Just recorded this…it’s been a day of tumultuous weather.  This was the tail-end of a passing storm.

02/22/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 53)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 53

Date: 02/22/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

Through a series of four fingerings, I explored the use of tonality with multiphonics in my improvisation today. The wide world of multiphonic playing includes many clusters of pitches, many of which are surprisingly consonant. However, I don’t believe I have come upon a multiphonic chord that speaks fully tempered pitches. Even the most consonant of chords still has tones within it that are slightly de-tuned from traditional tuning. My improvisation today explores the amazing beauty that exists in non-traditional tuning, with easily understood chord shapes.

I am in constant search for new feelings and emotions that can be brought out by the power of a single chord itself. The chords used in this improvisation have, in my own mind, their own particular kind of tonality. They can only really be analyzed by listening, not looking at the particulars of their parts on a page. For reference sake, I notated my approximations of the tuning below, but more for reference than any kind of definitive statement on how they are to be analyzed. 

This piece is performed with chords in two groups. Each group has a tone that comes before it, for a total of four “actions.” These actions, in order they are played are as follows. 


Group 1:

1. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low Bb// (Right Hand) F-D keys, Low C
–Creates middle F (quarter step sharp)
–This single pitch leads into chord number 2.

2. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low B// (Right Hand) F-D keys
–Creates low G# (difference tone), F (quarter step flat), high C#
–To my ears, because of the tuning this chord falls between a major chord and a minor chord. It’s characteristic sound overall seems very melancholy to me.


Group 2:


1. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low B// (Right Hand) F-D keys, Low C
–Creates middle F# and a very faint high C natural. 
–This imbalanced, 2-note chord leads into chord number 2.

2.. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low C#// (Right Hand) F-D keys, Low C
–Creates mid register A (quarter step high), mid register F (quarter step flat), high register C#, and an altissimo A#
–To my ears, this chord sound squarely major. But again, if you examine the actual tuning it falls somewhere between a major and a minor chord.

-Neil

02/21/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 52)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 52

Date: 02/21/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

During my practice session today I explored many of the inherent overtones hidden inside particular fingerings.  When I was in high school I would practice long tones in the corner of my room to try and hear the fullness of my sound.  I noticed that when I held out just a single note I could hear other pitches at the same time.  When I would point my horn at a particular angle against the wall they would speak, and at other times they would not.  I noticed that embouchure pressure, reed choice, and volume also played a roll.  I later learned that these extra tones I heard are called overtones, and that the organization of particular overtones lend each instrument its unique sound.  

My improvisation today uses a fingering that produces a single pitch.  With harder tongue articulation and a higher level of volume additional tones can clearly be heard at the same time.  I approached this piece by articulating at the fastest possible tempo I am currently able to consistently play with single tonging.  The pitch produced is a Concert D, but the Octave and a quarter step high Octave are also clearly audible.  

During this piece the amount of space between the Concert D groups begins to shorten with each repetition, as well the length of the groups themselves.  This continues until the center point of the improvisation where only a single pitch is played.  I then gradually begin playing longer Concert D groupings and take more liberties with the amount of space between phrases.

-Neil

02/20/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 51)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 51

Date: 02/20/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

I spent the morning working on sustained pitches in the altissimo range of the upper register.  This is a difficult task on the saxophone and a small part of my daily practice routine.  A current goal of mine is to create a stable quarter tone fingering system from the lower register into this altissimo range.  In trying to find new fingerings for these quarter step pitches, I often stumble into new fingerings for traditional pitches, and my piece today uses two recent discoveries.

With the following fingering: (Left Hand) B and G keys, Octave // (Right Hand) F Key, Low C I am able to play a an alternate High F# (Concert E).  By then adding the Palm Eb key and adjusting my embouchure and air flow I can move this pitch to an altissimo C (Concert Bb).  This is an incredibly difficult motion to make, and is generally not well suited as a fingering combination to play melodically.  However, the two tones are very full and bright, and provide a very different timbral result.  

I performed this improvisation with a kind of bottled lightning approach–very short and to the point.  The piece uses only these two pitches along with an occasional interruption of a multiphonic.  This mulitphonic has an altissimo C in the upper part of its chord, and seemed a natural fit for this improvisation.  This chord is achieved by using the above Hight F# fingering: (Left Hand) B and G keys, Octave // (Right Hand) F Key, Low C and then adding the side F key.  This multiphonic seemed to only speak with a very loose embouchure and a direct air flow.  The two altissimo pitches in this piece however require a very firm embouchure and a direct air flow.

-Neil