Perfection Factory

When you hit a bell tree, you never know which note you’ll hear. Production hasn’t standardized the instrument’s pitch content, so no two instruments are alike; the instrument also lacks a standardized notation, as percussionists use it largely as a sound effect rather than as a melodic instrument. In this composition, a piece-specific notation system instructs two percussionists to choose a five-note scale by marking the bell tree with paint. After each choice has been made, the score reflects the choice with colored noteheads, each of which corresponds to a previously selected bell. Through this selection process, the number of possible notes reduces gradually from twenty-seven to five.