catalogue

exhibitions/live

David Cunningham

links

sitemap

piano 001

Grey Scale - David Cunningham (original vinyl release 1976, vinyl and CD release Superior Viaduct 2023)

 
track listing:

1 Error System (BAGFGAB)

2  Error System (C pulse solo recording)

3  Error System (C pulse group recording)

4  Error System (E based group recording)

5  Error System (EFGA)

6  Ecuador

7  Water Systemised

8  Venezuela 1

9  Guitar Systemised

10 Venezuela 2

11 Bolivia

mixed and produced by David Cunningham 1976

Cover photograph from the videotape 'Snow Scale' (1975) by Stephen Partridge

instrumentation and musicians:

1 David Cunningham - piano, glockenspiel, synthesiser, percussion

2 DC - violin, piano, bass guitar, glockenspiel

3 Stephen Reynolds - glockenspiel, Alan Hudson - bass guitar, Derek Roberts - piano, DC - violin

4 Alan Hudson and Michael Doherty - percussion, Derek Roberts - glockenspiel, Stephen Reynolds - piano

5 DC - guitar, synthesiser, glockenspiel

6 DC - percussion, glockenspiel, synthesiser, recorder

7 DC - tape recorders and water

8 DC - piano, violin, guitar, percussion

9 DC - tape recorders, guitar

10 Derek Roberts - glockenspiel, Stephen Reynolds - synthesiser, DC - percussion

11 DC- piano, percussion, synthesiser, strings etc.

Error System

The players play a repeating phrase.  As soon as one player makes a mistake that mistake is made the basis of his repetition unless it is modified by a further mistake.  Thus each player proceeds at his own rate to change the sound in an uncontrollable manner.  

On no account should 'mistakes' be made deliberately to introduce a change into a performance.

In short -  sustain your errors.

The water piece and the guitar piece are analogous to this process.  However the process is automatic here, an inherent quality in the machinery used.

The numerical sequence used in Ecuador and Bolivia is:

11221111223332112222331112332233331122232 repeated three times.

The last time an extra 11 is tagged onto the end.

Each number refers to a bar, repetitions of a specific number are uniform.

Notated according to the Ecuador system, Venezuela is 11223344556677 etc. for each player except the musician supplying the constant pulse.

return to David Cunningham - recorded

---

© david cunningham 2007