Adjacent
Piano Solo for Knuckles, Fists, Elbows and Forearms
Adjacent was designed for visual impact and uses the effect of playing not only with fingers, but with fists, knuckles, elbows and an occasional forearm. The composition was intended to be used for an encore.
9 new notations were created to indicate the use of different techniques, a glossary for which is shown below.
Approximate performance time: 3 minutes.
For an audio rendering of this composition click here.
The score for Adjacent is available at this location.
Notation |
Description |
|---|---|
| Kn-r | Roll knuckles over notes. Arpeggio effect. |
| Kn-s | Strike notes simultaneously with knuckles. | Kn-s/s | Strike first chord with knuckles and slide (slip) to the adjacent chord, also played with knuckles. Movement will be either upwards or downwards, depending on whether the first chord is on black or white keys. |
| Fi-u | Strike all notes simultaneously with the side edge of the hand, just like a Karate chop, only with the fist closed. The fist is vertical, i.e. thumb on top. |
| Fi-f | Strike all notes simultaneously with the flat part of the hand. Fist is closed. Thumb is horizontal. |
| El-R | Use elbow of Right arm. Notes indicated are struck simultaneously with the elbow. The arm is vertical. The elbow stays on the keys originally impacted as the forearm descends onto the adjacent notes creating a long glissando effect. |
| El-L | Use elbow of Left arm. Notes indicated are struck simultaneously with the elbow. The arm is vertical. The elbow stays on the keys originally impacted as the forearm descends onto the adjacent notes creating a long glissando effect. |
| FrAm-W | Use Forearm - Strike White Keys Only. All notes to be played as one chord. Only the "outer" notes of these very long chords are indicated in the score. Of these "outer" notes, the higher note is more important. The range of the chord will depend on the length of the performer's forearm. It is anticipated that some notes in these chords will not be played with equal amplitude. Even the duration of these chords will be difficult to control, but the relative range of the notes, and the relationship between adjacent forearm chords -- higher or lower overall pitch -- will produce the desired effect. |
| FrAm-B | Forearm - Strike Black Keys Only. All notes to be played as one chord. Only the "outer" notes of these very long chords are indicated in the score. Of these "outer" notes, the higher note is more important. The range of the chord will depend on the length of the performer's forearm. It is anticipated that some notes in these chords will not be played with equal amplitude. Even the duration of these chords will be difficult to control, but the relative range of the notes, and the relationship between adjacent forearm chords -- higher or lower overall pitch -- will produce the desired effect. |