Other Futures

Other futures is written in Jianpu (Chinese numerical notation) with English text. Pipa fingerings are written in red, using Chinese numerals. A document explaining how Jianpu works (written by Guzheng player Annie Zhou) is available here.

All six pages of the Other Futures score are displayed at left. Click on the title page to scroll through the full score. Click on any other page to view it at actual size.

The third and fourth pages contain notation for the Guzheng and Pipa solo sections, respectively. These are performed during the I-Ching Divination, with Guzheng responding to the Lower Trigram (lines 1 through 3) and Pipa responding to the upper Trigram.

The Trigram Scores are organized in three columns from left to right, each of which is labeled with the number of its corresponding line in the Gua. The columns of the Guzheng Trigram Score are thus labeled “First Line” through “Third Line” while the Pipa Trigram Score is labeled “Fourth Line” through “Sixth Line.” Each Column consists of a white square and a black square, which contain alternate versions of the same 16 or 15-bar musical phrase. The version in the white square is played If the corresponding line presents as Yang, while the version in the black square is played if the corresponding line presents as Yin. Only one version is played for each line.

When a Yang line is stable, its corresponding phrase is played in the strident Martial (Wu) style. When a Yang line is moving, its corresponding phrase is played in the gentle Civil (Wen) style.

Conversely, when a Yin line is stable, its corresponding phrase is played in the Civil style. When a Yin line is moving, its corresponding phrase is played in the Martial style.

The Martial and Civil styles are concepts from traditional Pipa music, and correspond roughly to the Northern and Southern styles of Guzheng music.

The quality (Yang/Yin) and Status (stable/moving) of each line are communicated to the musicians via flag signals. For more details on flag signaling, please see page 2 of the score, “For the Diviner.”

During the final section of the piece, both Guzheng and Pipa use identical Hexagram Scores (page 5). The Hexagram score functions differently from the Trigram Scores in that it has only one column, in which the Yang and Yin phrases are melodically distinct. In this section, the Diviner uses flag signals to reiterate the Quality and Status of each line in the Hexagram. The musicians respond together, playing the Yang or Yin melody for each line as indicated by flag color. The musicians are encouraged to “Add Flowers” (engage in improvised ornamentation) during this section. Status, indicated by flag movement, dictates which instrument takes the lead and which plays an accompanying role for each line.