02/15/2013 (12 Moons Solo Improvisation Day 46)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 46

Date: 02/15/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: A room in my mothers house.  Edmonds, WA

Notes:

With the release of my new solo saxophone album tonight, my spirits are high and my energy is coursing.  I recorded this improvisation today without any kind of pre-scripted model or preparation before hand.  This is an energy piece centered around small motives, and developed with a steady line of intensity throughout.

A few weeks ago I performed Roscoe Mitchell’s amazing composition Nonaah in which I played a transcription of the piece verbatim from his landmark recording “The Solo Concert.”  The moment I began this improvisation today I was struck by the spirit of this piece.  Unlike Roscoe’s recording, which maintains repetitive traditional note themes with crystal-clearn precision, I approached this improvisation with smaller melodic fragments.  There is some melodic repetition, but this is done very little.  I use false fingerings to mute at least 50% if the pitches, which, when overblown, these muted tones often speak mulitphonics.  Instead of allowing these multiphonics to resonate, I clipped them off with my tongue to create a harsh, halted action on each pitch.  This created the puckish sound heard throughout.  

-Neil

02/14/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 45)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 45

Date: 02/14/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Practice room B at South Whidbey High School.  Langley, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

My ears were bent towards interloping chords today.  As I have stated before, the practice room B at SWHS is a fantastic, resonant space to play.  My improvisation to today focuses on the use of chord clusters with fluttering inside tones.  

There are many ways to create chords on the saxophone.  In the last few years I have become particularly interested in creating chords with moving lines beneath or above a sustained pitch.  My improvisation today uses a fingering system that creates a very consonant chord, with the concert key tones of Gb, Ab (middle octave) and Eb (high octave), among other pitches that intersect these notes.  The high Eb in this case is the sustained pitch, and by opening and closing my Eb palm key I am able to quickly trill between a Concert Db and Cb. 

Because of this resonant space, there is quite a bit of activity that carries through the room, but even in a very dead space this improvisatory gesture is a busy one.  As the piece progressed, I began introducing less consonant tones, such as the Concert B and lower octave Concert G.  There are higher tones above the high Eb that seemed to want to come out, but I worked to hold these back in order to perform a piece that uses a limited range of just under two octaves.

-Neil

02/13/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 44)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 44

Date: 02/13/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

In our practice routines, woodwind players often take a single pitch and attempt to do a seamless crescendo or diminuendo.  This strengthens our embouchure and steadies our air flow.  This has always been a part of my daily practice routine but I also incorporate overtones into this process.  When playing particular fingerings on the saxophone, the horn seems to naturally want to jump up or down an octave as you let the note grow, and particularly so when you let the note diminish.  My improvisation today is a hybrid of the common crescendo and diminuendo practice technique and the natural octave displacement that wants to occur.  I used a single pitch Concert B in three octaves throughout this improvisation.  

I begin the piece by quickly capturing the high and middle octave Concert B at the same time.  Though this is also possible with a traditional fingering, in this piece I used the following fingering for the high and middle octaves: (Left Hand) A-G Keys, Low C# (Right Hand) F-E-D Keys, Low C.  This is a “split tone” fingering that can simultaneously make a Concert B and A, but in this piece I only play the Concert B.  The low B is played by the traditional tenor fingering of a Concert B (the tenor C#).  The transition into middle octave concert B from the low B is played through an overtone.  

My overall goal with this improvisation was to create a piece that uses careful transitions and abrupt transitions from one octave to the next, with the occasional use of two octaves at the same time.   I feel such a profound level of concentration when playing an improvisation with only a single note, even if that pitch moves into different octaves.  There is a crystal-clear picture as to what is communicated to the listener, and it is a true challenge to perform cleanly in this style.  

-Neil

02/12/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 43)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 43

Date: 02/12/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Choir room at Chief Sealth High School.  Seattle, WA

Notes:

I had a rehearsal tonight with my friends and musical counterparts Jared Borkowski, Gerg Sinibaldi and Ivan Arteaga.  After spending some time freely improvising and working on structured improvisations, we discussed the idea of art requiring or not requiring a “subject.”  I’ve come to believe that no matter how abstract or vague a concept I work with as an improvisor, my work always has a subject.   Often my mind gravitates towards my sound itself as being my subject, and in this sense no matter what I play I believe there is always this point of focus.

 

I recorded this improvisation earlier in the day before having this rehearsal.  During this brief recording session, I decided to challenge myself to find a clear note-based melody born out of a multiphonic fingering.  My aim was to create a plainspoken melody with chordal accompaniment.  I intentionally tried to pair the use of a “traditional” subject (the melody) with a non-traditional subject (chordal accompaniment with multiphonics).  For the chordal sound I used the following fingering: (Left Hand) B-A-G Keys // (Right Hand) F-E Keys, Low C.  The chord in this recording is only made by opening and closing further keys.  I alternate the opening of Side Bb and my G Key in order to create a rhythmic cycle that has interloping chords inside it.  The more traditional melody that opens this piece is created by slowly playing this multiphonic while opening the G Key, Side Bb, and the Side C as well. 

-Neil

02/11/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 42)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 42

Date: 02/11/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

As a daily exercise I work on articulation patterns to increase my speed and flexibility. A recurring theme in this daily practice is articulating consistent sixteenth notes as fast and light as possible. I’m always amazed by how difficult it is to consistently produce even a single pitch over and over again for a number of minutes. Fatigue becomes a major issue during this task, but I’ve found that by trying to retain focus I’m able to make slow but steady progress. My improvisation today features consistent sixteenth note articulation, but with phrasing interruptions with tradition pitches performed at will.

When I articulate sixteenth notes as quickly as possible, I find that I actually use very different parts of my tongue than when I articulate at even just a slightly slower speed that what I believe to be my maximum tempo. This has shown me that the idea of articulating “as fast as possible” is really just a trick of the mind. If I record myself from day to day I find that my fastest tempo will fluctuate a bit in either direction, but as stated above, I still use this different part of my tongue. During this improvisation I attempted to play sixteenth notes as fast as possible, and then retain that original speed throughout. Consistent with my current ability, I found that during this 9 minute improvisation I begin slowing down after about 45 seconds, and then remain fairly consistent until the end.

While attempting to articulate at my maximum speed, I performed a free improvisation with pitches that were performed at will. There emerged a few phrases that I returned to subconsciously during this piece. This particular improvisational model is one I practice on a semi-regular basis. I play a few pitches as quickly as possible until it begins to feel second nature and requires little thought to do so. I then attempt to free my mind of clutter and begin to improve freely, the idea being that the articulation just becomes the status quo, and I simply work with it or around it to create my own shapes of sound.

-Neil