The vibrating string is both order and chaos. The order is the harmonic series overtones, in ratio order; the chaos is about what is between this.

A string can be articulated anywhere on the playable length, as well, on the unplayable length. This causes an instant mix-up of the overtone system, and makes for the timbre differentiation that other instruments, such as the piano, cannot approach.

Prepared piano, the works of John Cage, George Crumb and others, demonstrate that that manipulated string is capable of great tonal variety. These composers have re ordered the overtone series by placing metal, small change, chains, alligator and paper clips onto the piano strings.

On the suspended string, as the guitar, direct manipulation of this string can be done "on the fly." The string can then be subjected to electronic signal processors and it can make sounds that are warm and human as opposed to the synthesizer, although technology has warmed this up some, but it will never be as intuitive as an "on the fly" preparation with two handed contact.

Erdem Helvacioglu, from Turkey, hardly performs the guitar on his New Albion release, Altered Realities. The power is in the processors and the vibrating string. There is absolutely no show of technique or odd musical acumen, but the amount of guitar being played is exactly the amount of paint a master needs to make a canvas. No more, no less is required.

There is great restraint on this CD. The very sensitivity of the composer is the actual product. This is a rare occurrence, and in these days of pyrotechnics and mindless blabber from guitarists with extra fingers and the sensitivity of Godzilla, Altered Realities is a beautiful work that sets itself apart from contemporary masturbatory musical narcissism.

This is not Eine kleine Nachtmusik, nor Eine kleine Dinermusik but night music never the less. Not to say that it will put you to sleep, but the sensitivity, and sonic nature of it, makes for the reserve of night, and the putting to rest of the day.

Time is essentially a psychological state in music, as it creates its own time world by the musical material. Altered Realities is certainly of its own time dimension as electronics make aftereffects of notes and chords, held in the box of electronics, and subjected to time constraints that don't exist in the unaffected sonic world. That's why I mentioned that little guitar is played, but that is precisely enough to manipulate the "clock" of an effect such as a tap delay, that is hooked to a pitch shifter, that is then hooked to a continuous control pedal.

Reverb is an example of the electronic time I speak of with the sounds being lifted past their decay and into a "space" that reverberates as long as the composer sees fit.

Here is a list of Erdem's gear on Altered Realities:

Ovation Custom Legend 1869 acoustic guitar
TC Electronics Fireworx multi fx processor
PC with software Audiomulch
Behringer FCB 1010 midi foot controller
Tascam DA-20 dat recorder

I use the term "Divine Chaos" just to tell my woman what my spiritual practice is. Altered Realities practices this same tradition, and I would suspect that these are not compositions in the sense that they were written down, and performed the same way twice; they are part of a chaos scheme, the effects being chaos on the notes, chaos in the sense that the string is chaos itself so its double chaos, and the divinity is to lord over it, and make it corporeal by recording it.

Altered Realities

Bridge to horizon is a piece that my computer won't allow me to spell in a capital "B." Auto corrects the need for Erdem to understate the nature of his music. He uses lower case letters on all of his titles.

In an instant the musical material is simply stated in a minor-9th, the usual, but as the guitar stated very simple materials, the electronics state the complexity of the thought. It briefly passes through a B-section that uses a slightly more dissonant material through single outside note interjections and proceeds to an ambient commonality that also interjects a few outside notes, but new age this is not. It is instantly thoughtful.

Sliding on a glacier uses odd elements of a manipulated string. I suspect either a paper clip or such similar preparation, as the sound is icy. I hear an E-Bow as well, but there is none, and this is live so Erdem switches between using a slide, which could be the sonic source of the odd division of the string, natural and neutral chordal guitar and electronics that dial a "dirty bell" like the gamelon type. Lots of phasing is juxtaposed on a "voice like" patch that seems heavily reverb-ed but is filtered instead.

Erdem tells me that there are no physical string preparations regardless. All is done on the computer, but the odd ordered musical sounds, redirecting the subdivisions of the string sound like the "dirt" I've created with direct string preparations.

Frozen resophonic is also using a string preparation and uses conventional materials and a B-section, based on a dominant, but this is a basic few-chord progression with a predisposition of a minor-6th for a little romance.

Erdem proves to you what I've already known; the vibrating string is the superior signal. It is infinitely variable from your own hands alone! Wind is next as a source I believe, then brass, and of course percussion is infinitely variable but very few of that family of instruments have definite pitch.

Dreaming of a blind saddle uses an exact process that I have built on my Digitec TSR-12, of a heavily filtered, traveling-tap delayed, upward cycling pitch shift. I used mine with a CC pedal. Tap delays are dreamy with dangling chords; the chord progression is non-tonal. I hear another TSR-12 type "ugly" double-pitch shift that I've built. I really understand these types of works. I improvise one several times a day. It's like food for us.

Shadow my dovetail, pearl border, the earlier tracks, bridge to horizon and sliding on a glacier use a tonal guitar. The processes build another world from new age fingerpicking essentially. That is not to say that this is not interesting music.

Ebony remains uses a more non-tonal but mono-colored harmonic progression based on several layers of process. The tension is built in this piece by an unresolved dominant type of pattern that eventually goes to a progression of minor chords.

Musically speaking this is very simple music but beautifully done. The processes are the key, and they are beautifully thought out. The machines make different intonational systems and by dividing the vibrating string into orders that western music doesn't use, there is a bit of Harry Partch and gamelon weaving through this lovely music.

And I do say lovely, don't I? It is unusual that you have such lovely music when you slap the vibrating string around so to speak. Erdem has really grabbed the string and choked it, not to death, but to life in a new order.

Copyright 2006, new millennium Guitar Publishing Co., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED