Release the mouse: for percussion and piano

For my creative project, I wrote a piece for percussionist and pianist that is approximately ten minutes in length. The primary goal of this project was to learn how to write musical gestures and phrases using unpitched percussion and prepared piano. Rather than using melody and harmony, I manipulated meter, timbre, and player coordination as expressive variables to create a cohesive structure. Timbres of the percussion instruments are paired with the sounds of various piano preparations to create unity between the two performers. An additional objective of my project was to create a piece in a contemporary language that emphasizes simplicity. Beyond the instrumentation, notating music with repeated cells and indeterminacy allows for a clear representation of metered versus unmetered sections. In addition, the small collection of instruments and limited technical demand allows for performances from those with fewer resources and a wider scope of skill. To determine the form of the piece, I use a narrative of finding a mouse in my apartment. The mouse’s frantic running is emulated by relentless sixteenth note patterns I call the “running gesture.” Moments of fear are depicted by noise-saturated resonance, which I deem the “freeze gesture.” Free exploring is conveyed with unmetered sections, a rich timbral palette, and limited intentional synchronizations. The narrative helped determine methods of musical development and overall trajectory of the piece. The paper that accompanies my composition places it in context with other contemporary music, explains my choices in instrumentation and meter in greater detail, and justifies the significance of the narrative in my compositional choices.