“Agency is the medium through which games take place and activate human’s perception and cognitive structure”,1 standing to Nguyen previous mention. Cops and robbers activate agency - specifically movement - through a process of sounds identification. In this scenario, the process is reversed, as the perception of two identical sounds catalyzes the game's functionality and fluidity. A unison makes a player move, therefore the game flows. Consequently, it generates a sequence of actions, a stream of agencies unfolding over time, much like how a musical structure would unfold. Through the iterative presentation of stimuli that elicit agency, the games evolve, feeding the music, and reciprocally, the music feeds the gameplay.
Cops and robbers is a game piece for an undefined instrumentation that has been commissioned by Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in 2023, for the second edition of Shapes Songs, the ensemble’s contemporary music series of concert focused on educational proposals for young performers. The selected performers for the commission were Leung Tak Wing, principal bassoonist of the ensemble, and Ho Yannis Yan Lam, bassoonists of 8 years old.
The two “players”, the professional and the student, are also meant to switch roles, allowing the student to dive into the dynamics of real improvisation, learn new techniques, and experience different points of view.
As most of the game pieces, this work is based on a game logic that lead the improvisation. There is no defined outcome, as well as a “right” way to do it or not - since the game dynamic are respected!
Moreover, the most important thing is to have fun! And not only playing music as always, but actually playing the game.
This piece could actually be played by any number of musicians and instrument types, and the length of the piece is not pre-determined and can be set by the ensemble.
The roles mentioned in the description are the ones of the original games, Cops and Robbers indeed. The basic principle relies on the division of players into two teams of which one chases and the other is chased. The winner is determined according to the teams: who chases has to chased all the players of the other teams, while who is chased needs to not get taken only. To survive, basically.
The game starts with the two players being randomly assigned the role of Cop or Robber. This could happen making two paper cards with names on it and each player drawing on of it as well as throwing a dice, playing "rock paper or scissors" or using an online device.The media doesn’t really matter. After that, the players have also to “draw” one of the musical fragment of the previous page. Both of these items must not be shown to the other player, in case more than two people are playing.
The Robber moves away from the stage and goes to the back of the hall, or to the farthest point possible.The Cop, on the other hand, stays on the stage - from now on, the Prison.
At this point you have to start playing, freely improvising on the provided musical material. Every fragment is in D. That means that a player can chose to improvise on that pitch as well as to move on different, following a traditional tonality asset (tonic, dominant ecc) as well as others (modal, esatonal ecc). These transpositions could match the nature of the material (= transposing an esatonal material into the esatonic scale, transposing a mode in a modal way). That is meant to happen also according on the players skills and knowledge.
Everything could also be in D from the start till the end - as mentioned, there’s no right or wrong way to play this piece since the game dynamic are respected. Also, the players don’t really need to know the names or the cataloguing of each scale. The only requirement is that they feel comfortable enough to play while dealing with the relationship with the other player.
Several dynamics can be brought into play: the Cop performs a regular pattern and the Robber interrupts it with a single sound or rhythmically incisive motive on the same note; the Cop performs short snippets as if to call out and waits for the Robber’s reply and then tries to interrupt it. Both of the players are free to move a little bit in their places.
In the actual game, the key is the catching. In this case, catching consists of playing the same notes, which results in the Robber taking a step towards Prison. To be clearer: if during the improvisation the lines of the two players overlap and they happen to play the same note (nb. does not apply to octave distance), the Cop must first of all realize it, then stop on that note and play it longer and in full volume.The Robber has to reply on it by playing the same note as well, reaching a unison and consequently advancing one step. Then the improvisation starts once again. The Robbert wins if they doesn't reach the Prison. The Cop, obviously, wins if the thief goes to it. To declare the end of the piece, the players must play two Ds together, in the lowest register and in an affirmative character.
There are different phases of the game, corresponding to the different times of the Day: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. Each phase of the Day involves a different texture or character:
- Night: rest, closure. Slow, calm, long and very relaxed sounds;
- Morning: awakening. Calmly and at ease, without too much hurry, begin to intensify;
- Afternoon: regular, clear activity, with emphasis but without overdoing it;
- Evening: Unleashing of notes!
These phases must be stated by an external narrator or a source visible/audible to both players and the audience.They must change only according to the will of the narrator (who thus acts almost like a director). If a narrator is not available, a timer or stopwatch can also be used, choosing fixed durations, but still clearly visible to the players and the audience. If the two players feel comfortable they can also have no external scanning whatsoever, and manage the development of the piece as they wish. This solution is preferable to the timer one.
The performance of this piece proceeded surprisingly smoothly, and the audience's laughter during the video indicated their appreciation and engagement. Despite the challenges of being in a different country, careful preparation of the predetermined material helped mitigate potential uncertainties and complexities, particularly important in an educational context. Nevertheless, the piece remains adaptable, capable of being performed with varied materials without specific guidance from the composer. Furthermore, the selection of unison as the "trigger" can be adjusted based on the performers' proficiency; more experienced musicians may opt for different intervals or chords, especially in ensembles of three or more players. Additionally, the interval itself may evolve throughout the game dynamics; as the Robber approaches the prison, the interval diminishes, albeit with prior declaration.
Cops and Robbers is a case of a game piece that works well as an exercise to develop improvisational practice. Its simple underlying dynamics, extremely sparse and essential, minimize cognitive load and thus directing focus towards listening and responding to the sonic cues driving the game forward. Despite its simplicity, the gameplay allows for considerable expressive freedom. For instance, jazz ensembles or experienced improvisational groups can produce more complex sonic outcomes, with the game becoming secondary to the music's form.
Even the choice of the pitch parameter is tailored to an educational or contextual dimension and can be adjusted based on instruments and circumstances. However, it is important for this parameter to be recognizable yet not immediately reproducible. for example, rhythm, in this case, would not be the suitable parameter due to the ease with which it could be immediately replicated. On the other hand, however, parameters like volume are also unsuitable because they may not be objectively discernible, considering the players' distance and positioning relative to their instruments.