12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 14
Date: 01/14/2013
Instrument: Tenor Saxophone
Location: Home studio (Clinton, WA on Whidbey Island)
Notes:
My piece today uses no extended techniques, but focuses instead on traditional pitches and a repetitive rhythm in a cycle of 5 beats.
I centered this improvisation around seven interval sets: Minor 9th, Octave, Major 7th, Minor 7th, Major 6th, Minor 6th, and the Perfect 5th. I attempted to keep the tempo steady throughout, and use a repetitive rhythm of a 5 note grouping with the following shape: down, up, down, up, up. I was careful to try and establish a definite mood with all of the above possible intervals, and in order to aid this I limited myself to select specific pitches. My range expands chromatically from a middle octave concert Bb to a high octave Db.
Though this piece is very repetitive, I made an effort to create specific events.. For example, I played the “Octave” interval of a concert Db only after having played either one the two dissonant intervals: Major 7th or a Minor 9th. At two points I also move up a whole step, then down a half step before beginning a wide interval. This was to try and punctuate the distance in the other intervals played throughout the piece. Also, there are only a handful of times I play the Perfect 5th interval, and after doing so I immediately move down a half step and play a minor 6th interval. Throughout this improvisation I gave unequal weight to specific intervals and pitches. There are some intervals and pitches that are played only once or twice, where others are repeated many times
01/13/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 13)
12 Moons Solo Project Day 13
Date: 01/13/2013
Instrument: Soprano saxophone
Location: Home studio: Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
This is my first pre-dawn improvisation, recorded this morning at 6:30am. I hope to record throughout this project at some point during each hour in a 24 hour period.
This improvisation utilizes a single fingering played on a low Bb. This is a very “overtone” rich note on the saxophone, and through embouchure and air control there are bright, brittle tones, clusters and bends that become possible. With this fingering I alternate between periods of exploration with just air/embouchure movement, then the use of rapid single tonging. I tried to maintain the same area of range I explored before entering with the tongue, and then once I begin this rapid motion I worked to elaborate the color even more.
01/12/2013 (12 Moons Project Day 12)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 12
Date: 01/12/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio Clinton, Wa on Whidbey Island)
Notes:
In my practice session today I worked at slowly building strains of melodic material. This is a technique I practice often, and I always find it to be incredibly difficult but very rewarding. Essentially I begin with a single pitch, repeat it with a second pitch, repeat those two and add a third, and so on. If these pitches were given numbers, the sequence would be as follows: 1 // 12 // 123 /// 1234 // 12345 // and so on. I find that I do very well with repetition up to about a figure of 12 pitches. To challenge myself even further, I often add quarter tones or multiphonics into the sequence as well.
This melody utilizes tempered pitches and quarter step pitches. The quarter step pitches are approximately ¼ step above or below (depending on which direction you choose to think about it) a traditional note. In this sequence, I begin with the pattern described above, until I reached a total of 12 pitches. At this point I choose a small fragment of the melody, repeat it 3 times, and move back into the full 12 note sequence, which I again play 3 times but always one after the other. Sometimes I choose to put space between the small fragments and the full 12 note melody, or in other cases I move directly from the fragment into the melody.
This was a challenge for me! These particular quarter step pitches were difficult for me to play fluidly as part of a melodic line. It’s worth noting that although the original 12 note sequence was improvised, I worked at trying to get a solid take of this idea for at least 2 hours. The take used here is not perfect, and in fact I chose a natural stopping point to end the track, but during this take I attempted to keep going and made a major blunder in the melody. I hope to revisit this idea in the future during this project!
-Neil
01/11/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 11)
Recorded in a WWII Fallout Shelter on Whidbey Island.
12 Moons Solo Project Day 11
Date: 01/11/2013
Instrument: Soprano Saxophone
Location: Fort Casey Military Base, Whidbey Island
Notes:
Built on a lookout near a strategic ocean passage between Whidbey Island and the mainland of WA state, Fort Casey served as an artillery post during WWII. This amazing place is now a WA state park and no longer in military use. My piece today was recorded in a cement bunker built as a fallout shelter in case of a nuclear attack. The space is a corridor, approximately 40 feet long with iron doors at its entrance and iron doors separating the various compartments. I placed my microphone setup near at an angled point in this corridor to capture the amazing amount of reverb and delay.
The space was pitch black, and when I entered into it the daylight was fading and barely filtered in. I forgot my flashlight and was met by absolute elation at the sound of the space, and the terrifying reality of being inside a fallout shelter in pitch black alone. After only 70+ plus years of existence, this space is being reclaimed by nature. As I played swallows would occasionally swoop in beside me. In the ceiling above me water dripped through the cracks and hit the floor, building little stalactites from the ground up. Water was eroding the floor.
I decided to use the natural reverb of this location in my improvisation today. I began with a single pitch to help establish my bearings with the decay of sound. I eventually worked to develop this pitch by the addition of overtones and multiphonics. As with my piece from January 8th, I used slap tonging and high pitch wails to try and get a sense of the wide spectrum this space had to offer. I also incorporated dissonant, wide intervals into this piece to help elaborate on the transition from my single note melodies to the harmony then created by delay in the room.
-Neil
01/10/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 10)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 10
Date: 01/10/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: South Whidbey High School. Langley, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
Each Thursday for the past 6 years I’ve worked with students at South Whidbey High School. Our practice space is located next to a long, narrow hallway with high ceilings and hard laminate floors. During my break each week I practice in this space, and I’m always excited about the resonate qualities of this hallway.
For my piece today I worked with the open, ringing quality of this room by playing a piece with a simple sound concept. Through this improvisation I use a single fingering, with my right hand trilling as fast as possible and my left hand trilling at a medium tempo. I stagger the opening and closing of keys in each hand to create continuous loops of sound. In this improvisation I aimed to work on balancing a high pitch with a low blanket of sound pulses. I attempted at times to crossfade these sounds, so that as the higher pitch becomes quieter the lower “blanket” pitches become louder. Much like a pianist is required to play contrasting parts in each hand, I began using this technique several years ago as an exercise to see what sounds I could cull out of my horn. Essentially my hands perform a similar action but move at different speeds.