Fausto Romitelli
TRASH TV TRANCE per chitarra elettrica (2002)
RICORDI
L’Editore è grato a Tom Pauwels per la sua preziosa collaborazione The Publisher is grateful to Tom Pauwels for his invaluable collaboration
© Copyright 2005 by CASA RICORDI - Universal Music Publishing RICORDI S.r.l. Tutti i diritti riservati - All rights reserved Printed in Italy 139457 ISMN M-041-39457-_
PERFORMANCE NOTES (by Tom Pauwels) One of the main formal characteristics of TTVT is repetition. Although it is constantly varied, steadily mutated and continually disrupted, realizing the repetitive aspect of this work requires an unusual sense of continuity on essentially two levels: sound and body. Obviously you need to master the score and be able to realize some complicated passages. For example, measures 70 to 95 involve a developing bass line using the col-legno part of the cello-bow in the right hand while the left hand taps the fingerboard, describing a meticulously notated escalation. This is clearly not only a matter of studying the part and the notes. One has to find the necessary playing stability on the guitar, place the bow within arm's reach so that the sound will not be interrupted when picking up the bow and find a sound that allows enough sustain for the left hand tapping noises whilst making the bow sound on the sixth string (in this case an overdrive with a considerable output level, not to much distortion and enough high-end could do the job and create the desired flowing polyrhythmic-image). All these parameters should be studied and developed at the same time in order to create a more or less comfortable performance situation. It's probably advisable to explore both the E-bow and the loop-sampler before working on TTVT. The E-bow requires a sure and steady right hand technique and in order to be in control of the Loop-sampler you need to get used to stamping on the right knobs at the right time (for vital functions such as recording, overdubbing, playing once, stopping and reversing the loop). Below you will find a diagram of the set-up and technical details of the electronic instruments and other devices used in recording and performance. This piece was prepared, rehearsed and recorded in close collaboration with the composer. However, that doesn't mean that one needs to stick to the particular makes of effects listed below. Please consider this introduction a demystification of instrumental trickery and not a dogmatic statement on how to play TTVT. In the end it's more important that the piece sounds "really traaashy" as Fausto might have said.
III
GUITAR Since TTVT is rooted in raw blues and Pink-Floyd psychedelia a Stratocaster would be a good choice (no telecasters or heavy-metal memorabilia). You need a guitar which has a whammy bar fixed onto a vibrato bridge as is usually found on a standard Stratocaster. A double-locking Floyd Rose bridge would also be an option and is common to comparable makes of guitar. The ideal pick-up situation would consist of one single coil close to the fingerboard and two humbuckers. The input jack has to be located on top of the soundboard to facilitate unplugging and inserting the jack. AMPLIFIER Choose a fine tube power amp that you are able to turn up loud enough to produce some degree of powerstage saturation and get more dynamic depth and greater tonal richness. The amp should already sound good without effects, effects without a good amp sound bad. A 50 watt amplifier will prove loud enough in most situations. REQUISITES 1 coin (2 EURO) 1 metal bottleneck 1 e-bow 1 cello-bow 1 sponge (the type which has a layer of abrasive green material) 1 plectrum 1 battery-operated electric razor EFFECTS The pedals are listed as they should be arranged on the floor from left to right. The Loop sampler output is cabled directly into the amplifier's input. For the performance, all the pedals should be powered by batteries in order to avoid parasitic noise and interference between power adapters. # 1 Volume-Distortion Pedal For Example : GEORGE DENNIS / GD 110 This pedal allows the player to combine varying amounts of distortion and volume. Suggested Settings: distortion (65%), frequency (50%) , level (75%) # 1 Distortion Pedal For Example : MXR M-104 DISTORTION In the middle ranges of the Output and Distortion controls, you'll find soft-clipped distortion tones that sound quite retro-authentic. Turning the Distortion up higher produces classic fuzz tones (for Bars 1 up to 46) Suggested Settings for this section: output (95%) / distortion (65%). Diminish the output level later on (see detailled notes). # 1 Delay Pedal For Example: IBANEZ De7 DELAY/ECHO Suggested settings: Use this pedal in Delay mode and switch to the following Delay time range: 120-650 milliseconds. Adjust the Delay time (=6/7), the numbers of Repeat (=5/6) and the Delay Level (=6). # Wah-Wah For Example : CRY BABY Through rocking your foot back and forth on the pedal you can change the effect. Toe down produces more treble, heel down produces more bass. # 1 Loop Sampler For example: LINE 6 DELAY MODELER (this device includes a programmable delay and a 14 second loop sampler) Suggested Settings: First select the Loop Sampler mode of operation. While using this mode, you can programme a Pre-Loop Echo with the four knobs in the middle (Delay Time, Repeats, Tweak and Tweeze). IV
For Trash TV Trance you won't need pre-loop echo so therefore make sure that the Tweeze-knob (which functions as a volume control for the Pre-Loop Echo) is turned to ZERO.
DETAILLED NOTES Abbreviations: + = Switch on í = Switch off RH = Right Hand LH = Left Hand LS = Line 6 Loop Sampler VP = Volume Pedal (same device as the Distortion Pedal) MXR = Distortion Pedal 1 GD = Distortion Pedal 2 DP = Delay Pedal WW = Wah-Wah Preparations before playing + MXR (output 100%), Coin in LH, E-bow in RH switched to harmonic position Bar 1 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to start recording, hit the 6th string with a coin and realise a diminuendo with the VP Bar 2 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop recording and play the recorded Bar 1 Bar 3 double click knob D of the LS on the downbeat to invert the loop Bar 4 unplug the guitar jack with the RH (take care not to drop the E-bow) and touch any string in the prescribed rhythm, this bar is repeated 4 times Bar 5 put the jack on any string on the second beat, leave it there until bar 7 realise the syncopation on the end of the bar by touching any other string with the LH [make sure the end of the jack you have in your RH is not made of metal, if so, you have to bind it with some tape, otherwise the required differentiation of the buzz will be neutralized and hardly audible] Bar 6 as in Bar 10, 13, 16, 21, 23… stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop Bar 7 as in Bar 11, 15, 18, 22, 27… stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to start again playing the loop V
Bar 9 move the guitar jack tremolando-wise between any two strings Bar 19 insert the guitar jack again Bar 20 as in Bar 39, 40, 44, and 45 start to scratch with the coin at the prescribed pitch on the 6th string Bar 21 use the e-bow to modulate the coin scratching Bar 22 unplug the guitar jack on the second beat Bar 23 as in Bar 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 43, and 54 + WW (+ sign in the score stands for heel down, the - sign stands for toe down) Bar 38 put aside the e-bow, keep the coin, and insert the jack again on the second 8th note of this bar Bar 42 coin scratching on two strings on the prescribed pitch Bar 43-48 on this upper stave the x-sign stands for LH tapping, be sure to play the pitches in the proper octave! Bar 52 stamp knob A of the LS to start overdubbing and add jack noise and LH buzz to the loop Bar 53 stamp knob A of the LS to stop overdubbing during the repetition of this Bar lower the output level of MXR, take a sponge, throw away or put aside the coin, + WW and í DP, if necessary repeat again to realise this rearrangement Bar 54 stamp knob B of the LS to stop the new loop on the downbeat and start brushing at the same time the strings circularly with the sponge whilst making a toe down movement with the WW and back to the heel position in the prescribed rhythm Bar 55 as in Bar 58, 59, and 60 continue actions of the previous bar plus LH tapping Bar 56 as in Bar 61 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to play the new loop recorded in Bar 52 Bar 57 as in Bar 62 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop, at the same time resume the actions defined in Bar 54 Bar 63 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to record a new loop consisting of the actions defined in Bar 54 Bar 64 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop recording and to reproduce Bar 63, resume LH tapping on the second beat During bars 65-70 í WW í DP and take cello bow Bar 70-95 realise the prescribed melody on the sixth string with the wood of the bow Bar 72-108 resume LH tapping (x); in this context the ordinary noteheads stand for the open strings plucked with any available LH finger Bar 75 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop Bar 96 put aside the Bow and take the bottleneck with the RH Bar 96-108 the lower stave indicates where to attack the strings with the bottleneck Bar 108 í MXR + GD (on the end of the fermata), put aside the bottleneck and pick up the plectrum
VI
Bar 109-150 ordinary playing with plectrum, all the x-signs stand for RH tapping except for the chords in bars 140 and 141 (use here LH) and both RH and LH at the same time in bars 148, 149 and 151 Bar 115 + DP on the downbeat í DP before the RH tap on the 6th string Bar 117 + DP on the downbeat í DP on the downbeat of Bar 118 Bar 120 + DP on the downbeat í DP on the downbeat of Bar 121 Bar 123 + DP on the second beat íDP on the second beat of Bar 124 Bar 126 + DP on the downbeat í DP on the downbeat after the harmonic note Bar 129 + DP on the downbeat í DP on the downbeat of Bar 130 Bar 132 + DP on the downbeat í DP on the downbeat of Bar 133 Bar 135 + DP on second beat í DP on the downbeat of Bar 136 Bar 151 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to record a new loop Bar 152 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop recording and reproduce Bar 151, unplug the guitar jack with the RH + MXR (change output again to 100% to amplify jack noise) Bar 153-164 on the lower stave the jack noise rhythm is indicated Bar 155 as in Bar 158 and 160 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop Bar 156 as in Bar 159 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to start playing the loop Bar 161 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to record a new loop (pure jack noise) Bar 163 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop recording and reproduce the two previous bars, insert again the guitar jack and take the coin (the loop stays until bar 177), í MXR during Bar 163 and Bar 166 Bar 164 as in Bar 165, 166, 167 and 168 execute the glissando starting at the indicated pitch (g) with the coin Bar 167 up to 209 resume LH tapping and ordinary open string plucking with any other finger of the LH (see middle stave until bar 182, see upper stave from bar 163 up to 209) Bar 169 stamp knob A of the LS to start overdubbing and add coin glissando to the loop Bar 170 stamp knob A of the LS to stop overdubbing, put the coin aside and take the razor Bar 172-180 switch on the razor on the 4th eigth note of this bar, move the razor towards the guitar pick-up to obtain the sforzato on the downbeat of the next bar Bar 177 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop Bar 179 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to start playing the loop Bar 181 put aside the razor Bar 183 pick-up the e-bow, switch it on
VII
Bar 184-198 execute the whole bass line on the 6th string with the ebow Bar 199 put aside the e-bow and only continue tapping Bar 209 í GD on the end of this bar to obtain a clean sound Bar 210 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to record a new loop Bar 211, as in Bar 214, 218, 222, 226, 231, 237, 243 and 248 stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to start playing the loop Bar 212, as in Bar 216, 220, 224, 228, 233, 239, 245 and 260 (end) stamp knob B of the LS on the downbeat to stop playing the loop Bar 215 as in Bar 219, 223, 227, 232, 238, 244, and 250 stamp knob A of the LS on the downbeat to activate the overdub mode and add the material of the upper stave Bar 223 + GD, diminish the volume slightly to not lose the balance
VIII
