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Toru Takemitsu’s November Steps

Lewis Cornwell
Published online: 09 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Lewis Cornwell (2002) Toru Takemitsu’s November Steps, Journal of New Music Research, 31:3,
211-220

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 Journal of New Music Research 0929-8215/02/3103-211$16.00
2002, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 211–220 © Swets & Zeitlinger

Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps

Lewis Cornwell

Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, Australia

Abstract
In November Steps (1967), biwa and shakuhachi are included of the Western and Japanese instruments. For the former,
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as soloists along with an orchestra of Western instruments.
The juxtaposition of these two groupings of performers from
different traditions serves to emphasise disparities between
their two aesthetics and challenges the composer who, from
the Western perspective, seeks to create from these elements
a coherent whole. Takemitsu’s strategies both for emphasis-
ing difference and for creating cohesion offer insights rele-
vant to themes of human supervision and control.
1. Introduction
In one of his most compelling statements about Japanese
music, Tōru Takemitsu writes: “Here the role of the per-
former is not to produce sound but to listen to it, to strive
constantly to discover sound in silence” (1995, 84). Intended
to convey a fundamental contrast with Western musical prac-
tice, these words were originally published in 1971, during
the period of Takemitsu’s most active engagement with the
composition of works involving traditional Japanese instru-
ments. In November Steps (1967), biwa and shakuhachi are
included as soloists along with an orchestra of Western
instruments. The juxtaposition of these two groupings of
performers from different traditions serves to emphasise
disparities between their two aesthetics and challenges the
composer who, from the Western perspective, seeks to create
from these elements a coherent whole. Takemitsu’s strategies
both for emphasising difference and for creating cohesion
offer insights relevant to the themes of human supervision
and control.
2. Notation
The organisation of the score of November Steps gives an
immediate sense of the differences between the treatment
Western metrical notation is used (that is, with time signa-
tures and bar lines), thus ensuring, as far as any notation
system can, synchronisation of sounds according to the con-
ductor’s indications and broad repeatability from one perfor-
mance to the next. Some elements of indeterminacy exist,
often at the meeting points between solo and orchestral sec-
tions. The mediating role of these elements will be discussed
further below. Pitch is accurately notated, to the extent that
quarter-tones are indicated at bar 55 and the terminal pitches
of glissandi are specified. One departure from precise pitch
notation occurs at step 7,1 where triangular note-heads indi-
cate that the performer should play the highest note possible
(see Fig. 4). As with duration, this exceptional use of pitch
indeterminacy in the orchestral parts provides mediation
between the solo and orchestral sections and is one of several
examples of convergence that will be identified in this
section.
The biwa and shakuhachi parts are written almost entirely
in proportional notation, meaning that durations are indicated
not as subdivisions of a beat, but by graphical layout on the
page (Fig. 1). The information conveyed here is entirely rela-
tive: apart from one instance at step 7, the composer has
made no attempt to indicate a reference scale in seconds, or
to propose an overall duration for the non-metrical sections.
According to the composer, the reason for adopting this
method lies in the essential characteristics of the sounds pro-
duced by these instruments. Referring to his work Autumn
(1973), also for biwa, shakuhachi and orchestra, Takemitsu
1
The Japanese word dan may refer literally to the steps of a stair-
case or to divisions, for example in a musical or theatrical piece.
Takemitsu’s use of the term “steps” in the title of the work embraces
both meanings, and their further connotations. The steps are marked
in the score with circled numbers above an arrow, serving also to
indicate conductor’s cues to the orchestra.

Accepted: 3 October, 2002

Correspondence: Lewis Cornwell, The University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie St., Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000.
E-mail: lcornwell@conmusic.usyd.edu.au
 212 Lewis Cornwell
Fig. 1. Shakuhachi and biwa entries at step 1.
Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
Downloaded by [University of Connecticut] at 01:05 11 October 2014
explains his use of proportional notation in writing for the
shakuhachi (1989, 210):
It is very hard to measure a shakuhachi note because when a
shakuhachi player plays a long note there are so many changes
in the harmonic spectrum, so I did not precisely specify the note
lengths . . .
Elsewhere, he describes timbre as arising “during the time in
which one is listening to the shifting of sound” (1987, 10).
Thus the temporal element is tied to the dynamic and unpre-
dictable parameter of timbre, and the composer’s capacity for
predetermining duration is limited.
The composer’s concession in this respect is not merely
pragmatic: it provides an environment in which the per-
former’s role as listener, as described in the quotation cited
at the beginning of this article, may be fully realised. In
the absence of any other organising factor, the biwa and
shakuhachi players in November Steps must respond to each
other’s playing; a performance in which each player inde-
pendently pursues their notated part is not possible.
3. Performance
Essential to Takemitsu’s notion of the performer as listener
is the concept of ma. Literally meaning interval or pause, ma
takes on far more elaborate connotations when used as an
aesthetic term. In relation to music, Takemitsu describes it as
“an unquantifiable metaphysical space (duration) of dynam-
ically tensed absence of sound” (1994, 3). He sees the
Japanese sensitivity to ma as a consequence of hearing the
extremely complex sounds of traditional instruments: “The
sounds of a single stroke of a biwa plectrum or a single breath
through the shakuhachi . . . are already complete in them-
selves.” Arising from this, as a logical extension, is the per-
ception of ma as “a space made up of infinite inaudible but
vibrant sounds, as the equal of individual complex audible
sounds” (ibid.).
Most significant in understanding the relevance of this
concept to November Steps is the notion of ma as a product
of interaction between performers. Referring to the genre of
Japanese puppet theatre, bunraku, Takemitsu describes a
remarkable process of communication between two per-
formers who behave to some extent as competitors: “. . . the
two differing ‘times’ of the tayū [narrator] and shamisen
player respectively have, while fighting against each other,
come together to produce an extraordinary wavering ‘time’
in which they are neither together nor apart” (1987, 12). He
goes on to consider a third participant, the puppeteers: “The
shamisen player adjusts his playing to the movements of the
puppets, and naturally the tayū follows suit, and in this way
a relationship of irregular time, as expressed by words such
as iki (literally, breath) and ma is produced” (ibid.).
The three-way communication described here parallels
that in November Steps, where the three participants may be
understood to be biwa, shakuhachi and conductor/orchestra.
Moreover, references to “irregular” or “wavering” time recall
Takemitsu’s comment in his sleeve notes for the first record-
ing of November Steps: “Like the music of the Noh theatre,
the rhythm endlessly oscillates” (quoted in Herd 1987, 264).
This sense of oscillation is not the product of a bland alter-
nation between solo and orchestral sections but results, more
distinctively in this work, from the permeation of the music
of the Japanese soloists into that of the Western instruments.
Indeed, at one stage the composer had intended to call the
work Water Rings, representing the way in which “the sound
of the biwa and shakuhachi was to spread through the orches-
tra gradually enlarging, like waves of water” (1995, 87).
The seating arrangement of the players is crucial to this
interplay, and is specified in detail by the composer (Fig. 2).
The Western instruments frame the biwa and shakuhachi
in a symmetrical arrangement which places them at the cen-
tre, thus allowing the perception of the concentric “waves”
as described above. The opening of the work exploits this
layout in setting up the first entry of the soloists. The focus
in the initial material rapidly shifts between the left and right
groupings of strings and harp, culminating in a degree of
convergence at bar 5. The relative equality of left and right
at this point throws the focus upon the centrally placed winds
 Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps
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Fig. 2. Seating arrangement.
Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
and brass, which enter for the first time at bar 9. Just prior
to the first solo entry these instruments fall silent, along with
most of the strings, leaving prominent the two harps and per-
cussion groups. The left and right sound sources are thus nar-
rowed onto two imaginary axes emanating from a point in
front of the stage and passing through the seating position of
the two soloists (Fig. 3). It is at this moment that the soloists
begin to play. Remarkably, the same combination of players
– hence the same spatial effect – is used at the very end (bar
70), before the final shakuhachi solo, emphasising the endur-
ing representation of difference in the work between the
Japanese and Western instruments.
Prominent in both of the examples just described, the
two harps are located each almost directly behind one of the
solo Japanese instruments on the stage, and play an obvious
role in realising Takemitsu’s intention to create orchestral
“enlargement” of the sounds of the biwa and shakuhachi. In
this regard, the Japanese concept of sawari must be consid-
ered, describing the complexity that a sound acquires through
touching its surroundings. This may be perceived as a rough-
213
ness or impurity in the sound, and the biwa is constructed in
such a way as to heighten this quality (Ohtake, 1993, 56).
Takemitsu’s writing for the harps makes frequent use of
extended techniques such as plucking with the fingernails,
striking the body of the instrument with the knuckles, and
letting the fingers hit the body immediately after plucking
a string. Such techniques in the harp produce sonorities
which possess qualities comparable to those of the Japanese
instruments, and the spatial arrangement emphasises this
resonance.
4. Mediation
Two instances have been identified already where the harps
are prominent at intersections between the solo and orches-
tral material. To these, among many other examples, may be
added the points immediately before and after the cadenza
section (bar 56 and step 11 respectively). It would appear that
the harps are used in such places as mediators between the
 214 Lewis Cornwell
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Fig. 3. Alignment of percussion, harps and soloists.
Original seating plan.
Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
Japanese and Western instruments. The perception of a need
for elements which supply coherence in the music would be
entirely consistent with Takemitsu’s awareness of the aes-
thetic distance that exists between the two traditions, address-
ing his concern that the Japanese elements would be heard
merely as exotic, and that “it might be foolish” to experiment
with mixing traditional Japanese with Western music (1995,
89).
For the most part in November Steps, activity in the
orchestra is controlled by the conductor’s metrical beat, in
direct contrast to the unmeasured events of the solo parts.
The few departures from this procedure may again be under-
stood as playing a mediating role in the work. At bars 26, 29,
34 and 52, violins and/or violas are instructed to play their
notes “in one stroke (bow), as long as possible.” This intro-
duces a degree of indeterminacy because it means that there
is no defined cut-off point for the sustained note, rather a
gradual reduction to silence. As is the case for the soloists,
the duration of each player’s note will be determined by the
physical characteristics of their instrument and their playing
technique. At bar 34 (approaching step 6), a similar instruc-
tion is given to the trumpets and trombones, who are asked
play their notes “in one breath as long as possible.” This
evokes a connection with the technique of the traditional solo
repertoire for the shakuhachi (honkyoku), in which the length
of each phrase is determined by the duration of a single
breath.2 In this way, to recall Takemitsu’s imagery of “water
rings,” another small ripple from the Japanese tradition
reaches the sea of Western instruments.
As noted earlier, indeterminacy occurs also at step 7,
where the violinists are instructed to play their highest note
2
The evidence of recordings and one live performance viewed by
the author is that, in practice, a wind and brass cut-off is indicated
by the conductor at this point.
 Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps 215
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Fig. 4. Step 7 and bb. 36–39.

Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
 216 Lewis Cornwell
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Fig. 5. Bars 40–43.

Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
 Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps
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Fig. 6. Cadenza for shakuhachi.
Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
possible. This event coincides with the point at which the
shakuhachi part moves to the second sounding of its highest
notated pitch in the work. In this climactic section, there is
a strong sense of convergence between the music of the
Western and Japanese instruments. In the following bars
(37–38), the motif E-F-G is sounded prominently in the
orchestral parts. Initially in the work, this sequence of
notated pitches was associated with the Japanese instru-
217
ments, forming the basis of first biwa entry and subsequently
pursued in the shakuhachi part (above bars 25–26 on the
score); now it is presented by the Western instruments,
namely violas and harp, in the right-hand group of orches-
tral players (Fig. 4).
The composer goes on to create further convergence by
briefly uniting the left and right orchestral groups: in bars
38–39 may be found the only occasion in the work where all
 218 Lewis Cornwell
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Fig. 7. Bar 68 to end.

Edition Peters No.66299
© 1967 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Reproduced by kind permission of the Publishers
 Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps
the strings (except basses) play identical music. Moreover,
during the next four bars, all the violins at some stage sustain
the pitch D7.3 However, the spatial distinction between the
two groups is restored, as the violins on the left enter before
those on the right (Fig. 5). The significance of the pitch class
D here as a unifying factor must not be overlooked, for it is
the pitch which the shakuhachi takes up from the orchestra
at its initial entry (step 1) and which is used in a compara-
ble way at the end of the piece, as will be discussed below.
One further example of convergence may be noted here: in
bars 47–48, the shakuhachi part is notated metrically where
it overlaps orchestral material, whereas the harp parts, with
their cycle of pitches to be played as fast as possible, are in
effect unmeasured. Thus the treatment of the Western and
Japanese instruments is reversed.
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5. Divergence
A pause of silence before step 9 precedes a short section
leading into the biwa and shakuhachi cadenza. This silence
– an unmistakable moment of ma in the work – marks a
change of orientation after the convergent section described
above. Now difference is reasserted; indeed, it is perhaps only
through the use of Japanese instruments in the cadenza that
Takemitsu feels able to, as he says, “attain a single sound that
is sufficiently strong to be the equal” of the silence that he
has interpolated here (1994, 4).
The symbolic notation used in the cadenza allows each
player considerable freedom with regard to duration and,
in the case of the shakuhachi, pitch (Fig. 6). The parts are
notated on separate pages, and the order in which the various
sequences of sounds are to be played is left up to the per-
former.4 Thus, Takemitsu makes no attempt to coordinate the
sound events in the two parts, and the performers must play
their role as listeners. As they do, the two soloists seem
inevitably to find a unified voice near the end of the cadenza
3 porary Music Review, 1(2), 9–13.
The superscript number indicates register, the lowest C on the
piano being C1 and middle C, C4.
4
Again, it should be noted that a convention is evident in perfor-
mance that the end of the cadenza is always signalled by the sound
of the biwa plectrum striking the body of the instrument. Biwa
player, Junko Ueda has confirmed in an email communication that
she had learned to do it this way from her teacher, Kinshi Tsuruta,
who gave the first performance of the work.
219
and it is here that the greatest distance is felt between the
Western and Japanese instruments.
From the end of the cadenza (step 11) there is a gradual
narrowing of the pitch content to focus upon the note D
(Fig. 7). As at the first solo entry in the work, this pitch is
emphasised in the music of both the Japanese and Western
instruments. At this point too, the biwa and shakuhachi parts
share the orchestra’s metrical notation and are therefore
subject to the conductor’s beat. For the last time in the work,
there is some sense of convergence between the two traditions
– perhaps even the expectation of resolution in a single pitch.
The sound of the shakuhachi emerges from the final orches-
tral material on the pitch D4. A crescendo, however, gives rise
to an increasingly complex timbre in the shakuhachi, culmi-
nating in an intensely breathy attack on the last note. Any
sense of definite pitch is lost, and with it any perception of a
resolution here. It has already been noted that the parallels
between this section and the first solo entry include not only
pitch, but orchestration as well. This symmetry reinforces the
sense that the Japanese and Western traditions have met for a
while in this work, then returned to their independent paths.
Western and Japanese music are brought together in
November Steps, not by assimilating one into another, but
by embracing difference, making it an essential component
of the work. Points of convergence and mediating ele-
ments facilitate the meeting but do nothing to resolve the
differences.
References
Herd, J. (1987). “Change and Continuity in Contemporary
Japanese Music: A Search for a National Identity.” Ph.D.
Thesis, Brown University.
Ohtake, N. (1993). Creative Sources for the Music of Toru
Takemitsu. Scolar Press, Aldershot, Hants.
Takemitsu, T. (1967). November Steps. C.F. Peters, New York.
Takemitsu, T. (1987). “My perception of time in traditional
Japanese music.” Translated by Steven G. Nelson. Contem-
Takemitsu, T. (1989). “Tôru Takemitsu with Tania Cronin and
Hilary Tann.” Perspectives of New Music, 27(2), 206–214.
Takemitsu, T. (1994). “One Sound.” Translated by Hugh de
Ferranti. Contemporary Music Review, 8(2), 3–4.
Takemitsu, T. (1995). Confronting Silence: Selected Writings.
Translated and edited by Yoshiko Kakudo and Glenn
Glasgow. Fallen Leaf Press, Berkeley.
 220 Lewis Cornwell

Biography of Lewis Cornwell

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Lewis Cornwell lectures in Harmony at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. A graduate of the University of Sydney, he studied composi-
tion in the Department of Music with Peter Sculthorpe. He began tutoring in Harmony in 1982, both in the Music Department and at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, gaining a full-time position at the Conservatorium in 1989.

He was a founding member of the composers’ collective Music Performed and served a term as its administrator, helping to organise work-
shops of New Music for young composers. His works have been included in concerts given by many New Music ensembles in Sydney. His
interest in studying and composing New Music for traditional Japanese instruments has led to performances of his works in Japan and Europe.
In January 1997, Interweave, for shō and guitar, received its first performance at the 18th Festival and Conference of the Asian Composers’
League, in Manila.

Lewis was a co-organiser of the Takemitsu Symposium and Tribute Concert, which was held at the University of Sydney in February, 1998.