03/14/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 73)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 73

Date: 03/14/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

Today I explored my instrument to find a gesture, sound, rhythm, melody, etc. that when augmented in a slight way could become something quite different altogether.  In this improvisation I attempted to explore this idea in terms of duplicity, and to balance the two opposing worlds in equal measure.   The two worlds are fundamentally different.  The first uses only a simple single note melody, and the second becomes a coursing, undulating world of chords.  The only fingering difference between the two included adding the octave key to create the second world. It’s also of some note to say that there was a harpsichord in the room with me today. Though, as per the nature of this instrument there was little to almost no sustain in the strings as a result of my playing.

World 1 (pure pitches)

A grouping of 4 fingerings that created the concert key pitches G–C (quarter step low)–G–Bb.  The fingerings were as follows:

1.  (Left Hand) B-A keys, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E

2.  Same as fingering 1, but add the Palm Eb

3.  Same as fingering 1

4.  Same as fingering 1, but add the Side C

World 2 (chordal sounds)

Same fingerings and order as above, but add octave key

-Neil

The image accompanying today’s post by Mark Rothko.

03/13/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 72)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 72

Date: 03/13/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

A combination of abstract sound and concrete sound has been of interest to me lately.  Striking a balance between two contrasting musical worlds is a difficult challenge, and in this improvisation I aimed to try and balance the two in equal measure.  The “abstract” sounds in this piece I defined as the swooping, reverse-pedal sounding melodies, and the notion of “concrete” sound being represented by a scale.  

The scale used in this piece is as follows: Ab G Gb F D Db Bb B Ab G Gb F E.  I approached the execution of the scale in rapid single-tonging.  In my brief study of Indian music some time ago, I was fascinated by the idea that a raga could have multiple directions within the same scale.  Previous to this I thought that scales would either be ascending or descending only and could have no other path within them.  As with that model, I view this “concrete” sound as a scale and not as a melody per say.  The swooping, reverse-pedal gestures bared no harmonic relationship to the scale, and I attempted to play the scale with the same phrasing and articulation each time is was used.

I often paired the abstract sound directly against the concrete sound, but at other times left space between the two.  This included playing the concrete scale two or three times in a row, or leaving a few seconds of space between repetitions.  In the mid point of the improvisation I began to augment the scale by playing either a melodic fragment or changing specific notes within the scale altogether.  I viewed this as a sort of bridge between the two contrasting worlds, and therefore during this period in the piece I became a little more loose with the execution of the scale.  

-Neil

03/12/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 71)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 71

Date: 03/12/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone/Trumpet cup mute
Location: Choir Room wardrobe closet at Chief Sealth High School. Seattle, WA

Notes:

After a frustrating, two hour period of recording, I stumbled upon this improvisation. Seeking inspiration, I decided to begin recording in different rooms throughout the Chief Sealth High School music department. I ended up in the wardrobe room next to the choir room, where I happened to find a storage container full of brass mutes. Each mute had some kind of effect on the horn, though most seemed limited to either the predictable muting of my sound, or some kind of sonic manipulation in the extreme lower register. This is logical, due to the rich overtones present in the saxophone’s lower end. After a bit of searching, I found that a trumpet cup mute seemed to do the trick.

I found that a traditional low B fingering created the widest range of colors. The sounds captured in this improvisation are really not possible without having a major interruption in the air flow. I set the cup mute right inside my bell, and because it was made out of thin aluminum metal, the cup mute vibrated against the horn as I played. The low B fingering creates a rich, full note under normal circumstances. The saxophone is a conical bore, and by fingering the low B there is almost no interruption in the flow air from the mouthpiece to the bell. The only exception is a single key–the Low Bb, which remains open. I found that having this key open, and therefore allowing for some venting of the air flow, helped to create an amazing range of sound. When fingering the low Bb, which has all of the keys down, there was not nearly as wide a spread.

-Neil

03/11/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 70)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 70

Date: 03/11/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

In my practice sessions lately I’ve worked on gaining greater control over my range of melodic and supporting material. A secondary point became using a wider range of volume. Today I improvised a piece that required a variety of dynamic levels for me to pull out the desired sounds. Some sounds are slight, small clusters, while others are full and resonant. In all of these shapes, I worked to contrast volume with melodicism and supporting action.

In this improvisation I developed and referenced particular themes. The concert C (quarter step low) became my touchstone in this piece. For example, the opening gesture: C, D and E immediately became a melodic focal point that I returned to time and time again. The C was used as a pivot point for select multiphonics or split tones that included this pitch. So much of my improvised material uses a single gesture, a single idea or select series of sounds. Today I worked to create a powerful melodic idea at the outset that could make the busier material that came after it seem starkly different. 

-Neil

03/10/2013 (12 Moons Solo Project Day 69)

12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 69

Date: 03/10/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone 
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

This improvisation was recorded before dawn. I decided to work today with a consistent air flow, but to pair this consistency with fingerings that created a variety of natural dynamic levels. With the use of false fingerings, a wide array of muted tones can being created. My improvisation today makes use of this device by setting these muted tones against traditional pitches, as well as incorporating other false fingerings which actually accent certain pitches, making them sound comparatively louder. The result is a tiered structure of pitches at 3 dynamic levels. 

This improvisation is centered in the mid range of the saxophone. By using the Fork F and High F# keys with selected fingerings, pitches can become muted or accented. The muted tones usually have much more physical back-pressure than traditional ones, and are often much more pliable. The notes can easily be bent upwards and downwards within a range of about a Perfect Fourth. The accented notes often have less back-pressure and seem to have an initial push when they are played. I tried to explore this sonic experience in equal measure to the physical feeling of playing notes with three different degrees of back-pressure.

-Neil