It can be said that improvisation is embedded in the interaction between all matter at any given point. Constantly reacting and responding to one another, it is this energy exchange that creates progress within a social and natural context. When harnessed within creative practices. such as music, it has paved the way for new modes of thought and approaches to life. This essay will explore the importance of improvisation on the advancement of human society, and the implications that might arise when we go too far in our quest to increase its means through our ever evolving technological creations.
Title Idea: Investigating improvisation as a vehicle for the progress of the human race, and the implications of its relationship with technological advancement
In order to gain further insight into technology as an improvisational tool I thought it would be a good idea to have some direct experience with a software that could do so. Using a generative software for composing music, called Nodal, I set about experimenting with different structures and the self generated improvisation that could arise from them.
Nodal utilises a network of nodes and edges, that refer to the connection between the nodes, in order to create a pathway for a musician to traverse. Using its parameters, such as time, pitch and velocity, one is able to create complex sequences that are ever changing, depending on how you link the nodes up. As the composition plays, we are able to alter the settings, setting new rules in place, changing the constraints within which the improivisation can exist. I found it a brilliant tool in which one could either go to for musical inspiration, but also be used as a means of exploring improvisation and music through different systems. An example i thought of would be the relation between geometry, shapes, music and rhythm as a fairly simple example in comparison to what it could be used for.
On the other hand, while a great tool for pushing the boundaries of music and improvisation, it didnt satisfy the spirtiual element of improvisation that I’d become accustomed to reading about when looking up non technological forms of improvisation, and led me to ask whether an eventual, hypothesised reliance on software for improvisation would have an adverse effect on our cognitive ability as human beings.
Nodal is generative software for composing music, interactive real-time improvisation, and a musical tool for experimentation and play. Nodal uses a new method for creating and exploring musical patterns, probably unlike anything you’ve used before. You can play sounds using Nodal’s built-in synthesiser or any MIDI compatible hardware or software instrument.
Screenshot of my experiments with improvisation in Nodal
During research into quantum improvisation I came across a video of Suzie Shrubb, composer and performer, leading a conference on her work with particle physics as a means of improvisation. Coining the particle detectors as ‘Atomophones’, taking inspiration from the name ‘Membranophones’, given to materials stretched over an instrument like a drum, she goes on to explain how these detectors can be used compositionally. Mentioning that much music usually emerges with and from a social context, she states how, in the case of particle physics, the context is the relative fields and masses of the particles at play. Using this idea, she supports her vision of the universe as a piece of music continually composing itself, that we find ourselves in the middle of all the time. Applying this to particle physics, she explains how identifying different kinds of quarks, which are the fundamental constituents of matter, in a proton has provided her with new harmonic, scalic and rhythmic structures and patterns as well as new narrative and formulaic possibilities. Taking the energy and masses of each quark found in a proton and turning it into a figure that could be translated into hertz, and thus a note, is the method she applied to gain the relative pitches of said quarks. Using these to create a new tuning system, free from the constraints of equal temperament, the interaction of these particles can be used as instructional brainfood for compositional ideas. Another example of this would be her method of exploiting the Circle of Fifths, in order to denote an Anti Quark as the diminished 5th of the original Quark, as it would theoretically be on the opposite side of the circle. Her method involves a combination of technological instruction and human decision. She even states her self awareness of the fact that some of her subsequent decisions regarding the composition may not fit with the physics, but is still an idea that she remains excited to explore, which interests me as an idea that perhaps the involvement of technology and music is a lot more mutable than I initially thought when first reading Oliveros’ essay on the subject matter.
The final reference to this book I will make is Peter Goodwin Heltzel’s (professor of theology) essay on John Coltrane’s work as an improviser. Whilst he centres a large part of this essay around the parallels found between jazz and religion, it was his explanation of the origins of jazz that stood out as most relevant in regards to the direction I may take for my aural paper’s title. Jazz, if traced back long enough, takes us to the blues of the Mississippi Delta. The ‘Delta Blues’ arose as an outlet for slaves of African descent to express their struggles and longing for freedom. From here jazz eventually emerged from blues and a host of many other genres, as a result of French colonisers intermarrying with Native Americans, African Americans and the Spanish ‘to create an unprecedented zone of intercultural interaction’. This intercultural movement gave rise to Creoles, whom integrated with African people in New Orleans in the 1890s, influencing one another musically and culturally, paving the way for jazz culture. Through this short recount of the history of jazz, I found that I became increasingly aware of how important racial and cultural mixing, bred from themes of ‘religious transcendence and political opposition’, was in birthing this new genre. Jazz, as a counter cultural practice, is also rooted in the very act of improvisation. A form of improvisation summed up by the term ‘creation continua’, meaning ‘a continual creation drawing on existing materials to make music in new ways’. In the same way, multiple genres were refashioned to create an exploratory and progressive form of music, cultures and old practices intertwined to form a new dialogue relating to equality and resistance to oppression.
The essay goes on to mention John Coltrane and his rendition of the jazz standard ‘My Favourite things’. His musical conversation with pianist Mccoy Tyner in this specific song is an example of the canvas jazz provides for exploration into improvisation and spontaneous expression. Heltzel describes musical improvisation as something that is unique to the surroundings and existential state of the musicians in question. From this statement we can then understand why he goes on to say that the traditional view that the composer is the most important figure within a piece of music is not necessarily true, as even the musicians are interpreting the composer’s score in their own way, through the constraints applied to them. Moreover, improvisation is a dynamic process, and one that is not only limited to the players, but also the audience, as it requires collaboration with every element and being within the space at hand.
Through reading this book, written by Sarath and informed by his 30 years of experience as a music professor and trumpet player, I was introduced to a plethora of meditative practices that many jazz musicians partook in, and learnt about the potential tangible benefits it can have on their ability to improvise. An example would be that of Alice Coltrane, who partook in daily meditations, studied Hindu mysticism and eventually joined an Ashram. Looking further for more examples of this, a series of interviews I found on youtube of the revered saxophone player Sonny Rollins showed him recounting his experiences of eastern spirituality and how practices, such as disciplined yoga gave him understanding and direction and a centre from which to gain access to his subconscious, allowing for deeper levels of improvisation.
It can be said that, through reading this, I’ve drawn the conclusion that improvisation, to many of the forerunners of its practice, is deeply connected to self growth and development. It requires self reflection and introspection and Sarath argues that its holistic approach would have massive benefits for society if administered in higher education today.
Going back to Oliveros’ idea of computed improvisation, I think again of the lack of credibility I feel it has in comparison with human improvisation as the practice of improvising, by its very nature, is not just a random generation of new substance, but rather a vehicle of navigation based on the the advancement of society, consciousness and human connection.
Some other essays within the book that stood out included the pianist and composer, Jeffrey Goldberg’s essay on ‘Improvisation as a Practice of Trust’. I noticed his idea that the body and state of mind plays an important role in the act of improvisation (referring to how one must warm up themselves as well as their instruments and connect deeply with their breath) implied an opposition to Oliveros’ ponderings on the validity of computed improvisation. The very nature of connecting with oneself in order to take part in improvisation suggests that the human condition, mentally and physically, plays an important role in the ability to spontaneously improvise. Whilst the physical condition of technology can alter the means of improvising, there is no varied mental nature to it, and rather an unwavering state of existence, reducing any kind of meaningful and emotive colouration on the outcome. Moreover, he states that the state of deep listening is paramount to successful improvisation, as reacting to our immediate surroundings, as well as ourselves, is intertwined with it. To what degree can technology respond in the same organic way that humans can? Highlighting the inclusion of the word ‘response’ in responsibility, it makes me think of moral obligation and intuition, both of which can inform how one improvises. While there might be a machine that has or can be designed to interact with it surroundings, it would be mechanical and not based in empathy and respect of who it shares the room with. Considering the benefits of improvisation, Goldberg explains how improvisation encourages vulnerability and intimacy with the self. To be free of judgement, and full of humility in order to engage in the process of allowing, whether the notes that one might produce are conventionally correct or not. Essentially he states that improvising can be a gateway into self growth, trusting our own intuition and accepting the here and now (presence). ‘There are no wrong notes’
“vs. Interpretation: An Anthology of Improvisation, vol. 1 is a compendium of essays edited by David Rothenberg. It includes a Usb compilation of improvised music by multiple different sound artists. It is essentially a tool for living in and interpreting the world around us”
After reading this I was exposed to multiple different ways in which improvisation occurs, seeping into all forms of our existence and the matter around us.
Broken into a series of interviews and compendium of essays by multiple different sound artists and scholars on improvisation, I aimed to find some direction in what themes to explore for my Aural Paper
Starting with Pauline Oliveros’ chapter in the book, titled ‘Play As You Go, I was exposed to the implications, but also the benefits of using technology as a means to advance our means of improvising. Finding parallels in the first bird-bone flute dating back 40,000 years, an ancient version of music technology, to the data laden and algorithmic software we now use today to increase our means of improvisation, such as the program SARA (Simple Analytic Recombinant Algorithm) that produces new compositions in the style of the music in its database, Oliveros argues that technology and what she coins as ‘Quantum improvisation’ can go a long way to find new ways to express the relationships between mind and matter. Upon reading this however, I questioned whether computers and data could ever really compete with the human mind and all of its complexities. While Quantum improvisation can technically produce an infinite amount of new material based off of old material, would it have the same edge as a conscious human mind that is coloured with emotion, experience and subsequent taste. Can a computer compete with the individuality of a human being? While the use of technology and computing has allowed us to increase the speed and means in which we can develop our creativity and accelerate growth through learning, reading and improvising music, if we were to completely take the human being out of the equation, would an algorithm still be able to create music of the same calibre or authenticity. That is, until said computer or data set developed its own consciousness, somehow…
In one of our last lectures with Ingrid we explored various forms of factual story telling and were consequently introduced to Nichols’ documentary modes
Poetic mode In general it is a type of documentary mode that rejects linear continuity in favour of keeping in line with the mood, tone or juxtaposition of imagery. ‘Early documentary filmmakers, bolstered by Soviet montage theory and the French Impressionist cinema principle of photogenie, appropriated these techniques into documentary filmmaking.
Expository mode The expositional mode diverges sharply from the poetic mode in terms of visual practice and story-telling devices, by virtue of its emphasis on rhetorical content, and its goals of information dissemination or persuasion. Eg: Film features, news stories, and various television programs
Participatory mode In the participatory mode “the filmmaker does interact with his or her subjects rather than unobtrusively observe them.”
Observational mode The observational mode of documentary developed in the wake of documentarians returning to Vertovian ideals of truth, along with the innovation and evolution of cinematic hardware in the 1960s. The move to lighter 16mm equipment and shoulder mounted cameras allowed documentarians to leave the anchored point of the tripod. Reflexive mode The reflexive mode considers the quality of documentary itself, de-mystifying its processes and considering its implications. In Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929,) for example, he features footage of his brother and wife in the process of shooting footage and editing, respectively. The goal in including these images was, “to aid the audience in their understanding of the process of construction in film so that they could develop a sophisticated and critical attitude.”
Performative mode The performative mode engages the filmmaker to the story but constructs subjective truths that are significant to the filmmaker him or herself.
After having issues using conversion software to decode the ambisonic recordings I had taken, I found out from one of my lecturers that due to the nature of ambisonic mics and its tetrahedral array, you need movement to create space. As a result its probably not the best microphone to use for atmospheres with little movement which is what I had used it for. Adding to that the cardioid polar pattern of its capsules doesn’t have a massive range.
Moving on from this, before setting off to do more field recordings I configured the Zoom F4 appropriately, applying Limiters and Hi-pass filter to each channel as well setting the sample rate and bit depth. In order to recreate the dystopian feel of a sci-fi city I headed for the graffiti tunnels near London for its natural reverberations.
I managed to find an empty oil can in the same space, recording the sound it made when thrown against the floor with the intention of manipulating it later to create explosive sounds for other parts of the clip.
Some recordings and ideas included empty spray cans for gunshots, scraping of metal against metal for the movement of the android/ robot and boats creaking on the river thames, taking inspiration from Ben Burt, especially when hashing out the sounds of the android. When at home I took further recordings of myself making ‘wooshing’ sounds with my mouth, to be manipulated into android like movements in Ableton.
This is the end result of the somewhat short exercise i set myself.
