Extended Improvisation Portfolio & Video Documentary

This essay will be discussing the processes, learning and effects the extended improvisation module has had on my playing and practice. Overall, I found this semester of the module challenging, but rewarding as my skills developed. As a more straight ahead Jazz and Blues player there were lots of aspects of the module I had never done before, so it was a great way for me to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to use some extended techniques and create some new music.  

Self Reflection

My personal style of playing is structured and organised. I sometimes have a tendency to play ‘licks’ but feel I have recently been adding different ideas to my straight ahead Jazz or Blues playing. This could be a result of allowing myself to play more freely in these sessions instead of planning too far ahead. It has helped me feel and sound like I’m actually improvising, not recycling licks or passages I’ve learnt. This has a good impact on both areas of my development. 

Week To Week Overview

During the first week of the module our time in class was spent getting to know each other briefly and have an introduction to the module. We started with a general improvisation to start developing our playing style as a group. 

A topic we explored during one of our sessions was experimenting with a technique where we would play short notes as staccato as we possibly could. The aim was to not play at the same time. This was an interesting technique to improvise with as it snapped us out of playing with longer notes. I found it difficult to vary when I would play as it was easy to play quickly after someone else had. I felt that way it could be the best way to not clash with another player but sometimes had the opposite effect. With that, I tried to find different times to play in to counter this.

Another technique we explored was acting out an argument with our lips sealed and then transferring this to our instruments. When doing this I found myself recycling similar phrases in my head and perhaps not transferring them into sounds as best as I could have. Using my voice in this way felt quite unnatural at first but did get easier as we progressed. With some practise the technique felt easier but hard to incorporate into my everyday playing. This wasn’t something I felt I wanted to practice as I couldn’t find a function for it within my improvisation style but it was interesting to experiment with in a class environment.

Another new technique we used was speaking and improvising in a duo setting, using words to improvise as part of motivic development. We were splitting up a word of our choice into syllables or just short fragments. This was challenging to think of how you could say certain parts of words. It also felt quite unnatural to do so as they weren’t sounds I made day to day. However the benefit of this technique was that it inspired different ideas while improvising. We could transfer this style of speaking to our instruments by thinking of fragmented words to create new lines or rhythms. This also became slightly rhythmic within the group with different members of the group saying parts of their words in sync on occasion. 

Ragas

In one of our sessions towards the end of the semester we were exploring Ragas, I found that one scale was limiting but interesting. Traditionally you play the same notes ascending and descending in a scale whereas in a Raga you are to play a slightly different set of notes on your way down. This was something I wasn’t used to and took a lot of thought throughout the session. Playing it in different rhythms was also challenging as I personally found it hard to remember to descend differently to what notes I played when I ascended in the scale. The notes of the Raga we were playing were: 

Ascending: B C Eb Gb G B C 

Descending: C B Ab G Gb Eb Db C

This was an aspect of the module I found enjoyable. It was also a great opportunity to do this within a group. Previously we hadn’t played much in just one scale and had been left to play freely. This was definitely something I will be adding to parts of my practice. Aspects of the module like these I felt were beneficial to me to learn something that was cemented and had much more of a guide. 

Guitar Techniques

In relation to our 5 minute documentary I found using extended guitar techniques such as: bending notes (at the bridge, headstock or traditionally), pinch harmonics, natural harmonics, picking in different places (nearer to the neck or bridge) all helped towards achieving a free improv sound. As I am very much new to using these techniques in a non traditional fashion it was liberating to be able to use them freely however I felt suited. I found players such as Derek Bailey used these a lot. Especially at the bridge with the style of guitar he played. (Bailey, 1995)

Collaboration And Improvisation

When playing this style of music there is a tendency to play “out” a lot. I tried to not make this a complete feature of what I was doing in the group improvisations we completed. 

Creating riffs was also helpful in a group improvisation to create some more structure to the improvisations. It’s also good to create memorable motifs for other players to modify and make their own to develop an improvisation potentially into whatever another player makes of it. With this, we can feel a tendency to play constantly. With ideas constantly flowing you can feel you have to get them all out. This can affect the improvisation as you potentially stop other people from interjecting their ideas into the group. This can potentially make the improvisation sound abrupt if people react in a certain way to your ideas. You can perceive this either way, make a feature of the idea or not. 

In the first example in the documentary, myself and Matthew (Bass) seemed to have a bit of a duo going on. I felt we were playing individual ideas in places but it was still a good contrast for the improvisation. With a few added vocal parts helped cement some of my ideas throughout this example. I could have definitely stuck with something less busy upon reflection but at the time it felt as if it flowed well. With this style of music it can be easy to be in your own head about what you play so I’ll be trying to think broader when playing in future.

In example two, I was attempting to use the guitar in a certain way to add some texture underneath what else was going on in the group improvisation. Pick scraping and using my hand to slide/mute across the strings seemed appropriate for this part of the improvisation. I felt this was a good way to add texture and something that wasn’t overpowering to any of the ideas currently going in the room. This also treats my instrument in a completely different way than its original intention whilst adding something new to the group improvisation.

In example three, during the beginning of this I was just sitting back and listening but felt there could be a more cohesive idea played in the room. I began with a completely different idea than what was going on in the room. I felt by interjecting with something new could change what the rest of the group were doing. I feel this had a good effect on the group. Towards the end of the example myself and Mattia (Drums) evolved it into something different again. As spontaneous as improvising can be I felt I could have directed this better with more consistent ideas from myself. This is something to reflect on for future collaborative projects.  

In example four, James began conducting parts of the group. This was a great direction to help us develop ideas further and think differently when playing in a group. With directions like this we all controlled the intensity and dynamics of our playing much better than previously. This unlocked new opportunities for improvisation in the group, as we’d been focusing on sounds and not so much dynamics in previous weeks. This made for a more interesting and enticing sound. Potentially leading to captivating an audience on a gig for example. It was also a good opportunity to pair musicians who hadn’t played solely in a duo together. This again made for a more diverse improvisation with this group. 

I feel something I can take away from this is to let my ideas develop longer before moving onto something different. I could have made full use of my guitar’s dynamic range and experimented with different techniques in my ideas. I felt this was the main takeaway from exploring improvising throughout this semester. It would make my improvisations have a better arch to them and incorporate a more cohesive feel rather than switching to different things often. This also cements ideas better, giving me the opportunity to go back to them when I like to create familiarity for listeners.  

I also thought something I was happy with during the improvisations was my ability to sit out and let others create new ideas. Studying on the Jazz course has taught me to work with gaps and to not overplay in a group. There is sometimes a tendency to feel you have to play in these sorts of settings but I felt I judged this well throughout our sessions. 

The module has improved my judgement of improvised music. As a musician the projects I have been involved with have always included planning and structure but with playing more improvised music It’s allowed me to think more about my playing and deep listening as a whole. This is a reason why I’ve enjoyed exploring these techniques so much. 

Conclusion

Overall, I feel this module has made me listen more to my surroundings and other musicians when improvising in any setting. I have since added a short amount of time for a completely free improvisation before I begin practicing something more regimented. This opens up my ears and is a great warm up on my instrument. 

With it allowing me to feel like I can listen to others and my surroundings more. With this I have been much more critical of my improvisations in a positive way. I spend a lot of time listening to myself back and realising how I could develop my ideas much further. With this, I feel I have been allowing more of my ideas to flow and develop rather than quickly moving onto something new or different more recently. This makes for a more diverse improvisation and allows listeners and other players to have something to become familiar with throughout. 

Bibliography

Bailey, Derek. Grey Suite. 1995, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMGFSu-ZJ0A.