Findings on Notation from the years 2010-2019 Last update 3.III.2019
Here I present my developed conventions of notating for different instruments from over the years.
All markings of playing mode in my notation are specific to their context. An instruction will typically be canceled by the marking ord., by a rest of several bars, or by a double barline. For clarity, some instructions only apply for the passage when they are marked under a bracket.
Here I present my developed conventions of notating for different instruments from over the years.
On rhythm and time signatures
Incomplete triplets & time signatures (such as 5/12 and 8/12) = skipping the last note in a tuplet, for a felt change against the stability of the prevailing pulse. The last one of the notes that usually should be inside the tuplet is missing. This is additionally marked with a dashed line on the tuplet.
On timing
If a bar has ticks marked above it and pitches without stems, the pitches are to be started approximately and sustained until a caesura or end of a thick sustaining line. The ticks indicate beats as in the time signature.
On pitch
Accidentals: all contextually new pitches have accidentals. Because I use pitch space quite equally regardless of any diatonicity or reference to a keyboard, I also indicate natural signs on the pitches that are not especially raised or lowered. If a pitch does not have any accidental immediately before it or in the same bar, the level of that pitch should be approximate.
Microtones: in most of my works, standard quartertone markings of 50¢ are used. Arrow signs alter pitch by 33 ¢ to the direction of the arrow. Plus and minus signs on the left upper corner of the accidental will raise or lower the pitch by another 12th tone where necessary.
Glissando line, thick: the sliding starts immediately and is as steady and legato as possible. Any beats covered by the glissando are shown without noteheads and should not be given extra attacks.
Glissando line, thin: at every stem during the glissando, there are light attacks during the sliding. At a tenuto mark, stay on the pitch for a short moment.
Vibrati are shown as rounded lines indicating approximate speed and range (fast vs. slow and narrow vs. wide).
On dynamics and nuances
Crescendi and diminuendi that have no ending dynamic indicated will only have a small change and will end with the neighbouring dynamic on a scale of ppp, pp, p, mf, f, ff, fff. All markings of playing mode or technique only apply to their direct context, typically within one bar only or until the end of a bracket.
On timbres on different instruments
spiral symbol = continuous movement or action. On bowed string instruments, the rotation of the bow uses both the up-bow and down-bow as well as movement along the string, played with bow hair between tasto and ponticello.
Z on stem = unmeasured rapid tremolo, or granular sounds and actions. On the woodwinds, Flatterzunge.
damping symbol in circle = total damping of the sound.
k.c. / key clicks = key click using the sounds of hitting and releasing keys. Be careful to not release keys audibly when that pitch is not called for!
soffio molto = air only. Breathy sound.
bisb. = rapid alternating use of at least two different fingerings for the almost same (+- 30 cents) pitch. Legato by default.
M (on wind instruments) = a multiphonic sound that incorporates the written pitch or a microtonally nearby pitch.
M (on string instruments) = Multiphonic flageolets. The most convenient and best responding flageolet can be chosen unless shown in score. The grips and practical performance tips can be found at www.cellomap.com. Multiphonic positions (finger’s distance as how many percents of the string is damped) and the numbers of partials that sound above the fundament are often indicated in the score.
M (on the piano) = play a complex flageolet sound (a multiphonic) on by lightly touching a string and pressing the corresponding key. Use gloves while touching the string. See chart for the percentages and multiphonic positions in Vesikkala: Multiphonics of the Grand Piano – Timbral Composition and Performance with Flageolets (pdf online).
half-damped (on the piano) = damp strongly at the start of the string before the winding starts.
damped (on the piano) = damp strongly at the start of the string at a large stretch of the string, focus on hammer noise. No pitch is audible, only a relative difference to the adjacent strings is audible
seagull (gliss.)= play a glissando, keeping a flageolet grip with a steady distance of the fingers. The pitches will change unexpectedly.
Open-diamond noteheads indicate finger pressure that is used for flageolets.