01/05/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 5)

12 Moons solo saxophone project

Date: 01/05/2013

Location: Home Studio (Clinton, WA)

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Notes:

I woke up in a sober, thoughtful state of mind this morning.  I practiced for at least a few hours before this piece came to me.  I deeply love the quiet harmonic worlds that can be created on the saxophone, and this piece focused on trying to capture a particular mood my horn felt like exploring.  I focused on two chords, the first of which can be played and held steady with a single fingering–this is the opening “minor” chord.  However, the second “major” chord I play cannot be executed by only a single fingering; it must be played by partially and quickly opening and closing a separate key.  Even though the two chords are complimentary in a harmonic sense, their execution requires two very different approaches.

Amazingly, playing these two chords creates two separate beat divisions.  The first “minor chord” is in a “duple” or 2 beat feel, where the second “major” chord is in a “triple” or three beat feel.  I tried to elaborate on this during the improvisation by opening and closing the same keys for both chords.  At other times I used flutter-tonging to explore the possibilities of these two subdivisions.

With all this said above, he horn spoke to me and guided me towards what to play and how to capture my sate of mind this morning.  

-Neil Welch

01/04/2013 (12 Moons solo saxophone Day 4)

 

12 Moons solo saxophone project

Date: 01/04/2013
Location: Home studio (Clinton, WA)
Instrument: tenor saxophone

Notes:

I began the day by working on a new composition for a small, six piece ensemble to be performed at an upcoming Racer Session (visit www.racersessions.com) later in January. In that composition I wrote a simple, 3 note theme which I will then re-interpret for each member of the ensemble. In this way I will have 6 pieces composed specifically for these ensemble members, but I still retain compositional cohesion overall by using using the 3 pitches as the fulcrum of all the melodic material.

My solo piece today was inspired by the above work. This morning I was fascinated by a particular multiphonic, which you will hear throughout this piece. In tandem with the “3 note” concept above, I used 3 different starting points on the instrument to create descending and fluttering chromatic gestures. I tried to stagger my level of activity in these descending gestures with the use of silence and this single multiphonic chord.

01/03/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 3) )

12 Moons solo saxophone project: 1/3/2013

Location: BOOM! Studios in Seattle, WA

Instrument: tenor saxophone

Notes:

Today was spent back in the studio for the first time in the New Year. I recorded âA Response to the Wednesday morning shoot at Café Racer, Seattle, WA 2012.â This piece is scored for solo tenor saxophone. With the weight of this music and subject matter on my mind, I began my first recording of the day with a 12 Moons improvisation.

This piece uses very tonal sounding multiphonics (split pitches) with a fixed position drone. The drone is a quarter step down from a concert Eb and is punctuated with mutiphonics and a melodic figure that I repeat at will. I slowly add new pitches to the melodic figure to create a machine-like, repetitive motion

01/02/2013 12 Moons

Location: Home studio (Clinton, WA)
Instrument: tenor saxophone

Notes:

During this improvisation I worked to create an atonal bass line with interruptions in the meter by rhythmically opposing melodic figures. I start out with small interruptions and gradually begin to length the melodic phrases. 

I’m currently exploring the use of rhythmic phrasing that does not have a steady meter beneath it. When I hear the great Albert Ayler exploring sound color, it feels very rhythmic to me despite not being grounded in steady time. With this piece I tried to juxtapose the concept of pre determined meter against malleable, or flexible meter.

01/01/2013 (12 Moons solo improvisation)

12 Moons Solo Project Day 1

Date: 01/01/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Headlands Woods Preserve (Whidbey Island, WA)

Notes:

This afternoon I read about the Peace Pilgram (aka, Mildred Norman), a remarkable women who walked for 28 years across America with the simple message of spreading peace to others. During this time Peace Pilgram never used money, but instead relied upon the charity of others for food, shelter and companionship. In her words: “I tell you, people are good. There’s a spark of good in everybody.”

I thought it fitting to record my first piece today in nature. The ground was covered in frost and the forest was alive with the sounds of birds and snapping tree branches. Airplanes buzzed overhead, and their incessant murmuring inspired my use of a few techniques below:

1. Single fingering exploration
2. The use of double-tonguing and flutter-tonguing
3. Screaming through the instrument while manipulating my throat and tongue