"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 (vibes), the piece was later rearranged in several versions, including a Disco and a so-called New Age version.
Drummer Terry Bozzio said '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.
Much has been commented about this piece by musicians. Specially from the Berkleettes. Musicians with a penchant for modernity and the technical, which is stereotypical for that institution and its offspring. As a long time admirer of Frank Zappa's music, it comes from a period in his works that I like to call "the Synclavier epiphany." The Synclavier System is an early synthesizer and sampler made available to the public in 1975. Frank Zappa was one of their first costumers and most ardent users. With such an instrument in his arsenal, it was very influential in his subsequent works.
Let's look at the sheet music for The Black Page #1
Here is a video of The Black Page #2
performed by Frank Zappa in Barcelona on May 17, 1988.
This video is a performance of both The Black Page #1 & #2 by Frank's son,
Dweezle Zappa featuring Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai.
Dweezle Zappa featuring Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai.
A finely crafted joke encompassing the musician's fear of The Black Page.
2 comments:
Exceptional but it sometimes hurts when I think that herd!. Do you think thats Franks SG that Dweezle is playing?
SG - I bet it is. In honor of his pops. Apropos to the piece, but not to the period much (1976+). I believe Frank Strat'ed mostly by that time. Although I've seen pictures of Frank with a Paul. Bet those were from the '80s.
Hey, it's in common time. Tap out quarter notes with the video and feel where the one lands after each tuplet (5, 7 and 11s). It's actually quite playable. The sheet makes it look harder than it is. Depending on what era of Frank you're accustomed to, you'll hear very familiar melodic and rhythmic parts. Specially with his later stuffs.
Interesting little factoid: Steve Vai got his "in" with Frank by soliciting his transcribing chops while he was a student at Berklee. I don't think The Black Page was one of his transcribing projects, but knowing that time (late '80s+), I bet Steve was marking some wild ass scores.
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