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Approximating Pi

2007
2-, 4-, 8- or 16- track electroacoustic (also with soprano saxophone) [various versions 8’, 10', 15’, 74’]
Approximating Pi

Installation at SBCAST Santa Barbara, CA

This piece is based on the converging series pi = 4(1 - 1/3 + 1/5 - 1/7 + 1/9 ···). There are 8.75 convergences per second, in each of which ten frequency multiples of 8¾ Hz are set up, their amplitudes proportional to the first ten digits of the corresponding convergence. For example, for '3.141592654', the ten frequencies' amplitudes are 2^3, 2^1, 2^4, 2^1 ,2^5, 2^9 etc. The convergences make the digits stabilize from left to right - thus the frequencies from bottom to top - with the resultant timbre moving from turbulence to constancy over a maximum of about 14½ years. This 10-minute version forms an extreme truncation of the whole.

 

Score

ApproxPiSaxophone, score File Icon

ApproxPiSaxophone, score(PDF, 179 KB)

This score is protected by copyright. You may use it freely for study purposes. In case you perform the piece, please note that registration with GEMA is required.

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WAV files for a performance are available upon request.
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