In certain instances, within the complex endeavor of defining the anthropological concept of "game," a proposed classification has emerged, which categorizes practices based on the objects utilized. This approach allows for the easy differentiation between games employing cards and those involving a ball, as well as those utilizing a board versus those relying on the moving body, and so forth. Such classification proves intriguing as it parallels a segment of humanity's historical categorization, broadly outlined as the Copper Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and beyond. The emphasis on technological evolution stands as a pivotal element, historically viewed as progress-oriented, with advancements in metallurgical techniques often correlating with enhancements in human living standards. However, this correlation does not necessarily extend to games. In the realm of artistic disciplines, it is more appropriate to turn to theories within communication sciences, particularly media studies. These theories posit that media changes yield variations that do not always signify progress but rather reflect the socio-cultural shifts of the era, which may not directly translate to improvements in artwork quality. Therefore, such subdivisions in the anthropological and/or artistic context may offer intriguing insights only when further explored or examined over time, especially considering games deeply embedded in specific cultures for extended periods. Left in isolation, such classifications may lack substantial utility. It is crucial to consider humans' approaches to individual tools of play, or the manner in which a particular tool fosters agency and engagement.
This specification is important because more than gaming dynamics, tools of play have attracted the attention of many composers, without necessarily incorporating playful dynamics within the formal structure. This resulted in a sort of appropriation of a tool without its related instrumental significance and agency.
While Italy is skyrocketing in tennis, what's happening recently with the Dutch team? The nation's top three players seem to be a little distracted... Turns out their tennis balls were acting wild – not following the usual script! The tennis world buzzed with theories – blame it on the court conditions or faulty balls?
The Dutch team's ball drama wrote a peculiar chapter in history, exposing athletes' stubbornness and recklessness in the unpredictable world of sports! Players, please SERVE!
This playful description served as the introduction to Serve!, a piece born from the interest in using a gaming object within the realm of musical performance. Composed between September and December 2023, it is a work for three percussionists who have at their disposal a large number of tennis balls to explore various surfaces and resonant instruments in the surrounding environment, enhanced by the use of amplification and electroacoustic effects. The environment, thus, consisting of the stage of a theater with various percussion instruments and some specially made objects, supplemented by custom amplification systems, serves as the playground in which the musicians have specific rhythmical instructions to follow but more freedom in terms of timbre and space. Indeed, the performers have the freedom to strike different surfaces or to manage certain rhythmic sections composed of repetitive and combined modules in a free manner, choosing how long a given section lasts or how much sound is available, depending on the force with which a ball is thrown. The structure of the piece is therefore highly refined, as the focus is on the range of approaches the performer has to an instrument different from the usual, thus producing different sound attitudes and requiring a different (and new) familiarity with the instrument. The score of Serve! does not contain textual instructions; however, having the opportunity to work with professional percussionists and an excellent sound designer, it benefits from the high skills of these figures and thus outlines a choreography, an imagined dramaturgy mainly based on visual suppositions, and a formal development based on rhythm. Most sections were composed in close collaboration with the performers, if not on their own suggestion, thus basing the sound material on the forms of agency they developed over time, plus a final fragment that instead shapes minimal sound material to enhance the complexity of the whole through a combinatorial process and an enhancement of electronic sound processing, in order to achieve a final climax worthy of the jubilation of a stadium at the end of a match. The scarcity and relative simplicity of the rhythmic material in this section also contribute to obtaining a certain degree of spontaneity in the performers, almost improvisation, engaged until then in a not-easy (non-trivial?) succession of choreographies and more structured and challenging events, given the focus on the physical dimension not very common in traditional percussion class performances.
In the case of Serve!, the interest lies precisely in the transposition of an element seemingly distant from concert halls, thus in the alienating effect it provokes. Tennis balls are not used primarily for their expressive qualities or agency, which are indeed explored but not exaggerated, in an overt attempt to avoid the outright cataloging of effects—exposing all sounds producible by a particular object—a common practice in contemporary music circles. Tennis balls serve as a facilitator for a certain type of physical engagement, with which percussionists, in particular, among all performers, may perhaps be more comfortable given their proficiency with a wide range of instruments of various types and nature. This spurs an exploratory attitude while maintaining a lighthearted and contented nature, without too many pretensions. In this sense, the performance leans more toward Umberto Eco's definition of "play" than that of "game," opting for a formulation of the definition of a "game piece" as a composition with carefree and enjoyable characteristics.
