12/26/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 360)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 360

Date: 12/26/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

This improvisation makes use of de-tuned multiphoinc chords, played in dominant to tonic fashion as harmonic gestures.   These multiphonics, written below as Chords 1-3, were very unstable and required a tight embouchure with very focused control to maintain them.  When I would pull the air flow away to dip down the volume, Chord 2 had a tendency to naturally evaporate into a Concert C, and Chord 3 into a Concert D.    I decided to approach these pitches as “melodic byproducts” from the multiphonics, and allowed them to speak once the horn and my embouchure let go of the multiphonic chords.  This simple two-note figure used tempered tuning, despite the fact that they originated within to very de-tuned multiphonic chords.  This provided me a link between the chordal movement and the simple melodic pitches.

As can be heard during the improvisation, the Concert C and D rang with precise control, and I took advantage of this by using diminuendo shapes from medium-loud to whisper soft.  The three chords used during this improvisation, as well as the two resultant “Melodic byproduct” pitches are notated below.

Chord 1: De-tuned D dominant chord

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C

Chord 2: De-tuned G Major Chord.  Chord included the Melodic Concert C pitch.

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low C# // (Right Hand) 2, Side F#, Low C

Chord 3: De-tuned D dominant chord (new voicing).   Chord included the Melodic Concert D pitch.

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low C# // (Right Hand) 2, Side F#, High F#, Low C

-Neil

The image “Implements and Entrenchments” accompanying today’s post by Neil Jenney (1969).

12/25/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 359)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 359

Date: 12/25/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: The rec room of my childhood home in Edmonds, WA 

Notes:

This improvisation uses a static drone figure played quietly, with melodic gestures above it that independently shifted in dynamic level from quiet to medium loud.  The concept of voice independence has been a continuous theme in my playing for some time now, but I’m now working towards adding a new level of depth to this concept by isolating fingering systems that allow for volume independence within the separate parts.  I used a single fingering gesture, which had a mid-register drone.   The melodies above it were approached freely and used a total of 4 pitches from the fingering’s overtone series, in addition to a 5th tone added by flexing my embouchure.  The fingering system was as follows:

(Left Hand) 1, Palm Key F only, Octave // (Right Hand) 2-3, Low C.  Trill the F key (1) in the right hand continuously.  

The static drone created by this fingering system was an F (quarter step high) in middle octave.  I worked to maintain this drone at all times at a consistent dynamic level, though there were a few moments when it unintentionally dropped out.  Above this drone were the 4 melodic pitches C#, F#, C, and E, all in the upper to extreme upper register.  The F# functioned as a central pivot point in the melodies, with improvised phrases moving towards and away from it.  A 5th tone, an upper register E was played by shifting my embouchure and scooping up into the F#.  As stated above, a central theme during this piece was to maintain a duality of thought–maintaining the static volume in the drone, and freely shaping the volume level of the melodies.  At a single point during the improvisation, I did pull the drone out intentionally to draw the focus to a single upper register melodic pitch, which was played at the high point of volume during the improvisation.  

-Neil

The image “Pretty much every” accompanying today’s post by Douglas Gordon (1992-?).

12/24/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 358)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 358

Date: 12/24/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

In today’s improvisation I wanted to explore quiet bursts of sound energy.  To do this I used a nontraditional hand position that worked its way from an open fifths chord, and would break through into various sound clusters.  These sound clusters seemed to speak fully at a quiet to medium-quiet dynamic level, allowing their full colors to push through.  I felt that my emotional state played less a role in the sculpting of this piece than did the horn’s own willingness to offer up a beautiful range of sound.  

This improvisation used a series of progressively thickening layers of sound.  It opens with a single Concert E pitch in middle octave, which is then joined by a Concert B a fifth above.  To create each of these tones I used the following fingerings:

Concert E:

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave // (Right Hand) 2-3

Concert E/B

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave // (Right Hand) 2-3

For the E and D keys in the right hand (notated above as 2-3) I used my thumb and pinky instead of the Middle and Ring finger.  This freed up my middle finger to reach across and begin trilling the Low Bb bell key manually.  This began the third phase of the overall sound structure, which included an exploration of pitch clusters in the upper register.  At the mid point of the improvisation I moved back into the single Concert E, but took away the octave key.  This dropped the pitch by an octave and added a further expansion of range while incorporating the open Fifth (Concert E/B) and the upper register pitch clusters.  Despite the limited overall volume, I tried to create a wide dynamic spectrum, allowing the single pitches and clusters to rise and fall in volume between executions.

-Neil

The image “Melnikov Studio” accompanying today’s post by David Diao (2012).

12/23/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 357)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 357

Date: 12/23/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

During my practice session this morning, my time was dedicated specifically towards long tones, intonation, and the use of “pitch imagination,” a term familiar to me from Sigurd Rascher’s excellent book “Top-Tones for the Saxophone.” After a few hours of focus in these areas, I decided to freely improvise a piece that was influenced not so much by this practice session but by my natural improvisational impulses these past few days. I’ve been transfixed on the use of short, puckish tones of all sorts–controlled sounds, junk sounds, multiphonic and straight-toned, all played short. In order to draw my focus elsewhere, I focused heavily this morning on long-tones. However, when I decided to record today’s 12 Moons improvisation, my gut impulse still swayed towards short-pitched melodies.

In this piece I focused heavily on 3 fingerings, the first two for the mid register aggressive sounds, and the third for the high register pitch dots and chirps. These three fingerings were as follows:

Fingering 1 (Concert G)
(Left Hand) 1-2, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2-3

Fingering 2 (Concert Db)
(Left Hand) 1-2, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2-3, Low C

Fingering 3 (Altissimo Bb, and other altissimo pitches)
(Left Hand) 1-2, Octave, Palm Eb only, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2-3, Low C

Fingering 1 centered around a Concert G, which I played loosely, incorporating a wide variety of tones and textures. I moved between Fingering 1 and 2 freely, exploring the Augmented 4th interval among other pitch material. With the addition of the Palm Eb, I would move into Fingering 3, which centered around an altissimo range Bb, also among many other determined and indeterminate pitch dots. I used single and double tonging during this improvisation, with occasional breaks into moments of sustained sound. I also used silence as a tool to elevate the intensity of the improvisation.

-Neil

The image “Moon Viewing Box” accompanying today’s post by Keigo Yamamoto.

12/22/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 356)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 356

Date: 12/22/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

Yesterday’s improvisation focused on buzzing and pitch clusters created by making use of a slight disfunction in my tool–lost motion from a key on the horn itself.  Today I decided to directly augment my tool by using a harmon mute in my bell, and approached another “buzzing and pitch cluster” improvisation with a much different sound profile.  Both improvisations used static, held pitch material with momentary interruptions in the established sound flow.  But today I explored  two fingerings with much more resonant sound possibilities, and a particular focus on pitch clusters rather than buzzing.

This is I believe my 6th time using the harmon mute during the 12 Moons project, and each time I learn a bit more about about the amazing array of sound possibilities with it.  I approached this improvisation freely after having decided on two fingerings.  I worked to phase in and out of pitch material and tried to explore a wide variety of thin and thicker clusters.  There were extraordinary moments for me during this piece, one of which took place in the first 10 seconds.  The air flow grabbed onto an upper register Concert B, which then pulled the note around chromatically for just a few moments, creating the melodic shape B—-C-B-Bb.   The two fingerings used during this improvisation were as follows:

(Left Hand) 1-2, Octave, Palm D, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-3

(Left Hand) 1-2, Octave, Palm D, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-3

-Neil

The unedited photograph of land and sea, entitled “I Live in a Rothko Painting” that accompanies  today’s post by Marion Boddy-Evans, Mad Cat Art Studio.