Deconstructing an instrument is a revelation, because it unsettles the myth, causing a change in the listeners’ perception. The guitar is the source for all the sounds presented in this piece, which emphasizes the ones that have been hidden by the instrument’s technique and repertory, or unnoticed due to their low volume.

The recorded part of this piece reveals guitar sounds that normally are not clearly audible in a concert room. The computer enables processing the recordings, in order to enhance or highlight parts of the spectrum, timbres, and percussive elements.

The breakage may result in a complete dysfunctional instrument, when the main resources for producing sounds are prevented by this organized malfunction.

Reveal is a noun and a verb, and the piece expresses both meanings, because it reveals the rich universe of resources denied by the traditional technique and provides a new possible listening to a guitar, when the listener might achieve a whole new comprehension of the instrument—the piece brings to light a sub-known universe of sounds that was present, but not understood.

2016

Guitar and tape