Re: Attitudes to instruments/loopers (Derek Bailey)

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

This is a really interesting quote, Andy. I think I vacillate between the 
two approaches, but the older and more seasoned I get a human being and 
musician, the more I tend to resonate well with the approach that the 
instrument is only a tool and not essential for improvisation. This is 
because I consider improvisation not just something inextricably tied to 
music, but a way of life and approaching the world, both physically and 
intellectually.  Sometimes I find it just as gratifying to set the guitar 
down and vocalize through a mic and my looping setup....or pickup a drum 
like a kinjira, or whatever. I'd rather have the improv music be defined 
by 
my own creativity and mind rather than the instrument.

Years ago, I would have said something different and much more idealistic 
(naive?), suggesting that I have this faithful bond with my instrument 
(gear 
worship) as if I have become one with it, more obsessed with the means and 
object rather than the end....but afterall, it is just a material thing 
made 
out of wood and metal. If I lost the use of my hands tomorrow, I'd still 
be 
looping the next month at gigs...but with my voice, feet, and whatever I 
can 
find to express myself.  You could disconnect my brain from my body and 
keep 
it alive it in a vat, and I'd still improvise musically in my mind. With 
this approach, nothing can come between the player and his music, because 
they are both internal and part of one's psyche.

I agree, this all applies to looping as you say. We often get so obsessed 
in 
the features and functionality of our looping systems, but in the end it 
seems that one can ultimately sit down and do some amazing and creative 
things with an utterly basic system or one that is complex. I love my 
laptop 
because of its power and flexibility, but if you gave me nothing but an 
acoustic guitar and a 30 second delay unit with infinite feedback, I'd 
made 
it work.

Kris

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "a k butler" <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:21 AM
Subject: Attitudes to instruments/loopers (Derek Bailey)


> "There seem to be two main attitudes to the instrument among 
>improvisors. 
> One is that the instrument is man's best friend, both as a tool and a 
> helper; a collaborator. The other attitude is that the instrument is 
> unnecessary, at worst a liability, intruding between the player and his 
> music."
> ...Derek Bailey in "Improvisation, It's Nature and Practise in Music".
>
> So I take that to mean that the instrument is either a means to produce 
> "the correct notes", or that is something that can be explored to find 
>new 
> sounds and new music.
> Musicians who develop extended technique presumably have a certain 
> curiosity about their instrument which is not shared by others.
>
>
>
> It struck me too that this applies to looping, there seem to be a lot of 
> loopers who want their looping gear to perform in certain pre-defined 
> ways, and not many who are not tempted to experiment/improvise with the 
> looping device itself.
>
>
> andy butler
> www.andybutler.com
>
>