Re: only a A part?

["max valentino" <ekstasis1@hotmail.com>]

Hi All:
This is a very interesting thread on the aspects of looping and 
compositional form.  Mark, Matthias and Andre have all contributed some 
very 
provocative insights into how they/we use loops and of the subject of 
performance “sans band” and the traditional song form.

When I started solo looping some years ago, I was, as many here I assume, 
a 
victim of the “one-man-band” syndrome.  Using my JamMan, as many fx pedals 
as floor space would allow, as many a six rack processors, and three (!) 
sync’d drum machines.  Yes, I was doing the ABABC…song forms, and trying 
to 
be all the instruments of a virtual ensemble.

It was fun, and a great learning experience, yet I found the music to be 
sometimes a bit vacant.  While the visual spectacle of one guy doing it 
all 
would hold an audience attention for a short while, mostly, save for other 
musicians, the audience too would become bored with the mechanizations.

That led me to dump the drum machines, most of the pedals, the big mixer, 
etc. and embrace the limitations of being a solo bass looper.  With no 
time 
sync, the JamMan is very difficult to time different loops as to set up A 
and B sections.  I began to explore more “implied harmony” and rhythmic 
changes within a fixed loop.  I began to play “drum” parts on my bass.  
And 
yes, this was mostly just “A” part loops, but with implied harmonic and 
textural changes under and over that.  Personally I have found this more 
rewarding, and audiences have also been much more receptive.

Yet something is still amiss.  I have found that playing to a loop offers 
very little of the interchange and dialogue which occurs between playing 
musicians. Music is made up of much more than just sounds, just tones or 
notes.  It is the interplay and dialogue between the musicians, their 
sense 
of communication and that communication with an audience.  Without this 
interplay the music become very one, or at best two, dimensional.  Still 
using a JamMan, I have the severe limitation of this device being capable 
of 
only adding to a loop; no undo, quantize, or other cut-up techniques you 
EDP 
users have at your disposal.

I recently added Bob Sellon’s upgrade to the JamMan, which allows me to 
run 
parallel loops, independent fades and mutes, reverse looping…a lot more 
fun! 
  Also, it has allowed me to interact with the loop as another musical 
voice, playing with it and allowing the improvisational direction of my 
work 
to blossom.  Certainly there is not as much at my disposal as an EDP, but 
it 
is a step in the right direction.  I have really begun to view the looper 
as 
another musical voice, not just an ostinato over which I can play.
This has led me to working with forms in which there is more than only an 
“A” part, yet compositionally steps outside of the “traditional” song 
form.  
And still there is form, and parts, which allow the audience reference 
points; something familiar for which they can relate to.

There will always be traditional song forms.  Modern compositional 
techniques are leading away from that, while, sometimes, paying some 
homage 
to it.  Cycles no longer need to be symmetrical, and audiences have begun 
to 
really accept the possibility of newer forms.  I think looping tools have 
greatly helped this, and listening to the various recordings made by 
members 
of this list I hear bold steps of diverse creativity being taken.

It interests me how others here are using their loopers…. especially those 
who might be working within an ensemble.  If you are working within the 
structures of “traditional” song forms, how does that work?

The other interesting aspect of this thread is of the nature of 
performance. 
  Especially with solo loopers, there is a tendency towards “shoe-gazing”. 
 
We might have so much going on with our feet and hands that any 
performance 
(read: entertainment) aspect is simply impractical.  I did not make it to 
the recent Women’s LoopFest, but from what I hear, there were several 
performers who added a visual spectacle to some very impressive looping 
techniques.

This is important as what we do as musicians is directly tied to our 
ability 
and need to communicate on some level with people who are not musicians.  
People who do not play are always fascinated by our alchemical abilities 
to 
conjure up sounds, which relate to them on various intellectual and 
visceral 
levels.  Yet, attention spans do not last that long.  The 
visual/entertainment aspect of our work is a great aid in our ability to 
communicate.

…. and then, of course, there are those among us who loop merely for their 
own enjoyment without regard for public acceptance, communication or 
“entertainment”.  I am not knocking them, and thoroughly applaud their 
efforts, as often their efforts greatly influence the rest of us (speaking 
for myself I know this to be true).

I love being part of this community known as Looper’s Delight.  I look 
forward every morning to reading the posts.  It is a rather unique board 
in 
which we openly encourage and inspire each other, regardless of divergent 
musical styles or tastes, and can engage in dialogues and discourse on 
topics such as this, which I find incredibly insightful and helpful in 
learning about “why we loop”.

Max



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