Graphic notation (as seen above in the score for December 1952) is a significant element of Earle Brown’s work and a notable aspect of the avant-garde music scene in New York during the 1950s. It represents a radical departure from traditional musical scores, moving away from precise note heads, rhythms, and dynamics to convey musical ideas through abstract visual symbols, lines, and shapes. Here are some key aspects of graphic notation:
Visual Representation of Sound
Graphic scores use geometric graphics, lines, and shapes to suggest musical possibilities rather than prescribe specific pitches, durations, or attacks. December 1952 is a classic visual example of this approach, consisting of sparse geometric graphics. This form of notation invites the musician to improvise or interpret the visual information rather than “read” in the conventional sense.
The Score as a Field or Space
Brown described scores like December 1952 not as pictures or responses to visual art (like that of Piet Mondrian, whom he admired) but as a graphic conceptualization of a mobile space or field of sound. Performers are intended to utilize this open-ended field. In the case of December 1952, the page can be considered a field of activity where various elements are arranged using a coordinate technique. The score represents one depiction of these horizontal and vertical elements, which should be viewed as constantly in motion.
Performer Interpretation and “Open Content”
In graphic pieces like December 1952 and Four Systems, Brown felt that the content was largely supplied by the musicians. This makes the work more akin to an “activity” than a piece where the composer dictates all aspects. The performer’s immediate responses to the intentionally ambiguous graphic stimuli, relative to the performance conditions, are central to realizing the piece.
Influence of Visual Arts and “Mobility”
Brown’s use of graphic notation was profoundly influenced by the visual arts, particularly the Abstract Expressionists in New York. He drew inspiration from the improvisational techniques of Jackson Pollock and the mobility found in Alexander Calder’s sculptures. Brown connected his approach to “mobility” with Calder’s mobiles. He initially conceived it in December 1952 based on the idea of a physical motorized mobile—a three-dimensional box with moving horizontal and vertical elements that a pianist would interpret in real time. He transferred the idea to paper when this wasn’t constructed, creating a “conceptual mobile” where the performer’s “conceptual mobility potential” generates variations.
Construction and Elements (e.g., December 1952)
December 1952 was created using a process that involved random sampling tables and a coordinate technique. Points were determined by combining numbers from the top and bottom scales; then, lines (horizontal or vertical), their duration (length), and thickness (loudness) were defined by other numbers. The entire area was regarded as a field of activity rather than being composed linearly from left to right. In performance, the vertical dimension often indicates frequency (top = high register, bottom = low), while left to right is usually considered time. Thickness indicates relative loudness.
Distinction from Later “Open Form”
While graphic scores introduce indeterminacy and mobility, Brown later developed the concept of “open form” (as seen in Twenty-five Pages or Available Forms I and II), wherein the musical material itself is fully composed (fixed sound content), but its order, duration, and other parameters remain variable for the performers or conductors to decide.
December 1952 is viewed by some as atypical of Brown’s overall work because he was hesitant to leave the creative input entirely to the whims of the performer; he believed his later works should maintain a precisely defined sound world granted by the composer, even with freedoms. However, he also composed works like String Quartet that combine fully notated (closed form) sections, proportional notation, and graphic/open form sections. (I think Brown moved away from fully graphic scores because he became dissatisfied with performances of December 1952 and wanted to retain the idea of indeterminacy while guarding against “bad” interpretations of his intent.)
Performance as Realization
Graphic scores, like open form pieces, are ultimately realized in performance. Each performance is a unique event where the performer “sets this all in motion (time).” The composer’s intent was to “produce graphic situations, the implications of which would involve the performer’s response as a factor leading to multiple ‘characteristic’ realizations of the piece as an audible event.”
Historical Significance
Graphic notation was a key innovation pioneered by Brown. It has been embraced in contemporary music literature and utilized by composers worldwide.
In essence, graphic notation, particularly in Brown’s early work, served as a means to infuse spontaneity and performer agency into music, treating the score as a fluid, mobile field inspired by the visual arts from which unique musical realizations could emerge in real time.
