SV: Practice, rehearse, perform

["Per Boysen" <per@boysen.se>]

> On Thu, 14 Nov 2002 08:40:49 -0800, "Mark" 
> <sine@zerocrossing.net> said:
> > I'm thinking of abandoning my 100% (except for drums 
> sequences) improv 
> > method of live music because I'm realizing that it's just 
> too hard to 
> > be "there" all the time.
> 
> I had a bit of an epiphany about this last night. I tend go 
> for 100% improv too, but it's so hit and miss...I realized 
> that I tend to gravitate towards certain patterns, so I could 
> make "process compositions".  Something like "For this piece, 
> I'm gonna record a short chord, then switch to reverse and 
> add some harmonics. Then I'll pass them through a filter..." 
> and so on. 
> 
> Ernesto


Sounds like an inspiring strategy :-)  It's a life long project to stay
out of your own footsteps. "Process compositions" - hmm... interesting
word you invented there :-)  Once in a duo, that performed 100%
improvised music, we sometimes set up similar rules for ourselves. Like
"this time we're going to start out with the loudest and most ugly note
we can produce with our instruments and then we hold it for at least ten
seconds... and then see what happens". The trick was that no key or
special note was given, so the initial two-note chord was random.
Sometimes we surprised ourselves and the concert was kicked off into a
new direction right from the start.

Another trick I tried when playing on my own with a midi guitar, sampler
and guitar amp, was to prepare a bunch of sampler patch/mapping set-ups
and save them to floppies with no labels. Before the gig I randomly
picked one and loaded the sampler. So on starting to play guitar I never
knew exactly which electronic sounds would be triggered from different
frets on different strings (each string = a midi cha of its own). 

A musician friend told me he and his band had tried to play in complete
darkness. Everyone in the band got totally mesmerized by the experience
and they immediately came up with many new sounds and songs. 

He, he... This post is starting to sound like spam (better stop here).
You know, a couple of fabricated success stories and then "place your
order by VISA" ;-)  

Best wishes

Per Boysen
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