Introduction
Repeat After Me is a piece for flute accompanied by live processing provided by a
computer, as well as live video generated by the performer. It was written in the winter
of 2003 for Natacha Diels. It is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
Columbia University, 2003.
The duration of the piece should be ~9 minutes.
Performance Notes
Equipment requirements:
• Macintosh PowerPC computer with stereo audio input and output (G4/667 or
higher recommended).
• Microphone for the flute, mixer, and PA with 2 high-quality loudspeakers.
• High-quality SVGA video projection system.
• Hardware pitch-to-MIDI converter (e.g. Roland GI-10, IVL PitchRider) and
appropriate MIDI interface hardware are optional, but may improve
responsiveness on slower computers.
All software (Max patch, samples and video files) is available from the composer upon
request. The piece involves heavy use of pre-recorded flute samples. Instructions are
available from the composer on how to replace them with those of a different performer.
The flute should be amplified with a very close directional microphone. A wearable
microphone (e.g. a reasonably good-quality Lavalier) should work well. The flute and
the computer output in the PA speakers should be balanced so that the processing and
samples generated by the computer don’t overpower the live flute sound. The piece
relies on the sonic integration of the live flute and accompaniment lines generated by the
computer; in order to achieve a good balance, it may be necessary for the flute to be
reinforced through the PA as well.
The piece relies to some degree on the ability of the computer to detect the pitch played
by the flute performer. It is strongly recommended that the piece be tested in the
performance space first, so that the ideal microphone placement for pitch-tracking can be
achieved. If necessary, two microphones can be used: one for the computer input, and
another for sound reinforcement.
Notation
All notation symbols in the score are standard. Accidentals carry through the measure.
Two extra staves indicating cues in the accompaniment (as well as the outer voices of the
sample clusters) are provided so that the performer (or a computer operator) can make
sure that the computer is correctly following the performer.