There is also an Open Score version of this piece!
Performed by Friction Quartet and Aidan Gold (Recording not yet available)
Hot and Cold is a game about relative information: you are not told where your goal is, but only whether you are getting closer or further away. You make guesses, wandering through the three dimensions of space, gradually using the relative hints given to you to pinpoint and reach your goal. Generally not too difficult – after all, the space we’re used to inhabiting, as far as we can tell, only has three dimensions.
What kind of space has more than three dimensions? MUSICAL SPACE!
Consider playing a bowed string instrument. There are many dimensions for us to wander in: pitch, rhythm, volume, articulation, bow position, bow pressure, bow rotation, and so on. Unlike space, these dimensions are also messier: entangling, continuously impacting each other. Can we truly change bow pressure without having any impact on any of the other dimensions such as volume or articulation? If we’re going to successfully locate our goal in this space, we’ll need some pretty good navigation.
We open with a chaotic jumble inspired by the sounds of scribbling notes onto paper, before settling into a comfy pulse for three rounds of “musical hot and cold” between the string players. One of them is the Writer, scribbling down a 4-note phrase. Another is the Guesser, who must play that phrase without being able to hear or see it beforehand. Their only assistance is the Hinter, who can see the Writer’s score and offers relative hints: the equivalent of “warmer” and “colder” for various musical dimensions. The goal is to reach the correct figure using as few hints as possible, so the musical dialogue becomes a balancing act: how much interdimensional information can they cram into each hint before the Guesser is not able to understand them anymore?
At the end of each round, after the figure is succcessfully played, the roles switch, and the Hinter becomes the new Writer, composing a second phrase to go along with the first. After all three rounds, we celebrate by playing all three phrases together, before determining the rankings of the three players based on how few hints they needed to guess their respective figures.
For additional information, questions, or parts requests, contact Aidan.