Unorthodox methods of singing or of playing musical instruments
In music, extended technique is unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional methods of singing or of playing musical instruments employed to obtain unusual sounds or timbres.[1]
Composers’ use of extended techniques is not specific to contemporary music (for instance, Hector Berlioz’s use of col legno in his Symphonie Fantastique is an extended technique) and it transcends compositional schools and styles. Extended techniques have also flourished in popular music. Nearly all jazz performers make significant use of extended techniques of one sort or another, particularly in more recent styles like free jazz or avant-garde jazz. Musicians in free improvisation have also made heavy use of extended techniques.
Examples of extended techniques include bowing under the bridge of a string instrument or with two different bows, using key clicks on a wind instrument, blowing and overblowing into a wind instrument without a mouthpiece, or inserting objects on top of the strings of a piano.
Twentieth-century exponents of extended techniques include Henry Cowell (use of fists and arms on the keyboard, playing inside the piano), John Cage (prepared piano), and George Crumb. The Kronos Quartet, which has been among the most active ensembles in promoting contemporary American works for string quartet, frequently plays music which stretches the manner in which sound can be drawn out of instruments.
preparation of a guitar by inserting screws or pieces of metal in the bridge or between the strings.
detuning a string while playing
"3rd bridge", a guitar technique using the part of the string between the nut and the stopping finger; see Xenakis' cello piece Nomos Alpha for a similar effect.
Piano
prepared piano, i.e., introducing foreign objects into the workings of the piano to change the sound quality
string piano, i.e., striking, plucking, or bowing the strings directly, or any other direct manipulation of the strings
resonance effects (whistling, singing or talking into the piano)
silently depressing one or more keys, allowing the corresponding strings to vibrate freely, allowing sympathetic harmonics to sound
touching the strings at node points to create harmonics
percussive use of different parts of the piano, such as the outer rim
slamming piano lid or keyboard cover
microtones
use of the palms, fists, or external devices to create tone clusters
rudimental or "dynamic" double bass on the drum set, using hand rudiments such as double stroke rolls and flam taps and playing them with the feet
stacking 2 or more cymbals, one on top of the other, to change the sound properties of the instrument
bowed vibraphone, cymbals, and gongs
resonance effects (e.g., cymbal played on a timpani; cow bell struck against a bass drum, etc.)
pitch bends on mallet percussion
harmonics
custom-built percussionmallets, occasionally made for vibraphone or tubular bells (and other pitched-percussion in increasingly rare circumstances) which feature more than one mallet-head, and so are capable of producing multiple pitches and difficult chords (though usually only the chords they were designed to play). These mallets are seldom used, and percussionists sometimes make them themselves when they are needed. When implemented, they are usually only used once or twice in an entire work, and are alternated with conventional mallets; usually they are used only when playing a different instrument in each hand.
striking a gong and then inserting the vibrating metal into a tub of water, creating a glissando.
Turntablism, such as scratching records or otherwise manipulating a record or turntable platter, often done in combination with a DJ mixer, to create unique sound effects and rhythms
Using a "kill switch" on an electric guitar to create quasi-scratching rhythmic sounds.
Circuit bending: DIY experimenting with electronic keyboards and electronic toys.
playing electric instruments unplugged, or amplifying acoustical parts of normally electronic instruments (e.g. finger noise on the keys)
exploitation of inherent equipment "defects" (e.g., deliberately driving digital equipment into aliasing; exaggerating hum or hiss coming from speakers, acoustic feedback, key click on a Hammond organ etc.)
Organ
Playing on stops that are partially drawn (has an effect only if the stops are on purely mechanical action, with a slider windchest).
Manipulating stops while holding one or more notes (possible on most organs, but most effective if the stops are on purely mechanical action, with a slider chest).
^Burtner, Matthew (2005). "Making Noise: Extended Techniques after Experimentalism Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine", NewMusicBox.org.
^"Cello Map :: Index". www.cellomap.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
^The cave you fear. Michael Markowski. (2024, July 14). https://www.michaelmarkowski.com/music/the-cave-you-fear/
^ a bDierickx, Zachary (2018). The Clarinet Works of Jörg Widmann: A Performance Guide to Fantasie for Clarinet Solo with a Survey of Unaccompanied Clarinet Repertoire and Guide to Contemporary Techniques (DMA). Ohio State University. Archived from the original on 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
^Ceolin Elena; Tisato Graziano; Zattra Laura. "Demetrio Stratos Rethinks Voice Techniques: A Historical Investigation at ISTC in Padova" (PDF). Proceedings of the SMC Conference 2011 (Sound and Music Computing), Padova 6–9 July 2011. pp. 48–55. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
Stuart Dempster; The Modern Trombone: A Definition of Its Idioms, The New Instrumentation 3. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1979. ISBN 978-0-520-03252-1.
Michael Edward Edgerton; The 21st-Century Voice. The New Instrumentation 9. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8108-5354-6.
Douglas Hill. Extended Techniques for the Horn: A Practical Handbook for Students, Performers and Composers. [S.l.]: Alfred Music Publishing, 1996. ISBN 978-0-7692-2355-1.
Evan Hirschelman; Acoustic Artistry: Tapping, Slapping, and Percussion Techniques for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar. Private Lessons (Musicians Institute). Milwaukee: Musicians Institute Press/Hal Leonard, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4234-0571-9.
Linda L. Holland and Evan Conlee. Easing into Extended Technique, 5 vols. [Ridgefield, Wash.]: Con Brio, 1999.
Thomas Howell; The Avant-Garde Flute: A Handbook for Composers and Flutists. The New Instrumentation 2. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1974. ISBN 978-0-520-02305-5.
Ruth Inglefield and Lou Ann Neill; Writing for the Pedal Harp: A Standardized Manual for Composers and Harpists. The New Instrumentation 6. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-520-04832-4.
J. Michael Leonard; Extended Technique for the Saxophone. Wayland, MA : Black Lion Press, 2004.
Philip Rehfeldt; New Directions for Clarinet, revised edition. The New Instrumentation 4. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-520-03379-5. Reprinted, Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2013.
Jamie Leigh Sampson; Contemporary Techniques for the Bassoon: Multiphonics. Bowling Green, OH: ADJ·ective New Music, LLC, 2014. ISBN 978-0-615-99938-8.
John Schneider; The Contemporary Guitar, revised and enlarged edition. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. ISBN 978-1-442-23789-6.
Patricia and Allen Strange; The Contemporary Violin. The New Instrumentation 7. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-520-22409-4.
Bertram Turetzky; The Contemporary Contrabass, new and revised edition. The New Instrumentation 1. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-520-06381-5.
External links
Shaken Not Stuttered by Anne Lanzilotti. Extended techniques for strings. Includes masterclass videos and notation suggestions.
Cello Map by Ellen Fallowfield
Woodwind Fingering charts
New Sounds for Flute by Mats Möller
Guide How to Prepare a Guitar on hypercustom.com
The Orchestra: A User's Manual by Andrew Hugill with The Philharmonia Orchestra. Includes definitions, descriptions and video interviews of extended techniques for most all common orchestral instruments.
oddmusic A website dedicated to unique, odd, ethnic, experimental and unusual musical instruments and resources.