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eISSN 2317-6377
A linha de baixo nos ritmos do sul do Brasil: proposi es
pr ticas, te ricas e suas aplica es no contrabaixo
ac stico
The ba li e i he h hm f S he B a il: ac ical a d he e ical
al a d i a lica i he d bleba
Ma he Me i a Pa ali1
matheuspasquali89@gmail.com
Leona do Pie ma i i1
1U i e idade d E ad de Sa a Ca a i a, CEART, Fl ia li , Sa a Ca a i a, B a i
ARTIGO CIENT FICO
Editor de Se o: Fe a d Chaib
Editor de Layout: Fe a d Chaib
Licen a: "CC b 4.0"
Data de submissão: 10 set 2024
Data final de aprovação: 27 out 2024
Data de publicação: 02 jan 2025
DOI: https:/ / doi.org/ 10.35699/ 2317- 6377.2025.54497
RESUMO: E e a ig e ma a li e da li ha de bai g e da mil ga e em i m imila e ,
ca ac e ic da egi l d B a il, a lica d - a c abai . C ide a- e a e a a ec ic
a a a b e de ma idade a iada, ma amb m a ec c cei al de e g e , e
dial gam c m c cei de cla e e mica adi i a. F i fei a ma a li e b e a cla e ada e e g e ,
e e a ame e a me ma e c ada em e il , ge i d ma el igem af ica a c m m.
E e m abalh i f mad ela ica, de m d a e a ici c m m ic c idad em
e f ma ce c m g Q a e C a de P , g e eciali ad e e i li , ediad em Lage -
SC. F i eali ada ma e e i a c m m ic J Gab iel R a, e amb m c m a ilh a e ce e e
ica . Ne e a ig e i cl da a c i e e a li e de ech de b a de e e e i a a c b a
a c cl e le a ada .
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Ri m li ; R mica adi i a; M ica; C abai .
ABSTRACT: Thi a icle e a a al i f ba li e i he mil ga ge e a d imila h hm , cha ac e i ic
f he he egi f B a il, a l i g hem he c aba . N l he ac ical a ec f b ai i g a
a ia e d i c ide ed, b al he c ce al a ec behi d he e ge e , hich dial g e i h he
c ce f cla e a d addi i e h hm. A h hmic a al i a made f he claff f h e ge e , hich a e e ac l
he ame a h e f d i he le , gge i g a ible c mm Af ica igi . Thi i a k i f med b
ac ice, he e e f he a h a ici a ed a a g e m icia i e f ma ce i h he g Q a e
C a de P , a g eciali ed i he e e i e, ba ed i Lage -SC. A i e ie a ca ied i h
m icia J Gab iel R a, h al ha ed hi e ce i . Thi a icle i cl de a c i i a d a al e f
e ce f m k f m hi e e i e c b a e he c cl i ai ed.
KEYWORDS: S he h hm ; Addi i e h hmic; M ic; D bleba .
Per Musi | Belo Horizonte | v.26 | Gene al To ic |e252602 | 2025
Unconventional sound production on the xylophone:
outcomes of an artistic research collaboration
Produção sonora não convencional no xilofone:
resultados de uma colaboração em investigação artística
Rita Torres1
rtorres@ua.pt
Helvio Mendes1
1 INET-md – Institute of Ethnomusicology: Center for Studies of Music and Dance, Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro,
Portugal
SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE
Section Editor: Fernando Chaib
Layout Editor: Fernando Chaib
License: "CC by 4.0"
Submitted date: 08 jul 2025
Final approval date: 09 aug 2025
Publication date: 27 sep 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.35699/a8q81s80
ABSTRACT: The xylophone’s timbral resources have been little explored. Despite recent efforts to promote the solo xylophone,
conventional sound production prevails in most of the compositions reviewed by the authors. The first author contributed to an
investigation of the second author, exploring with him sound production on the xylophone through practice-based research
oriented to art music creation. Entering each other's domains, the authors ended up arriving at instrumental and compositional
gestures almost certainly unheard of in the instrument until then. In the musical work, these are juxtaposed with conventional
gestures in a varied and predominantly discontinuous compositional flow, counteracting the tendency in many of the
compositions reviewed by the authors.
KEYWORDS: Practice-based research; Composer–performer working relationship; Creative process; Musical gestures;
Performative gestures.
RESUMO: Os recursos tímbricos do xilofone têm sido pouco explorados. Apesar dos esforços recentes para promover o xilofone
solo, na maioria das composições revistas pelos autores predomina a produção sonora convencional. A primeira autora contribuiu
para uma investigação do segundo autor, explorando com ele a produção sonora no xilofone através de investigação baseada na
prática orientada para a criação musical erudita. Entrando nos domínios um do outro, os autores acabaram por chegar a gestos
instrumentais e composicionais quase certamente inéditos no instrumento até então. Na obra musical, estes são justapostos com
gestos convencionais num fluxo composicional variado e predominantemente descontínuo, contrariando a tendência em muitas
das composições revistas pelos autores.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Investigação baseada na prática; Relação de trabalho compositor–performer; Processo criativo; Gestos
musicais; Gestos performativos.
Per Musi | Belo Horizonte | v.26 | General Topics | e252627 | 2025
Per Musi | Belo Horizonte | v.26 | General Topics | e252627 | 2025
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1. Introduction
1
The xylophone was the first mallet instrument to have a soloistic role in the era of acoustic recording
(Moersch, 2016). Most of the pieces were then transcriptions and continued to be so after the decline of the
instrument’s popularity in the 1940s and 1950s in favor of the vibraphone and marimba (Moersch, 2016).
The panorama changed from 1960 onwards, when initiatives to promote the xylophone as a soloistic
instrument began to emerge, as Table 1 shows. Still, there is little interest in the xylophone: in 2023, at one
of the world's largest percussion conventions, the xylophone was only present in one instrument show (apart
from a Gyil concert, the xylophone from Ghana) (see Percussive Arts Society 2023).
Tab. 1 – Initiatives to promote the xylophone as a soloistic instrument after its popularity fell in favor of the vibraphone and the marimba
Year(s)
Promotor
Initiative
Results
1960s
and
1970s
Yoichi Hirakoa
(1907-1981)
[xylophonist]
Commissioning of
compositions for
xylophone and
orchestra
Five compositions for xylophone and orchestra;
edition of Pitfield’s Sonata for solo xylophone,
considered by some authors as a commission of
Hirakoa (Goto 2013).
1970s
NEXUS members
[percussion ensemble]
Revival of ragtime
music for xylophone
Concerts and album Nexus Ragtime Concert
(1976) (Moersch 2016)
2010
Samuel Solomon
[percussionist]
Call for solo xylophone
works
The MassChap 2010 Xylophone Collection. New
short works for solo xylophone by 46 composers
(guests and competition winners) (Solomon et
al. 2010)
2014
Samuel Stokes
[percussionist]
Call for solo xylophone
works
Five compositions selected and recorded by
Stokes (s.d.)
Reference: by authors
But the concert repertoire for xylophone is not only limited in quantity. The characteristics of most of the
pieces of the last 50 years are the same as those that preceded them. According to Brindle in 1970,
the somewhat inexpressive tonal character of the instrument has perhaps encouraged a
type of virtuosity which is not always deeply musical. Perhaps too, composers have been
at fault in writing brilliant banalities, which though highly suited to the instrument, have
only a superficial emotive significance. (Brindle 1970, 37)
In fact, Schutz et al. (2008, 130) showed that when composers write for the xylophone, they implicitly
acknowledge that the high-pitched sounds, essentially of short duration and with bright timbres, which are
characteristic of the instrument, "are inconsistent with the acoustic cues used to convey sadness", leading
to the xylophone being considered a happy instrument. It is possible that the composers in this study were
unaware of less orthodox resources. Because, despite all efforts, works with conventional sound production
and a monotonous compositional flow prevail. Moreover, they are disregarded in favor of ragtime
compositions – as Schutz et al. (2008) point out, these are the most popular choice of pieces for xylophone
in percussion recitals. By promoting other approaches to sound production and composition, the xylophone
1
This section uses material from a paper in Portuguese published in the proceedings of the 4th Brazilian
Percussion Congress (Torres and Mendes 2024).
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3
could perhaps be held in more consideration by composers and percussionists, especially those interested
in a more exploratory repertoire. After all, it was a
constant search in the vibraphone for a greater technical and musical versatility explored
by [jazz] instrumentalists, combined with the great possibility of timbral exploration,
[which] caught the attention of several composers of classical music in the first half of the
twentieth century. (Chaib 2008, 57; our translation)
2
The second author of this article has been collaboratively looking for new forms of resonance and timbral
variation in the xylophone. His work has led to innovative ways of producing sound on the instrument and
the dissolution of the boundaries between art, music and technology. He has also contributed to the
expansion of the instrument's repertoire, giving rise to works that explore the potential of the xylophone
sound matrix through hybrid narratives (see Mendes 2019; Mendes et al. 2018a, 2018b; Mendes and Vieira
2024). The first author of this article contributed to the second author’s endeavor, basing the exploration of
the instrument on her compositional ideas. Until then, she had focused her exploration of an instrument’s
timbral resources on the guitar (see Torres 2015, 2020; Torres and Ferreira-Lopes 2018), having developed
through practice-based research an innovative way of using the technique of multiphonics (Torres 2020).
We begin this article by briefly and systematically presenting how the soloistic xylophone has been explored
since the second half of the twentieth century in terms of sound production and compositional flow. Then
we discuss different kinds of musical gestures and composer–performer working relationships. It follows a
summary of our creative process, in which we point out its most relevant aspects and classify our working
relationship. An overview of our results precedes our final remarks on the collaboration.
2. Composing for xylophone as a soloistic instrument: state of the art
We reviewed 89 works for solo or soloistic xylophone by 85 authors. These are works of which we had access
to the complete score or a complete recording among those which came to our knowledge through internet
searches, either directly or cited in scientific publications. Among these works, 59 did not introduce much
novelty concerning the production of sound or the compositional flow (Adam Lenhart Music 2022; calan
video 2016; Dos Santos n.d.; Hasper n.d.; Hovhaness 1965; Koors 2021; Láng 1969; Marimba Duo 2024;
Mayuzumi 1965; MichaelShingoComposer 2020; Ohenoja 2022, 122–130; Pocket Publications 2020; Redshift
Music Society 2022; Rhythmscape Publishing 2015; Solomon et al. 2010 [38 compositions]; Sommerfeldt
n.d.; Stokes n.d. [4 compositions]; Tortiller 2002). The compositions that did introduce novelty concerning
those two aspects are mostly for solo xylophone or xylophone and fixed media or live electronics, and are
listed in Tables 2 and 3. These works present unconventional sound production or a compositional flow
containing predominantly varied and flexible beat divisions or that is not metered (hereafter referred to as
an irregular compositional flow; the unusual employment of glissandi is common to many of them), but the
compositional flow of most of them is (predominantly) continuous. Although this might be necessary to
create tension, it does not always allow to fruition the results of less conventional playing and understand
how they arise.
2
Original version: “A constante busca no vibrafone por uma maior versatilidade tcnica e musical explorada
por instrumentistas, aliada grande possibilidade de explorao tmbrica, chamou a ateno de diversos
compositores da msica erudita ainda na primeira metade do sculo XX.”
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Tab. 2 – Works for solo xylophone reviewed by the authors in which there is unconventional sound production on the xylophone and/or an
irregular compositional flow (i.e., a varied or non-metric flow). Chronological organization by year of composition
Year
Author, Title of the work
Description
1967
Thomas Pitfield, Sonata
Striking the bars with different kinds of mallets in each hand; regular and
continuous flow
1987
Carlos Stasi, Mapselpha 4r
Irregular and continuous flow
2009
Roberto Victorio,
Tetragrammaton X
Irregular and continuous flow
2010
Andrew Allen, Rats
Four kinds of sonorities produced ad libitum on the bars (mostly pitch,
e.g., medium mallets; half-pitched, e.g., strike the bar shaft; mostly
noise, e.g., percussion with mallet shafts; entirely noise, e.g. scratching a
bar with a mallet shaft); rattle mallet shafts against each other in a
specified way; irregular and discontinuous flow
2010
Lou Bunk, Etude: Being and
Becoming
Possibility of using unconventional mallets, "particularly if they make an
interesting sound"; irregular and discontinuous flow
2010
James Charrette, Aristotle’s
Lantern
Dead stroke; irregular and predominantly continuous flow
2010
Marti Epstein, Etude Estinto
Irregular and discontinuous flow
2010
Peter Gilbert, Etude for
Xylophone
Striking the bars with mallet shafts; regular and continuous flow
2010
Fusun Koksal, Etude No. 1
Irregular and predominantly continuous flow
2010
Joseph Pereira, Oiseaux de
Messiaen
Dead stroke; Irregular and continuous flow
2010
Rudolf Rojahn, Azraeel
Irregular and predominantly continuous flow
2010
Samuel Solomon, Gliss Ditty
Interjections of short and fast glissandi between conventionally played
notes in a regular and continuous flow
2010
Ken Ueno, Three Xylotudes
Striking mallet shafts against each other in a specified way; irregular and
discontinuous flow; theatrical elements
2014
Gregory Pfeiffer, The Nine
Members of the Asian Dawn
Irregular and discontinuous flow
2015
Cesar Traldi, Kunai
Bar striking and glissandi with a marble in each hand or mallet butt ends;
dropping several marbles on the bar; predominantly regular, continuous
flow
2017
Matthew Curley, Catapult
Short, fast and repeated glissandi; regular and continuous flow
2019
Jean
François de
Guise
Arrangement
Irregular and discontinuous flow
2019
Four Bagatelles
2021
Attempt
Bowing bars. Irregular and discontinuous flow
2025
Madalena Rato & Luis F.
Amaya, un breve alarido
Rubbing/striking bars [by two players] with metallic chains and threads
of small bells. Irregular and discontinuous flow
References: M. Curley, Catapult, s.d.; G. Pfeiffer, “The Nine Members of the Asian Dawn,” 2015; T. Pittfield, Sonata, 1967; M. Rato and L. F.
Amaya, “un breve alarido”, 2025; S. Solomon et al., The Masschap 2010 Xylophone Collection, 2010, pp. 5–8, 12–14, 20–21, 26, 34–35, 47, 74–
76, 82–83, 90–91, 98–101; C. Stasi, Maselpha 4r, 1987; C. Traldi, Kunai, 2015; R. Victorio, Tetragrammaton X, 2009; 西方古典音乐Lu, “Jean
François de Guise - arrangement for xylophone,” “Jean François de Guise - Four Bagatelles for Xylophone alone,” 2019; 西方古典音乐Lu, ”Jean
François de Guise - Attempt for xylophone solo,” 2021
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Tab. 3 – Works for xylophone and fixed media or live electronics reviewed by the authors in which there is unconventional sound production
on the xylophone and/or an irregular compositional flow (i.e., a varied or non-metric flow). Chronological organization by year of composition
Year
Author, Title of the work
Description
1975
William Cahn, The Recital Piece: A Drama for
Solo Xylophonist and Tape
Simultaneous striking at the bar’s nodes; scratching a
bar with a mallet shaft; short glissandi; predominantly
regular, discontinuous flow
1986
Joseph Celli, 8 Mallets Four Brian
[xylophone and 3 video channels]
Continuous flow of glissando tremoli.
1987
Gustavo Matamoros, Truly Yours
[xylophone and taped ensemble]
Irregular and discontinuous flow
2015
Red Wierenga, Xylocybin
[xylophone and live electronics]
Bowing bars; clusters with prepared mallets; irregular
and discontinuous flow
2018
Weston Olencki, For Xylophone
[xylophone and electronics]
Clusters by slapping bars with a long dowel; excitation
on the bars’ outer edges with small fans; dead stroke;
percussion with mallet shafts; short and repeated
glissandi; irregular and discontinuous flow
2018
Helvio Mendes, Alexsander Duarte & Cesar
Traldi, Xyloops
[xylophone and electronics]
Dead stroke; percussion with mallet shafts; short and
repeated glissandi; predominantly regular and
continuous flow
2018
Daniel Barreiro & Cesar Traldi, Rastros #2
[xylophone, cello ensemble and electronics]
Striking bars with mallet butt ends; short, fast and
repeated glissandi; dead stroke; predominantly
irregular and continuous flow.
2019
Michel Soto, Malware II
[xylophone, video and electronics]
Dead stroke; striking the bars with mallet shafts and
with marbles; bowing bars; predominantly irregular
and continuous flow
2020
Cesar Traldi, Ressonâncias #5
[xylophone and tape]
Predominantly irregular and continuous flow
2021
Samuel Vieira, Quasitude
[xylophone and live loop]
Scraping a bar with a corrugated tube; glissandi on the
resonators with mallet shafts; dropping ping-pong balls
on the instrument; predominantly irregular and
continuous flow
References: J. Barudin, “The Recital Piece (Bill Cahn),” 2013; C. Traldi, “Rastros #2 (2018) – Daniel Barreiro e Cesar Traldi,” 2020; D. Bathory-
Kitsz, “Brian Johnson plays Eight Mallets for Brian by Joseph Celli.” 2011; DrFaustusMusic, “Red Wierenga – Xylocybin (2015),” 2015; G.
Matamoros, Truly Yours, 1991; H. Mendes et al., “Xyloops,” 2018b; W. Olencki, “for xylophone [2018],” 2019; M. Soto, Malware II, 2019; C.
Traldi, Ressonâncias #5, 2020 S. Vieira, Quasitude, 2021
Tables 4 and 5 show the unconventional sound production we encountered in the reviewed literature. This
includes the possibilities in 17 of the 30 works featured in Tables 2 and 3 and those disseminated in scientific
publications. Of the books dedicated to contemporary percussion playing and composing (Brindle 1970;
Dierstein et al. 2018; Solomon 2002/20216), only Solomon introduces novelty in xylophone sound
production.
3
Although the first edition of this book precedes most compositions, we hardly found in these
earlier compositions the possibilities mentioned in the book.
4
A book chapter by this article’s second author
in co-authorship with a composer concerns an artistic research endeavor of both (Mendes & Vieira, 2024),
which introduced novel ways of playing the xylophone.
3
See Solomon (2016, 112–115 and Appendix C).
4
A couple of differences between the section on unconventional sound production in keyboard instruments
in the two editions of Solomon’s (2002, 2016) book are worth pointing out. In the first edition, he calls this
section “Special effects” and includes the glissando. In the second edition he calls it “Extended techniques,”
and the topic Glissandi can be found in another section dedicated to composing for those kinds of
instruments, thus showing that the glissando has become a well-established gesture on these instruments.
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Tab. 4 – Unconventional mallet usage, unconventional bar spots and preparations on the xylophone in the literature reviewed by the authors
Category
Description
Work(s)
Unconventional
mallet usage
Striking bars with different kinds of mallets in
each hand
Pitfield, Sonata, 1967
Scraping a bar with the butt end of a mallet
Cahn, The Recital Piece, 1975
Allen, Rats, 2010
Glissando tremolo
Celli, 8 Mallets Four Brian, 1986
Striking bars with mallet butt ends
Allen, Rats, 2010
Gilbert, Etude for Xylophone, 2010
Traldi, Kunai, 2015
Mendes, Duarte & Traldi, Xyloops, 2018
Barreiro & Traldi, Rastros #2, 2018
Olencki, For Xylophone, 2018
Soto, Malware II, 2019
Striking a bar’s outer edge with a mallet shaft
Solomon, How to write for percussion, 2016
Marimshot (i.e., simultaneous striking of a bar’s
outer edge with the mallet’s shaft and the bar’s
center with the head)
Pitch bend (i.e., dragging a mallet from a node
to the center of a bar after the bar is struck with
another mallet)
Striking mallet shafts against each other
Ueno, Three Xylotudes, 2010
Rattle mallet shafts against each other
Allen, Rats, 2010
Dead stroke
Charrette, Aristotle’s Lantern, 2010
Pereira, Oiseaux de Messiaen, 2010
Mendes, Duarte & Traldi, Xyloops, 2018
Barreiro & Traldi, Rastros #2, 2018
Soto, Malware II, 2019
Unconventional
bar spots
Striking on one or both nodes of a bar (i.e., at
the nodes of its first vibrational mode, where
the bars are perforated)
Cahn, The Recital Piece, 1975 [both spots]
Solomon, How to write for percussion, 2016
Striking a side of a bar
Allen, Rats, 2010
Preparations
Striking a bar, to which plasticine is stuck
Solomon, How to write for percussion, 2016
Striking a bar that has aluminum foil between it
and the resonator
References: J. Barudin, “The Recital Piece (Bill Cahn),” 2013; C. Traldi, “Rastros #2 (2018) – Daniel Barreiro e C. Traldi,” 2020; D. Bathory-Kitsz,
“Brian Johnson plays Eight Mallets for Brian by Joseph Celli.” 2011; H. Mendes et al., “Xyloops,” 2018b; W. Olencki, “for xylophone [2018],”
2019; T. Pittfield, Sonata, 1967; C. Traldi, Kunai, 2015; S. Solomon, How to Write for Percussion: A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion
Composition, 2016, pp. 112–115 and Appendix C; S. Solomon et al., The Masschap 2010 Xylophone Collection, 2010, pp. 5–8, 12–14, 20–21,
34–35, 74–76, 90–91, 98–101; M. Soto, Malware II, 2019
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Tab. 5 – Unconventional exciters and parts of the xylophone in the literature reviewed by the authors
Category
Description
Work(s)
Unconventional
exciters and
respective usage
Marbles
Striking the bars
Traldi, Kunai, 2015
Soto, Malware II, 2019
Dropping on the bars
Traldi, Kunai, 2015
Scraping along the bars
(glissando)
Rubbing the bars
Mendes & Vieira, “Quasitude,” 2024
Dowel
Striking the bars lengthwise
(clusters)
Solomon, How to write for percussion,
2016
Slapping the bars (clusters)
Olencki, For Xylophone, 2018
Small fan
Striking a bar’s outer edge
with the fan’s blades
Bow
Drawing the bow vertically
across the bar’s outer edge
Wierenga, Xylocybin, 2015
Soto, Malware II, 2019
De Guise, Attempt, 2021
Corrugated tube
Scraping the outer edge of a
bar
Vieira, Quasitude, 2021
Wierenga, Xylocybin, 2015
Mendes & Vieira, “Quasitude,” 2024
Ping-pong balls
Dropping on the bars
Straw broom
Dragging along the bars
(glissando)
Mendes & Vieira, “Quasitude,” 2024
Chain
Simultaneous rubbing /
dragging on several bars;
laying/pulling one ring after
the other on/from a bar
Rato & Amaya, un breve alarido, 20255
Thread of small
metal bells
Dragging on a bar’s outer
edge; rubbing a bar
(straight/tremolo) with one
bell while holding the rest;
laying/pulling one bell after
the other on/from a bar
Thread of very
small plastic bells
Rubbing a bar
Unconventional
parts of the
instrument
Striking an edge of the frame
Solomon, How to write for percussion,
2016
Dragging a mallet along the resonators
Dragging a mallet’s butt end along the resonators
Vieira, Quasitude, 2021
Mendes & Vieira, “Quasitude,” 2024
References: DrFaustusMusic, “Red Wierenga – Xylocybin (2015),”2015; H. Mendes et al., “Xyloops,” 2018b; H. Mendes and S. Vieira.
“Quasitude: The Processes and Methods of the Composition Work for Xylophone and Live Looping,” 2024; W. Olencki, “for xylophone [2018],”
2019; M. Rato and L. F. Amaya, “un breve alarido”, 2025; S. Solomon, How to Write for Percussion: A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion
Composition, 2016, pp. 112–115 and Appendix C; M. Soto, Malware II, 2019; C. Traldi, Kunai, 2015; S. Vieira, Quasitude, 2021; 西方古典音乐
Lu,” Jean François de Guise - Attempt for xylophone solo,” 2021
3. Musical gestures
In our research, we arrived at different kinds of musical gestures. A musical gesture is “an action pattern that
produces music, is encoded in music, or is made in response to music”, the term being therefore usable to
refer to the body movements of an action or “to describe some emergent qualities in musical sound
5
This work is scored for one keyboard percussion instrument (and two percussionists) but according to Rato
(personal communication), it was initially conceived for xylophone.
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(Jensenius et al. 2010, 19). “Genuine gestures,” however, are movements that “carry expression and
meaning” (Leman and Godøy 2010, 5). That is, they are “physical displacement[s] of an object in space” that
are mentally activated (Jensenius et al. 2010, 13) after being “imagined and anticipated” (Leman and Godøy
2010, 5). Their primary intention in music is to control an instrument or coordinate actions among musicians
(conducting gestures).
An instrumental gesture – or “effective gesture” for Delalande (1988 apud Cadoz and Wanderley 2000, 78)
– is a genuine gesture that controls an instrument. For Cadoz and Wanderley (2000. 79),
it is applied to a material object and there exists physical interaction with it; in this physical
interaction, specific (physical) phenomena are produced, whose forms and dynamic
evolution can be mastered by the subject; these phenomena may then become the support
for communicational messages and/or be the basis for the production of a material action.
Table 6 presents Cadoz’s classification of instrumental gestures, which is based on their function. An
excitation gesture employs a sound production mode in a certain way – for example, dropping a marble on
a bar is an instantaneous excitation gesture that involves striking the bar using the force of gravity. Rubbing
a marble or the butt end of a mallet on the surface of a bar is a continuous excitation gesture with continuous
excitation, but if the bar is scraped with the mallet’s butt end, there may be a sequence of discrete
excitations. An excitation gesture may be interrupted after its “prefix”, before its “excitation phase” and
“suffix” take place (see Godøy 2008 apud Jensenius et al. 2010, 22), thus ending in silence – a “disjointed
attack” for Tolentino (n.d. apud Aroso 2020, 87), which is mainly visual and acquires full significance in a
performative context, as we shall discuss below.
Modification and selection gestures are the other gestures involved in sound production. For example, the
pitch bend (dragging a mallet from a node to its center after the bar is struck with another mallet) is a
parametric modification gesture with a continuous variation of the parameter pitch. An example of a
structural modification gesture is sticking plasticine to a bar, which changes its pitch, its resonance and its
timbre. If we consider the object that excites the bars a part of the instrument, the choice of using different
mallets in each hand to play single notes is an example of a sequential selection gesture. A parallel selection
gesture is for example choosing to play at a bar’s outer edge and center at the same time, as in the
marimshot. In many cases, two or more of the proposed functions combine in different degrees giving rise
to another [higher-level] instrumental gesture, as Cadoz and Wanderley (2000, 79) point out. For example,
rubbing the surface of a bar transversally with a mallet and continuing to the neighboring bar leads to striking
the latter on its lateral edge; continuing this gesture along several bars results in a glissando. Combined
within a musical context, instrumental gestures give rise to "a series of pitches, timbres, durations, and other
musical parameters,” thus making up compositional gestures (Baschet 2013, 24).
The secondary intention of gesture is a subjective and context-dependent aspect: the meaning beyond that
of the primary intention (Leman and Godøy 2010). As Aroso (2020) stresses, a performative gesture
“presupposes significance of a meaning that involves more than just a physical movement” (83). That is, the
performative gesture is “closely tied to the display of meaningful energetic shaping” (Bertinetto 2025, 12).
The secondary intention of a gesture is imbued in the movement by what Delalande (1988 apud Cadoz and
Wanderley 2000, 78) calls a “figurative gesture”. This is a gesture that is “perceived by the audience but
without a clear correspondence to a physical movement”. It may stem from the performer during the
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9
preparation of a performance, or in real time during a performance; or be prescribed in the score by the
composer, as for example in Sen VI for solo percussion by Toshio Hosokawa when he asks for “a motion of
drawing a big circle”, which precedes an attack, to be performed “con tensione” (Hosokawa 1993 reproduced
in Aroso 2020, 88).
6
Tab. 6 – Classification of instrumental gestures by Claude Cadoz
Category
Definition
Sub-categories
Excitation
gesture
Provides the energy that will eventually be
present in the perceived phenomena
Instantaneous: the sound starts when the gesture
finishes
Continuous: both gesture and sound co-exist. The
gesture leads either to a continuous excitation or a
sequence of discrete excitations.
Modification
gesture
Is related to the modification of the
instrument’s properties and affects the
relation between the excitation gesture
and the sound
Parametric or continuous: a continuous gesture
varies a parameter continuously or discretely
Structural: when the modification is related to
categorical differences, such as the
insertion/removal of an extra part
Selection
gesture
Consists of a choice among multiple similar
elements in an instrument. It neither
provides energy to the resulting sound nor
modification of any of the instrument's
properties.
Sequential [choice of one element at a time]
Parallel [more than one element chosen at the same
time]
Reference: C. Cadoz and M. Wanderley. “Gesture – Music,” 2000, pp. 79–80
4. Composer–performer working relationships
We classified our working relationship according to different frameworks. These are systematized in Table 7
and classify the working relationship between a composer and a performer according to the way ideation
and decision-making occur. While Taylor (2016) only distinguishes the parties’ involvement in ideation,
Torrence (2018) – who classifies the performer’s role and not the working relationship – also considers the
creative level at which the parties interact in this stage. Hayden and Windsor (2007) only go into detail
regarding the "interactive" type of relationship, clarifying that the performer, in addition to clarifying
technical issues, puts creative ideas to the composer's consideration, to which he/she is open, but still has
the final say on their inclusion, remaining, therefore, as the author of the work.
6
This visual information might change the subsequent perception of the auditory information (Aroso 2020).
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Tab. 7 – Classifications of the role of the performer and of the composer–performer working relationship according to their involvement in
ideation and decision-making
Performer’s
role
denomination
Composer–performer working
relationship
denomination
Involvement of collaborators in the creative process
(C: Composer; P: Performer; ||: in parallel;
+: together; ±: partially together)
*
**
***
Ideation
Decision-making
***
* (interaction level of P)
Interpreter
Closed loop /
Directive
–
C
C (none)
C
C (final score)
C (sketches)
Adviser
Open loop /
Interactive
Hierarchical
C || P
C (materials)
C*
C** /
C or P***
Consultative
C + P
C ± P (composition)
C ± P*
Deviser
Collaborative
Co-operative
C || P
C + P
C + P
Collaborative
C + P
References: * J. Torrence, “Rethinking the Performer: Towards a Devising Performance Practice”, 2018, section II; ** S. Hayden and L.
Windsor, “Collaboration and the Composer: Case Studies from the End of the 20th Century,” 2007, p. 33; A. *** Taylor, “‘Collaboration’ in
Contemporary Music: A Theoretical View,” 2016, p. 570
5. Creative process
5.1 Background
When we started our collaboration, the composer had experience in composing for percussion instruments.
She had first used percussion in two pieces for small ensemble.
7
A work for percussion ensemble followed,
8
in which she used the xylophone but only for its high register. In fact, the incisiveness of this register is
something of which she is quite fond – after all, as Brindle (1970, 37) points out, “the xylophone’s genius
does lie in its brilliance, its vitality in tone and movement.” In her two other percussion works
9
the xylophone
is absent, but they have in common with the sextet:
• the very beginning: three isolated loud attacks on a high-pitched wood block; and
• the way the title arose: letters from the title of the main source of inspiration for the piece – in one
case, the first letter of each word in the title; and in two others, all the letters that are read as
consonants (Torres 2023).
The composer, however, had no knowledge related to unconventional sound production on the xylophone.
This was actually advantageous for the creative process because, as pointed out by several authors regarding
the guitar, having a certain distance to the instrument puts a composer in a better position to discover new
possibilities (see Torres 2015). The composer also had no experience in collaborating with performers. Her
creative processes up to then had taken place in the usual way, in which the composer works essentially
alone until the rehearsal period that precedes the premiere.
7
Cyrano-Szenen II, 2006; um Lieder herum..., 2007.
8
SMPG for six percussionists, 2005–2008/2009, rev. 2009.
9
MSTRG for one percussionist, 2008–2009, rev. 2010/2014; MSTRG-TRLD for seven percussionists, 2020.
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When we started our collaboration, the performer was unaware of the composer’s music and way of
working. He had, however, collaborated with composers and performers, having even taken on the co-
authorship of a piece.
5.2 Methodology
Our approach to explore sound production on the xylophone was through the creative process of an art
music composition for the solo instrument. From the beginning, the composer had clear that the work would
have a varied compositional flow with meaningful pauses. But we did not have plans concerning the
exploration of sound or how the process would unfold. After a preliminary session, in which the performer
showed the composer several unconventional ways of producing sound on the xylophone, we ended up
engaging in a repetitive process with the following steps: 1. solo ideation by the composer; 2. work session
in which the performer played the composer’s ideas and made suggestions and we explored compositional
and performative ideas that came to both of us during the session; 3. solo decision-making by the composer.
From early on, the process involved working back and forth on a draft of the whole composition. Each work
session lasted between 20 and 60 minutes and all took place at the University of Aveiro on a 4-octave (C4–
C8)
10
ADAMS Alpha Series xylophone, except for one session, in which we worked at the performer's home
on his study xylophone because the University’s xylophone was unavailable. Nevertheless, during the
compositional process, the composer had always in mind a 3½ octave xylophone (F4–C8), to guarantee that
the piece would always be performable. Usually within three days of a session, the composer sketched an
account of its most relevant aspects of the sessions.
11
She also kept the score sketches that she annotated
during the sessions and those she sent per email to the performer.
5.3 Working relationship
We set out for the creative process in the roles we usually play and remained in them throughout the
process. Nevertheless, we entered each other’s domains: the composer introduced performative ideas (e.g.,
muffle bars with the fingers; strike the instrument’s frame), whereas the performer introduced
compositional ideas arising from the composer's initial ideas (e.g., change rhythms/durations; vary the
height of the noise resulting from striking the instrument’s frame; change the order of material). But the
decisions about the inclusion of the performer's suggestions were always of the composer. Therefore,
according to the classifications discussed in the introduction of this article, the performer acted as an Adviser
(Torrence 2018) in an interactive working relationship (Hayden and Windsor 2007) of a consultative nature
(Taylor 2016).
5.4 Timeline
The process took place over three periods: one during the first half of 2024 and the other two during 2025.
In the first period, there were five work sessions, and we premiered the work at our university (July 5,
2024).
12
Before the premiere, the composer had felt it was necessary to expand some moments, which she
confirmed while listening to the general rehearsal and the concert, and we agreed the piece needed a
10
Scientific pitch notation.
11
See Torres and Mendes (2024) for an account up to the premiere of the work based on those initial
writings.
12
A videorecording of the premiere is available at http://youtu.be/CdGuh_Jg39k.
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revision. When listening to those performances’ recordings, the composer realized that there were other
moments that also needed more space. The revision started half a year later – there were then six work
sessions, we recorded the work in the studio, and the performer premiered the revised version in Brazil (July
1, 2025).
13
Figures 1 to 3 give an account of our interactions in each period, respectively.
13
See Torres (2025) for the revised work and its studio recording.
Figure 2 – Timeline of the composer–performer interactions during the revision of the work in the first period of 2025. Above the line:
bidirectional interactions; below the line: unidirectional interactions departing from composer (C)
Reference: by authors
Figure 1 – Timeline of the composer–performer interactions up to the premiere of the work in 2024. Above the line: bidirectional
interactions; below the line: unidirectional interactions departing from composer (C) or performer (P)
Reference: by authors
Figure 3 – Timeline of the composer–performer interactions during the revision of the work in the second period of 2025. Above the line:
bidirectional interactions; below the line: unidirectional interactions departing from composer (C)
Reference: by authors
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5.5 Highlights
From the whole process, four compositional gestures and the way we arrived at them stand out. All gestures
consist of repeated attacks. Three gestures are timbral transitions; one of them contains a timbral crossover.
Compositional Gesture 1. This gesture’s excitation consists in striking the instrument's frame. The composer
thought first on repeatedly striking the frame’s surface with the butt end of a mallet (a gesture which she
still used in the work). But the performer suggested striking instead an edge of the frame with the mallet’s
shaft, varying the contact spot on the shaft (as suggested by Solomon 2016, 242) and the frequency of the
attacks. Varying the contact spot varies the (undefined) pitch of the sound: when the spot is close to the
mallet’s head (see Fig. 4a), the pitch is lower than when the contact is near the mallet’s butt end (see Fig.
4b). The composer decided to go from low to high and increase the frequency of the attacks, as shown in
Musical Example 1.
a) b)
Compositional Gesture 2. This gesture consists of a timbral transition along a bar through repeated attacks.
Initially, the idea was to gradually increase their frequency and force while altering the timbre; and then
reverse the process when the attack’s peak frequency and force were reached. When testing a timbre
Musical Example 1 – Notation of Compositional Gesture 1 in CS/uLh for solo xylophone (2024, rev. 2025) by Rita Torres
Reference: R. Torres, CS/uLh, 2025, score, p. 1
Figure 4 – a) Beginning and b) end of Compositional Gesture 1
Reference: by authors
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variation from a node (see Fig. 5b) to the center (see Fig. 5a) of the bar and back, we noticed that there was
an exaggerated increase in the sound volume during the crescendo (especially evident in the small room
where we were).
14
The composer decided to invert the directions of the movements, but had to make
changes to the overall gesture due to the void in the sound when striking occurs at the node. Therefore, the
peak frequency and force of the attacks occurs near the node,
15
and then the attacks move to the node,
remaining there, while their frequency and force decreases, as shown in Musical Example 2.
a) b)
Compositional Gestures 3 and 4. These gestures arose when we were trying to find a transition between
two moments with very distinct timbres, both produced through striking the surface of a bar. The first, with
the butt end of a mallet; and the second, with a medium-hard yarn mallet, muffling the bar with the fingers.
The performer suggested striking the outer edge of the bar with the shaft of the mallet, varying the contact
spot from near the mallet’s head to its butt end, because this gradually increases the presence of the lower
partials of the bar’s response.
16
The composer then thought of a transition in stages over the three
repetitions of a motif that she had already written. This consequently gave her the idea of making a crossover
of timbres after those repetitions: when, at the edge of the bar, the butt end of the mallet is reached, the
other hand begins to strike the bar with the medium-hard yarn mallet, producing a similar sound. Then the
attacks at the edge of the bar stop and the other continue. The performer then suggested that the left hand
14
This is because the gesture promotes at the same time a greater excitation of the first vibrational mode –
which reaches its maximum amplitude at the center of the bar (see Dierstein et al. 2018, 74; Walter 2001) –
and of many other modes, due to increased strength of the attacks.
15
When striking occurs near a node of the bar’s first vibrational mode, the excitation of this mode decreases,
but that of many other modes is ensured.
16
One can also hear a sound like that of Compositional Gesture 1.
Musical Example 2 – Notation of Compositional Gesture 2 in CS/uLh for solo xylophone (2024, rev. 2025) by Rita Torres
Reference: R. Torres, CS/uLh, 2025, score, p. 1
Figure 5 – a) Beginning and b) end of Compositional Gesture 2
Reference: by authors
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starts more slowly and dal niente, for a smoother crossover, to which the composer agreed. When trying out
the gesture, we realized that, by tilting the mallet towards the surface of the bar, the lower partials were
even more present.
17
The timbral transition and crossover are therefore improved when the mallet tilting
changes progressively along Compositional Gesture 3 (see Fig. 6). Musical Example 3 shows the complete
transition with Compositional Gestures 3 and 4 and the end chosen for the latter.
a) b)
Another highlight of the process is a secondary intention prescribed by the composer. The composition starts
like all other percussion works of hers: three isolated loud attacks on a high pitch on wood. This is in fact
reminiscent of a guitar composition,
18
in which most parts begin with three attacks, and of which she
appropriated a section in the xylophone work. Wanting the composer more intention in each attack, as well
as in the following gestures, the performer suggested the inclusion of a verbal indication. The composer
agreed and wrote “Grave / Assertivo” as the character of the music. Sometime later, she was still not satisfied
with the level of intention with which the performer attacked the bars in the beginning of the work. She then
realized that all occurrences of the three attacks in the guitar piece are reminiscent of the Molière strokes
(i.e., the strokes that announce the beginning of a theatrical performance), to which she alludes in that work
(see Torres 2023). She therefore decided to write a verbal indication that reinforces the intention of the
17
The more the mallet is tilted towards the surface of the bar, the easier it is to excite the bar’s vibrational
modes that are transverse to its length (see e.g., Rossing 2007).
18
Cyrano-Szenen for guitar, 2004.
Figure 6 – a) Beginning and b) end of Compositional Gesture 3; beginning of Compositional Gesture 4
Reference: by authors
Musical Example 3 – Notation of Compositional Gestures 3 and 4 in CS/uLh for solo xylophone (2024, rev. 2025) by Rita Torres
Reference: R. Torres, CS/uLh, 2025, score, p. 2
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figurative gesture: “Think of the imposing Molière strokes, which announce the beginning of a theatrical
performance; through your assertiveness, lead the public to be attentive” (Torres 2025, 01).
6. Results
6.1 Unconventional sound production
The innovative gestures on the xylophone at which we arrived are described in Table 8. Instrumental Gesture
2 (which was not used in the composition) and Compositional Gestures 3 and 4 are possibly original. The
other gestures either depart from gestures mentioned in Table 4 and 5 or are reminiscent of gestures
employed on other instruments (see Solomon 2016, Appendix C).
Tab. 8 – Unconventional sound production resulting from the author’s creative process (U: undefined; D: defined)
Gestures’ categories
(see Tab. 6)
Description
Pitch
Other sonic
features
Instrumental
Instantaneous
excitation
Dead strike the surface of the frame with the butt end of a
mallet, pressing it with the index finger (Instrumental
Gesture 1).
U
Weak
resonance
Drop a mallet vertically on a bar and pick it up again after one
or more strokes (Instrumental Gesture 2).
D
Short attack
Structural
modification &
Instantaneous
excitation
Strike a bar muffled with a towel placed between the top and
bottom bars (Instrumental Gesture 3).
Weak
resonance
Strike a bar muffled with fingers (Instrumental Gesture 4).
Compositional
Sequential
selection &
Instantaneous
excitation
Repeatedly strike an edge of the frame with the shaft of a
mallet, varying the frequency of the attacks and the spot of
the shaft that contacts with the frame (Compositional
Gesture 1).
U
Height
transition
Repeatedly strike a bar, varying the contact spot from the
center of the bar to near one of the bar's nodes, gradually
increasing the force and frequency of attacks, then reducing
both while advancing to the node, where the attacks
gradually stop (Compositional Gesture 2).
D
Timbral
transition
Repeatedly strike the outer edge of a bar with the shaft of a
mallet, varying the mallet’s attack spot from near the head to
the butt end, and its tilting from the bar’s side to its surface
(Compositional Gesture 3).
Timbral
(& height)
transition
Parallel selection &
Instantaneous
excitation
Repeatedly strike the outer edge of a bar with the shaft of a
mallet near its butt end and tilted towards the surface of the
bar while the other hand starts imperceptibly striking the bar
with a medium-hard yarn mallet, slowly in increasing the
dynamics. When these sounds are established, the other
hand stops (Compositional Gesture 4).
Timbral
crossover
Reference: by authors
6.2 Musical work
The composition that resulted from our collaboration lasts about five minutes and is titled CS/uLh. As with
the composer's other percussion pieces, this title contains letters from the titles of the work's main sources
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of inspiration (in this case, the first letter of each word): her compositions Cyrano-Szenen for guitar (2004)
and um Lieder herum... for small ensemble (2007), both of which she appropriated.
CS/uLh requires almost all gestures mentioned in Table 8. These dialogue and intertwine with conventional
sound production in a predominantly irregular compositional flow. In the central section of the piece the
flow is essentially continuous, while in the first and third/last sections of the piece it is discontinuous. The
compositional approach in the central and last sections was essentially self-appropriation, both in the form
of quotation and paraphrase. As far as the generation of original material is concerned, this was sometimes
based on the timbres of the sounds and sometimes based on their pitches.
The score miniatures in Musical Example 4 give an overview of the work. Throughout it, the low register and
part of the middle register of the xylophone are muffled by means of a towel placed between the upper and
lower bars. The above-mentioned beginning (see end of section 5) is followed by Compositional Gesture 2
and a persistent motif of repeated notes, first twice in the same high-pitched note, then twice with
Instrumental Gesture 1, and – after a variation of this, a four-note motif from the guitar piece and
Compositional Gesture 1 – with a low-pitched note produced with the shaft of a mallet. This is followed by
Compositional Gestures 3 and 4 and the section ends with three isolated notes produced while muffling each
bar with fingers. The second/middle section of the piece begins with original material followed by a
paraphrase of the material appropriated from the guitar piece, and ends with a quote of one of the marimba
moments of um Lieder herum... The end of this section recalls the repeated notes in the end of the first
section of the piece, but now an octave higher. The last section quotes another marimba moment from um
Lieder herum..., which focuses on a four-note motive reminiscent of the guitar piece's motif in the first
section.
Regarding the mallets’ specifications, at the suggestion of the performer, the composer used the terms
bright sound and dark sound next to the symbol that specifies the mallet’s hardness. In the beginning of the
first section, the composer asks for a hard mallet and a bright sound – we chose for the performances a hard
plastic mallet. From the end of the first section, medium hard or soft mallets are required. To obtain a clear
sound response, especially in the higher register of the instrument, it was necessary to resort to yarn mallets
(usually used in the vibraphone). In the end of the first section and in the central section, the composer asks
Musical Example 4 – Thumbnails of the score of CS/uLh for solo xylophone (2024, rev. 2025) by Rita Torres
Reference: R. Torres, CS/uLh, 2025, score, pp. 1–4
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for a soft mallet and a dark sound – we chose a medium-hard yarn mallet. In the last section, the composer
asks for a medium-hard mallet and a bright sound – we chose a hard yarn mallet.
7. Conclusion
In the preceding sections we presented the results of a creative process of a composition for solo xylophone.
This process was carried out with the purpose of conducting practice-based research to arrive at innovative
ways of producing sound on the instrument – an instrument which apparently does not present this
potential. Without collaboration and recursive experimentation, we would not have arrived as far as we did.
The interactive working relationship is not surprising, since it was the composer's first collaboration. The fact
that she did not play the instrument, nor had previous knowledge about unconventional sound production
on it, was also important to arrive at the innovative results, as she could give free rein to her imagination
without idiomatic idiosyncrasies. Her previous compositional experience for percussion contributed to the
process from the point of view of appropriation – she quoted one of her works with percussion – and from
being already acquainted with certain aspects, such as percussive articulations (e.g., dead stroke; repeated
one-handed attacks). Although most gestures at which we arrived arose as solutions for a specific context,
they are of generalizable use in other contexts. We hope that they are useful to other composers and
performers and/or entice them to use the instrument in a soloistic context and carry out further research.
We do not exclude the possibility of continuing to collaborate to explore another kind of working relationship
and to unravel further timbral resources of the xylophone.
8. Acknowledgments
This research was funded in whole or in part by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT) under the
institutional scientific employment program, through which Rita Torres was employed, and the project POCI-
01-0145-FEDER-031380 (Xperimus), of which Mendes was a grantee. For the purpose of Open Access, the
author has applied a CC-BY public copyright license to any Author‘s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version
arising from this submission.
We would like to thank the following researchers of INET-md: Prof.ª Dr.ª Helena Marinho and Prof. Dr. Nuno
Aroso for their comments during the preparation of the article; Prof. Dr. Vincent Debut for helping us
understand some of the vibroacoustic phenomena; and Isaac Raimundo for recording the work in the studio
production.
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Hasper, Joseph. n.d. Exile [Score for xylophone and live electronics, composed 2011]. The composer.
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