I-
i
I
7
-l
I
i"'--'
!
'1
i
-
oJ
!J..
.;
I
rJ
.-I
.',
c •
1
I
I
I
I
,.,. ,-1
~,
r-I-J [
H
~
~
,~
~
,
I
~~
H 1=t
~
~
I
I
rt)7
••
~
(C)~
"
}
,s)')flA.ll n~~l hea..L
~~rb:~J.· ~ ).
I
) J
»
n ij
c..
~
1
e.
c.
»
Iq > J
J0
l \~ ,})
») \ J
b
C
'''l
''i
I~ J
1"1
Il..
~ J
J.
j»
13
13
~
.
b
c.e.
)
tl
.'
,
\
\
"'3
Ia------------------------------------------------
Nij
J .L
1.q -
~
I
2. C'f
b
IT
ill
.~ J-.
i
I~ J.
1..~
30
~3
\
~3
I D )}
~c.
:t3 ~S
2.3
I))
2.'1 ~5
a.S
Co
D ) J \ >J--l--U )
Jd
~,.,
r
,"- \
J \~ , .} ) > J \.~ >, J \»)) \g J
~
'~I
[J J' I 1 J I) ) ) I j. I
1
C.
L>"
I-f} i I+_U_ _ _
.N .
~~'
>J
15 15
:m. ---J-~--J?)
,
3~'
;t.,
l
:L.
~ <f
\;»
''i 17
\ t~
2..
t
t
t
I C.
a..
t
I)
J
1 3 '3
I )qD )1'I jJ \ ~
,~ I v
,y
, C.
17
I 40
~s
;?
2.5
a ). .b) ) J
'P6..pe..r
n
I Da.c, )
\)})
\~ J ). j?) \~ J. ( D )
e.
d. c..
a d..
d..
b
e.el.
e
Jc.
)
rJ
l<l
I
,.)....
;t Cf
I
'30
3 "
,3
2..1.l. ca' l. '1
42..-
-L_..~ ___ 1~_____,____ 7~_1__________ ~. _. _____ -----
\ J. }
#.
I ==~~~._ -.l:.1_?:_~ t I~~
3
.
L
3 ''J~. 3-Y--3J
)0
JY ------------.. - - - - - - - -_ _
---
L.
,-.~----".--------.-
1 r(l
IJ.\
~
--------
BI
If~
,
fI<
~;
-
-
-,
(
1
•
I
-J-
LU-1~
I
II·
I
I
I
I
-
_ __ "1
1
Ii
:
N
!
~
~1
•
I
~I
1'/
•
in
r
III
)-
-
I
=t!t ~ '7~
-
n---l
-11:'\
\EJ
I
H
\:t
(.
@ ~'-'J_Y
V
) \1(1..\.l
pl"-j
2..:>
t(.<.~ t
r
V-b
I . 'h 'W F E G 1)' R
G':;.5
L
b l~
•
\ A D G E
N .I
y\ll ,(pPJ
.
LW~ \ X W E" £. 'Go D 8
r
~".
-------.-.
N 'l
1.----\
~~
p(a.j
(l.S
{...st
t..J- .------..~-,~--=----
_.
t -, t.
t
__
u 'it
.
.___ J_~_Q_._~ (t ___~' ___~1___~.~_. _~_.~_._L_~A# __:l~
I2:--
z..
'I
~u,~~._. t._~
rc.ssLbl~
CLS
h \
J' '.
~/o·J (
~ <.
. (!) '''''fluJ:se
R,'"S;C. (J.J)
..... nl-_~_ . -~---J-.j. J--.-~--1-l t
'J.. 7
~i ~ q 30 \
_._
Gil
J J tmJ J t ) l ) ~
0
:
'
.....-:"'\
t
1
t
·
\
F"1
u------ . .. --.- .--. J....- ..J.-,-----J J.. .-..... . ---.---~. IJ) J J. .P J t
/':'. d.
z.t,
T
Z. Q..."Z..
I. . R
V G- E._.F__. W .. ~
,
1'7'
c.
b
n=n
. _.
N-3_0.. ~..!t--Ai----~1-----~~--~-~-~-'i-.J ..-.l.-l-.J-..J. -J-L~--. J--J--~-. . ) ) J )
@
1Il.-
>)
1 J) _t _______ ...___ .....--.. -----.-J....
lK..~
L.
! . . JJ.---~.-
t)
Jt
) )
t. \) t llJ-.~J-l t
__
}J t
r
e'
N
1Y
t1
») ~ ) }-l
N
t
t1
t{
0
'R.
0
Jt
~ ~
t
---~\
~
('i)
)) )
-nkJn!l--JJJ-~ lj___ ? nb_nnb_n_n?m_;n~}_}-t I
lJI..~ t l t le " 1 t. lU t 1--- t ) ~) ~ ~
Il
0
J
k.
l '" pro" L> "- '" 5-tY'~.jS 17-:1. 6
I
~
L
J l-UJj----l-~j-.--J--l_1- ~ ) )
t.
t )
Jt JJ t-
P 1. J J J -,
•
p).' p' J t
at
J k
J J t J J ) J'L
G
t
0
~ "" l (..
I . . .
.:J.. Y\
J... '(
M
'f . .
6
IJ LS e
u.J
~ -t ~ i:. ~ e )
-.--..- - - - - - - - - - - - -
II.--~~-~~~-~--'Li·~-~-~-~~~-~t--l·~~-LJ~+~-R--~ 'I:lr~F)(
]II
\J
j J) l
L
Q.
»»)
®
TIl -
C,,'o'\
I
t
) )
l
t.-7-.Lll-l,~ljJ1__J_.LU.-
1t S O t < . . )
11
L
N
J) t}) --~---->-jJ--J-~--u
Q..
t.
J)
l """f·r" ...H5e.
1'1~1<.
·b Y\ -----------_
\A. e. . "" d. h. "S..ll.s
....... _-----_ .... -._- _._.
__ __
.
.. _...
__._.._-_.._.._-------_.-
D 1l) D j ) ) I
ft
t ») t ) 1: .) t-.-:.n
.~Y-L"'j.s
:t stn ~j"
..
~ .. lle1..s
liI
)
t
»
t J)
D -1-e. . ._.1)(
R
't .)
Q.
c.ol'\t~l\\A.e wd:~ 'Bo..ll~
lI.- c:.
E
t
'8
)J
~
1...
._._____.__._ ..._
.I.)
__.
~s 4:. L1'\
S t;'"
J
1
) J
l ) -t-~t-~--J-_t_
\.'" r~
8
F
....
L
~)
}\l
E
~
) t)
tt ~ \\.J :t 0...t
~_ . ~____J__ .~_. _
\_L~__ J-_,,____
\ l . j_~ \ t }
I-
0..
t t
t
Xl) )a..
K..
-t "" ~.~
t , () "" I
1- 10
* . . t ''''c:.-
G t"\
R
0
t
(',.0 t.
11..,&.-
N - .-_ . )-.~ ..
~ ~
~
~
Q.
\
1J I
'-
C-y~.s
.
F.'\
,
~
--l.J-.-- t --.1-L. 1.--ul ~ L.---.>-~-. .1l-L1JLJ-t. ) t. I
•
C'
-t ~ \'Ot e....
I F ,
L.
~
Jt l
m. - 5,J) -J---r=Du-lJl.J~
.
-.LD-l
.
.
ITl
m--J-L
).
~)
S
J S 1... S K.. 5
L.. ( \ . .
I'\.
~
~
.
R
Co.
SOl..
U
(;.t'-s I F~~ -Jr--.. h._. .-..1. -j --.. .-1.-l-y.5!~~
c. \
t B
m·-·-m-m
. . ) t m ))) J ) JJ m···.-J-J
11. .
to
I'
-0
i
I
.i
Jli'
I
)
~I})
1.-
Jl} .h) 2 ) . \ III lTI
t ~ t t
1
.
~
)
}))
:1) ~)
\ W\ f
n
i.J
U . l, \ ) .
'"
$
s~w
s:
,~h.
r
\:L > .1'-»)
UJ C 0
!1 ~
to
S S
I t 1}
),\
<1
, "" •
"".:1(' (\ 0"('
-tro."'V
J)
1 )
'fI
Use. "I'\~
1
I
l'
~5-
rJ p) \
1"'le* ~ l
1 t. » ) \
l..
L
JjI1Q~
l
:JIJ ~
1
.'
+"'t
3,
\OJ 0'"
A ...., ttl"
r) » >) -1 J ))
YlA.t
wt-\
I
P'} ). .h J J l
~wM
I
S S S
bf'<4..,S'lt. c....'l"\ck Y'~"j
J
JJJ ) wJJ
S ... _
61
"
r
1*: rJ:) Jr
WMW,
M
S
$
~
~·Ili j
) ) ) .s.\ t J
'\fJ
5 6
the., ()tht'y- a..ltev."",te/j
6Y1.
"'"'o . . cl
rD It 1'0 1 J. f
It - ). 1',\ ). l? J.. ) .. ~ J--eLL __._~_j-- t .. JJ-.-...J -J . .tJuu
twl
w w
l'tMw
:m. . ll11
) T.; J1j ) j J 1 l l 1W l J Jj J'-l}
. \ t:'
\\J
JT'+--LJ-J--.
. L.l-J-j--.t--~-U )) } il.-._1___.J---J ,\ ) t. \
~
sww
*" 1'\'\A.1I~i: p"'..-t boxPlc..j '\IJ st-L(.k,
*" st ~ c..k a. 1 Ut:ts
'
)
I.3t) r ) ) \ ) ) \' ).):>D \).
y
~
J
MMW
~ott
CJ r"'\ Wc.o(\..
MMw
.:Shc.k.
S'lJ
€)\
'M u..
wM
~
5
~
'II
J
...,
'II
SS
S
M'W
..) 'W
.~..,'"
6-.JS
....,i.tk.
Holck
l.,o5;.,£.l
o..V\cl
~
a:.
L.
'fJ
S.5
~
I,
I
l \.t ~ o..L .
.
j }-L j.
~
L
wsss
SwS
t.Yl
1J-J-l. t.
oS W S
. .
t.!.
f 1t -HI) J j j J
I .1) -1.1-).:1 t
S .., W
)
)
J--,JJ' ill
It
_
,l
~
r)
~)
t
'I"'\,Y"{,o.J~s't!..
.b WJ. ) M'W
.b) . l j J J \
'/lIt'\ W M
»»
'II
,
M· I'\eto..l W ~
M
m: - \ {~C
n.
~.s e.
r)
») ) l
) L t
, t
r:" '\!!/
-
}IJ
(
I
(-
Co
')
"
V)
-I
·I
-
i
A
d~
-1q
§
q, q !
,...!
!
I
,,;
.....,,
i
-'
i
-i
ctd,.
j
I
i
~!
•I
;
_i
I
!
!
I
~l
!
~
I
r
Ii
--+
,
~
i
H
l=t
'
,
~
(I,
3
(
~
. _ _ _...,._._ . _ _ _ _ _ _- - - ' \ I l I o . } . . ' . ' n...
,.~
.,..~"·
(.
(-
(
(.
-
~
(-
~
(e'
"
Ce
(e
-
.J:-
-
r-'
(
(
r
c-
~
Ivt;"
0-
o
+-t
.
~~
o~
II)~
-d ....
~3
-;:c
1
.~~ ~
...
~
, ...
~~
(-
..r
1,.s:~~
4J
(;. (-
";.1.
(-
'J
~
.J.S:
II
~..Jl
~
:S
~~
3~
.-tJ
~
~
-L
~
,
<='
.,
0-
(
I
I
I
j
~
'"
-;r:
I
.
s:).I
~
l-
I
(-
"'''
- "r
~J v
I
i
I
J
1
I
-
•
~cStr):
I'~
I
I
I
~
-z
t/)
--,A
.~
d
---J
d
Z
I
I
(-I
~
,
i
I
(I
I
I
I
!
d
I
(!
!
i
I
I
I
.i
I
I
i
~-~ I~
!
t~
(I
~i
~N
~
.,,<"
;) Sl0
--p
I
I'
I
I
~
:::!J
(I
I
I
!
I
~
I~
Jp
I
,,·'l~ I
""'1
i
I
:,..-..
I
.J
I
i
II
II
~~
,i
I
I
~-~uJ
J:
.
-
.-'.
J
-
I
i
~
~
d
!
I
..!J
~
!
(I
I
I
I
I
i
I
I
Ii
c)
I
~-- uJ
i
• oJ
Sl-
.
~
~
!.
.~
,
.~
0
~
'J
H
~
~
~
.--.-----,---------...... ...
..,
"
.,
I
~.' . .
(-
.-
(.
(-~
d
-
00
A
)(
(0
rJ
'"'"
~
(.
....
d
:z:
...-J
I
fP
I
cJ
~
l
(-
(I
~
ci
d
.,
I
I
;
-iA
\
I
:
i
I
i
I
i
'1~
(""'
"
-+~
I
!
"
I
(
(
II
I
I
H
...
"
® (-
(.
(.
(~
0
I
I
I
~~
\
I
I
&A..J)
~I
J¢
I
qa
I
J
~
•
co
,
(-
l-
I
(-
'
)-
I
-
'2"
(-I
oJ
.J
~
~
~. ~ ~
~
-'"
i
.I
i
0
H \=t ~ ~
~
-
C"l
~
r
~
t'
."
I
H
~
\=1
~
)
R .
1: --
'8
.. C-.
\
.~
'"
.
{,.......,..
. ' -t
\V
1)
'D
~
'.'
/
~
,\
,
.
) ))
t
't
F E. F
"e<j 1....,Jd j
t
0
t
.....
c 'B A Co"8 r.t c.. ~ R_
.5/6~ (
1)
cres.
(Pp) j
j'<4.......l<.J t4.Sie l"
JI------------------____________________________________
\
I
lIT. .-------
t·
---.----.-.. . . .,. . . _. __. . . _. . ._.
f
-~----
x.------------________________________________
:r. .-.. ,_<;___13...Et_~J!B... feu. c. . '..... .. __ .. ~____________
(+-f)
E
P'
(.v
_I_I_ _ _ __
r~t.
P4
re.,
1lI
rr .
t
t
rlJ»~
ff
T
J
K..
)
7
I
J
K
I
I
{
r
~
-
-
-
_. -
-
I