12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 58
Date: 02/27/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
Today I felt the impulse to create a cyclical improvisation with more traditional pitches. I wanted to create a solid, steady chord progression that balanced melancholy with joy.
In the past few years I’ve been developing specific fingering exercises that allow me to play three to four pitches in extremely rapid succession. Unlike when traditional fingerings, these pitches can be played at such a rapid speed that a much bigger harmonic shape begins to take form. I am just not able to play these pitches with such speed otherwise. This improvisation uses four harmonic worlds, each with a different fingering. The first chord is a Concert Ab minor shape, with the second sounding like an inversion of the Concert Eb dominant, the third a Gb Major chord and the fourth the Gb dominant. These are definite approximations, because the fingering system used does not allow for specific tuning.
During this piece I would also apply more embouchure pressure against the reed and raise up my air flow to turn these chords into multiphonic shapes. The cyclical effect is achieved by playing the desired pitch, then opening the B key, the Side C, and returning to the initial pitch. There is essentially an incredibly fast triplet shape being repeated over and over.
My goal in this improvisation was to negotiate a balance between the busy nature of the triplet effect with the intrinsic beauty of the chord progression, I’m intrigued by the idea of pairing melancholy with joy. It seems to me in daily life that this combination just seems ever present in me. It’s not as though one overpowers the other, but more the two find a way to co-exist. It’s like speaking to joyous old man–the kind of human that finds happiness knowing that time is finite.
-Neil
The image “Dusty Field” (watercolor on smooth paper 300gsm) by Alice K. http://aliceapril.deviantart.com/art/Dusty-Field-63297371
02/26/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 57)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 57
Date: 02/26/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Small theater, Chief Sealth High School in Seattle, WA
Notes:
My improvisatory impulses today lead me towards the upper end of my horn. I dedicate a great amount of time to expanding my altissimo range, as well as working on creating higher whistle tones. However, I rarely find myself as interested in working exclusively within this range during an improvisation. Today I carried with me the desire to sit squarely in the upper range, and my improvisation centers around a few select pitches from an altissimo Db and up.
This improvisation uses only one fingering: (Left Hand) Fork F and C keys, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys, Low C. I set my embouchure with my lower teeth near the soft, pink part of my inner lip–far higher than a traditional shape. With a good amount of pressure applied, this fingering yielded a very clear altissimo Concert Db. By adjusting mouth pressure and air flow, a Concert D, E, and F also spoke very easily. Very tight, clustered pitches would occasionally emerge when I centered on the Concert E, which I believe are the Concert D and Db simultaneously. Further colors were achieved by using a bit of vibrato and approaching the overall playing style by using the saxophone as more of a bugle. This perspective helped me to feel more inclined to freely bend the pitches upward and downward.
Photo by agnes-cecile
http://agnes-cecile.deviantart.com
-Neil
02/25/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 56)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 56
Date: 02/25/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
In my practice session this morning I centered my attention on the use of singing while playing a pitch. I am able to sing from the tenor low Bb up to the high F with consistency, but beyond that range it becomes extremely difficult. While practicing I came upon a fingering that, when sung into the horn at particular intervals, very suspended and overtone-rich tones would emerge.
This improvisation uses only three sung pitches with a single “chord” fingering. The chord will not speak as you hear it in this improvisation unless I am singing into the instrument. In concert key, the sung pithces are C#, D, E (each about a quarter step low). While playing the fingering and singing into the horn, I found that on the fifth of the chord many new tones emerged. During this improvisation I played very conservatively, and this chord and singing combination could yield so many other colors. The fingerings used are as follows–through most of the piece, I use: (Left Hand) B-A-G Keys, Low Bb, Octave // (Right Hand) F-E-D Keys, Low C, side F. On the “second” pitch, a Concert D (quarter step low), this fingering and singing combination created many contrasting colors you hear during this improvisation. There were however a few times when I wanted to hear this second pitch played and sung in the unison, and I would also open the Fork F key to enable this to happen. I would then put it down again when moving back to either the first or third pitches.
During this piece there is about a 10 second period where a new tone emerges in the upper register. In addition, there were also extremely high pitched whistle tones that would occasionally enter the sound field as a result of the combination of singing and fingering the above notes. A fascinating result of this entire process is that the horn seems to create the same kind of timbre as the human voice. This is similar to when a saxophone or human voice, etc. is played into a piano. Because of the overtones, you will hear what sounds like the instrument itself being resonated into the piano. While practicing this piece today, for just a moment in time I actually believed that the horn was singing a minor third below my own sung note. It was an extraordinary feeling to believe even for a moment that the horn could actually be speak these two pitches clear as day as though they were coming from my own body and not the horn itself.
-Neil
02/24/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 55)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 55
Date: 02/24/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Electronics storage closet on 45th, University District in Seattle, WA
Notes:
During a brief practice session today, I found myself pulled towards a tonal improvisation. I challenged myself to create a piece that is simultaneously melodic and harmonic. This piece has a very bluesy feeling to me–not necessarily melancholic, but with that unquantifiable soul that points towards the longing in the blues.
This improvisation uses three fingerings. The pitches, in concert key are as follows; Bb, Db, D, Eb. The first fingering enables me to play the Concert Bb and Db simultaneously, but I use my embouchure to control when to release each pitch. The second fingering plays the Db only, and though it uses the same pitch found in the first fingering, it carries with it more of a stuffy quality. Again, I choose when to select this fingering or the first when the music deems it necessary. Finally, the third fingering enables me to play the Concert D and Eb. With this fingering, I am able to play both pitches at the same time, but as above I choose most often to play only one at a time.
Because all three of the fingerings above have a great deal of flexibility, I am able to bend in and out of two pitches at one while trying to balance volume. For example, when playing the third fingering (Concert D and Eb), I am able to carefully make one pitch slightly more audible than the other. This enabled me to play my melodic gestures soulfully by bending pitches, bring in more breathiness or to play with more of a straight, traditional tone.
-Neil
02/23/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 54)
12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 54
Date: 02/23/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
An effect I have been practicing is creating an atmosphere where a pitch can sound as though it’s bouncing or pivoting. The idea being that an interruption in the flow of air can cause a brief interruption in the pitch without completely sounding as though the pitch has halted action altogether. My intention is for the note to sound as though it has changed trajectory.
In this improvisation I created a folk melody using 5 predominant pitches. In ascending order, middle octave and in concert key the pitches are F#, G#, A#, B and C#. Towards the end of the piece I briefly deviate from these pitches by adding chromatic tones that move down by half steps from the A# to the F#. Though there are 5 main pitches used, the bulk of the energy is placed on the first two notes–F# and G#. I tried to create a very joyous atmosphere in this piece, and the end result to me feels as though a folk instrument is being accompanied by a drum.
To achieve this sound, I play traditional fingerings for the 5 pitches, but also depress the Low Bb key. As it is possible to play these notes exclusively with my left hand, I used the palm of my right hand to gently slap the fork F key. This slapping creates a full, quick, and muted tone that briefly interrupts the continuation of air and creates the percussive, bouncing sound you hear. I found that I just could not get the sound to resonate as well if I simply pushed the key open with the right hand, first finger as is generally done. There is something about the slapping motion that helps to create the best result.
There are two multiphonics that are played during this piece as well. The first is done by playing the Concert F# (with the low Bb key depressed), and adjusting my embouchure to pull out the additional tones. The highest of these tones is a high C#, which follows suit with the 5 primary pitches used in the piece. The second multiphonic is played with the following fingering: (Left Hand) B-G keys, Octave, Low Bb This second multiphonic has at its base a Concert G#, which again follows suit with the primary melody.
-Neil