Excerpts from the score Tautologos III ou Vous plairait-il de tautologuer avec moi ?, published by Moeck-Verlag, Celle, Germany (1969).
" The Tautologians can amplify their instruments, using either contact microphones, conventional microphones or any other mean of simple electroacoustic amplification or complex transformation.
Each instrumentalist must choose an Action A of a relatively brief duration when compared to the duration of the Rest R that completes the action.
A R A R A
The Action/Rest ensemble is repeated again and again, becoming a loop whose duration should not change, in principle.”…
“Each executor chooses an action according to their instrument and the group. This action can be any combination of the following:
- duration
- register
- dynamics
- character (or playing mode, ex: tremolo or flattzg)
- tone (ex:brassy or more elements)
- Evolution (of one or more elements)
- speed (applied to evolution)
“One must feel the duration and treatment. The ideal execution should be mechanical; each musician should manage, through extreme concentration, to create their own time. Their concentration should lead them to the instinct of communication. That state of concentration/communication is the only way to create a meaningful atmosphere that will illustrate the tautological phenomenon as a phenomenon borne out of live; and tautologically yours.”…
“Chapter 6: appendix to “How to Tautologize”
Chapter 5 is intended for professional musicians, which does not mean that people with no musical knowledge will not understand these instructions, since they are very simple. However, let us summarize the basic principles one should keep in mind:
- constant repetition of a brief action followed by a rest, with the concept of individual/independent time.
- superimposition of this Action/Rest by a given collective.
- transformation (manipulation) of the action according to the encounters produced by the tautological mechanics (of repetition)…
…so there would be such a large number of tautological elements in the most diverse of fields and with the most diverse of means, that, for a moment, crumble down the absurd walls “Civilization” imposes on us.”

Luc Ferrari