COMPOSER’S NOTE

Donuts is an homage to a work of the same name by J Dilla (aka Jay Dee, aka James Yancey). Prospective performers of Donuts are strongly encouraged to listen to Donuts by J Dilla (Stones Throw Records, 2006). A prominent hip-hop producer, J Dilla worked on Donuts from his death bed in a hospital and the album was released on his 32nd birthday, three days before his death from complications of a rare blood disease. Many, including myself, consider his Donuts, a collection of thirty-one hip-hop instrumentals, to be a seminal work in the genre. The majority of my Donuts, (with the exception of the donut entitled One for Dilla), are not meant to sound anything like J Dilla’s work per say, but are meant more as my personal take on the form and structure of Donuts. Listening to J Dilla’s Donuts, while not a requirement for enjoyment of my version of Donuts, might be of some help to put the structure, form, and content of my version into perspective. I would like to extend a special thanks to the following people for their integral role in the process of composing Donuts:

Curt is Roads, for his assistance as my composition teacher Jon Lafferty aka Mumbl, MC on The Party electronic part Michel le Wil l iams, singer on the One for Dilla electronic part Richard Cassarino, bass player on the One for Dilla electronic part Kevin Kel ly, recording engineer for the One for Dilla electronic part Eddie Trager , percussionist and collaborator, who made the entire project possible with his generous outpouring of support and advice, from the conception of the work through its initial performances.

-E.M., 9/09

PERFORMANCE/NOTATION NOTES: The Electronic Par t

Starting at measure 110 in First Donut of the Night, a recording of the electronic part for Donuts should be started from the beginning. From that point in the score onward, there are time code markers indicating the approximate (rounded down to the nearest second) amount of time elapsed in the electronic part. Throughout Donuts, objects or descriptions which are in red or enclosed in red, are objects or descriptions that pertain to the electronic part and are often cues for the percussionist. The electronic part of Donuts is meant to be diffused in stereo, and a previous recording of Donuts may be used to ascertain an appropriate balance between the relative volumes of the percussion and electronic parts. Percussionist/El ectronic Part Synchronizat ion

The percussionist is welcome to use a time-keeping device synchronized to the electronic part to help maintain his/her place in the score. However, it is by no means necessary to use a stop watch and initial performances of Donuts were done without the use of any time-keeping device on the part of the performer. This may or may not require more practice on the part of the performer, but the time code and durational markings in the score should facilitate either approach. Depending on the venue of the performance, it may be necessary to set up a monitoring system of the electronic part (separate from the pair(s) of speakers set up for diffusion of the electronic part) expressly to enable the performer to effectively hear the electronic part. A Sea Donut

At the top of the score for A Sea Donut is a timeline that spans the entire length of the donut. Arrows coming down from the timeline indicate important events in the score. Cues from the electronic part (in this case, mostly notated bell tones) are enclosed in red. Below the red electronic part information are text boxes with instructions for the percussionist. This style of notation is also employed in the notation of One for Dilla and Band Practice. The performance of A Sea Donut requires that at a minimum, two microphones be placed in front of the vibraphone, and snare drum/suspended cymbal. The audio from these microphones should be processed by a reverberator (physical is preferred but software is acceptable) and sent out in mono to one speaker. This speaker should be placed in front of, and as close as possible to the vibraphone and snare drum/suspended cymbal without creating a feedback loop. The settings on the reverberator should be set to a high amount of decay and a low amount of delay. Refer to previous recordings of A Sea Donut as a guideline if necessary. The Party The marimba should be amplified and diffused in mono through either a dedicated single speaker placed close to the marimba, or the same speakers used to diffuse the electronic part. One for Dilla

In the event that Donuts is performed in a large space, it may necessary to amplify the trap set in order to bring it into appropriate balance with the electronic part. In the event that this is necessary, send the amplified drum audio through the speakers for the electronic part as well.

DONUTS

I. FIRST DONUT OF THE NIGHT (~1 min . 45 sec . ) electronic sounds and vibraphone II . A SEA DONUT (2 min . 25 sec . ) electronic sounds and reverberated snare drum, suspended cymbal and vibraphone III . SIRENS (1 min. 29 sec . ) electronic sounds and two timpani IV . THE PARTY (2 min. 6 sec . ) electronic sounds and amplified marimba V . ONE FOR DILLA (1 min. 30 sec . ) electronic sounds and trap set VI . BAND PRACTICE (32 sec . ) electronic sounds

Total Percus s ion Instrumentation : marimba, snare drum, suspended cymbal, two timpani, trap set, and vibraphone

Approximate total duration: 9 min. 47 sec.

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II. A SEA DONUT vibraphone, snare drum, suspended cymbal

29’ ’ 40’’ 40’’ 36’’

(BELL TONES I) (BELL TONES II) (BELL TONES III) LIGHTSWITCH SOUND

00:10 02:35

00:39

Improvise quietly and extremely minimally on snare drum and cymbal. Use fingers on snare drum. Use a drum stick gently and sparingly on cymbal. Attempt to convey a calm feeling of the sea.

After hearing BELL TONES I, gently lay down the stick and pick up medium-hard vibraphone mallets. Play through the chords below once quietly with pedal.

After finishing performance of the chords, return to the same quiet and minimal improvisation on the snare drum and cymbal as explained previously. Continue until BELL TONES III at

01:59

01:59

After hearing BELL TONES III, play through the chords once again with pedal. After playing through the chords for a final time, move to the timpani and await the LIGHTSWITCH SOUND which signifies the end of A Sea Donut.

01:19

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02:35

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03:06

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03:09

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03:11

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03:19

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ENDING INSTRUCTIONS:

03:47

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28''Move to the marimba.

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03:47

04:04

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IV. THE PARTY

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04:24

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04:15

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ENDING INSTRUCTIONS: Slowly move from the marimba and prepare to perform One For Dilla on the trap set.

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"And let the curtains rise and sounds drape: over your ears and open your eyes..."

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8

V. ONE FOR DILLA trap set

Continued on next page 16’ ’ 2’ ’ 55’’

LIGHTSWITCH

SOUND LYRICS: I remember...the way things used to be...in my life (repeated)

Improvise a fill Begin playing along in time with the “song" in the electronic part, improvising on with a Funk/ the three beat pattern examples shown below, using them as a loose guideline for Hip-Hop feel your improvisation. Add fills and soloistic gestures as necessary, but strive always

for a Funk/Hip-Hop feel. strive always for a Funk/Hip-Hop feel.

06:10 07:23

06:28 06:26

OPENING INSTRUCTIONS: Listen to the electronic part and use it as a reference in preparation to begin playing a fill after hearing the LIGHTSWITCH SOUND (on beat 4 of the measure) at

06:26

Continue to play as before, but begin a steady decrescendo al niente. Upon reaching a nearly piano dynamic, begin a gentle snare roll and continue to fade out completely, stopping all playing by when you hear guitar and drum sounds

ONE FOR DILLA cont. VI. BAND PRACTICE 10 unaccompanied electronic sounds

17’’ 34’’

VOCALS END GUITAR AND DRUM SIREN SOUND SOUNDS

07:40

08:12 07:23

07:40

BAND PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS: For the duration of Band Practice, sit quietly at the trap set.

THE END