There are three YouTibe videos I made some years ago as an introduction to improvisation.
1) Watch them! They are here: https://ericedberg.wordpress.com/video/
2) Do an improv practice session.
- release and babble (both with your voice and on an instrument)
- make a babble-sounds short piece
- play and/or sing a whole bunch of "wrong notes" so you aren't avoiding them
- play/sing notes and short gestures that express a feeling--try this both expressing the feeling you have at the moment, and also picking a feeling at random from the chart below and expressing that.
Then write a comment below about your experience.
I had a great time during my improvisation practice session. During my session, I tried to find as many was as I could in order to manipulate the sound of the saxophone. The variety of emotions that you can portray though a single instrument is amazing. It was definitely more difficult to portray the secondary and tertiary emotions. I think it would be cool to do a test where someone plays something, and others had to guess what emotions they were trying to portray.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a wonderful way to discover my instrument and alter my typical practice session. I have always felt that the trumpet is an instrument with many characteristics. The trumpet can be heroic and bold but also beautiful and lyrical. Through this practice session I found it amazing how a piece of brass could give so many characteristics. I agree with Tyler that the secondary and tertiary emotions were more difficult to produce. I think that this should be a part of everyone's practice sessions every once in awhile because it is different than what we typically do in a practice room and can inspire creativity.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the improvisation session! I discovered just how diverse my instrument can be, and how I am capable of portraying such a wide range of emotions. However, I agree that the second and tertiary emotions required a bit more thought, and were slightly more difficult to replicate. It's a great exercise for music students, as we constantly have to think about what ideas/emotions we want to transmit to our audience.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting having an improvisation session. I was more open to just playing my instrument without worrying too much about what was coming out. Once I got past that part I tried to play as many of those emotions as I could and I could even see this helping me out in my normal playing whenever I have to portray a specific emotion in a piece I am playing.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting having an improvisation session. I was more open to just playing my instrument without worrying too much about what was coming out. Once I got past that part I tried to play as many of those emotions as I could and I could even see this helping me out in my normal playing whenever I have to portray a specific emotion in a piece I am playing.
ReplyDeleteImprov is always kind of hard for me. It's difficult for me to play and not think about "wrong" notes. But the improv session was good because no one was listening and I was less worried about that. I liked trying to play like one of the emotions listed. It was harder to think about my current mood and play like that. But I think it was overall a good experience and good practice for becoming more confident in my improv.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the improv practice idea of playing "wrong notes" is very freeing and relieves tension and fear that we might have. That is excellent because freedom allows us to be more creative in any setting, whether it be music, writing, songwriting, visual arts. If you are in a harsh judgmental atmosphere you are less likely, if not completely hindered, from wanting to be creative. Therefore, it is wonderful that we are practicing "anything goes" type exercises to take away feelings of judgement and fear to allow us to express new ideas, because what is music without expression?
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience as many others. I often overthink way too much and forget about the musicality of things. Improv forces me to not do this and to accept anything that happens. I found myself constantly having to remind myself that there were no wrong notes. Doing this more often, I think we will really help me be more accepting of musical things I do.
ReplyDeleteI used to be terrified (and sometimes still am) when asked to improv. It was introduced to me in a much more structured way, adhering to melodic and rhythmic rules and guidelines. This made me worry that I would do something wrong and would come up with any excuse I could not to do it, wishing I could run in hide. However, I really like this approach to improv, emphasizing the feeling you are trying to convey instead of the theory behind it. It eliminates the stress of playing "wrong" notes and lets us explore our instruments and expression on them. I think that continuing to approach improv this way would help me to be more forgiving of myself as a musician
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