Pure Sound Waves (2006 – 2007):

 

There are various sounds consisting of clamors, cheers, laughs, and cries in a metropolis as Taipei, Taiwan. In Pure Sound Waves, I present abstract relationships between these sounds by not only depicting their concepts from the original definitions but also embodying them musically via string quartet, one of the oldest conventional instrumental settings of the world of classical music.

 

I convey innovative ideas and complex emotion into this piece. By combining unusual harmony, experimental acoustics, irregular rhythm, and exclusive strings’s timbres, I expect that the audience will experience the varying degrees of the tension and all the unexpected sonority.

 

The composition comprises eight sections that are Chant, Laugh, Whisper, Dialogue, Silence?, Chatter, Cry, and Lament in sequence. I build up these musical sections with both the traditional and spatial notations in order to clearly express the miscellaneous sounds that resonate in my memory of living in such a bustling metropolis.

 

Moreover, in addition to the graphic notation, I also exploit the technique of pitch class in the middle section of the music that also consolidates the musical structure without getting the complexity sloppy or uncontrolled. I also create the Density Line and the notation of blowing air into the f-shaped hole of the sound boards of the strings.

 

This composition is not only a milestone of my study in youth as well as a memory for the past 5-year life (from 2001 to 2006) in Taipei.