Description
Composer: Adam Scott Neal
Instrumentation: Electric guitar and computer (Pure Data patch)
Format: Downloadable PDF
Length: 9 pages total (including cover and front matter)
Size: 8.5 × 11 in.
The Pure Data patch is available for download here. It is also linked in the PDF.
Email me (adam at adamscottneal.com) for the optional video file (or play [muted] from YouTube).
Preview
Recording
Video presentation, with studio recording by Michael Sterling Smith:
Program note
cords is a short work for electric guitar and computer, with optional video. The performer controls a simple patch written in Pure Data that triggers sound files and changes delay times. The harmonies of this work were created by starting with a quartal harmony (as suggested by standard guitar tuning), then substituting pitches that are semi- or whole-tones away from this initial harmony. The delay times attempt to reflect the dissonance or consonance of the harmonies — consonant harmonies have slower delay times, while dissonant harmonies have fast delays. The piece was written for composer-guitarist Michael Sterling Smith.
Performances
- Chris Cresswell, Syracuse, NY 10/13/23
- Chris Cresswell, Syracuse, NY 10/8/21
- Chris Cresswell, Syracuse, NY 2/2/20
- Darren Nelsen, Eyedrum (Atlanta), 1/25/15
- Michael Sterling Smith, Florida Contemporary Music Festival, 3/14/14
- Michael Sterling Smith, ASN doctoral recital 11/25/13
Scholarship about the work
Fitzgerald, J. (2022). In search of synchresis: an examination of compositional approaches in new audiovisual works for solo electric guitar and visual projections. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2023.2183337
