Five-and-a-Half Ways to Disturb the Air

ensemble percussion quartet
written fall 2026
duration 9 minutes

for the wonderful folks of So Percussion, who let us write pretty much whatever the hell we want

program notes

Five-and-a-Half Ways to Disturb the Air gets its name from the many sounds percussionists make. In this piece, each performer is given a similar setup: an aerophone (here either a melodica or a harmonica), a wood block, and a glass bottle (plus a little extra for the fourth player).

What, then, are the five-and-a-half ways? There are the techniques I call for:

1) striking a rigid body (whack!)
2) blowing air through vibrating reeds (vvvttt....)
3) resonating a container (woooooo)
4) releasing pressurized air (hissssss)
5) striking a membrane, (thwub)
5.5) vibrating a membrane. (bzzz)

And also the larger scale structure of the piece:

I. Still air,
II. Jagged air,
III. Wobbly air,
IV. Moving air,
V. Buzzing air, and
Coda. Broken air.

Percussion ensemble always intimidated me with the sheer number of possibilities, and this was maybe the first time I have felt truly comfortable writing a percussion piece. I owe this to the wonderfully quirky and committed musicians of So Percussion.