GeCla vs Extended Violin Technique

GeCla, short for Generator and Classifier, allows the user to generate a pattern, a frieze or a rosette with a previously chosen kind of symmetry starting from an asymmetric motif. It also allows the classification (with or without help from the program) of the patterns, friezes, rosettes obtained in this manner. In the end, the program provides a report of the errors committed. GeCla already has versions in five (PT, EN, IT, GE, SP) languages. The generator writes encoded information about the existing symmetries in the jpg image file generated. Then the classifier reads and interprets this coded information, which allows it (according to the level of aid chosen) to give information about how the classification process is going, preventing wrong choices, or only indicating at the end whether the classification is correct and, if not, indicating the first mistake. GeCla also includes a competition option. In it, each player generates a pre-agreed number of images and then both exchange images and each classifies the other's images. All steps are managed by the program, which in the end provides a report on eventual mistakes.

This app addresses the need for a comprehensive analysis and explanation of the great variety of extended violin techniques that have emerged over the past century. Its exhaustive contents, combining small textual definitions with notational examples and demonstrative videos, will serve as a great starting point for the violin student addressing the preparation of challenging new music and for the composer exploring new violin sonorities within her/his music. The app allows the user to search for specific contents (i.e. composer, work title, technique name) and has a dedicated section for new composers to upload samples of their music that might expand the current selection of techniques and notational solutions. We hope that you find it useful and inspiring as a performative and compositional tool.