“Close Your Eyes and Listen” is an eight-minute work for solo acoustic guitar and live electronics, performed through a custom Max/MSP patch. The piece unfolds through a flexible, open-form structure in which both time and form are guided by the performer. Transitions are coordinated through pedal cues controlled by the guitarist, as well as prerecorded audio cues that indicate the performer’s position within the score.

 

The electronic component incorporates moments of looping from the fixed-media track, alongside live processing of the guitar through effects such as reverb, delay, and bitcrushing. I wrote this piece as a collaboration with my good friend, Gabriel Tomás Garza, with the intention of incorporating his poetry as an integral part of the work. Gabriel is one of the most artistically gifted and disciplined people I know, and his creative voice became an important foundation for the piece. The work also presented a personal challenge, as it was my first opportunity to explore writing for live electronics and integrating acoustic performance with real-time processing. In developing the guitar part, I also adapted Gabriel’s unconventional guitar tuning system, which is further described later in the score. I am grateful that this collaboration gave the piece its unique character, and especially thankful to Gabriel for sharing his poetry, his tuning system, and his artistic voice with me.