BENJAMIN DEAN TAYLOR, composer
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Techno Blade

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For: concert band and electronic audio track
Style: EDM (electronic dance music) groove
Duration: 3 minutes
Grade: 2





Commissioned by N-BEAM
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PERUSAL SCORE
techno_blade_score-watermark.pdf
File Size: 7070 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Performed May 1, 2018 in Van Wert OH at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center by the Van Wert High School Symphonic Band, Robert H. Sloan conductor.

PERFORMANCE AUDIO TRACK

Program Note

A recent hobby I have taken up is knife throwing.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that throwing knives make some really intriguing sounds as they spin through the air and thud into the target, or glance off the target in the case of a miss!  The sounds are percussive, yet unusual, almost otherworldly, as if they might be borrowed from an alien drum machine.  When you combine this with the fact that Jim Mobley, the head commissioner, is a percussionist, located right outside Detroit, which is the birthplace of techno music, it was clear to me that this piece should be inspired by electronic dance music (EDM) while incorporating sounds from my recordings of throwing knives.  

At several moments in this work, all the band members are asked to be percussionists by playing on the metal around them, namely their music stand.  (Sorry, I couldn’t get permission to have the performers play throwing knives on stage!)  Sounds in the electronic track come from me both making and throwing my own set of knives. I recorded and processed the sounds of cutting, grinding, and sanding the steel and then, of course, the sounds of “playing” with the finished knives.  The melodies and harmonies found throughout the piece are all derived from words and numbers associated with knife throwing.  I would like to thank the students from Brownstown Middle School Band who came up with the perfect title for this piece, “Techno Blade.”  


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My personal collection of throwing knives and spikes, the majority of which I’ve made myself.

The large set of three knives (second from the left) is the set which was recorded for this piece.



DEMO  FOR  HOW  TO  PLAY  ON  MUSIC  STAND 



Jim Mobley (N-BEAM organizer and head commissioner) chats with Alex Shapiro, Daniel Montoya and myself at Midwest about the project.  Some very funny moments!

Some video footage from my audio recording session - you'll hear the great sounds of the knives when they do and don't connect with the targets!

PURCHASE
Please click in the field below to select PDF or hard copy purchase options.  Then provide band director name, email address, and School/Institution name and click "Add to Cart."  All hard copy options include free shipping to continental USA.
PURCHASE OPTIONS
Band director name and email
School/Institution name
Purchase of score and parts will also include a link to download the performance audio track.
For all other payment arrangements, please email benjamintaylormusic@gmail.com

Check this out!  This group used glow sticks instead of pencils - SWEET!
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  • Home
  • Biography
  • Works
    • Orchestra >
      • Flex Works
      • Snitchin' in the Kitchen (grade 3 with audio track)
      • Electric Breakdance (string orchestra)
      • Aurum Tetra (Saxophone Quartet Concerto)
      • Aurum Tetra (string quartet concerto)
      • Worlds Without End
      • Dizzy Overture
      • Mile-High City (string orchestra)
      • Leaving White
      • Leap (chamber orchestra)
      • Drifting Indigo
    • Wind band >
      • Flex Works >
        • Electric Breakdance (grade 1) with audio track
        • Pandemic Pandemonium (grade 2)
        • Earth Resonance (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Intermountain Underground (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Snitchin' in the Kitchen (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Legos Emit Gnarly Overtones (grade 2 with audio track)
        • Techno Blade (grade 2) with audio track
      • Electric Breakdance (grade 1) with audio track
      • STACK (grade 1)
      • Legos Emit Gnarly Overtones (grade 2 with audio track)
      • Techno Blade (regular version, grade 2) with audio track
      • Pandemic Pandemonium (grade 2)
      • A Flicker in Time (grade 2.5)
      • Scooter Time (grade 2.5)
      • Party Potatoes (concerto + band, grade 3)
      • A Father's Hymn (grade 3)
      • Epic Bacon Funk (grade 3)
      • Intermountain Underground (regular version, grade 3 with audio track)
      • Into The Mist (grade 3)
      • Maze of 1000 Mirrors (March, grade 3)
      • Motorcycle Time (grade 3)
      • Our Puzzle (grade 3)
      • And May We Always Cherish (Grade 3)
      • The Hope Within (grade 3)
      • The Excitement of Fear (grade 3.5)
      • Another Day in the Park (grade 4)
      • Chinese Fire Drill (grade 4)
      • Cold Lights (band+video) (grade 4)
      • Mile a Minute (grade 4)
      • Seeds of Glass (band+video) (grade 4)
      • Shattering Infinity (grade 4)
      • Powerhouse (grade 4)
      • Trailing Clouds Of Glory (grade 4)
      • With Wings As Eagles (grade 4)
      • Leaving White (grade 5)
      • Whiz-Bang (grade 5)
      • Shattering Infinity (marching band)
    • Jazz Big Band >
      • Baby Jack's Blues
      • Can I See Your Socks
      • Chocolate Covered Cherries
      • Concerto por Trombonito
      • Garapan
      • High Road
      • No Improv Monday
      • The Greasy Toaster
      • White Cliffs of Dover (arr.)
    • Choir >
      • Little Lamb (SATB choir)
      • Eternity's Heirs
    • Saxophone(s) >
      • Sax Quartet Concerto Consortium Commission
      • Get More Epic!
      • Digital Goldfish (Sax Quartet)
      • Drum N Bari
      • The Secret Life
      • Shipbreaking
      • To Raise Up
    • Bass Clarinet >
      • Drum N Bass Clarinet
    • Bassoon >
      • Drum N Bassoon
    • Trumpet >
      • Stop.Rewind.Play. (solo + video)
      • Now You Will ... (solo)
    • Trombone(s) >
      • Funky Bone (trombone choir)
      • Beyond Coincidence (trombone choir)
      • A Call for Courage (trombone choir)
      • Can You Crack It? (solo and tape)
    • Euphonium >
      • Euph + Drum Set CONSORTIUM
      • Bitcoin's Bull Run (euph+EA)
      • FLOW (euph + EA)
      • Drum N Euph (euph + EA)
    • Tuba >
      • Tuba + Drum Set CONSORTIUM
      • Party Potatoes (concerto + band)
      • Drum N Tuba
    • Contrabass >
      • First Punch
      • FE26 (contrabass + electronics)
      • Digital Assistant
      • 7 Million Results
    • Percussion >
      • Silounds
      • Standard Literature (ensemble)
      • Unrepeatable Expression (ensemble)
      • Non-REM Sleep
    • Piano >
      • All That Remains (Piano + Electronics)
    • Chamber Works >
      • Panic Later (mixed quartet)
  • Contact
  • Dixieland Band
  • Family
  • Commissions
    • Solo + Death Metal
    • Sax Quartet Concerto Consortium Commission
    • Trumpet Consortium Commission
  • UMBS Presentation