Guide to the score

Instrumentation

• Any instruments

• Pitched and unpitched instruments.

• Pitched instruments should be able to play 12 distinct pitches, in any temperament, any register.

• Unpitched instruments: 12 different sounds (could be spread accross several instruments)

Notes on the setup

You will need to display 3 windows on your screen:

• ninjam
• Hubs
• score

We will also need to connect all together into a video conferencing system. Those videos will be displayed in the Hubs environment but if you actually prefer to see the people you're playing with, you should make it visible on your own screen as well. The view in the Hubs will come with significant delay.

Notes on performance

The piece oscilates between metered and unmetered sections. A lot of things in the score are relative and we employ a very loose approach to transitions between different states indicated in the score.

Ninjam metronome is used throughout the score and pertinent in metered sections. You may want to ignore the metronome in unmetered sections. The tempo will change throughout the piece but those changes will be introduced during the unmetered section.

If using a microphone, try to keep the metronome signal low or in your headphones so it is not heard by other participants or the public.

If your instrument does not let you play sustained notes, use other techniques (tremolo, tremolando) in places where the rhythmic box indicates longer notes. Always try to blend with others. You can make your own mix of all instruments in the Ninjam window. Your local mix will not affect what others are hearing.

Notes on the score

The score is displayed in the browser window (the URL of the score is in our private chat in the chatroom topic). All players follow the same score page and all elements of the score are synchronised to all players, they all see the same thing, except for the part with pitches. Most of the time, the group is divided in two and the pitch collections are different (but complementary).

We take advantage of Ninjam's metronome simplicity and we stick to its 4/4 nature. The only thing that will change throughout the piece is the tempo. The score is dynamic but you don't have to interact with it, the conductor will. Glance at the score regularly and adapt to the changes. The synchronisation between the score and the metronome is relative. Due to the nature of playing with Ninjam, the synchronisation between the players may be offset by the length of one or more measures. The score simply indicates a "state" that the players should be on and the changes should be handled gradually. It is expected that the transitions between one state and another last one or more measures.

Explanations of the score elements:

1. Name box. Type your name or nickname. This is what will appear in the connected players list.
2. Connection. Type in the IP address of the host score.
3. Current BPM reading
4. Current pitch collection. Play any of those pitches in any order
5. Send audio to Hubs world
6. Connected players list. Please indicate your timezone with your nickname (such as Michal-EST or Michal-UTC-7)
7. Rhythm indication box

About pitches:

• The notes should be played in the registers that they are notated. Occasional octave doublings at the extremes are encouraged. Use them sparingly.
• There is no need to play all the notes within one section. Find interesting melodies/arpegios.
• Pitches can be substituted for other sounds from non-pitched or prepared instruments, synthesized, concrète/found sounds, vocal utterances, etc. Try to keep the substitutions consistent, i.e. recurring pitches will be interpreted by the same source.

See here for all pitch collections.

About rhythms

The metered parts are meant to be somewhat "square", at least initially. They will often start with one or two notes per measure. Tacet (silence) every a few (2-3) measures is encouraged.

The score basically shows a box that represents one measure with four beats in it. If the box is blank inside, don't play. If a texture appears, play. The duration of the note is relative to the length of the box. The dynamics (volume) of the played note will be indicated by the brightness of the texture inside the box. Articlulate freely.

If there are less than 3 beats showing, play exactly as indicated. For 3 or 4 beats, you can start taking rhythmic liberties but stick with the 4/4 groove.

A downbeat note could also be short. The length of the note should be relative to the space it occupies in the bar or between two beats. It does not need to have any exact length. However, in the metered sections, everyone should play as close as possible to the metronome mark.

A metered note may fall on more than one beat. Play those notes as indicated.

Unmetered section will be marked with "notes" moving away from the beat lines. Once again, transition slowly. It is encouraged to ignore (and even mute) the metronome and play notes at the indicated density. Listen to others. Adjust according to the nature of the actual sounds used. Use your judgment.

Tansitions

As mentioned before, the piece oscilates between metered and unmetered "states". The transitions between the two states should be fluid and take approximately the time equivalent to length of the measure at current BPM. Use of silence during the transition is encouraged but not necessary. There is no need to react to a change of state immediately. Finish your musical thought before advancing to the next state (the negation with one measure length transition is intentional).

The Duck

When the yellow duck turns on, activate the "microphone" icon in your Hubs window. You should be set up in such a way that your instrument signal is feeding the browser input.