Masque de Fer
Masque de Fer
Martin Daigle (McGill University) & Gabriel Couturier (Université de Montréal)
May 1st, 2021
ABSTRACT:
Our research-creation project aims to integrate acoustic drums and various electronics in a semi-structured unconventional composition process. The bottom-up approach will allow both parties to be curious and create a novel piece featuring new timbres and new orchestration applications for the drum kit with electronics. The tools used for this research creation are standard drum kit, microphones, percussion sampling pads, and computer with Max MSP.
Similarly to popular music production, a studio version will proceed the live version, The compositional materials will come from the performer’s idiomatic relation to the instrument and be directly influenced by the composer. This bottom-up approach will allow for a variety of timbral possibilities which may have been overlooked in a top-down approach.
One of the most essential tools for this research is the microphones. All performances related to this research will be recorded in a controlled hall. These sonic materials will be used to choose, combine, and juxtapose events to create an ideal performance of this piece which will then serve as a reference for live performance.
The purpose of our research is to further develop the use of extended techniques for the drum kit and to elaborate on the notation of each technique. This process will serve as creative use of drum kit and percussion timbres to the benefit of composers. For our research, we will include common extended techniques within the percussion repertoire as well as new techniques which have not been used thus far in contemporary percussion.
The outcomes will be a new piece for solo drum kit and electronics as well as a database of extended techniques which will be part of our research-creation module for the TOR. The new piece will feature a variety of new timbres which will be taken from the database. The database of extended techniques may be useful as a composition tool for further research on drum kit and percussion. This research will inform orchestration by contextualizing each drum kit timbre within an electroacoustic composition. The composition will be a first trial for the use of our extended technique database as an orchestration tool.
