Action and Gesture: A Classical Pianist’s Guide to Prescriptive Notation

 American composer and musicologist Charles Seeger coined the terms descriptive and prescriptive notation. Descriptive refers to the traditional notation of a musical score; prescriptive is any other way to convey musical action and gesture. Using Helmut Lachenmann’s solo piano work ‘Guero’, Stephanie Chua illustrates the process of studying and performing a prescriptive work.

Stephanie also makes a case that prescriptive notation is a true equalizer; a “performer” does not need to have musical training to “perform” a prescriptive score. Through her experience of working in community-engaged projects and educational workshops, Stephanie will present how prescriptive boundaries can represent a democratic way of making music.

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