Here's another place I've noticed improvisation: basketball. I would compare my high-school basketball experience to blues or rock-based improv. We had set plays (chord progressions) that we all knew, but everyone was encouraged to break off when the time was right and go to the hoop (solo). I remember our coach stressing creativity and the ability to improvise. When you are driving to the basket, flying through the air, you are not doing a planned activity, you are reacting instinctively, and it wouldnt surprise me if you used the same part of your brain doing a layup in traffic as improvising a musical solo. I play on an intramural team here at UMF, and our style is a looser, more improvised one than what i experienced in high school. We dont practice set plays, so we are restriced only by the rules of basketball (no traveling, no going out of bounds, etc). As a result we our offense can be hectic at times, and stagnant at others. Idealy, and occasionaly, though, everyone on the court is in sync, setting screens, moving without the basketball, making good passes, and when everyone is on the same page like this, the game is fun to play, exciting to watch, and similar in many ways to an improvised musical performance.
blogging on this bloggold:
first off, i love the idea of comparing basketball to music. i think this was a really interest comparison. one thing that it did bring up to me, however, is the ability to compare improvised music to any aspect of life. it seems to me that as long as there are some rules and some room to do anything other that the rules you have improvision. this, then seems to say that life is all improvised. this is a very free will sort of way to look at life, and i dont' know if i completely follow it. (at this point, i am not talking just about basketball). i feel like improvision should at least sometimes be intellectualized so that the improviser knows and intends to go outside the borders of the rules. i think intent is crucial!
... but maybe not 100% necessary???
i think that maybe improvision with intent could be thought of as a different animal that improvision without intent. intent directs action, and without it you fall into chaos. but it is still a chaos without intent.
i'm not entirely sure where i'm going with this, so obviously i need to think about it more.
hopefully i've started a conversation somewhere!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
is complete chaos too much?
through the semester i have discovered that chaos is my favorite way to express my improvisatory music. i think that this might be because of my preferred instrument. playing on a drum set is unlike any of the other instruments that i have played (or tried to play, as the case might be). i have found that chaos is extremely difficult to obtain and even more difficult to keep on a percussional instrument. the reason being, is that if you start doing one thing too much or in any sort of beat it becomes repetition and becomes orderly. the biggest difference with tonal instruments, is that you have the option of playing notes out of the key to create chaos. everything else is, or can be, relatively the same.
a question that i have been thinking of is 'when does chaos cease to be music?' this is very important to me, because this is an area of music that is already not widely accepted, and often times difficult to defend. my first thought is that chaos alone might not be music. it might be argued that if chaos could be thought of as music, then any collection of sound is also music. this means anything you hear at any random point can be considered music.
perhaps the key to this question lies in intent? if i, as a musician, intend to create a chaotic sound space then maybe it would be easier to defend, than if it were just to happen.
perhaps the key is a dichotomy between chaos and order. i think that if you put the two textures together the chaos will be much more purposeful. not only will it be more purposeful, but i also think that it would become much more effective when laid across a background of solid music (with tempo and key and all that other stuff that makes music palatable).
a question that i have been thinking of is 'when does chaos cease to be music?' this is very important to me, because this is an area of music that is already not widely accepted, and often times difficult to defend. my first thought is that chaos alone might not be music. it might be argued that if chaos could be thought of as music, then any collection of sound is also music. this means anything you hear at any random point can be considered music.
perhaps the key to this question lies in intent? if i, as a musician, intend to create a chaotic sound space then maybe it would be easier to defend, than if it were just to happen.
perhaps the key is a dichotomy between chaos and order. i think that if you put the two textures together the chaos will be much more purposeful. not only will it be more purposeful, but i also think that it would become much more effective when laid across a background of solid music (with tempo and key and all that other stuff that makes music palatable).
arts night /day performance!!!
damn, we kicked some major ass!
the performance was really strong. i was very impressed, first of all, with the full class composition where ben directed. direction as improvisation is an interesting aspect. one reason is because there is one more level of removal to the improvisation. as a musician, you have direct control, so you know everything that you are going to improvise as its happening. (or do you?) from the view of the director he is pushing and persuading the musicians to do one thing or another like he or she would an instrument, but the second level of removal comes when your instrument (the band) may not cooperate. they might not even be able to do what you want them to.
this discussion makes me think that maybe the level of removal from the musician and the sound or the direction of the sound is directly proportional to the level of improvisation. it would follow that if a director was directing three directors with three bands, there would be potential for more improvisation than previously thought in the scenario with one band and director. but, this might not be very practical. and when taken to extremes, you could argue that the improvisation would become complete chaos, without any higher level of thinking or playing.
i think that the games that we have played in class and the suggestions given by the audience are also levels of removal in the same respect to gain a higher level of improvisation.
but back to the point. all of the show went splendidly. i was lucky enough to be in several groups for the concert. and best of all, i enjoyed it all.!!!!!!?!!!
the performance was really strong. i was very impressed, first of all, with the full class composition where ben directed. direction as improvisation is an interesting aspect. one reason is because there is one more level of removal to the improvisation. as a musician, you have direct control, so you know everything that you are going to improvise as its happening. (or do you?) from the view of the director he is pushing and persuading the musicians to do one thing or another like he or she would an instrument, but the second level of removal comes when your instrument (the band) may not cooperate. they might not even be able to do what you want them to.
this discussion makes me think that maybe the level of removal from the musician and the sound or the direction of the sound is directly proportional to the level of improvisation. it would follow that if a director was directing three directors with three bands, there would be potential for more improvisation than previously thought in the scenario with one band and director. but, this might not be very practical. and when taken to extremes, you could argue that the improvisation would become complete chaos, without any higher level of thinking or playing.
i think that the games that we have played in class and the suggestions given by the audience are also levels of removal in the same respect to gain a higher level of improvisation.
but back to the point. all of the show went splendidly. i was lucky enough to be in several groups for the concert. and best of all, i enjoyed it all.!!!!!!?!!!
the math in me
(written march 19th)
lately i've been trying to look for aspects of improvisation in all the music that i listen to. generally, i listen or hear a lot of music, but my favorite music at this point would be math rock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_rock. this, at first, has no improvisational aspects. it is very very well rehearsed and complex. i thought that there would be no middle ground here.
but i think i was wrong to think that.
after recalling several small shows with mathrock bands or bands with a similar aesthetic, i think that i have realized that there is improvisation in the music after all. i had the opportunity to see the band, 'we versus the shark', (http://www.myspace.com/weversustheshark). in their shart/stop style, you could see that there was an unplanned element to when they would play. it also seemed to be when they had the most fun.
perhaps i am looking too much into this, and i am just wanting to have improvisation be in all music that i listen to. i dont' know.
lately i've been trying to look for aspects of improvisation in all the music that i listen to. generally, i listen or hear a lot of music, but my favorite music at this point would be math rock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_rock. this, at first, has no improvisational aspects. it is very very well rehearsed and complex. i thought that there would be no middle ground here.
but i think i was wrong to think that.
after recalling several small shows with mathrock bands or bands with a similar aesthetic, i think that i have realized that there is improvisation in the music after all. i had the opportunity to see the band, 'we versus the shark', (http://www.myspace.com/weversustheshark). in their shart/stop style, you could see that there was an unplanned element to when they would play. it also seemed to be when they had the most fun.
perhaps i am looking too much into this, and i am just wanting to have improvisation be in all music that i listen to. i dont' know.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
art and music?!
i've been thinking a lot lately about improvisation in different areas of the arts. specifically painting. probably because i'm a painter. duh.
anyway, they more i think about it, the closer it seems to the improvisational music i'm playing these days.
my typical process for my current works is almost always as follows: first i draw out the vaguest drawing of the objects that i can. this is a thin black line on white paper - no gradation, no space, no texture, or color. very very basic. then i put the same outline onto the canvas or other surface that i might be working on. from there i start to fill in the blankness with color and texture and light and ideas and a number of other things i can't think of at the moment. this process is almost exactly that of how i have been playing music.
the vague black line is a quick conversation or idea before we start playing. this is usually with the group i'm in deciding on something very plain like a key or idea. not much information. then we fill in the blanks! we start filling in the white space with sounds instead of paints. the most interesting thing for me to do in either situation is to react. every action - brush stroke, color choice, or tone or rhythm - is a reaction to what happened before. they are almost identical in their process. i adjust to the last action, whether i want to compliment it or counteract it, both can be interesting.
anyway, they more i think about it, the closer it seems to the improvisational music i'm playing these days.
my typical process for my current works is almost always as follows: first i draw out the vaguest drawing of the objects that i can. this is a thin black line on white paper - no gradation, no space, no texture, or color. very very basic. then i put the same outline onto the canvas or other surface that i might be working on. from there i start to fill in the blankness with color and texture and light and ideas and a number of other things i can't think of at the moment. this process is almost exactly that of how i have been playing music.
the vague black line is a quick conversation or idea before we start playing. this is usually with the group i'm in deciding on something very plain like a key or idea. not much information. then we fill in the blanks! we start filling in the white space with sounds instead of paints. the most interesting thing for me to do in either situation is to react. every action - brush stroke, color choice, or tone or rhythm - is a reaction to what happened before. they are almost identical in their process. i adjust to the last action, whether i want to compliment it or counteract it, both can be interesting.
Monday, February 11, 2008
what to blog about...
our music group has been working together very well. unexpectedly well in fact. our last practice, which had the intend to show individuals within the group, was entirely successful. at least in my humble opinion. instead of having a bunch of solos, we decided to have sections that featured the different instruments. this idea bonded better to the direction we had been going in. i look foreward to playing for the class on tuesday to see what they think. also, with this new direction, we have started to develop music with more of a stable beat mixed into the chaos. i am enjoying this hybrid. at first i was very much about having the absence of a solid beat, but when combined with some kind of solid ground, it pushes the chaotic parts to an extreme by comparison.
p.s. steve, is there money in the budget to buy a hi-hat stand? and possibly a second cymbal stand? it would be extremely helpful to have a full drum set. thanks.
our music group has been working together very well. unexpectedly well in fact. our last practice, which had the intend to show individuals within the group, was entirely successful. at least in my humble opinion. instead of having a bunch of solos, we decided to have sections that featured the different instruments. this idea bonded better to the direction we had been going in. i look foreward to playing for the class on tuesday to see what they think. also, with this new direction, we have started to develop music with more of a stable beat mixed into the chaos. i am enjoying this hybrid. at first i was very much about having the absence of a solid beat, but when combined with some kind of solid ground, it pushes the chaotic parts to an extreme by comparison.
p.s. steve, is there money in the budget to buy a hi-hat stand? and possibly a second cymbal stand? it would be extremely helpful to have a full drum set. thanks.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
it is may. man, that was sure a good class. i learned TONS. yeah.
i'll tell you what i learned. i learned how to properly interact with my peers in an improvising situation. this includes finding an equilibrium where we could all be expressive without stepping on each other's toes. dynamics especially!
i expanded my sounds. i learned to play with other instruments and took the sounds of the instruments that i was already familiar with to a new level.
i was able to explore the music that i enjoyed, and also got to play with people from different musical genres.
then i played a show and i rocked the house.
it was totally rad.
i'll tell you what i learned. i learned how to properly interact with my peers in an improvising situation. this includes finding an equilibrium where we could all be expressive without stepping on each other's toes. dynamics especially!
i expanded my sounds. i learned to play with other instruments and took the sounds of the instruments that i was already familiar with to a new level.
i was able to explore the music that i enjoyed, and also got to play with people from different musical genres.
then i played a show and i rocked the house.
it was totally rad.
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