12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 21
Date: 01/21/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
I awoke this morning with the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on my mind. This patriot and man of peace made this nation a better place for us all. His message of love, justice and freedom continues to ring true today, and I feel indebted to his struggle and those that struggled with him. This struggle continues, and I believe we can all play a part in preserving the freedom that this county allows us as our birthright. Black, white, gay, lesbian, the forgotten impoverished–there is much to be done.
My improvisation today is a spirit song for the great Dr. King. I believe that the major and minor pentatonic scales are the mother sound–the scale that binds all music in all cultures throughout this world. This piece is centered around the Ab major pentatonic scale, with melodic diversions into the Ab major scale. To elicit Dr. King’s message of peace, I used strong, steady intervals in this improvisation. The Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th and Octave are used frequently, as is a constant return to the opening melodic theme with the scale degrees 6-5-2-1. A Dr. King would elevate his speeches with powerful repetition, I attempted to create a piece for him that used a similar model of strength.
-Neil
01/20/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 20)
12 Moon Solo Saxophone Project Day Twenty
Date: 01/20/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Utility closet in an apartment complex. Seattle, WA
Notes:
On the eve of Martin Luther King Day, I feel this year above others in the past I have been actively engaged in the rememberance of Dr. King and his message. I hope to celebrate this great American’s life on a daily basis, and I continue to be inspired by his perseverance and intelligence. My piece today was certainly inspired by his contribution to moving the world forward.
I recorded this afternoon inside a utility closet inside an urban apartment complex near Seattle’s university district. Having recently listened to a scholarly examination of Dr. King’s oratory development, I felt compelled to record a joyous improvisation. However, I carried a melancholic presence with me throughout the day, and looked for a way to incorporate this into my piece as well. This improvisation uses two major chords and complimentary secondary chords that accompany them within the same rage. Both of these chord progressions have a Tonic-Dominant relationship to my ears–perhaps the strongest harmonic relationship two chords can have. To juxtapose this stability, I play a cyclical fingering that quickly alternates between a concert G and an Ab. I use space between the harmonic action to punctuate the pairing of these consent and dissonant sonorities.
-Neil
01/19/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 19)
12 Moons Solo Project Day 19
Date: 01/19/2013
Instrument: Soprano saxophone
Location: The Headlands Wildlife Preserve on Whidbey Island
Notes:
This morning I went for a walk in day 4 of this heavy, persistent fog that just won’t seem to lift. I ended up back in the Headlands Wildlife Preserve in a clearing about a quarter mile down a dirt road. The morning air was heavy with dew and the birds were out in full force. I decided to record a piece that juxtaposed a more industrial sound with the natural sound cycles of the forest.
During this improvisation I used a single fingering: traditional low E fingering with the low C and low Bb keys down as well. I worked to create a siren-like call into the forest to create a jarring interruption in the ambient wildlife sounds. This fingering creates an amazing multiphonic on the soprano that has heavy, bright tones in it. I took in enough mouthpiece that my lips were touching the ligature and my embouchure strained to remain controlled. Along with a stop- tongue technique in the first of each 2 note phrase, I overblow the horn to try and fill out the muliphonic. The whistle-like, bright tones are achieved by blowing as much air as possible into the horn while maintaining a light hold on the mouthpiece.
-Neil
01/18/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 18)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Improvisation Day 18
Date: 01/18/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Edmonds, WA house
Notes:
Over the past two days the fog has sat still in the air throughout the puget sound. On my end of Whidbey Island the visibility has remained at no more than 30 or 40 yards this entire time. A melancholic mood has seeped its way into me these past two days, and my improvisation today reflects this.
I focused on creating a bluesy, two tone motive with a continuous rhythm. I love repetition, and the blues is the best place to find it. The fingerings used to create the pitches are based on two fingerings: the tenor low C# played as an overtone for the first pitch, and then continuing his fingering while opening the side C key for the second. Each fingering has a complimentary physical feeling as I play, making the two very fluid to play when put against one another. Throughout this improvisation I explore the overtone series on these two fingerings to create clusters of pitches and smears from one overtone to the next above or below it.
-Neil
01/17/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 17)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 17
Date: 01/17/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
This is an energy piece. My intention with this improvisation was to create a slight escalation of tension, with a moderate drop part way through and a reemergence of the high tension build towards the end. Throughout this piece the alarm call sound centers around a concert Bb–a fingering that can produce a minor third chord. With my embouchure I bend this pitch upwards and downwards easily within his range, then creating the bright alarm call sound.
In my study of chordal action on the saxophone I quickly learned that each of these chordal sounds seems to have a fundamental pitch center. If you gently blow into the horn there will always be a single tone that is produced naturally, and this is the sound I’ve come to define as the “center” for any given chord fingering. The remaining action of this piece, as noted above, is intended to be of high energy and avant exploration at a high volume.
-Neil