03/26/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 85)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 85

Date: 03/26/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Performance Hall at Chief Sealth High School.  Seattle, WA

Notes:

I’m fascinated by scales and their pure, evocative power.  Today I improvised a symmetrical 12 note scale that, to my ears, seemed to have a several sombre melodies within it.  At the heart of this scale I chose to explore a series of minor gestures with a repetitive, downward motion. 

The pitches used follow a b3, 2, 1 shape which is then transposed down a half step following each third pitch.  In concert key: Gb, F, Eb, D, C#, B, Bb, A, G, Gb, F, Eb.  The first three notes are identical to the last three, which in my performance none the less still represent a distinct element of the scale, not a repetition.  The minor b3-2-1 inner melody has a total of 4 iterations within the scale.  Each of these gestures could be interpreted as their own minor melodies, but to my ears the natural chromaticism that occurs after each third note lends itself to a somewhat unstable structure.  Despite the loose tonal center of the scale, the fact that the first three pitches are repeated again at the bottom created a framework of Eb minor as I performed the piece.

-Neil

The image “Self Portrait” accompanying today’s post by George Bouzianis

03/25/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 84)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 84

Date: 03/25/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

A point of interest for me is the exploration of loosely controlled elements that borderline on what could be considered noise.  As an instrumentalist I spend hours each day refining areas of my playing, from tone production to facility and repertoire.  Screaming through my horn, overblowing the mouthpiece and many other extended techniques create amazing textures that can be practiced and prepared.  In this improvisation I explored only moderate control over the execution of the sounds that came out of my horn.  But as with any offering of sound, there is so much that can be worked with and explored.

This is a borderline area for me, as I do not consider my music to be noise.  The mere act creating sound at all on the saxophone requires some degree of control, and therefore at the root level of sound there is some order.  However, in this piece my aim was to play specific kinds of gestures in a very intentional, yet overall less precise manner.  In this improvisation I explored the extreme ends of the sound spectrum.  When playing aggressively in this way, there is an incredible calmness in my body and mind.  It seems almost as if my artistic self can feel momentarily liberated from the ego that goes along with the study of an instrument. 

There were many repeated figures and melodies throughout this piece.  I continuously referenced an altissimo Concert Bb, that pitch being a note that requires a good deal of control to accurately play in any kind of repetition.  On the opposite side of this spectrum, the melody that I open the piece with is created with a much looser level of control.  There is actually a chromatic fingering system used, a consistent amount of volume and a common pitch that I trill at in the upper register.  However, the creation of this melody has more to do with a bludgeoning of air flow versus a calm control of it.  As for the pacing of the improvisation and the musical events that took place, I left these elements as indeterminate areas to unfold of their own accord.

-Neil

03/24/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 83)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 83

Date: 03/24/2013

Instrument: Soprano saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

This morning I woke early feeling rested and hopeful, with that initial pulse of energy that can happen on a new day.  I decided to record immediately and capture a joyful, dance-like improvisation to welcome this feeling.  That joyful spirit in me on these days can evolve so differently from the dawn to dusk, and I decided to capture this feeling to spur it’s growth and ward off its decline.

I quickly decided on a fingering and tackled this improvisation using a familiar improvisatory technique.  If I’ve decided my ultimate compositional goal, in this case to create a dance-like improvisation, to achieve this I will often begin with longer, sustained tones to establish order and control in my mind and body.  I then feel more invested in the music and my mind becomes able to create more diversity of sound.  I used the following fingering:

(Left Hand) Fork F and C keys, Low Bb and Octave // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys.

The first half of the composition I view as precersure material–a free improvisation that allows me to learn and grow, with the second half being the ultimate improvised composition.  The fingering allowed a concert key Eb to Bb perfect fifth drone to sustain throughout the piece.  I immediately recognized that the gesture Bb–Eb–F in the upper register would become my melodic fulcrum.  As the piece evolved I began, slowly at first, to open and close the Octave and G keys, low F and Fork F keys.  I eventually entered the compositional section by creating several recurring loops of sound with specific notes trilling in repetition.  Near the two thirds point in the improvisation I began opening and closing the fork F key fully, which began forcing the upper octave Concert Bb to pulse louder than surrounding material.  

-Neil

03/23/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 82)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 82

Date: 03/23/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

I recorded this improvisation just after dawn this morning.  I caught the early light in a deep, greenish-grey hue with the muted tones that only happen when a clouded sky is certain.  This inspired me to record a transitory improvisation with an unstable tonal center.  I made use of tempered pitches and microtones within a range of the tenor middle octave D to middle octave G.  

In the improvisation I begin with a minor third chord with the concert key pithes of C to Eb.  I then raise the C by a quarter step and play an E above it.  The quarter step high C descends once again to the C, and the E pitch above it remains.  Every gesture I made in this improvisation centered around this 3-part motive.  In the above pure form I play it only once again at the conclusion of the piece.

There are two split tone chords in this improvisation, each roughly representing minor third chords separated by only a quarter step to a half step in transposition.  The first uses the pitches Concert C (quarter step sharp) and E:

(Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Low Bb // F# key, high F# key.  

The second chord uses the pitches Concert C and Eb :

(Left Hand) Fork F, C and G keys, Low Bb // F-E-D keys, Low C

-Neil

The painting “Cool White” in today’s post by Lee Krasner

03/22/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 81)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 81

Date: 03/22/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

This morning we woke to find snow on the ground.  It’s the third day of Spring and it was cold enough to blanket nearly the entire island.  Schools were closed and the morning came to stand still.  My wife and I had planed on driving up the island today to take a boat onto the mainland, but had to turn around about half way after we saw several cars in the ditch and at least four or five inches of unexpected snow on the road.  By the afternoon the sun had melted it away and life returned to normal.  I recorded this piece in the late morning as I watched the snow begin to loosen up.  This is the first bit of snow this year and likely the last we’ll see.  I’ve thought all day about the transformative power this small respite from the norm provided us.

In this improvisation I explored a small oscillation of pitches from a single fingering.  These oscillations are dependent on a so many criteria, including a necessary low volume, a lighter reed and subtle gentle amounts of pressure against the reed.  The fingering is as follows: Standard low F# fingering with the Low C and Low Bb keys depressed.  

Near the conclusion of the improvisation I introduce a new chord only a single time.  The fingering for this pitch is created with with following fingering:  (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Low Bb, Octave // (Right Hand) F#-D keys, Low C.   This chord has two pitches that make a minor third in the upper register and I can move these tones up and down with my embouchure.  By taking the octave key away I am also able to maintain this minor third melody with a steady drone pitch in the lower register.

I played each oscillating chord only as long as a single breath would allow.  I viewed this chord as the norm sound–a recurring theme that could naturally change in the subtlest of ways each time I played it.  About 80% through the piece I introduced what I perceived to be the respite minor third chord above.  After a brief pause, the norm chord returns for a final statement.

-Neil

Today’s image “The town” by painter and intellectual August Strindberg