:|: click to enlarge :|:

Performance at Cold Storage | Los Angeles, CA | September 2006
April Guthrie - cello
Thadeus Frazier-Reed - computer

Program 4, Pump On ... Go || 6'30" mp3

program 4,pump on...go for cello and computer user is a piece in the form of a computer game. It consists of a computer terminal for the computer user with a second, duplicate screen for the cellist to view.
  The four octave range of the cello and a color spectrum have been split into eighty parts. Each of the pitches is represented by one of these colors in a linear fashion. The computer screen shows the relationship of the color spectrum to the frequency spectrum. The pitches are arranged from low to high, left to right across the screen, with the octave listed beneath.
  The cellist improvises a series of small phrases throughout the piece. As the cello plays, the computer analyzes the incoming pitches and displays the equivalent color in a box at the top of the screen. A black line running through the colored square helps to indicate how high or low the represented pitch is. It is the job of the computer user to watch how the colors change and, for each phrase, choose colors that are displayed. The user chooses that color by clicking the corresponding box in the spectrum in the center of the screen. This will in turn activate a resonant band-pass filter with a center frequency equal to the color chosen. The computer user should try to accurately match the color but discrepancies between the pitch played and the color chosen are inevitable and are intrinsic to the piece.
  The activation of the filter is displayed in the green, bottom third of the screen. The cellist should not use a pitch again once it has been chosen; even if (s)he does the user will not be able to choose the matching color again. The filters affect a soundfile playing in the background passing small frequency bands with each selection the user makes.
  This same process repeats throughout, slowly revealing the underlying sound.

The recording featured in the piece is a field recording of
the main fountain at California Plaza at 350 S. Grand Avenue in
Los Angeles, California

If you are interested in performing this piece please contact me. It can be performed by other instruments that have the same range as the cello (piano, trombone, harp etc.)

View Full Score

Performances:
09/20/2006 :|: Cold Storage 2 :|: April Guthrie - cello, Thadeus Frazier-Reed - computer :|: Los Angeles, CA
??/??/2006 :|: Sounding Out, CalArts :|: April Guthrie - cello, Thadeus Frazier-Reed - computer :|: Valencia, CA
03/02/2006 :|: You Too Can Play Difficult Music, Machine Project :|: April Guthrie - cello, Roberto Lewis - computer :|: Los Angeles, CA