LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL
Swing Space Program
Governors Island, Building 110
2011
These are experiments in synesthesia. While I was in residence at Governors Island, I spent a lot of time playing the saxophone in the defunct ammunitions magazine in Fort Jay. From November 2010 to May 2011 the National Parks Service planned renovations in the space, so I was unable to continue playing there. In order to keep composing music in the munitions magazine, I came up with a series of composition strategies that I could perform outside of it during this period of denied access. First I assigned color values to musical notes and keys according to my grapheme-color synesthesia. Then I came up with a structural graphic for the Fort Jay magazine and made a series of compositions for various instruments for that space based on an initial drawing. I called these compositions Drawings To Be Listened To. I also wrote a series of poems with the colors replacing the letters. Then I performed these poems in a series called Poems To Be Read Through A Saxophone where I read/spoke the poems into the mouthpiece of the horn until the words become notes.
C
shows leadership, central, anchor, calm;
will step up to handle a situation;
like a doctor on an airplane who volunteers to help a sick passenger;
has detective qualities, like Poirot;
the type of good Samaritan you want to be present when you suffer an accident;
Song to be played in an area where Lonnie can lament without interruption
Like a tugboat pushing a driving range, we all have something we would rather be doing
G#
hard edged;
foresty green with grassy green brightness; direct;
likes to have the first word, the last word, and all words in between;
insistent and confident with itself, but more often than not embarrassingly wrong in its assumptions, opinions, and decisions
Keys
B
drawn out, deep, persistent and full, sustaining and demanding presence, focused;
not much difference between inner and outer expression and appearance;
nothing between the lines to read, what you see is what you get
Composition to be played for a man in a brass mask riding a cloud using a hoe as an oar,
to be played by 3 instruments of different keys in their respective base keys
I have certain days when I see a lot of people who look like Scarlett Johansson
Ab
round; red with a light blue corset squeezing gently;
warm, friendly, yet wise with a layer of understatement;
knows how to poignantly articulate a phrase;
impulsive with an air of sensible caution;
knows when something might cause trouble and has the foresight to hold back;
carefree and confident inner security
A#
like a red hot fire ball with direction; pointed, aimed;
like a hot tamale; cinnamon flavored with a pinch and bite;
very lean, trim, almost complete opposite of Bb;
feisty and direct, not one to hold its tongue, a direct hitter without forethought;
refined beauty and strict sexuality;
Key of C (with phantom notes, relations to families, as friends who have died or friends who have never existed, imaginary friend)
F#
like a muskrat with sharp teeth or a light brown Nutria, definitely of the rodent family;
F# and G have a relationship where F# jabs at G, pokes at it incessantly, nags it;
could be a pet;
displays its confidence and 90% of the time is right but not vindictive about it, the other 10% is over negligible things
Composition for a fish vomiting blood to be played twice:
first, frenetically witth a water instrument;
second, with a wind instrument thinning to black
F major
Db
fat, dark, like Nyquil, fluid, dense, but less dense than Jello;
jovial; possibly overweight but not hung up about it;
has a latent cutting wit that, when it occasionally rears its head, others take offense;
Gb major
E
bright, sunny, illuminates, positive, radiant, friendly, attractive;
good-natured though sometimes its good-naturedness can be off-putting in its excess;
90% honestly genuine and warm, 10% feigned to please;
good to be in a relationship with: intimate core, the deeper you get, the more seductive, mysterious and lovable
Composition to be played by 2 mice, a chimp and a walrus on a Saturday in June
to a crowd of adults being forced to witness something they absolutely don't want to see
Eb
warm and soft, fluffy, more cushiony (than its counterpart D#);
open and free about itself; carefree in its self-confidence;
easy going, not too many hang ups; pleasant to spend long amounts of time with;
always nice to see after a long absence;
 G
vocal, always clearing throat, robust, almost succinct;
(like C with a thing in its throat, like D but clearer, less fat, and more direct);
plenty of preliminary things to say but doesn’t find the point;
good for troubleshooting in advance, will lay all opinions and scenarios on the table, but can’t be relied on to choose one or the best
Bb major
A
exterior: hot, hot tempered, hot looking, on fire, red with passion,
quick to react or respond,
impulsive, sensuous, sexual, naturally seductive without manipulation, attractive to all;
interior: soft, sensitive; when one gets intimate with A, a lot of love is shared,
relationships can be hard because the exterior inspires jealousy; polar;
Fella By Moonlight:
Composition to be played for one man in a hat with a book and a peg leg on the moon from the munitions magazine in Fort Jay, Governors Island according to a score based on a color grapheme synesthesia code of notes in relation to colors divided according to designated room positions
Ab major
Eb major
F
more subdued than E, less leadership than C;
confident, poignant, good planner, considers all aspects before deciding;
(could be a pet); depth of character; inner strength carries weight; confident with self-identity;
understated and nothing on the sleeve;
available to those patient, caring and willing to approach and participate with
Composition for a young baseball fan with a shit-eating grin eager to run as swiftly as a fish
G major
Compositions veil
D major
Gb
surrounded by a loose corset, an airy silk shirt with a zipper that is just at the edge of too tight;
G has some weight, if it lost just a bit, it would feel more confident;
nice to vacation with, but mildly begrudges day-to-day; prefers and enjoys a weekend; makes a good parent
Composition for Gravity:
To be played by a single air conditioner in accidental rapid descent from a third story window into a, luckily, vacant backyard.
To be performed one time and one time only.
(Performance took place on Monday, May 02, 2011, 12:00am - Brooklyn, NY)
D
dark and deep, full, complex, richly full (sometimes restricted because of its intensity);
not the type you want to make angry;
will attack in defense with full power, stops at nothing for revenge (when justified);
the one you want on your side and not against you
Composition to be played to earn an ice cream cone.
Performance must continue after the prize is earned for the duration of the ice cream cone
to be performed by instruments requiring two hands and a mouth
A major
Bb
fattest; jiggles when it moves; vibrates whether high or low; rotund with a corset, not too tight, just snug;
considerate, puts thought and care into what it will say next; conscious of offending;
tries to be inclusive; can easily overpower with its charismatic dominance;
makes final decision by putting a foot down;
 D#
dark and edgy, fat; soft inside with an edgy exterior; confused about questions of identity;
rigidly defensive about its masculinity (whether male or female), but displays a subconscious femininity;
defensive to the extreme of phobia; defensiveness overcompensates for what it doesn’t want to admit
Composition for a figure mistaken to be an elephant wearing a snakeskin hat partially obscured by a brick wall.
To be performed only by wind instruments or instruments of the wind
E major
Compositions base
Db major
Composition scored for the munitions magazine inside Fort Jay [Governors Island]
to be performed during the renovation period between November 2010 - May 2011 when access is not permitted
F# major
Compositions focus
B major
 I reassemble words from the eraser crumbs left from the sentence before
Cb major
C#
sharp, brown, edgy, direct, curt, open, hands-free; like a music conductor; highly organized, skilled at efficiency;
knows what it takes and how to get the job done; a genuine leader with efficient results;
has the deserved respect of its peers, subordinates, and colleagues;
makes final decisions with reasoned persuasion;
C# major
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