Table & Chairs

A Project of Table & Chairs in Seattle, WA

Racer Session #126 | Evan Woodle | July 8, 2012

LISTEN TO THIS SESSION!

Tonight’s Session will once again take place at Luke Bergman’s house. If you need the address and/or directions, please email racersessions -at- gmail -dot- com.

Lately I’ve been interested in music that involves processes or systems as its main source of material. Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music” is one such piece of music; a rhythm spanning a single measure of 12/8 is played in phase with itself over the course of thirteen measures, with each measure being repeated many times. The first and thirteenth measures have the rhythm in unison with itself, while all the measures in between have it offset by [x - 1] eighth notes, where [x = the current measure number]. Although it is a simple process, the resulting compound rhythms are unexpectedly fresh and exciting.

For this Session, I will perform a solo drum set piece, the material of which is derived from a system I learned from Ted Poor. The basic idea of the system is that each hand adheres to patterns that differ in length from one another. For instance, the right hand may play a repeating pattern of [cymbal / floor tom / snare / high tom] while the left hand may play one of [cymbal / high tom / snare]. The possibilities are quite endless, and just as in “Clapping Music,” the resulting interactions between the two “voices” can be surprisingly interesting.