small pets in the sixth house

for any 2 instruments.

irrational time signatures.

ca. 5'

2007.

I like to talk shop, and when I get excited about something, I tend to talk louder and louder. I will also argue with someone until I can see their point. Unfortunately, I tend to come off as a stubborn, belligerent twerp in such situations; but truly, I just want to learn something from the people I argue with. When I went to ACA in early 2007, I got into a heated argument about rhythmic notation in the cafeteria one Saturday morning with the fine composer and recorderista, Terri Hron (a formidable opponent on such a topic — her deep studies in early music, new music, and Karnatic music make her exceedingly knowledgable about both the theoretical and practical applications of rhythm). The argument got heated enough that people were tiptoeing out of the cafeteria, while I loudly hounded Terri to convince me that an irrational time signature could be easier to read than a metric modulation. Long story short, the argument resulted in this composition, which was the best way I could wrap my feeble mind around the rhythmic things Terri was arguing for. This piece is dedicated to Terri, natch, who knows what the title means.

score.
in Bb.
in Eb.
in F.
bass.
viola.

Do consider making a donation (of any amount, but let's say $5), if you choose to perform this piece, make copies of it, use it for educational purposes, if it has improved your life in any way. Otherwise, yes, it's yours for free. It is copyrighted, so give credit as necessary.