Navigating a Two-dimensional Field / across the plane
Research Article by Jakob Bragg 
University of Melbourne
Context 49 (2023): 33–48
Published online: 14 Mar. 2024
Extract
Composing for the piano is beset by constant compromise. As a composer whose musical language is exemplified by glissandi, microtones, timbral transformation, and states of destabilisation and distortion, the piano—at least as traditionally focused upon the keyboard—invokes feelings of frustration and constriction. With the instrument’s design predicated by performance upon the keyboard, twelve-tone equal temperament, a clarity of pitch and timbre (even at extreme dynamics),1 and a uniform timbral profile, I find myself restricted to a narrow band of exploratory possibilities. This is amplified by my classical training as a pianist in which my fingers default to learnt gestures, familiar pitch structures, typical voicings, and are always drawn to the keyboard as a primary location of activity. In an attempt to divorce these learnt behaviours, open up a more exploratory compositional space, and re-work the many existing notational models that still focus upon the five-line stave, this article outlines my development of a new notational model that serves as both a scoring tool and, most crucially, a lens in which to approach and compose for the piano. The aims for this notational model include the following:
• decentralising the keyboard as only a subcomponent of the entire instrument
• capturing the entire body of the piano and invite exploration
• allowing for manipulations to the strings, preparations, object-oriented composition, and exploration of glissandi, distortion, and timbral transformation
• appearing ultimately coherent and intuitive to read.
These aims will be further illustrated through my recent work, Fourteen piano transcriptions from across the plane [plain] (2023), composed specifically to explore the possibilities and limits of this notation.