Commissioning note

Commissioned by and written for Megan Arns.

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Programme note

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The Bro Bot is here to help. He chimes in – confident, assured, and completely unnecessary. The percussionist, interrupted, tries to continue. The music twists and tumbles forward, moving with its own logic. The Bro Bot clears his throat. (“Actually Megan—”)

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A Chinese opera gong punctuates the flow with a raised eyebrow. The Bro Bot, undeterred, presses on. He knows how this piece should sound, had it been written by a better composer, and the percussionist isn’t playing it right. He tells her about percussion geniuses like Steve Reich. But she keeps playing. The Bro Bot grows more insistent... More desperate. The music builds. The tension crackles. And just when it all seems to reach a breaking point—

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Well, actually, some things don’t need explaining.

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Instrumentation

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• Old, worn-out cotton rag-type fabric – like men’s underwear, big old bedsheets, tea towels… (with the edges pre-snipped for easy tearing)

• Small opera gong with whimsical bend

• Snare

• High tom-tom

• Low tom-tom or bass drum

• Wooden slats (5, tuned low - high)

• MIDI Trigger

 

 

Electronic set-up

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To play the fixed electronics, you will need:

 

• A laptop with Ableton Live or free QLab software (there is currently no tablet/iPad version of QLab)

• A MIDI trigger like a foot pedal or drum pad (an electronic piano expression/sustain pedal won't work) and cable to connect it to the laptop

• Stereo speakers and mixing desk

• Audio interface and cables from laptop to mixing desk

 

For amplification (required)

 

• Directional microphones

• Microphone stand

• XLR cables connecting the microphone to the mixing desk