The Black Page
"The Black Page" is a piece by American composer Frank Zappa known for being extraordinarily difficult to play. Originally written for the drum kit and melodic percussion, the piece was later rearranged in several versions, including a disco and a so-called New Age version.
Drummer Terry Bozzio said of the piece:
He wrote it because we had done this 40-piece orchestra gig together and he was always hearing the studio musicians in LA that he was using on that talking about the fear of going into sessions some morning and being faced with 'the black page'. So he decided to write his "Black Page". Then he gave it to me, and I could play parts of it right away. But it wasn't a pressure thing, it just sat on my music stand and for about 15 minutes every day for 2 weeks before we would rehearse, I would work on it. And after 2 weeks I had it together and I played it for him. And he said, "Great!" took it home, wrote the melody and the chord changes, brought it back in. And we all started playing it.[1]
On the live album Zappa in New York, Zappa noted the "statistical density" of the piece.[2] It is written in common time with extensive use of tuplets, including tuplets inside tuplets. At several points there is a quarter note triplet in which each beat is counted with its own tuplet of 5, 5 and 6; at another is a half note triplet in which the second beat is a tuplet of 7, and the third beat is divided into tuplets of 4 and 5. The song ends with a quarter note triplet composed of tuplets of 5, 5, and 6, followed by two tuplets of 11.
Australian drummer Chris Quinlan explained and demonstrated the polyrhythms, nested polyrhythms (quintuplets and sextuplets played within a 3:2 polyrhythm), polymeters (5/4 phrases played over 4/4 time signature) and structure of "The Black Page" on "Melbourne Musos" TV Show, episode 122, aired in 1999 on Australian Community TV station, C31 Melbourne.
In 2001, Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman released the video "Solos and Duets" which features "The Black Page" played as a duet between the two ex-Zappa Drummers with a transcription of the piece scrolling along the bottom of the screen as it is being played.
In 2006, "The Black Page" was featured on Zappa Plays Zappa - Tour de Frank, an ambitious effort by Dweezil Zappa to bring Zappa music to the stage again, played by himself and a new band. The 2006 tour also included, as special guests, Zappa alumni Napoleon Murphy Brock, Bozzio, and Steve Vai. In the 2006 shows, "The Black Page" was played once as a drum solo by Bozzio, then a second time as a guitar duet with Steve Vai.
In 2010, "The Black Page" was performed by Lucy Landymore in the BBC Young Musician of the Year percussion final, which she won.
[edit] External links
- Analysis of Zappa's unusual rhythms, including some transcriptions and MIDI recordings of "The Black Page"
- Interview by Vinnie Colaiuta for Modern Drummer, including a description of Vinnie's audition for Zappa
- The Black Page, a sample from the 'Zappa Plays Zappa' tour
- [1] Australian drummer Chris Quinlan played and explained "The Black Page" on "Melbourne Musos" TV Show, episode 122, aired in 1999.
