Cobalt Vase is a solo piece for a drum machine. The drum machine (and other electronic instruments) is a musical instrument, and therefore one gets better at playing it with more practice. I did not want to operate Korg Volca Beats to record a drum track in a DAW. Instead, I wanted to become good enough to improvise, adapt, and perform with features unique to the instrument. I think I can “play the scales without looking at my fingers” on Volca Beat at this point. Jeff Mills’ TR-909 Workout, which demonstrated that how to use counts more than what you use, is a direct inspiration for Cobalt Vase.
Category Archives: Performances
Dubious Toppings – for piano and electronic ensemble
A pizza-themed piece for piano and large electronic ensemble.
Performance by EMEWS (April 2019)
Joo Won Park – piano, composer
Gavin Langley – audio engineer
Sean MacKillop – video
Andy Garcia, Ebony Swain, Jacob Joslin, James Stanulet, Jessica Cory, Martin Davis, Samuel Sprague, Thane Hall, Tyler Smith, Alex MacColl-Artrip, Benjamin Schornack, Hunter Desjarlais, Gavin Langley, Josh West, Justin Carrier, Nicholas Schnorberger, Trent Nedbal, Patrick Norton, and Taylor Vaughan – laptops
Click the link below for Dubious Toppings Score and SuperCollider File
Hungry – for voice, guitar, and electronics (2018)
Jenifer DeBellis, text
Elena Hensel, voice
Joo Won Park, composer
Bianca Pokrzywa, guitar
This is an intimate conversation between the guitar and the voice on being hungry and poor. The electronic part in the piece represents the hunger: it influences the person’s thoughts, emotions, and actions, however subtle or disruptive it is.
The piece was commissioned by The Oakland University Guitar Ensemble (Bret Hoag, director) as a part of the Bridging the Gaps: Guitars for Social Justice project.
PDF Score and necessary electronics part can be found at the following link
https://app.box.com/s/zt44c58oqpk98ru9k25azptfo6y0mrm6
an excerpt of the score
Singaporean Crosswalk (2016) – for laptop ensemble
Singaporean Crosswalk was inspired by my trip to Singapore in 2010. The sound of the traffic light in the city was quite different from that of the United States and Korea.
It was fun, effective, and musically intriguing. During the day, this sound was a theme song for the people in a metropolis. During the night, the traffic lights became part of a flora and fauna surrounding the city. I thank SPLICE Ensemble for commissioning and premiering this piece. I also thank Oberlin College’s Center for Information and Technology for renting me multiple computers.
Singaporean Crosswalk requires four laptops and four players. It uses the internal speaker and microphone of the laptop, so there is no additional equipment needed. The essence of the piece is in the creation of unique spatialization through physical movement of the laptop players on and off the stage. The recording of the premiere thus does not demonstrate the most interesting part of the piece, but you can at least hear the general atmosphere.
All materials needed to play the piece is uploaded on the top folder of this page. Let me know if you have any questions or need different versions (i.e. for trio, octet, etc).
JNNJ – for percussion duo and computer
JNNJ was commissioned and premiered by Hunter Brown and Louis Pino in 2016. The piece is inspired by the life and dynamics of my family. The title is a combination of the first letters of mom, dad, and two sons.
Technical Needs
- One computer with a DAW or Max: Download files from www.joowonpark.net/jnnj . A Logic Pro X session is provided on the composer’s website, but any DAW will work. The tape part can also be played with the provided Max patch.
- Two speakers (stereo)
- Two headphones for click tracks
- An audio Interface with four separate outputs
- TapeL.aif should be routed to output 1, connected to the left speaker
- TapeR.aif should be routed to output 2, connected to the right speaker
- ClickTrackL.aif should be routed to output 3, connected to Perc1’s click track
- ClickTrackL.aif should be routed to output 4, connected to Perc2’s click track
Performance Needs
- Two percussionists with a snare drum and a large cymbal for each performer.
- Both performers use brushes for the entire piece.
- Perc1 stands close to the left speaker, and Perc2 stands close to the right speaker
Performance Notes
- Each performer gets his/her own click track. The click tracks will run in different tempi, and will gradually change the rate over the entire piece. Each performer should follow the tempo of his/her own click track.
- Interpret the score like a jazz chart. Improvise in the notated style (funk and swing).
- Pay attention to the pitch of the click track to hear the section changes.
- Section-specific notes:
- S1: The tape part will fade in at around 20 seconds mark.
- S2: Perc1 transforms the rhythmic pattern to a swing (indicated as “target rhythm”) while slowing down.
- S3: Perc2 transforms the rhythmic pattern to more energetic and busy funk rhythm while slowing down. Listen for the white noise cue for the next section.
- S4: Both Perc1 and Perc2 trade off solo while speeding up. The trade off will gradually overlap each other. Listen for the white noise cues to play uneven brush sweep on cymbals.
- S5: Both parts will speed up significantly. When the tempo becomes too fast, freely improvise with great energy. Increase the use of cymbals throughout the section.
- S6: Both Perc1 and Perc2 plays energetic cymbal improvisation while slowing down. Accompany the tape part after the click track stops. At the end of the tape part (7:00), create a quiet windy sound by swinging the brush in the air.