01/11/2015 (Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation)

Neil Welch, Continuous Resonance Project
Date: 01/10/2015
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Notes:

I felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy this morning and felt that I should try to manifest it through sound.

The image “Construct I-F” (1979) accompanying today’s post by Barbara Kasten.

01/07/2015 (Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation)

Neil Welch, Continuous Resonance Project
Date: 01/07/2015
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Notes:

At the end of my practice session, on a whim I decided to record an improvised piece using split tones and traditional fingerings while singing into the horn. The initial chord which opens the improvisation was the only pre-determined material, with the remainder of the piece being improvised.

The image “Umbrella” (1988) accompanying today’s post by Roman Signer.

01/06/2015 (Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation)

Neil Welch, Continuous Resonance Project
Date: 01/06/2015
Location: Choir room at Chief Sealth High School. Seattle, WA 
Instrument: Tenor saxophone/Piano

Notes:

This afternoon, between teaching students and leading sectionals, I found myself uninterrupted for about a half hour, a true rarity in a high school of over a thousand. I placed my mic set-up in the center of a baby grand piano. The lid was slightly open and I pressed down the sustain pedal throughout the improvisation. In order to capture a more muted tone quality in the recording, I played outside of the piano instead of directly into the strings. 

The image “The Day’s End” (1975) accompanying today’s post by Gordon Matta-Clark.

01/05/2015 (Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation)

Neil Welch, Continuous Resonance Project
Date: 01/05/2015
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Notes:

Today’s improvisation used layers of sound similar to those explored in the fingering system from my composition “A Song Cycle for Missouri.” In this improvisation I attempted to phase between regions of overtones within a common fingering system as well as phase in and out of sound regions within differing fingering systems. I had no particular trajectory from the outset, but trusted the horn and my intuition to guide me from one area of focus to another in an intuitive a fashion as possible. For me this became a matter of gravitating towards an area of sonic interest, which might include harmonic and/or rhythmic areas, as well as figures which elicited some emotion for me. 

The image “Cumulus” (2006/2008) accompanying today’s post by Tomas Saraceno.