Six Guitars - SUPPLEMENTAL
Simply, Six Guitars by Collections of Colonies of Bees is the sound of the musical interval known as a perfect fifth. The perfect fifth is that ancient harmony using the ratio of 3:2, the sound of an in-tune violin, the first harmony approved by the Gregorian monks, an ideal power chord.

The base note of each guitar in Six Guitars is tuned to one of two fundamental frequencies: 73hz or 109.5hz, respectively. This divides the players into two groups. From there, each guitar is tuned using the harmonic series, where each string is tuned to a different partial (a specific mathmatical ratio of the fundamental frequency). The harmonic series is the tonal information that makes up a note. It is described in terms of fundamentals and partials. The partials are harmonics that fall in line with the fundamental, but make the overall tone richer. Here, partials are treated as notes, and their frequencies are assigned to a particular string on the guitar. When played together they are completely harmonious with the fundamental frequency. Furthermore, since each string is tuned to a different partial, and each string has its own set of harmonics, the overall sound becomes even richer while still retaining an extremely consonant quality.

Two performers of Six Guitars (Thomas Wincek and Jim Schoenecker on the recording) are armed with looping devices and E-Bows. Each player has a different tuning, and their job is to create a sustained note using the E-Bow, starting with the highest pitched string, and moving to the lowest pitched string, looping each one in the process, thereby layering the sounds of each partial. Two other performers (again, one from each tuning group) pluck and strum the guitars with their fingers, creating improvised patterns that ideally play off of one another. On the recording, these performers are Chris Rosenau and Dan Spack. The final two performers play their guitars with percussion hammers (both parts done on the recording by Jon Mueller, utilizing overdubbing). These performers form the rhythmic backbone of the piece.
Credits:

Thomas Wincek - concept, score, sustaining guitar, looper
Jon Mueller - acoustic and electric guitars, dulcimer hammers
Chris Rosenau - electric guitar
Jim Schoenecker - electric guitar, E-Bow, looper
Dan Spack - electric guitar
Casey Anderson - score assistance
Ben Derickson - recording assistance

Score:
Download a .pdf of the score by clicking on the image below:
Video:
Here is a video of Collections of Colonies of Bees doing an initial performance of Six Guitars. From left: Jim Schoenecker, Chris Rosenau, Jon Mueller, Dan Spack, Thomas Wincek