Statistical Error
Vitals
Statistical Error, for 2 clarinets and at least 4 CD players, with preparation.
Performances
World Premiere: Tamara Aguilar and Ben Haeuser, clarinet. 5 mystery CD-player-ists. CSULB Composers' Guild, a few years back.
Notes
Statistical Error is my first stab at indeterminacy. It is an exploration of the role of mistakes in a musical performance and in a sight-reading environment, combined with the glitchy nature of some electronic sounds. Rather than shunning these imperfections, this piece embraces them. The musical content, both live and prerecorded, is unique to the particular performers. The live music performed is a combination of the original written score, and of a transcription of how the performers played it when they first saw it. It is accompanied by the uniquely choppy sound of CD players skipping ahead on Fast-Foward, using recordings of the performers' first play of the original sheet music.
**SPOILER ALERT**: If you are considering performing this piece, you may not want to read further. It could take some of the fun out of it. Or you may read further anyways. You have been warned.
Initially, the sheet music exists as an uncoordinated clarinet duet, with certain coordination points where the parts line up. Each player is given their part to sight read, with only a few moments to look it over. Each clarinetist (independent of the other, and, if possible, ignorant of what will happen) plays through the piece to the best of their ability. This reading is recorded. Each recording is then given to the other clarinetist (or to a third party, as conditions/preferences allow, though ideally it will go to the performers) to transcribe by ear. Without seeing the original music, the other clarinetist (or third party) transcribes it by ear, to the best of their ability, with full license to notate every rhythmic funkiness, missed note, squawk, etc. as desired. This becomes the secondary score.
A performance consists of three sections, during which different combinations of the following happen:
- Performers play original versions
- Performers play transcribed versions
- Persons at a table hold "fast-forward" on CD players with time-stretched versions of the recordings
- Persons fast-forward regular-speed versions of the recordings
"Then how do you explain someone like Alex?"
"Statistical Error."