The introduction of altered tunings in violin playing expands the expressive range available to the violinist. This exploration operates on acoustic, psychoacoustic, and cultural levels, creating identifiable sonic textures that enable dynamic shifts in timbre and character.
In previous work, the goal was to reinforce the harmony implied by the notation through an analytical process. In contrast, a more intuitive approach focuses on timbre and enhancing the expressiveness of phrase shapes. For instance, consider a measure often interpreted as a glimmer of optimism as the harmony shifts to a major key.
This shift can be dramatically widened by contrasting the use of different harmonic structures. Furthermore, a specific note can be subtly altered, resulting in a perceptible microtonal shift. What began as a musical idea of darkness and light is made manifest acoustically as a change in register within a single pitch.
Just as in previous examples, the availability of subtle gradations of pitch allows dissonances to take on a gut-wrenching intensity. Consequently, the resolution becomes an oasis, highlighting the ebb and flow of harmonic tension.
The return of a specific tuning introduces a new element. As before, the intonation of minor sonorities maximizes the resonance of the violin. Now, the microtonal inflections also enhance the effect of a descending motif. Coming from the brightness, the lowered note in the soprano line is jarring. In terms of melodic contour, all of the inflected notes drive the line inexorably lower.
Opportunities to shape the music through this minute attention to detail abound and form the building blocks of “zones of light and dark” that operate on every level of the piece, portrayed in vivid color. From beat to beat, dissonance and resolution take on wrenching immediacy. From phrase to phrase, shifts between timbre-characters lift plateaus of optimism and carve out valleys of introspection and gloom. This motion is reflected on a formal level as the piece moves through different keys. And on a meta level, the entire piece connects as an overarching journey from darkness to light.
There is a popular idea that once a musician has developed a critical level of skill, and become a “virtuoso,” performing music is easy, and this feeling of ease qualifies a performance as great. This is an illusion. For a great performance to happen, a musician must strive to inhabit an elevated plane, a space above the heads of performer and audience where sound and consciousness intermix. The journey to this high country is difficult, and becomes ever more demanding the higher one ascends. Akin to practices like yoga and meditation that help people achieve clarity in their daily lives, the technical and intellectual tools of a violinist blaze the paths to the upper reaches. When you stumble, you won’t fall too far. When you veer onto unexplored spurs, you are not lost.
The structure woven by the study of intonation systems is a great asset for string players, and the acoustic properties that manifest not only as pitch but also harmony, timbre, and emotional expression make it a tool that enriches many facets of music. It has become a critical component in a holistic approach to sound, one part of a performance practice forged in the NYC contemporary music community that resonates equally in collaborations with composers on notated scores, as part of an improvised language, and in classical music.
To the wild places of sound and thought, let us travel.
