# What's your favorite non-conventional technique or sound of the instruments?.



## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

I was listening the first movement of Ligeti's violin concerto and it's surprising all the different techniques which Ligeti asks for the performer. The combined effect is an immense color.






In the first part, all the violins play only harmonics. A harmonic for himself is not something very "unconventional", but the combined effect of all the strings playing only harmonics gives a very unusual texture, that I have not heard before. Also, sometimes, they play with some kind of portamento but without pushing the string, i.e., the string does not makes contact with the fingerboard, they only move their fingers over the strings, lightly touching them. I'm sure this has a name.


----------



## mud (May 17, 2012)

I like the sound of sopranos singing zarzuelas, their voice has a different effect from most other vocal music in those.


----------



## Guest (Oct 29, 2012)

It's easier for me to identify composers who get the most variety of sounds out of conventional instruments--Helmut Lachenmann, Mark Andre, Simon Steen-Anderson. (I may be cheating by including the latter, since his thing is to amplify things, run them through megaphones, stuff like that. Cage was a great one for ampifying very tiny sounds, and lots of people have found that a fertile field of endeavor.)


----------



## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

lol, this one is really crazy, nice rhythmic effects in the final part:






Also, at 2:11 they use the technique I was saying before.


----------



## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Henry Cowell makes his piano howl.


----------



## Jaws (Jun 4, 2011)

Brazilian Tango music where violins are made to sound like percussion instruments.


----------

