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2. Parsimonia
3. EMP Triangle
4. Sinew0od
>> Patches
1. TCP/IP: NIME
2. TCP/IP: Sestina
3. TCP/IP: Reconciliation
4. Re-patching Bach
5. Triangular Progressions
6. Sinew0od for Bass Clarinet
7. Sinew0od for Halldorophone
8. Sinew0od for Buchla
Publications >>
3. Live Coding the Global Hyperorgan
© Mattias Petersson, 2025
Functional translation
Although the starting point for the transcription was the original score, we quickly realized that a functional translation approach was necessary (as discussed in the 'Interview excerpts' 3 and 4). For example, multiphonics are much more flexible on a clarinet than on a Paetzold, and they also sound very different with a more obvious fundamental and tonality. The function of the original Paetzold multiphonics was to play with the spectral qualities of the feedback, and since this did not work in the same way with the clarinet, this was instead implemented as a physical gesture of moving towards or away from the air speaker, causing a similar musical function, but more idiomatic to the bass clarinet.
The fermata bars, where Petrini covered the microphone to excite the feedback, also required a functional approach due to the fact that the microphone was hidden inside of the instrument. Here, we used a noisy effect, discovered by Ek when pressing all the keys of the clarinet at the same time, closing the tube completely. It is technically a similar action, as it creates a feedback chamber for the microphone. Musically, this had a similar effect of temporarily stopping the timeline of the piece for a moment of meditation on the sonic affordances of the feedback (see 'Interview excerpt 4' for a demonstration).
The score
The score is an important part of the Sinew0od, both as a module in the system and as a musical composition. In practice, the score is "a hybrid of a set of instructions for actions to perform within the system and a description of the musical results to aim for" (Petersson & Ek, 2022). The original version incorporated a quite specific set of interactions an playing techniques, as shown in the image above.
In trying to create responsiveness in the transcribed version, we explored different registers, which eventually resulted in several transpositions. First, the score was transposed a minor third up. Second, the drones of the feedback system were lowered by a major sixth, which had quite a radical effect due to the small speakers' frequency response. The image below is page 3 from the final version of the transcribed score.
The most effective step in this direction was accomplished by moving the microphone to the inside of the neck of the clarinet (using the mount intended for the Rumberger K1) and creating an opening for air to leak out by means of duct tape. This enabled a much more responsive system, functionally similar to the original but with a distinct voice of its own. The speakers were also moved a lot closer to the instrument, with the floor speaker mounted directly on the bell, pointing towards the inside of it, and the air speaker positioned only 10-20 centimeters from the instrument's neck where the microphone was.
In the original feedback control system, the volume pedal controlling the level of the Max patch's drones had a significant effect on the Paetzold's affordances (as shown in the video 'Interview excerpt 2' to the right). However, in the bass clarinet setup it had an insignificant effect compared to the position of the instrument in relation to the speakers. Thus, this pedal was removed from the system in this version and the calibration of the Max patch basic level is instead carried out in the setup stage.
A more traversable path was found when returning to the bass clarinet, this time putting the DPA inside the neck of the instrument, using the mount intended for the K1 microphone. The high sensitivity of the DPA resulted in a much more responsive system, similar to the original in behavior, yet unique in timbre. The air speaker was moved close to the microphone, and the floor speaker was mounted directly on the bell to facilitate as much feedback as possible. Upon exploring this system, we found that the effect of the volume pedal was insignificant compared to, e.g., proximity to the air speaker and other parameters and it was eventually removed from the system.
Patch 6: Sinew0od for Bass Clarinet
The Sinew0od system has been used as a starting point in an investigation of how translation and transcription can be used as artistic methods to understand and compose with the different agents within a cybernetic system such as this.
The pilot study was a transcription for bass clarinet that was carried out in collaboration with clarinetist Robert Ek, and the resulting piece was presented for the first time on March 26, 2021, at a public concert at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. This study was thoroughly presented in a co-authored article for the ECHO Journal (Petersson & Ek, 2022). The descriptive text below includes excerpts from this article.
The Transcription
The version for bass clarinet started out testing the system more or less unchanged, and as an attempt to retain all functions of both the system and the score. However, within the feedback system, the agency of the bass clarinet was different to the Paetzold, and in some ways it could be described as more powerful (as discussed in the 'Interview excerpt 1' video below), and, in order to achieve similar functionality, its actions had to be revised. During the initial workshops, in trying to understand the system's lack of response, we switched back and forth between the bass clarinet and a Bb clarinet, testing different combinations of microphones and speaker positions. Due to the characteristics and sonic identity, and also realizing how big a part of the system's affordances the Philips SBA-1500 speakers are, we decided to keep them, despite them seeming a bit to weak in comparison to the great dynamic range of the clarinet. The microphones used during the workshops were a DPA-4099 and a Rumberger K1, both one at a time and in combination. The Rumberger is a piezo-microphone that fits inside the instrument's neck, while the DPA is a high-quality condenser microphone, similar to the one Petrini used in the original version.
Both the Bb clarinet and the bass clarinet showed similar agencies within the Sinew0od system, with abilities to quite easily out-power the feedback. The silent key presses to alter the pitch of the feedback still worked, but as soon as even a tiny bit of air was applied, its significance went away, leaving only a distorted, kazoo-like clarinet sound for us to work with. Thus, a decision to stick to the original idea of using the bass clarinet was made, as it is closer in register to the Paetzold, and to instead try to make adaptations in order to weaken it in regard to the system.
The video above is from the first performance of Sinew0od for Bass Clarinet, played by Robert Ek in Lilla Salen at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, March 26, 2021.
The Philips SBA-1500 speakers, mounted on a stand during a rehearsal in Ek's studio.
Photo: Robert Ek.
Excerpt 1 from the interviews made with Robert Ek and Anna Petrini, as part of the pilot study (Petersson & Ek, 2022). Here, the discussion concerns how the instruments change within the Sinew0od system.
Excerpt 2 from the interviews made with Robert Ek and Anna Petrini, as part of the pilot study (Petersson & Ek, 2022). In this clip, we discuss the control and modulation affordances of the system.
Excerpt 3 from the interviews made with Robert Ek and Anna Petrini, as part of the pilot study (Petersson & Ek, 2022). This clip concerns the functional translation aspects of the process of transcription.
Excerpt 4 from the interviews made with Robert Ek and Anna Petrini, as part of the pilot study (Petersson & Ek, 2022). This clip discusses the functional translation of the fermata bars of the original version.
