Augurs generates a continuous random groove.
This piece is inspired by "Augurs of Spring," which is a movement from Igor Stravinsky's classic The Rite of Spring. The movement is most commonly remembered for the irregular accents that create anxiety and unease due to their inpredictability.
The piece begins with 16 squares on screen. The top row is the active ostinato. It represents the pattern you will be playing. The bottom row is the 'look ahead' ostinato. It represents the pattern you will be playing 8 beats from now. Once you start Augurs, you will notice that some of the squares fill with asterisks. These represent the beats you play on. Empty squares are skipped. The first four iterations of the top row will be blank. This is designed to give you time to feel the pulse before having to play because it is quick. Pick a single note/chord to play the entire piece. You can experiment with different variations, as well. Here are two of mine, feel free to invent your own.
- Have some players play on the empty beats.
- Have each player have their own version of the score running. You can sync the time for a more 'traditional' sound, or create interesting counterpoint by starting at different times.