Fredrik Rasten

Svevning(2017 - 2021)

solo for live retuned guitar and voiceAbout the piece:
Svevning is the result of a specific approach to just intonation on guitar, namely areal-time retuning of the open strings and the natural harmonics of these, guided
solely by the ear of the performer.
The piece was developed in many stages between 2017 and 2021. This development
comprised both a gradual prolonging of the piece itself and adding new tuning
details, as my knowledge about just intonation grew along with my perception andperceptiveness of the processes of tuning in just intonation.
Svevning is a highly personal piece. However, I would be happy if any guitarist would
want to delve into it.
Fredrik Rasten
Berlin, January 5, 2023

Instructions and notation
The piece is notated in a tablature form and the initial tuning is shown in thevery start of the score. When a line / string ends for a while, this means that thestring is not played for this section.
Numbers showing the number of each string (1-6), is shown to the right ofsome of the systems where it otherwise could be hard to read which strings
correspond to which line.
In addition, corresponding dots showing the strings that are not played areshown on the left side of these systems.
Dotted string lines occur some times, and basically mean that this string isplayed only occasionally in this section.
There also occurs one dotted line for the retuning on page 6, namely on the 6thstring. This means that this retuning should be slower or more gradual andrealized in parts, having time to enjoy each little adjustment and its
corresponding change in the beating patterns of the sound.
Roman numerals connected to a note show which natural harmonic is played,
although - it is usually only shown when a change in which natural harmonic
to play is occurring. When a note does not have a connected Roman numeral,
the string is played open.
The accidentals belong to the HEJI-notation developed by Marc Sabat andWolfgang von Schweinitz. Cent deviation from 12-TET is shown inconnection to each note.

The spacing between each change in the harmony is not a guide to the pace ofthe music. Moreover, the areas between each change (introduction of a note,retuning, end of a line etc.) all take their time to become “established” before achange occurs. With this said, the general durations of the sections / theforward movement of the piece is up to the performer.
Each retuning is denoted with a “downhill” or “uphill” line showing thedirection of the retuning, with a ratio denoting the retuning in rational
numbers. E.g. 32 : 33 means that the retuning goes upwards from 32 to 33.
The ways in which the strings are plucked, rhythmically as well as dynamically,is an open element of the piece. However, as a general rule, the performer
should create slow repeating motifs where both successions of single stringsand strings struck together in dyads, triads etc. are occurring as part of thesemotifs.
The motifs will naturally change in relation to how many notes are to be playedin each section.
The retunings should be relatively slow, but should still have a kind of melodic
quality to it.
Because of the decay of the strings, a single retuning might stretch over many
repeated motifs.
Strings should always ring out until its natural decay into silence or until it isreactivated by a pluck.
In some ways the idea is that the guitar mimics the ways in which an Indian
tanpura is played, where the strings are struck in motifs, but where thesustained sound of the strings are what is in focus.
The duration of the piece is open, but approximately 30-40 minutes per part.