Nicholas Peters
(student ID: 0622483)
Standard Deviation
For 8 Voices and 2 Sine tones (2008)
Standard Deviation
A composition as part of a portfolio submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
By
Nicholas Rayfield Peters
School of Arts, Brunel University September 2009
Performance Notes
Duration: c.21 minutes
This comma represents a 3 second silence (breath) between each bar.
Wide vibrato
Narrow vibrato
non vib. Sing with no vibrato throughout, unless marked otherwise.
Closed mouth Half open mouth
Quick continuous transition from half open to closed mouth.
Text
i knEE
a ARm
u bOOt di DIvide
ru ROOf
The sine tones are produced through a midi keyboard connected to a laptop and played live by a performer.
All of the performers should be positioned in the performance space according to the diagram on the opposite page.
Nicholas Peters, April 2008
Programme Text
Standard Deviation presents an interaction within a small pitch range between eight voices and two sine tones. The singers only ever have their mouths half open or fully closed, which combines with the different phonetic sounds to explore subtle alterations to the shape and size of the cavity in the mouth.
x = 58
©Nicholas Peters 2008
Nicholas Peters
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
i pp
non vib.
4:3e
a
ppp
u
pp
a
i pp
narrow vib.
a
u
non vib.
a
i pp
non vib.
a ppp
u pp
a ppp
4:3x
i ppp
non vib.
a pp
u
a
4:3e
i
ppp
non vib. wide vib.
a pp
u
a ppp
pp narrow vib.
i
pp
narrow vib.
a wide vib.
u non vib.
a
i pp
non vib.
a
u
a
i
pp non vib.
a
u
narrow vib.
a
4:3e 4:3e 4:3e
pp
5
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
i pp
4:3e
u
a
u ppp
pp
i pp
u
a
u
i pp
u
a
narrow vib.
u
4:3e
i ppp
u
pp
a
u narrow vib.
wide vib.
i
ppp
u pp
a ppp
pp
u ppp
pp
i
pp
u
a
u
i pp
u wide vib.
a
u
i pp
u
a
u
4:3e
9
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
i pp
4:3e
ru wide vib.
i
u ppp
i pp
ru
i
u
i pp
ru wide vib.
i
u
i ppp
ru
i
3:2e
u pp
i
ppp
ru
i
u pp
i
pp
ru ppp
pp
i
u
i pp
ru
i
u
i pp
ru
i
u
3:2e 4:3e
13
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
di pp
ru
i
3:2e
a
di pp
ru
i
a wide vib.
di pp
ru
i ppp
a
di pp
ppp
ru
i
a pp
4:3e
di pp
ru
i ppp
a
pp
di
pp
ru
i
a
di pp
ru
i
a
di
ppp
ru pp
i
a
3:2e
17
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
u pp
di
ru
di
u pp
di
ru
di
u pp
di
ru
di ppp
4:3e
u ppp
pp
di ppp
pp
ru ppp
di pp
u
ppp
pp
di
ru ppp
di pp
u
pp
di
ru
di
u
narrow vib.pp
di
ru
di
u pp
di ppp
pp
ru
di
21
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
u ppp
i pp
a
i
4:3e
u pp
i
a
i
u pp
i
a
i
u pp
i ppp
3:2e
a pp
i ppp
4:3e
u
pp
i ppp
a
pp
i ppp
u
pp
i
a
i
u pp
i
a
i
u pp
i
a
4:3e
i
4:3e 3:2e
25
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
Voice 5
Voice 6
Voice 7
Voice 8
Sine Tones
u pp
di
i
3:2e
ru
u pp
di
i
ru
u pp
di
i ppp
ru
u ppp
pp
di
i ppp
ru
u
pp
di
i ppp
ru pp
u
pp
di
i
ru
u pp
di
i
ru
u pp
di ppp
i pp
ru
3:2e
