Anatonie is based on the term “anatomy” from biology and describes the way in which the audio sample (or “sound organism”) can be broken down by the turntablist into its component parts. The disk’s range of motion allows the player access to any point in the entire length of a sample, thus adding extra dimensions to making music.
We want to be able to describe, through musical notation, the temporal or ‘anatonic stages’ of the sound. We do this by marking the ‘acoustic motions’, which can apply to any part of the sample due to the expressive range of the instrument. There is no predefned method of playing, since this is subject to the structure of the individual sound material. So before, we can begin, we have to analyse the entire audio sample step by step.
The length of the sample is divided into eight equal ‘anatonic stages’ with an arrow to show the ‘motion direction’. A sticker placed on the control disk can be used as a unique visual reference point to locate quickly and precisely the player’s position among the ‘anatonic stages’, like the hand of a clock. In practice, the turntablist will locate the frst part of the audio sample and set the starting position to a point on the ‘clock’. Moving ‘three hours’ forward from nine o’clock the sample will play from the beginning of the sample to the end. If you start with an Eton, the reference point will start at 12 o’clock (the end of the sample) and move the ‘control disk’ anti-clockwise to nine o’clock.
Marking the sample on the ‘control disk’ is necessary since the Tonspielzeug itself contains no sounds. With most traditional instruments it is obvious how to make a sound, whereas the Tonspielzeug must always be prepared according to the audio sample used – new music requires a new methodology!
3.1 Anatonic Stages
After preparing the audio sample we need to defne the ‘anatonic stages’ for the notation. In this case the sample is 0.8 seconds long with a tempo of 75bpm and a ‘motion intensity’ of 100% (meaning the speed of the disk is normal).This is represented by three hours on the clock face (9-12), in other words a “quarter”.
The full duration (or ‘motion value’) of the Note is 0.8s – this is effectively one beat or, as typically defned in traditional notation, a quarternote (1/4th). If we divide this into eight equal stages of 0.1 seconds then each stage can be referred to as a 1/32nd. The ‘motion value’ of the disk motion impacts the length of the sample. When you play a 1/8th, you generate 0.4s of the sample.
Note: the numbering of the ‘anatonic stages’, from one to eight, is very important. In future descriptions you will see that this allows us to describe exactly each section played.
We use a color scheme to distinguish the individual stages which relates to the colors on the Tonspielzeug*. With this guide the turntablist can see which segments he is playing. The number, position and length of these colored areas are adjusted in advance according to the individual sound material.
*Today’s digital vinyl systems (eg Traktor or Serato) already use colors on the graphical waveforms (visible on the laptop display) to denote frequency and ‘energy’. However this thesis uses a different color gradient which is visible on the control disk itself.
Two consecutive ‘anatonic stages’ are given the same color – black, red, green or blue. The color ranges remain fxed like the numbers on a clock. The marker however moves with the disk (like the hands on a clock). In the notation we use a special character over the Note/Eton head (v) to symbolize each double segment. With this transcription method we can clearly show the difference between each ‘anatonic stage’ as well as the musician’s chronological position within the sample.
In order to describe the exact ‘anatonic course’ of an ‘acoustic motion’, we need to pinpoint the start and the end of the course route. This applies both to ‘single motions’ as well as patterns as well as ‘groupings’/’integral motions’. This will be illustrated by examples later on.
Video: Anatonic 47
We call this ‘anatonic course’ “anatonic 47” because the Note starts at the 4th ‘anatonic stage’ (starting point) and moves to the 7th stage (end point) – therefore ‘4’ and ‘7’. In the Theory of Motion the ‘anatonic code’, the course route and also the direction of an ‘acoustic motion’ is described by the numerical order.
In ‘anatonic 47’ four stages are played. When played at 75 bpm this corresponds to the duration of a 1/8 th Note under the default 100% ‘motion intensity’ and normal ‘motion characteristics’. This is notated by writing the ‘motion point’ on the same line as the Note and colored according to the respective ‘anatonic stage’, which describes the end of the ‘acoustic motion’.
Video: Anatonic 51
The second example shows another course – the Anatonic 51. In this case, the ‘control disk’ starts at the 5th stage (starting point) and ends at the 1st stage (end point) in the form of an Eton which results in a duration of 5 x 1/32. Such a time value is usually represented by two Etons (1/4 and 1/32). These have to be connected with the ‘anatonic bow’ to denote the ‘acoustic motion’. To simplify things we draw a ‘motion point’ instead of the head of a second Eton (1/32). Through the bracing and connecting lines we can see the complete time value of the ‘acoustic motion’ and we can see the ‘anatonic end point’. The neck of the ‘motion point’ must protrude slightly to avoid any confusion with the symbol for the ‘release mode’. The connection by slurs is no longer necessary. The ‘anatonic start point’ can now be removed based on the color of the frst motion. The end point can be identifed by the color of the ‘motion point’.
Usually you do not need to draw a ‘motion point’ for -linear- movements of the ‘control disk’, since the symbol for Note or Eton already indicates this type of ‘motion characteristic’. However, a ‘motion point’ would be needed if we wanted to indicate a specifc ‘anatonic course’. Using this transcription methodology the course of an ‘acoustic motion’ can now be described in detail, which was never possible previously. In particular, we can defne and visualize changes in the ‘motion intensity’, value or characteristics.
3.3 Anatonic Course
Theoretically, the modifcation of the ‘motion criterias’ will always affect the Anatonie of the sample. In these examples this was easy to identify because all ‘acoustic motions’ were played with ‘linear motion characteristics’. However, working with ‘non-linear motion characteristics’ is different.
In order to show how ‘non-linear motion characteristics’ are notated, we will change both of the ‘anatonic motions’ – 47 and 51 – into ‘non-linear motion characteristics’.
Anatonic 47 is played with an ‘exponential increase’ as you can see by the symbols. The increase in ‘motion intensity’ (speed of movement) shortens the ‘motion duration’ (length of the sample). In 51, the characteristic is wavy, but the ‘motion points’ limit the Anatonie and ‘motion intensity’ of the sample. Based on this example you can see how it is possible to describe even the most complicated pattern by the color and position of the appended ‘motion point’.
In summary, Anatonie is an extremely important part of S-Notation since it allows all stages of an audio sample to be used. Integrating traditional staff notation allows the musician to read exactly which stage corresponds to which pitch.
The value of S-Notation transcription is that it encourages different methods of composing sample-based music. Until now, turntablists generally compose according to their own experience and tastes. S-Notation provides a structure into which you can place any sample and use it to produce unpredictable combinations and therefore create unconventional musical compositions.