go

Don’t seek to emulate the master; seek what the master

sought. - Bash!

Instrumentation: Sustained bell-like sounds; melodic/harmonic

instruments; sustained bass sound (keyboard synth, acoustic
organ, bass guitar, cello, the low end of a piano); rhythm
instruments (snare drum or brush scraping the bottom snares, wood
block, unpitched metal, a piece of wood, etc.)

Harmony/Melody:

! Primary line – As many instruments as desired; perform the

main numbers in the score (1 2 2 3, etc). The melodic
sequence is cumulative, and always follows the pattern
below. As the score reflects, each cell is followed by a
rest of the same duration as the sounded notes (here, an
eighth-note).

! “Bell tones” – Letters in superscript represent high bell

tones that interject between melodic cells during the
repeat of the “A” sections. These notes occur exactly in
time during the rest before the melodic cell indicated (on
the eighth-note rest). As many players should perform these
as possible.

In the “B” section, play bell tones during the first number
of each cell but not on the repeat.

! Improvisation – During the “B” section, there is room for

improvised interjections by a melodic instrument.
Drone: During the “B” section, low sustaining bass notes change
between numbers in time with the score just like the bell tones,
as indicated in sub-script. Selecting a very low tessitura, they
proceed as follows:

Rhythm: All of the purely rhythmic elements occur in the “B”

section.

! Basic Layer - This layer is the basis for the “B” section:
all players should know it and be able to count/follow
along. The player(s) performing this part can play on any
un-pitched instrument(s) with two sounds. It is the rhythm
of the melodic cells from the score, but each cell (divided
by “/”) is repeated once. For example, the first cell is
/1 2 2 3/. The player would perform /1 2 2 3 1 2 2 3/ and
then move on to the next cell.
! Other Layers - The performers can perform rhythms from the
score alone or in canon during the “B” section, at a slower
or faster rate than the primary layer (though still fitting
in time). It is a nice way to fill out the rhythmic
texture.

Form: go has the following form: A B A’

! A – Perform the score twice: first the primary line alone

by all instruments designated for it. On repeat, the
superscript melodies appear as bell tones in between the
melodic cells.

! B – The basic rhythmic layer, other rhythmic layer, and

bass drone all enter immediately at the beginning. Repeat
each “bar” of the score (indicated by “/”) once before
moving on. The B section bell tones mark each new bar with
the appropriate melodic gesture (i.e. 1, 3, 3…). An
improvised melodic layer can add ambiance and interest
(guitar, bowed vibraphone, kalimba, etc).

! A’ – Identical to the A section, except that many of the

layers from the B section – bass drones, rhythmic layers –
hang over and gradually fade out.
Score:

A G A
1A 2E 2 3 / 3A 1E 1 2 / 3A 2E
G A G A
1C 2F 4 3 1 4 1 / 4A 2E 1 / 3A 1E 3 4 1 3
A C A G A
4C 1F 1 3 / 5D 2A-G 1 4 / 3D 2A-G 1
C A
3C 1F 5 6 2 5 / 5D 4A-G 6 2 2 6