Everything Is Broken
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Everything Is Broken is for solo multiple percussion. It is written to be played on three things. You may play them with hands, sticks, or mallets. Two of the things should be broken. One thing should not be broken (yet). But, please don’t break anything just to pay the piece. You may also play it on two non-resonanant things and one resonant thing.
The piece consists of notated rhythms but the performer is also called upon to improvise. The length of the piece is variable. Most performances last between three and seven minutes.
Everything Is Broken was written for Payton MacDonald. It was one of thirty compositions he premiered as he rode his bicycle from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada along the Continental Divide in June of 2016. His journey is documented in the film Sonic Divide. More information about Payton’s adventure and a link to the film can be found at www.sonicdivide.com.
You can hear one of Payton’s interpretations of the piece below. It is quite different from the version he premiered during Sonic Divide and in many performances since then. Your interpretation can, and should, vary in instrumentation and length of performance.