Dylan Bolles, of Thingamajigs Performance Group, will work with participants to create a series of graphical music scores to be performed by Thingamajigs Performance Group and displayed at Chalk Hill in May of 2018. Graphic scores have a long history of use in American experimental music and are an important example of the ongoing and fertile conversations between sound and the visual arts. Graphic notation provides non-musicians with an effective language they can use to communicate musical ideas to musicians. Considering how a piece of visual art "sounds" is also a powerful tool for understanding how art makes us feel and what types of messages it creates and conveys.
For these three 2-hour workshops, the first will present a historical overview of graphic notation, provide listening examples, and includes hands-on demonstrations of how visual gestures turn into musical gestures.
The second workshop will be a working session where participants will create graphic scores collaboratively and interpret them for each other with Dylan's guidance. This session will serve as an experimental laboratory for trying out ideas and seeing what works best.
The third session will be geared towards finalizing pieces and getting them ready for display and performance. In our public showing(s) we will display all the finished scores for the audience to enjoy. Thingamajigs Performance Group will also choose a small selection of these scores to play live in the gallery/performance space on May 19th.
Workshops are free, but space is very limited.