‘everyone plays the same tone’: This means to wait until the same tone has been played by everyone.
Note: There is a clear differentiation between a pitch and its octave. The pitch in a different octave is not considered the exact same pitch.
Music historical remark: “In the first decades, I always avoided the octaves; later I added them for reasons of timbre and energy.”
The pitch that is established must be possible for all players to play (from a technical point of view), i.e. all players must be aware of the pitch range of the respective instruments (in this case: consideration of the respective pitch ranges of cello, bass clarinet, synthesizer, piano).
For this text, the clarification of leadership as a process is decisive (“In other words: I depart from this tone and I want to follow this process more clearly.”)
The return to a tone should not be realised as an abrupt jump.
In this text, “mood reactions” are less important than the technical aspects (not like a “romantic character piece”).
The departure from a tone not only takes place in regard to pitch, but also in regard to rhythm and dynamics. (Each composition in the world today should realise very diverse aspects, which are then brought into a unity.)
“With four people and four different thoughts leading the tone, one should also be able to hear the leadership, the activity of leading.”
“Leave the character piece behind. Form a piece that – as brief as it is – makes it possible to feel the world as it is.”
In order to play the same tone as someone else, one has to particularly engage oneself in the energy and characteristics of the tone.
’Wherever your thoughts lead you’: “A thought can jump of course. So: I play a tone. If I hear a car, then my thought is gone, but I am supposed to lead. In other words: lead the tone from where it is at the beginning to where the thought has gone. ▪ (In this case, to lead actually means two processes: 1. to let yourself be led in a particular direction by your own thoughts, 2. to form the tone according to that direction.)
The process of leaving a tone and then returning to it: “One arrives back at the same place and knows more, has experienced more.”
‘Always return to the same place’ also means that strange, newly developed elements (“thoughts are free”) are connected with what has been developed at the beginning.
To establish the first, the common tone: First, a sort of unification process takes place. That means that the individual players have to “make themselves interesting” in order to draw attention to themselves and their respective tone and “attract” someone. This process should lead to the agreement on one tone.
About ‘the same tone’: This means not only identical frequencies, but that envelope, timbre, and internal rhythm must also be considered and can be used as connecting factors. The same tone can also be a chord.
The players may also look at each other in order to signal that a common entity has been found and that the next developments can begin.
The repeated returns of each player should result in “organic processes”. The newly found elements also change the total impression at the fixed point, to which they return – this should be integrated into the process.