# Magnetic tape question



## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

I was wondering, when you compose something that includes magnetic tape, how does it work when somebody else wants to perform that work? Do you send out a copy of that tape? I am thinking of some Nono works that use tape and live instruments. Can you get those tapes somewhere along with a score? I guess it would be digitalized by now. How does it work? In a piece like Electric Countetpoint by Reich, though, I would guess that you create the tape/file yourself, right?


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

As far as I know, you have to rent the materials from the publisher of the work, so I assume that you would give the tape or other digital elements to the publisher when you give them the other materials as well.

http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Steve-Reich-Electric-Counterpoint/7542



> Gtr soloist and gtr ensemble, ensemble consists of 12 gtr and 2 elec. bass gtr (ensemble may be live or on tape). *CD accompaniment available on rental*


As an aside, Boulez opined that works for tape and performer or ensemble don't leave any breathing room for performers or interpretation. Today of course we have better and more flexible technology.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I would assume that you would license out to play the work from the score publisher and then they would forward the necessarily materials to play it with. Still, I bet that some people try to re-create the work themselves instead of going through the bureaucracy.

For example, this Feldman piece I doubt the Russians were licensing from the original publisher.






I have a feeling that the guy just put on the CD or mp3 and went from there.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Already Respighi featured recorded sound to feature in "Pini di Roma" in 1924, the original score was amended with 78's with recordings of birds (don't remember the movement), there are cues in the score for when to play the records and for how long! (heard this recreated live at a memorial Respighi concert at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome conducted by the late Marcello Viotti many moons ago) 

/ptr


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

ptr said:


> Already Respighi featured recorded sound to feature in "Pini di Roma" in 1924, the original score was amended with 78's with recordings of birds (don't remember the movement), there are cues in the score for when to play the records and for how long! (heard this recreated live at a memorial Respighi concert at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome conducted by the late Marcello Viotti many moons ago)
> 
> /ptr


And here I always thought they used live birds for that music, with one virtuoso birdman to "play" the birds. Cage cover off -- birds sing; cage cover on -- silence.

Oh. Maybe that's Rautavaara who uses the live birds in, what is it? ... the Concerto for Birds and Orchestra (_Cantus Arcticus_)?

Or will you spoil things and tell me that score uses recorded birds, too?

Maybe the birds should unionize.

I wonder if Juilliard has a course on "bird performance"?


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks for the answers. Tape is an intriguing thing in classical music, though I'm not quite sure yet as to what exactly to make of it. Somehow, for me, the romantic notion of classical music being inherently unplugged, as it were, is quite strong.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2015)

Andreas said:


> Thanks for the answers. Tape is an intriguing thing in classical music, though I'm not quite sure yet as to what exactly to make of it. Somehow, for me, the romantic notion of classical music being inherently unplugged, as it were, is quite strong.


Classical music as generally understood has been around a lot longer than electricity is all. And as soon as there was electricity, there were people using it, and not just Resphigi, though a lot of the other early guys were also Italian.

Anyway, music before electricity didn't use electricity. That's not any sort of notion, romantic or otherwise, just a wee bit tautology. Though I'm glad you came up with "romantic notion of classical music." Cute!!


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2015)

some guy said:


> Classical music as generally understood has been around a lot longer than electricity is all.


Pinko propaganda. Vivaldi's concerto for turntablist and large orchestra is fraudulent now, is it?


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

some guy said:


> Anyway, music before electricity didn't use electricity.


Well . . . even then maybe some of it did. There's the Clavecin Électrique of 1759. But then I guess there was electricity of a sort at that time if that is the case.










I used this to strengthen my resolve that even classical music is highly electronic, or to quote Wayne Shorter, "There's nothing wrong with electricity. Your nervous system runs on electricity." (Or something along those lines.)


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

My question is, what happens when the tape starts to wear out? I guess the Pines of Rome (I had thought it was Gli Ucelli) 78s are digitized by now?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

nathanb said:


> Pinko propaganda. Vivaldi's concerto for turntablist and large orchestra is fraudulent now, is it?


Here you go:


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2015)

Albert7 said:


> Here you go:


I'm 99% sure you didn't get the joke.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2015)

nathanb said:


> Pinko propaganda. Vivaldi's concerto for turntablist and large orchestra is fraudulent now, is it?


And the saxophone/tuba duet starting at bar 278 is to die for.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

nathanb said:


> Pinko propaganda. Vivaldi's concerto for turntablist and large orchestra is fraudulent now, is it?


Something about that clarinet-saxophone-synthesiser section seems strange to me...


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

MoonlightSonata said:


> Something about that clarinet-saxophone-synthesiser section seems strange to me...


True but it's just as awesome as Bach on electric guitar.


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