Barry Cockcroft mainly writes for the saxophone. He uses a variety of unconventional and weird techniques, combined with standard jazz patterns to create a fusion of jazz, blues, rock and contemporary music. In one of his compositions, ‘Black and Blue’, he simulates all the instruments in a rock band. Firstly, he imitates the bass guitar with strongly accented long notes followed by punchy short notes. Ten bars later the saxophone joins in, playing off the accented bass line in a bluesy/jazzy style. To imitate the guitar/piano, the technique multiphonics is used. Multiphonics is the technique used to create dissonant chords to give the sound a clashing, harsh effect. On a saxophone alternate fingerings are used which allow the multiphonic to be possible, on other instruments such as the trombone one note has to be sung whilst playing the other notes.
Another instrument imitated is the drum solo. This is made possible by beating the keys in a rhythmic pattern i.e. bass drum, snare drum. This is done without blowing through the saxophone. The last instrument simulated is the ‘wa wa’ guitar effect (eg. Introduction of rock song, Johnny B Good). This effect is achieved by alternating between two similar fingerings to basically produce the same note, except one is slightly flatter than the other. To make this section authentically sound like a guitar solo the performer is required to master the technique of circular breathing (guitar players aren’t required to breathe to continue their sound. A saxophonist does). Circular breathing is achieved by breathing normally through the mouth, then by using their cheeks as an airbag (eg. a bagpipe) then whilst squeezing the air out with their checks and tongue a quick breath is snatched through the nose. Refer to attached score ‘Black and Blue’ for an example). (Goldsmith, L, B(18/04/03). ‘Black And Blue’ by Barry Cockcroft, Program Notes. http://barrysax.com/articles/01-black_and_blue.html).
Another piece written by Barry Cockcroft is ‘Beat Me’ (1995). This piece features tenor saxophone and uses a wide range of contemporary techniques. Like in ‘Black and Blue’, ‘Beat Me’ simulates a rock band. The bass guitar is simulated by short punchy notes using the ‘slap tongue’ technique. Slap tonguing is when the saxophonist slaps their tongue hard against the reed to achieve a dry pop sound. Again the technique multiphonics is used to simulate chordal instruments such as the guitar and piano. At bar 54 the saxophone plays its traditional role with bluesy fills answering the ‘slap tongue’ bass. At bar 135 the saxophonist is required to make use of their altissimo range (the altissimo range is outside the normal range of the saxophone, the saxophonist is required to split the required note using alternate fingerings). At bar 139 the drums are simulated using the ‘key drumming’ technique. Unlike in ‘Black and Blue’ where the drums are simulated by themselves, in ‘Beat Me’ at bar 154 the drum solo is simultaneously joined by the saxophone to create a groovy effect. With the drum solo still going, at bar 171 multiphonics are used again, to create chordal support over the key drumming. At first this can be quite challenging for the saxophonist, not technically but mentally, because the saxophonist is required to press unfamiliar key combinations to create the key drumming whilst playing the normal notes/multiphonics. Once the player is comfortable with this the passage is quite easy to perform. At bar 239 the excitement is raised dramatically with the technique ‘subtone’. Subtone is achieved by for example; playing sextuplets at ‘dotted crochets = 104bpm’ on the notes:
;This effect is simulating the fast guitar solo in rock songs, later in bar 255, ‘harmonics’ are added to the ‘subtone’. The harmonics simulate a melody line over the fast solo. This technique is very demanding of the player, as it is very repetitive. To make this section like an authentic guitar solo, the saxophonist is required to use circular breathing. For examples for all of these techniques, refer to the attached score ‘Beat Me’. (Cockcroft, B.(2003). Phone conversation about experimental techniques, on the 04/08/03 on 03 9482 4569)
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