The diverse experiences described above indicate the shared interest around the possibilities of amplification and the development of new ways of experiencing sound through the use of contact microphones. The period between the '60s and '80s was one of lively circulation of ideas. Long before the internet made this kind of sharing effortless, international festivals and concerts were the main occasions for musicians to meet and share each other's work and technical research. American composers travelled throughout Europe, bringing new ideas from the New World. Cage and Tudor were among the earliest visitors, and had a profound effect. Tudor in particular played a central role, acting as a bridge between American and European communities. Since the 1950s he had premiered many works by composers including Stockhausen, Maderna and Boulez, building strong connections with the European avant-garde.¹ At the same time, he often toured with Cage, introducing new music from other American composers as well. It is worth noting, that in this lively period, the premiere of Cartridge Music took place in Germany at Mary Bauermeister's Cologne atelier, on October 6th, 1960, with performers such as the Naim June Paik, Hans G. Helm, Benjamin Patterson, William Pearson, Kurt Schwertsik, Cornelius Cardew, alongside Cage and Tudor, and avant-garde composers such as Stockhausen present in the audience.

In such an interconnected community, the exploration of new possibilities of amplification contributed to changes in perspectives and practices of music making. Because of its relevance to this process, a technological object such as the contact microphone became a cultural object, contributing to the cross-pollination between different artistic disciplines. As John Driscoll noted, Tudor's idea of turning upside down the role of the instrument in the process of music creation has a profound influence on the development of experimental music. The instrument is no longer the means to realize a musical idea, but it is itself the starting point of a whole creative process. And the possibility of amplifying what previously belonged to the realm of the inaudible encouraged a new perspective, contributing to more creative approaches in the development of DIY practices and collaborative works. In this context the gradual shift of David Tudor from being the representative pianist of the avant-garde music, to embracing a personal and experimental way of dealing with electronics, seems to exemplify the path of a musical movement enriched by experimentalism, especially through personalities like Hugh Davies and Richard Lerman, and the intense activity of collectives such as Gentle Fire, Feedback Studio, Composers Inside Electronics.

Since the '80s, the use of contact microphones has become common in a huge and diverse range of artistic experiences, most of them related to sound art and experimental music, and strongly based on improvisational performance practices. My own personal approach, as I will explain further in the following chapters, shares with these experiences the application of DIY techniques, but it brings them into a context of compositional notational practice, in which the intentionality of gestures remains a central research aspect.

1.10 CONCLUSIONS

INTRO

1. Starting from a Cultural Object - the Contact Microphone

STARTING FROM A

CULTURAL OBJECT

THE CONTACT MICROPHONE

MICROPHONES, INSTRUMENTS, PERFORMERS.

ECOSYSTEMIC CONSIDERATIONS

FRAMING A PERSONAL COMPOSITIONAL PRACTICE

WORKS