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At the Terminus of the Blue – Take 2

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I was able to get the crew to come in early for one more take. We went out to the headwaters of Glacier Creek, where it moves down slope past a forest of high pines. Omar couldn’t lug his tuba up this high, and the vibes player said no, but the clarinet, oboe, marimba, finger piano, and harp were included. Celebrate the otonality with triademonium to the 11 limit.

Note: I had to load a second copy due to a name conflict. Sorry!

Walking Down Blue Glacier

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I was able to convince the gang to stick around for a few more takes of the piece. Thanks to Omar the tuba player for helping me revoice the winds to lower octaves. We spent all day Sunday running new takes, but something seemed to get in the way with each one. Finally we were able to get a good run through on the 17th try Monday morning. This one includes clarinet, oboe, tuba, marimba, vibes, finger piano, harp, and cello, plus the opening notch filtered wind tunnel sound recorded at the NASA Ames Research Center. As always, fake but accurate is my motto. Blue Glacier starts near the top of Mount Olympus, and terminates into Glacier Creek, which eventually flows into the Hoh River.

Approaching the Bergschrund at Night


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Near the top of the mountain, it is important to avoid the crevasse caused by the separation of the glacier from the summit. Often hundreds of feet deep, it can be a formidable obstacle in the wind at night.

Near the peak of Mt. Olympus

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The winds tend to howl at this elevation, especially when the storms blow in from the Pacific. Warm wet clouds this evening had a eerie sound as they blew up the glacier from the west. In this case, a descending utonality from 3:2 to 6:5 to 1:1 to 12:7 to 4:3 to 12:11 to 1:1. How do they do that?