Music Theory Through Improvisation A New Approach To Musicianship Training 1 Papcom Ed Sarath
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- 6. Music Theory Through Improvisation Music Theory Through Improvisation presents a unique approach to basic theory and musical training, examining the study of traditional theory through the art of improvisation. The book follows the same general progression of diatonic to non-diatonic harmony in conventional approaches, but integrates improvisation, composition, keyboard harmony, analysis, and rhythm. Geared toward the diverse interests and abilities of today’s student, Music Theory Through Improvisation places the study of harmony within improvisation and composition in stylistically diverse formats, including jazz and popular music. Keyboard realization, for students with little or no keyboard training, is the primary mode of assimilation of harmonic materials. FEATURES • Based on a user friendly system of improvisation study • Combines Jazz, Popular, Classical, and other musical sources • Enhances understanding of the creative process and the inner workings of music • Includes an Audio CD of play-along tracks for improvisation and a companion website with resources for students and instructors, www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415997256 Edward Sarath is Professor of Music in the Department of Jazz and Improvisation Studies at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at University of Michigan. He is the president and founder of the International Society for Improvised Music.
- 8. Music Theory Through Improvisation A New Approach to Musicianship Training EDWARD SARATH University of Michigan
- 9. First published 2010 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2010 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sarath, Ed. Music theory through improvisation : a new approach to musicianship training / Edward Sarath. p. cm. 1. Music theory. 2. Jazz–Instruction and study. 3. Improvisation (Music) I. Title. MT6.S2547 2010 781–dc22 2009009413 ISBN 10: 0–415–80453–1 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0–415–99725–9 (pbk) ISBN 10: 0–203–87347–5 (ebk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–80453–0 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–99725–6 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–203–87347–2 (ebk) This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. ISBN 0-203-87347-5 Master e-book ISBN
- 10. Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii Chapter 1 Improvisation Across Boundaries:A Trans-stylistic Approach 1 Getting Started 2 Non-syntactic Catalysts 4 Tension and Release,Variety and Unity, Motion and Stability 5 Melody 7 Ostinato, Motive, Sequence 7 Antecedent-consequent Structure 9 Melodic Contour 9 Pitch-based Melodic Improvising 10 Pulse-based Improvising 11 Form-based Improvising 12 Graphic FormalAnalysis 13 The Inner Dimensions of Improvisation 13 Silence 17 Solo Pieces 17 Free or Open Collective Improvising 19 Clarity of Ideas 20 Transparency, Laying Out, and Soloing 21 Endings 21 Culminating Exercises 23 ConcludingThoughts:Template forArtistic Development 24 Listening Resources 24 Further Reading 27 Chapter 2 Music Fundamentals 28 Staff, Clefs, Scales 29 Key Signatures 31 Major Scale 31 Minor Scale 33
- 11. Intervals 34 Modes 38 Pentatonic Scales 40 AuralTransposition 41 Melodic Cells 42 AuralTransposition with Pentatonic Scales 45 Chapter 3 Modality and Rhythm I:Time Feels 48 Importance ofAural Immersion 48 Core Elements of Time Feels 49 FurtherAural Immersion Strategies 50 Modal Etude 1 52 Two-player Improvisation Practice Frameworks 56 RhythmicTemplates forTime-feel Grooves and Melodic Improvising 58 Listening Resources:Time-feel-based Music withAfrican andAfrican-American Roots 61 Suggested Recordings 62 Further Reading 64 Chapter 4 Modality and Rhythm II: Small Group Framework 66 Call and Response 66 Strategies for Generating New Ideas 68 Mode-rhythmic Formats 76 Minor Blues 77 Indian Rhythmic Practices 80 Small Group Ensemble Performance and Project Format 82 Chapter 5 Basic Tonal Materials:Triads and Seventh Chords 84 Triads 85 Seventh Chords 87 Two Roman Numeral Systems 89 Inversions 90 Close Position and Open Position or SpreadVoicings 92 Keyboard Realization 95 Fortification Exercises:Aural andAnalytical 97 Modes 98 Modemaster Drills 98 Chapter 6 Harmonic Functions 102 Tonic–Subdominant–Dominant Functions 103 The Dominant Seventh Chord 104 Cadence 105 KeyboardApplication 107 Improvising on the II–V–I Progression 109 Integrating Diverse Forms of Musical Knowledge 111 Chord-scaleAnalysis 111 vi Contents
- 12. II–V–I in Minor 113 Writing andAnalysis Exercises 116 Voice Leading 117 Idiomatic Progressions 121 Turnarounds 123 Free-tonicization Strategies Level I 124 Chapter 7 Swing: Global Rhythmic Gateway 128 Elements of Swing 129 SwingArticulation 130 Blues 131 Transcription Format 133 Scale and Chord Exercises for Cultivating the Swing Concept 135 Chapter 8 Melodic Line Construction and Harmonization 137 Composing Melodic Lines on Chord Changes 138 DiatonicTarget Notes 140 Problems with the Root of the Major Seventh Chord in the Melody 141 MelodicAnalysis 142 GuideTones 143 WrittenApplication 145 Incorporating GuideTones in Melodic Lines 147 TwoApproaches to Composing Melodies on Chord Changes 150 Harmonizing Melodic Lines 151 Top–down Harmonization at the Keyboard 151 Harmonic Rhythm 155 Small GroupApplication 156 Chapter 9 Chord Inversion Present and Past 158 Chord Inversion in Jazz 158 Non-harmonicTones 161 Analysis of Bach Chorales 163 Pedal Point and Inversion 166 Chapter 10 Non-diatonic Harmony I:Applied Chords 168 Secondary Dominant Chords 169 Secondary II–V7 Sequences 171 Secondary Dominant Chords of Non-diatonicTarget Chord/KeyAreas 172 Delayed Resolution of Secondary Dominant Chords 173 Secondary orApplied LeadingTone Chords 174 Passing Diminished Seventh Chords 175 Substitute Dominant Chords 177 Improvising on Chord Sequences withApplied Dominant and LeadingTone Chords 180 Free-tonicization Strategies Level II 183 vii Contents
- 13. Chapter 11 Non-diatonic Harmony II: Modal Mixture 185 Modal Mixture on Diatonic and Non-diatonic Roots 186 Passing and Structural Functions in Modal Mixture Harmonies 187 Improvising on Modal Mixture Progressions 191 Composing 192 Analysis Exercises 193 The Neapolitan Sixth Chord 195 Free-tonicization Level III 196 Modal MixtureAs an Entry Point into Modal CompositionTechniques 197 Creative Synthesis 199 Chapter 12 Figured Bass Realization at the Keyboard 201 Basic Principles 201 Triads 202 Seventh Chords 203 Accidentals 204 Voice Leading and Doubling Considerations 205 Four-part ChoraleWriting 210 Figured Bass LinesApplied to Jazz Chord Changes 211 Chapter 13 Extended Chords 213 General Principles of Chord Extensions 213 Types of Chord Extensions 215 ReplacementTones and Chord Superimposition 216 Extended II–V7–IVoicings 217 SmoothVoice Leading 218 Multiple Configurations of ExtendedVoicings:A and BVoicing Patterns 221 Extended II–V–IVoicings in Minor 225 Extended Substitute Dominant Chords 229 Further Reading 232 Chapter 14 Altered Extensions 233 TheAltered Dominant Chord 233 Chord Superimposition Strategy: Build a Maj7(b5) on theThird toYieldV7(#9,b13) 235 Extended andAltered Substitute Dominant Chords 237 Further KeyboardWork 240 Substitute Dominant Chords asAugmented Sixth Chords 245 Improvising onAltered Harmonies 248 Integrating Scales into your Melodic-Harmonic PaletteThrough Improvising and Composing 251 Improvising withAltered Scales 251 Composing Lines with the Scales 252 Reharmonization 252 Rhythm Changes 254 viii Contents
- 14. Chapter 15 Diverse Approaches to Analysis 257 Tonicization and Modulation Revisited 257 Tadd Dameron’s “Lady Bird” 259 Jerome Kern’s “All theThingsYouAre” 261 John Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice” 262 Chopin, Prelude No. 4 267 Schubert, Waltz 269 Chapter 16 Fine-tuning and Expanding the Jazz Palette 272 Rhythmic Layers for Melodic Clarity 273 Registral, Density, and ContourVariety 275 IntervallicVariety 276 Motivic and Multi-motivic Development 278 Integrating Strategies 279 Expanding the Harmonic Palette 280 Cross-stylistic Melding 285 Final Composition Project 290 Final Creative Synthesis 290 ConcludingThoughts 291 Appendix 1 Introduction to Species Counterpoint 293 Overview of Species Principles 294 Creating Contrapuntal Lines: General Principles Pertaining toWriting Species Melodies 296 First Species 1:1 299 Second Species 2:1 300 Third Species 4:1 301 Improvising with More Florid Lines 303 Fourth and Fifth Species 304 Fourth Species: Suspensions 304 Fifth Species: Integration of the Previous Four Species 306 Appendix 2 Overtone Series and Equal Temperament 308 Appendix 3 Rhythmic Exercises 310 Appendix 4 Jazz Etudes 313 Appendix 5 Additional Keyboard Exercises 334 Seminal Keyboard Projects 334 Advanced GuideTone Exercise 334 AdvancedTwo-hand, Non-tertial OpenVoicings 335 Appendix 6 Instrument Ranges,Transposition, and Score Excerpts 339 ix Contents
- 15. Appendix 7 Aural Transposition 351 Triads 351 Seventh Chords 352 Pentatonic Scales 353 Idiomatic Lines 354 Repertory 355 Appendix 8 Sample Syllabus 356 Appendix 9 CD and Web Audio Tracks 363 Index 365 x Contents
- 16. Preface Music Theory Through Improvisation is a hands-on, creativity-based approach to music theory and improvisation training designed for classical musicians with little or no background in improvisation. It is also designed for jazz musicians who are interested in new approaches to improvisation, music theory, and forging connections with the broader musical world. The book may serve both purposes as a primary or secondary text in a variety of educational formats, ranging from coursework in jazz improvisation and jazz theory, contemporary improvisation and music technology, as well as music theory course- work that seeks to integrate improvisation in the learning process. MTI has evolved in the latter capacity over the past 15 years in conjunction with a musicianship course at the University of Michigan School of Music,Theatre, and Dance that fulfills two terms of core musicianship requirements for classical and jazz students. Conventional musicianship training has long been largely focused on interpretive performance and analysis of European classical repertory.While the richness of this tradition is beyond dispute, the diversity of today’s musical world calls for a much-expanded skill set that includes engagement with diverse musical traditions and robust creative processes— improvisation foremost among them—and that bridges the divide that has long separated musical study from the musical world. Music Theory Through Improvisation (MTI), one of the very first musicianship textbooks of its kind, bridges this divide through the combination of a unique breadth of creative processes and carefully selected content that derives from wide-ranging sources. While jazz factors prominently among these sources, the aim is not jazz-specific training but skills that open up connections to the broader musical landscape. Features • Based in a “user-friendly” system of improvisation study that is specifically designed for classical musicians with little or no experience in this age-old musical practice.The system is also effective in expanding the boundaries of experienced style-specific improvisers (e.g. in jazz, baroque, or other improvisatory genres). • Integrates improvisation, composition, performance, keyboard realization, writing, analysis, rhythmic training, and multiple approaches to aural skills.
- 17. • Integrates jazz, popular, European classical, and other musical sources. • Harmonic materials follow the same general trajectory as most conventional approaches, moving from diatonic to non-diatonic chords and functions (e.g. secondary dominants, modulation, modal mixture, extended and altered harmonies). • Keyboard realization system—designed for non-keyboard principals and keyboard principals alike—juxtaposes jazz, pop, and European classical harmonic models. Students learn to play jazz/pop as well as baroque “chord symbols,” and all writing extends from keyboard realization practice. • Rhythmic training derives from Indian, Arabic, African, African-American, and European classical sources. • Grounded in a cross-cultural aesthetic that enables musicians to understand and appreciate differences between musical traditions as well as identify connecting threads. • Introductory exposure to concepts in music cognition that enhance understanding of the creative process and the inner workings of music. Why Music Theory Through Improvisation is Needed The breadth and eclecticism of the contemporary musical world presents both untold opportunities for musicians as well as challenges in its sheer magnitude. Indeed, the musical pulse of our times lies as much in the intersections between genres as in the genres themselves, at which point musicians and music schools must face the daunting task of identifying and gaining the skills needed to engage in this cross-cultural melding. A shift is needed in musicianship training from the conventional, content-based approach—which in the realm of music theory focuses on analysis and written work with European classical repertory—to a process-rich model in which carefully selected content is integrated with hands-on, creative engagement. This is where improvisation excels, particularly when framed within a process-content spectrum that is designed with the contemporary musical world in mind. Let us take a closer look at how MTI embodies these principles. In addition to improvisation, MTI’s broad process spectrum also includes keyboard realization, which is a central means for developing command of harmonic materials in this system, and rhythmic training, writing, and analysis. MTI’s content scope draws from jazz, European classical, and other sources. However, whereas conventional theory texts as well as jazz theory texts have been designed around a priori-style assumptions— e.g. conventional text presuming European classical as a default style source, jazz theory books presuming the same with jazz—MTI was created by stepping back from style boundaries and responding to two fundamental questions. First, what skills do today’s musicians need? Second, what are the richest, most integrative, and practical sources for those skills? Students need training in improvisation, composition, and performance; they need to develop fluency with a range of tonal, modal, post-tonal materials, formal structures, and contemporary time-feels as well as other rhythmic practices; and they need to be able to xii Preface
- 18. transcend category, in other words, to situate particular genres within the broader musical landscape. While it is clear that no one genre is capable of providing this complete range of skills, it is also clear that jazz—due to its process-breadth and integrative capacities, where improvising, composing, performing, harmony, rhythm, and melody are integrated— must be cited as a particularly fertile resource. As noted above, this is not due to the idea of jazz as a destination for all musicians, but rather to the quest for a foundational platform from which openings to a wide diversity of areas may be forged. MTI approaches jazz not as an end-goal but as an integrative, creative point of departure that will not only enable students to thrive in subsequent coursework—whether this involves European classical music, further jazz study, world music, technology, or music education—but will also help them navigate their individual pathways through the musical world. These principles are exemplified in MTI’s units on contemporary improvisation, figured bass realization, species counterpoint, and rhythmic training that draws from Indian, African, and Arabic traditions. While there is no denying that MTI represents a new paradigm of musicianship training, it is also important to recognize the ways in which it intersects with, if not bolsters, conventional areas of study. This was an important issue in the MTI review process, both in the proposal stages and after the manuscript was completed, and hits at the core of educational reform debates. MTI, due to its broader orientation, does not venture into European classical repertory in as detailed a way as is found in conventional musicianship books. However, MTI not only follows the general trajectory of diatonic (chord structure and function) to non-diatonic harmony (applied chords, modal mixture, altered and extended chords) that underlies conventional theory courses; the approach may enable levels of assimilation that may not be likely in conventional approaches. This is due to MTI’s process-based application. Consider, for example, the kind of assimilation that is possible when, as is central in MTI, students learn secondary dominant chords by realizing them in multiple keys at the keyboard, improvising with chord progressions containing them, and composing with these structures in addition to more conventional written and analytical strategies. Or consider MTI’s approach to augmented sixth chords through the lens of altered jazz harmonies, again which are realized at the keyboard in multiple keys, and are approached through improvisation and composition in addition to conventional modalities of writing and analysis. Hands-on, creative engagement enables the development of a new level of fluency with theoretical materials that allows musicians to traverse wide-ranging style boundaries. Music Theory Through Improvisation for the Undergraduate MTI may be used as a primary text for two or more terms in the undergraduate musicianship core. At the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance it is primarily aimed toward classical musicians with little or no experience in improv- isation. Students have the option of electing the alternative track to fulfill two terms of their core musicianship requirements. Mounting appeals for more diverse musicianship models suggest that this class may be a precursor to further curricular innovations. xiii Preface
- 19. Moreover, the book has also been beneficial for jazz musicians and other musicians with experience in improvisation that has been confined to a given style; the diverse strategies of MTI will both help expand the creative horizons of style-specific improvisers as well as fine-tune their aural and theoretical skills. Jazz musicians, for instance, benefit considerably from the trans-stylistic improvising approaches, work in species counterpoint, stylistically diverse approaches to keyboard, and multi-ethnic rhythmic training that are included in the book. MTI’s hands-on and efficient approach to core training also makes it an ideal resource for music technology students. Using Music Theory Through Improvisation in the Classroom MTI’s broad scope enables wide-ranging possibilities for classroom application. While different instructors will necessarily adapt MTI to fit their particular situations, the following approach has been used successfully in classes ranging from 16 to 40 students and is offered as a guide that may be of use at many institutions: • Students are grouped in small ensembles of three to six members that remain intact for all or most of the semester and serve as formats for improvisation, composition, rhythmic training, and aural transposition. The groups may consist of virtually any combination of instrumental types—e.g. bassoon, voice, cello, guitar, and trombone— and among the compelling aspects of the approach are the creative results that stem from unusual instrumentations. • Each class meeting begins with one or two small groups presenting their work to the rest of the class. In a class of 30 students that meets twice per week, six quintets could be formed, two of which would begin each class session, enabling each group to play every fourth class. • Discussion and feedback follow the small group performances. Engaging in theoretical knowledge provides an all-important balance between creative application and analysis. The theoretical portion of the class session may be used for written work, ear-training, analysis, exams, etc. • Special projects, such as transcriptions—where each student plays his or her transcription for the class—or written exams that require the entire class period, present exceptions to the general format of class sessions. • Individual proficiency exams are conducted outside of regular class time to monitor keyboard work. These exams may be done in short appointments lasting five minutes per student and may be scheduled at appropriate intervals throughout a semester. Four proficiency exam sessions per term, held over the course of two semesters, should be sufficient to cover the Seminal Keyboard Projects sequence presented in the book. xiv Preface
- 20. Teaching Resources 1 Over 300 hands-on, creative exercises integrated into the body of the text. 2 Accompanying CD provides background tracks for improvisation, correlated to the text. 3 Listening lists with specific examples corresponding to specific exercises. 4 Sample syllabus for two-semester sequence in the Appendix. 5 Website includes: • Listening tracks corresponding to selected examples. • Additional syllabi for shorter and longer sequences. • Chapter-by-chapter outlines that provide a sense of how the various parts of the book fit together as a whole. • Suggestions for instructors, including advice for skills assessment. Music examples that correspond to the play-along CD are indicated by the CD icon. Listening examples on the website are indicated by the website icon. To access the website, log on to: www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415997256 Toward a New Era of Musicianship Imagine the kind of vitality and programming that might be possible in a symphony orchestra which largely comprises contemporary improvisers-composers-performers, where the music of Brahms and Beethoven is juxtaposed with new works that cross genres and engage musicians in new ways. Imagine a music school or department in which the conventional specializations that are currently the norm (e.g. in performance, jazz, theory, history, technology) unite in entirely new curricular pathways that transcend category and exemplify the creative horizons of musical innovators past and present.This kind of scenario is not only possible; it is likely the most apt description of the music school of the future. MTI is a resource to help expand, enliven, and transform core musical training in order to promote movement in this direction. Ed Sarath January 2009 xv Preface
- 22. Acknowledgments Conceding that it will be impossible to identify everyone who has played a role in the evolution of this book, I will make an attempt to cite some of the most important contributors. Thanks to Geri Allen, Judith Becker, Andrew Bishop, Steve Bizub, Gabe Bolkosky, Paul Boylan, Roger Braun, Mathew Buchman, Rui Carvalho, Colleen Conway, Jason Corey, Robert Culver, John Daniel, Michael Dessen, Katherine Doversberger, David Elliott, James Froseth, Kyra Gaunt, Michael Gould, David Greenhoe, Karri Harris, Michael Herbst, Katt Hernandez, Karlton Hester, Maud Hickey, Robert Hurst, Fritz Kaenzig, Christine Kapusky, Christopher Kendall, Richard Kim, Andy Kirschner, Gregg Koyle, Ralph Lewis, Joe Lukasik, Andrew Mead, Marie McCarthy, Lester Monts, Janne Murto, Michael Nickens, Josh Palay, Jari Perkiomaki, Guthrie Ramsey, John Rapson, Bennett Reimer, Ellen Rowe, Steve Rush, Alex Ruthman, George Shirley, Mary Simoni, Donald Sinta, Charles Young, Betty Anne Younker, Sarah Weaver, Jackie Wiggins, Dennis Wilson, and Karen Wolff for the various kinds of support they have provided for the project through the years. Many thanks to Lenore Pogonowski for planting the seeds over 30 years ago. My deep gratitude goes to Mark Kirschenmann who has taught much of the material with me for a number of years. Many thanks to Constance Ditzel, music editor at Routledge, for her pioneering spirit, to Denny Tek for preparing the book for production, and to Maggie Lindsey-Jones, Ann King, Ruth Jeavons, and Emma Wood for their great work in the production process. Finally, I am deeply indebted to my wife Joan Harris for her painstaking feedback and help in preparing the manuscript and materials. Permission to use the following material: EXAMPLE 1.3 TAKE THE ‘A’ TRAIN Music and lyrics by Billy Strayhorn and The Delta Rhythm Boys. ©1941 (Renewed) Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc. (ASCAP) and FSMGI (IMRO).All rights controlled and administered by State One SongsAmerica (ASCAP).All rights reserved. Used by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP) and Tempo Music, Inc. (ASCAP). All rights for Tempo Music Inc. administered by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). International copyright secured.All rights reserved. Used by permission.
- 23. EXAMPLE 9.1 MY FUNNY VALENTINE Controlled by WB Music Corp. and Williamson Music Co.All rights reserved. Used by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. from Babes In Arms.Words by Lorenz Hart, Music by Richard Rodgers. Copyright 1937 (renewed) by Chappell & Co. Rights for the extended renewal term in the US controlled by Williamson Music and WB Music Corp. o/b/o the Estate of Lorenz Hart.This arrangement copyright 2008 by Williamson Music and WB Music Corp. o/b/o the Estate of Lorenz Hart. International copyright secured.All rights reserved. EXAMPLE 14.4 INVITATION Music by Bronislau Kaper. Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster © 1944, 1955 (copyrights renewed) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. All rights controlled by EMI Robbins Catalog Inc. (Publishing) and Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. (Print). All rights reserved. Used by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. © Webster Music. Used by permission. EXAMPLE15.1 LADYBIRD Music by Tad Dameron © 1947 (renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). This arrangement copyright 2008 by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). All rights for the British Reversionary Territories administered by Redwood Music Ltd. Reprinted by permission. Copyright 1947 Consolidated Music Publishing (renewed). Redwood Music Ltd. for the Commonwealth of Nations (including Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia), Eire, South Africa, and Spain—all rights reserved. Used by permission.All rights reserved. EXAMPLE FIGURE 15.2 ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE From Very Warm For May. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Music by Jerome Kern. Copyright 1939 Universal-Polygram International Publishng, Inc. Copyright renewed. This arrangement copyright 2008 Universal-Polygram International Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Used by Permission of Music Sales Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. EXAMPLE A6.9 FINGERS Music by Thad Jones. Copyright 1969 D’Accord Music. © Publishers’ Licensing Corporation, PO Box 5807, Englewood, NJ 07631, USA. Copyright renewed 1997. Used by permission. xviii Acknowledgments
- 24. chapter 1 Improvisation Across Boundaries: A Trans-stylistic Approach Improvisation has been central to most of the world’s music traditions and has begun to assume even greater prominence in today’s cross-cultural musical melding. In response to this emergent eclecticism, as well as for pedagogical reasons, Music Theory Through Improvisation begins with a “trans-stylistic” system of improvisation practice.Trans-stylistic simply means that instead of specifying style elements in advance—such as jazz chord changes or Baroque figured bass lines or Hindustani raga-tala cycles—we allow style elements to manifest as a byproduct of the creative process. This not only helps foster in our classrooms the very syncretism that prevails in the overall musical world, it also lays important groundwork for the acquisition of musicianship skills. A central feature of the trans-stylistic approach is its “user-friendly” entryway for musicians who are new to improvisation.The very thought of making music apart from the printed page can be intimidating for many musicians, and this challenge may be exacerbated when style-specific constraints are imposed at the outset. By contrast, the trans-stylistic approach seeks first to elicit a creative flow that extends from each musician’s unique background in order that they can gain a glimpse of the expressive power of improvisation early on in their journeys. Everyone has an inner reservoir of influences and imagery that is shaped by the totality of their musical exposure and life experience. When we tap into In this chapter, we: • Improvise with a trans-stylistic approach. • Create with basic elements such as density, dynamics, duration, tessitura, ostinato, motive, sequence, pulse, form, and silence. • Examine basic concepts such as tension and repose and non-syntactic elements. • Consider new perspectives on listening and the inner dimensions of the creative process. • Set the stage for systematic acquisition of music theory skills.
- 25. this reservoir and begin to experience music as a means for personalized, creative expression, we establish a new and more meaningful relationship with music and the quest for musicianship skills. Music theory is a common example of a knowledge area from which many musicians feel disconnected due to the lack of an outlet for creative application. The trans-stylistic approach plants the seeds for this connection between theory and practice, craft and creativity, and skills and artistry, to flourish. The trans-stylistic approach also provides tools for expanding the horizons of experi- enced, style-specific improvisers. This occurs through the use of “non-syntactic” catalysts, which are introduced in this opening chapter, that expose musicians to new ways of generating and organizing ideas. Having transcended familiar style terrain, musicians can now return to it with a newfound appreciation and understanding. Here it should be emphasized that the aim of the trans-stylistic approach is not to replace style-specific engagement but to lay groundwork that enables musicians to move freely between both worlds. While the music of many of today’s leading innovators cuts across wide-ranging style boundaries, rigorous immersion in style-specific training has in most cases been central to their development. At a single stroke, the trans-stylistic approach lays groundwork for beginning and experienced improvisers to engage directly in the style-specific and cross- stylistic synthesis that will enable them to forge their unique pathways through the vast possibilities of the contemporary musical landscape. Getting Started The following exercises may be used in a variety of formats—from private lessons, to classroom formats, and some may even, with a little creative adaptation, be applied to large- ensemble rehearsal settings involving 30 or more musicians. They are intended to be done using the principal instrument or voice, unless otherwise indicated. The exercises need not necessarily be done in the sequence given, although the very first exercises are particularly geared to new improvisers. While the formats generally proceed from minimal constraints to gradually more involved parameters, they should not be thought of as mere stepping stones along a linear course of growth. Rather, they are intended as stimulating vehicles that can yield compelling results at all stages of musical development. I often return to these very first exercises with even my most advanced students as they have the capacity to elicit an infinite range of musical responses. 2 Improvisation Across Boundaries Reminder: The exercises in this chapter are to be done using the principal instrument or voice, unless otherwise indicated. Long tone exercise Sit in a circle if possible. Select a scale that everyone knows. It could be anything from a C major scale to something more exotic, such as an octatonic scale. Each musician is to
- 26. The above exercise and its variations provide an inviting beginning format for musicians who are intimated by the idea of making music apart from the printed page. They also call for heightened listening from new and advanced improvisers alike.The following questions will stimulate reflection and dialogue regarding creative decision-making that these exercises involved: Were there times when you felt the need to change your note or your volume, or had to decide whether or not to play? What were the criteria by which these decisions were made? Were there moments when you felt that the piece really worked? Others that were less compelling? Why? The following exercises provide more creative latitude. After one full cycle (one rotation of the wheel) of duets, discuss the results. What was particularly interesting? What were some of the limitations? Might some tendencies be identified—such as limited dynamic range, lack of clarity of ideas, all pieces ending up sounding the same? How might these problems be rectified? 3 Improvisation Across Boundaries play only long tones, selecting notes only from the designated scale. Listen carefully to the collective sonority as you enter and try to hear in advance how your tone will fit in; it is permissible, upon entering with a tone that you feel clashes excessively with the sonority of the moment, to shift to another tone. Generally, this will be resolved by playing a tone a half or whole step above or below the first note attempted. The duration of the tones should be determined by what is comfortable on one’s instrument. You may rest between entrances. • Variation A: Do the long tone exercise without designating a scale. Musicians can thus play any pitch as they add to the collective sonority. As in the above exercise, attentive listening is essential. • Variation B: Have individuals take turns improvising short solos, involving more florid passages (faster notes), atop the long tone texture. Soloists should make every effort to stand out atop the collective texture. Ensemble must make every effort to play softly enough so that soloists stand out. Exercise 1a Exercise 1b Wheel of duets Sit in a circle if possible. Each student pairs with the student directly across from him or her in the circle. Each pair improvises a short duet—perhaps 30–60 seconds—with no parameters (e.g. key area, style) delineated in advance. The importance is listening as intently as possible to what is happening. The pieces can follow one another without pause (applause is allowed, though!) unless the instructor wishes to break the sequence in order to comment.
- 27. Play another cycle or partial cycle of duets with the intention of addressing the ideas that have been expressed in the feedback session, or trying out new possibilities. Perhaps simply striving to make each piece as contrasting as possible from the one before it may yield significant results. Non-syntactic Catalysts The theorist Leonard Meyer identified two categories of basic musical elements. Syntactic parameters include harmony, melody, and rhythm. Non-syntactic parameters include dynamics (volume), density (amount of note activity—from highly sparse to highly dense— in a given passage), tessitura (high or low range), duration, timbre, and silence. Now that we have initiated a creative flow we can begin to refine our playing through the use of non- syntactic parameters as improvisatory catalysts. This will help us improve the clarity and variety in our ideas. Later in this chapter we will begin to explore the syntactic domain, which will assume center stage beginning in Chapter 2. In the meantime, it will be helpful to observe the syntactic elements that spontaneously emerge as by-products of our improvisations with non-syntactic catalysts. Do not be concerned if your high-density playing stretches the boundaries of your technique to the point where you may not feel in total control of what you are playing. The main point here is the effect and experience of high-density music and going beyond our 4 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1c Dynamics Improvise a short piece—20–30 seconds—that includes the loudest sound you can make comfortably and musically, without reaching a decibel level that is uncomfortable or harmful (e.g. in the case of trumpet players or electric guitarists) to anyone present. Then do the same with your softest extreme: play a note or short phrase at your softest volume. At first, there will be tendency to not broach the outer boundaries, and so it is important to be vigilant in actually reaching your extremes. Exercise 1d Density Density pertains to the amount of note activity in a given unit of time. Higher-density passages comprise faster note activity than sparse, lower density passages, where slower note activity and rests predominate. Play a short piece that juxtaposes high-density music with low-density music.
- 28. ordinary boundaries. Often we stop short of the high-density texture we are capable of because it means risking the precision we work so ardently to develop. While these are admirable ideals, the purpose of this brief exercise is to move outside of our comfort zone. Hence a different kind of vigilance is called for; instead of the usual attention we might pay to issues such as tone quality and precision of execution, now our challenge is to temporarily let go to a degree we may not be accustomed to. Occasional forays of this kind can be highly beneficial to our creative as well as technical development. Tension and Release, Variety and Unity, Motion and Stability The goal of the above and forthcoming exercises is to develop the tools to create interesting improvisations. An important factor in creating musical interest is the balance between two kinds of emotional and perceptual responses, described variously as repose and tension, unity and variety, and stability and motion. Too much familiarity breeds boredom, too much novelty has an alienating effect. Two common shortcomings in the above sorts of exercises are (1) when the improviser fails to venture far enough into the extremes specified by the exercise—e.g. very soft and very loud, very dense and very sparse, very low and very high— and thus the music may lack variety; and (2) when the improviser does broach his or her extremes but provides only the briefest glimpse of a given parameter—e.g. a single low or high tone in order to fulfill the requirement of tessitura variety—thus failing to adequately establish a given idea. In the second instance, a modicum of variety may be achieved but unity and coherence are compromised. Here it may be helpful to think of musical ideas as char- acters in a play; a character needs to be not only introduced but also developed. While a brief improvisation does not provide much time for this to happen, even an extra few seconds on a given idea can make a significant difference in terms of establishing that musical character. As you perform the improvisations in this chapter and throughout the book, maintain a sense of how your music not only fulfills the parameters specified in each format but also makes a compelling musical statement. How well are you balancing unity and variety, or 5 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1e Registral variety The same exercise may be applied to registral or tessitura variety. Improvise brief passages that traverse the highest and then the lowest range of the instrument. Exercise 1f Combinations of non-syntactic elements Play improvisations that combine the various parameters—e.g. density and dynamic variety; dynamic and registral variety; and dynamics, density, and registral variety.
- 29. repose and tension? Are you establishing your musical characters adequately? What kind of emotional response are you evoking? The next exercise, which may be done with any size ensemble, utilizes a two-movement format that will result in a longer improvisation which allows us to incorporate the concepts discussed above as well as introduce new ideas. Here the importance of listening as fully as possible cannot be emphasized strongly enough.The kind of listening that is required of improvisation calls for a total immersion— mental, emotional, physical, and transpersonal/transcendent—in the music being made. We will go into this further later. In short: strive to engage with the sounds happening around you with the utmost urgency of attention, or as the saying goes, “as if your life depended upon it.” This is not to overlook the playfulness that can be part of improvised music, but to ground that play in the most complete kind of engagement possible. Another point has to do with silence, which we will also discuss more in depth later. It is not necessary to play constantly. Find places to rest in order to let the music breathe and give space to ensemble members; you will appreciate it when they return the favor, and the music will inevitably reach new heights as a result. As ironic as it may sound, the ability to not play is as important as the ability to play in the development of improvisation skills. More Duets Duets are an excellent way to begin improvisation classes and improvising ensemble rehearsals because they give each musician ample space and exposure, yet also deal with interactive concerns. 6 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1g Two-movement improvisation Duration 2–3 minutes. First movement, no pulse. Second movement, introduce pulse. In movement one, strive to create interest through the use of variety in non-syntactic elements. In movement two, which is pulse-based, strive for variety in dynamics, register, and duration. Note: Movement one can come to a complete pause before movement two begins, or movement two can grow organically out of movement one. Exercise 1h Wheel of duets Students pair with a partner across the circle—with no parameters delineated in advance except for the stipulation that each duet contrasts as much as possible with the one that precedes it. Contrast may be created through different tempos, dynamic levels, density levels, etc.
- 30. Melody While harmonic practice tends to be the focus in conventional approaches to musicianship, harmony as we generally think of it in the West is absent in much of the world’s music. Such is not the case with melody, which is virtually as prominent as rhythm in musical traditions across the globe. Two principles of melodic construction will be introduced here that we will also revisit later in the book. One involves the development of basic melodic ideas over time. The second is melodic contour, or shape. Ostinato, Motive, Sequence Music unfolds in time; in other words, one thing happens after another. The meaning inferred in a given piece or performance is significantly shaped by how the music is structured in time. The meaning inferred in a painting, on the other hand, is generally not nearly as time-dependent; we apprehend the work in its entirety and then attend to aspects more according to our inclinations rather than according to a temporal sequence that might be suggested in the image. Even paintings that may direct our attention sequentially from one image to another upon initial viewing leave us free to follow our own temporal pathways thereafter; not so in music. A central strategy in establishing a musical train of thought is the use of repetition in one form or another. When we repeat an idea, either exactly or with modifications, we assert its importance. Two approaches to repetition in the realm of melody are found in the ostinato and the motive. An ostinato is an idea that is repeated exactly several times (many ostinati are repeated extensively). Ostinato bass lines are perhaps the most common form of ostinato, although any line in any register played by any instrument can be an ostinato. A motive is a basic musical idea that is usually a measure or so in duration and which undergoes modification over time, either through alteration of its melodic shape or rhythm, or—as in what is called a sequence—by repeating the motive on different pitch levels. Example 1.1 shows an ostinato pattern; Example 1.2 shows the same pattern treated as a motive that is developed sequentially by being reiterated on new pitch levels (up a step with each new iteration). Notice that after three times, the initial motive, for the sake of variety, gives way to a new idea. 7 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1i Flip-flop duets Player A states an idea and begins to develop it. Player B enters with material that is as contrasting as possible. Gradually, A begins to adopt some of B’s ideas, and B adopts A’s, until both partners have fully exchanged roles. This requires that both individuals pay close attention to the ideas generated by their partners.
- 31. The following exercises allow you to improvise with these devices. 8 Improvisation Across Boundaries EXAMPLE 1.1 Ostinato EXAMPLE 1.2 Motive and sequence Exercise 1j Ostinato duet Improvise freely with a partner, without pulse. After 15–30 seconds or so, one player establishes a pulse by creating an ostinato line. The second player then creates another ostinato that aligns with the first one (can be a contrasting or similar idea, but should not be an identical idea, and must be rooted in the same pulse) thus yielding a texture in which two ostinato patterns occur simultaneously. Exercise 1k Ostinato ensemble exercise Proceed as in the above exercise, but now with a larger group. One by one, each member creates a different ostinato pattern that aligns with the basic pulse. This may be done with an ensemble of any size. Exercise 1l Motivic flip-flop duet Player A establishes a motivic idea and develops it. Player B plays a contrasting motivic idea and develops it. Gradually A and B take segments of each other’s ideas and either meld them, or move on to entirely new material.
- 32. Antecedent-consequent Structure Another melodic strategy that makes use of motives is the antecedent-consequent structure. An antecedent idea poses a melodic question, and a consequent idea offers a response (Example 1.3). Melodic Contour A second facet of melodic construction has to do with the contour or shape of the melody. Parameters that impact upon shape include direction—whether a melodic line ascends or descends—and the size of the intervals between any two melodic notes. Variety along these two parameters—use of ascending and descending motion and the distribution of step- wise motion and larger intervals—can open up untold melodic possibilities. In the melodies below, the use of intervals such as fifths, sixths, and octaves creates interesting contours. The next melody makes use of large intervals while still maintaining a lyrical effect at a fairly rapid tempo. In the following melodies (Examples 1.4 and 1.5) leaps are generally followed by a change in direction, an effective melodic device that is found in much tonal or modal music. Example 1.6 demonstrates exceptions to this principle, and the more jagged atonal melodic contour that results, yielding yet another melodic strategy to add to our creative palette. In no way is this to suggest that successive intervalic leaps in the same direction are not found in tonal or modal music, nor that these prevail in atonal music, but simply to identify general principles that may serve as a helpful guide in developing our skills. 9 Improvisation Across Boundaries EXAMPLE 1.3 Billy Strayhorn, “Take the ‘A’ Train” Exercise 1m Solo format Improvise antecedent-consequent phrases. Strive for optimal clarity of ideas. TRACK 1
- 33. Pitch-based Melodic Improvising In Chapter 2 we will begin formal study of pitch-based improvising, utilizing various modes and pentatonic scales. As a prelude to that work, here we will explore pitch-based impro- vising in its most basic form, involving the use of a drone. A drone is a sustained pitch that underlies a musical passage or, as in Indian music, an entire piece. Our purpose at hand is to improvise melodies atop the drone and draw upon our basic instincts regarding melodic shape and coherence prior to systematically studying specific melodic principles and scalar and chordal structures. An excellent listening example from the list at the end of the chapter is found in Zakir Hussain’s Making Music. 10 Improvisation Across Boundaries EXAMPLE 1.4 Brahms, Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68, theme from first movement EXAMPLE 1.5 Ed Sarath, Shirodara EXAMPLE 1.6 Exercise 1n Solo format Improvise and explore different melodic contours (e.g. passages that move largely by stepwise motion but make use of occasional leaps; passages that predominantly make use of large intervals).
- 34. Pulse-based Improvising The correlate in rhythmic improvising to the drone in pitch-based improvising is the use of a basic pulse or beat. The ability to sustain a steady pulse in your improvising is an essential skill for all improvisers given the prevalence of pulse and rhythmic time feels—or “grooves,” as in jazz, rock, funk, hip hop, blues—in much of the world’s music. In these introductory exercises, it is unnecessary to designate meter or a particular kind of time feel. It is simply necessary to establish a pulse and then improvise in whatever style you are comfortable. What is essential, however, is that the pulse is clearly upheld in your improvised lines. In other words, if someone were to hear only a single improvised line without hearing the establishment of a pulse prior to the piece or any instrument that might be playing the pulse as a background, that pulse should be clearly evident in your improvising. Several strategies might be pointed out regarding the note values you play. You can improvise with the basic rhythmic unit that defines the pulse. To create more interest, you can also divide that note value by two, and in turn divide that by two—and so on—as your technical capacities allow.Thinking of this in terms of notated rhythmic values: if we assign a quarter note value to the basic pulse, we would be improvising with eighth notes and possibly sixteenth and thirty-second notes atop the pulse. We can also extend this thinking in the opposite direction to give us longer durations, where we double the length of notes, improvising with quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, etc. These subdivisions and expanded durations may be thought of as rhythm layers, a concept that we will return to when we move into improvisation in time feels. Rhythmic layers may be thought of in terms of duple relationships (2:1, 4:1, etc.) and triplet relationships (3:1, 6:1, etc). 11 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1o Drone improvisation Designate a pitch to serve as the drone, and one or more ensemble members to play the drone. Ideally, all ensemble members will take turns playing the drone, atop which all ensemble members take turns improvising melodically. A key or scale can be selected (the drone note would be the tonic or fundamental note; A is the tonic note in an A minor scale), or ensemble members can use key areas or scales of their choice when they solo. Strive to use registral variety and density variety in your melodic improvising, as well as motivic development. • Variation: Choose a key area or scale and have ensemble members who are not soloing improvise sustained note backgrounds behind each soloist. • Variation: After the drone has sounded for a while, terminate the drone and have ensemble members create pulse via one or more ostinato patterns within that key area.
- 35. Form-based Improvising Musical form pertains to the overarching structure of a piece, whether composed or impro- vised. A wide array of approaches to musical form are found within and throughout the many musical traditions of the world and reflect the different conceptions of time, language, and other kinds of sensibilities that are unique to different cultures. While we have become quite accustomed in the West to teleological, or goal-driven formal structures, in which ideas are introduced, developed, and lead to some climactic point, after which the initial idea might return to yield a kind of formal symmetry, much of the world’s music is not teleological in nature but rather involves cyclical structures that obscure the sense of linear (past-present- future) temporality and promote a more non-linear, present-based sense of time. Jazz happens to be an interesting blend of teleological and non-teleological conceptions. The following are several formal frameworks that can help guide our improvisatory work. ABA form involves the statement of an initial idea A, followed by a contrasting idea B, and the return of the initial idea. By contrast is what is sometimes called through-composed form, which might be represented as ABCDE, etc., where new material is continually spun out with no significant use of recurring themes; this presents an entirely different and equally valid approach to formal design. Arch form involves a kind of retracing of formal sections so that the first and last correspond with each other, the second and second-to-last correspond with one another, the third and third-to-last similarly correspond to each other, and so on depending on the length of the piece; this is analyzed as ABCDCBA. These are a few of the many possibilities that call upon the improviser to invoke different kinds of concept in terms of the development of materials at hand. 12 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1p Solo format Establish a pulse and improvise lines that embody the pulse, moving freely between the various rhythmic layers using duple subdivisions (e.g. eighth notes, sixteenth notes) and composite note values (half notes, whole notes), always maintaining a solid rhythmic foundation in your playing. • Variation: Do the same thing with triplet subdivisions and composite note values. • Variation: Play these exercises in duets and larger ensembles. Exercise 1q Form-based improvisation Select formal structures from those described above and improvise pieces that conform to them. Make sure that each section contrasts sufficiently with the one before in order that clear and solid landmarks uphold the sense of formal structure.
- 36. Graphic Formal Analysis The above frameworks represent but a slice of what is possible in terms of musical form and most schools offer upper-level coursework that will promote further understanding in this area, usually from the standpoint of composed-notated musical form. Application of these formal designs to improvisation is a largely untapped area and has much to offer the con- temporary improviser. However, this is in no way to invalidate formally open improvisatory approaches, in which no formal or other constraints are specified in advance. Rather, engagement with formal designs can expand the palettes of improvisers by either providing them with frameworks that may be delineated in advance, or helping cultivate strategies that may be invoked spontaneously as the music unfolds. A preliminary kind of formal analysis that can be beneficial even to individuals with no formal musical training is “graphic analysis.”This involves listening to a piece of music and sketching with pencil and paper—using whatever graphic imagery you might choose—the overall trajectory or shape of the music as you perceive it. For instance, fast sections may be represented with highly active images, sparse sections with simpler markings, etc. You can even include brief narrative descriptions—such as “the music gets particularly intense (or subtle, or both) at this point”—to help convey what you are hearing and feeling. The primary intention of the exercise is to gain exposure to some of the wide-ranging possibilities regarding how music is structured over time so that you can draw upon these possibilities when you create. The exercise can also help you develop the capacity for a deeper and more focused engagement as a music listener; the more you perceive, the more you gain from every musical encounter. The Inner Dimensions of Improvisation So far our focus has been on exterior aspects of the improvisation process—ways of generating and organizing musical ideas. Now let us explore what might be termed the inner dimensions of improvisation, which takes us to the realm of consciousness or transcendence. Improvisers commonly talk about peak creative moments—also called “flow,” “the zone,” or being “in the moment”—that are characterized by enhanced fluidity of performance, presence, mental clarity, freedom from conditioning, well-being, mind– body coordination, group interaction, and other attributes of heightened consciousness. Whereas ordinary consciousness is prone to conditioned patterns where individuals resort to pattern responses, heightened consciousness enables new levels of freedom and spontaneity, which are naturally high priorities for improvisers. While for many individuals 13 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1r Analyses Choose three recorded samples of music from traditions or styles that are as contrasting as possible and do graphic analyses of them.
- 37. these episodes occur only on an occasional basis, even small glimpses of these states can be highly meaningful and inspiring in terms of the possibilities inherent in human creative development. Many improvisers have pursued disciplines such as meditation in order to help cultivate these capacities. The following are further strategies. One approach involves a more engaged kind of listening, where hearing becomes as much an emotional, physical, and transpersonal/transcendent activity as it is aural. It is one thing to register the various sounds happening around us; it is quite another to experience them as deeply connected with our own consciousness, as if we were creating these sounds ourselves. In doing the following exercises, it is important to emphasize that expanded listening and experiences of heightened consciousness are not so much a matter of exerting intensive effort in hopes of involving a new experience but rather a process of letting go and simply allowing oneself to relax into a more complete immersion in the present moment. It may be helpful to think of the capacity for expanded awareness and engagement in sound as a matter of unlocking inherent possibilities that lie dormant within us as opposed to learning to experience something that is foreign. 14 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1s The sounds around you While walking or sitting outside, whether in the woods, by the seashore, or in a city park, allow yourself to become quiet and fully engaged in the present moment. Listen to the full array of sounds around you. Take an inventory of all the sounds that you rarely notice and appreciate them as parts of the infinite sonic palette that exists. Imagine each of these sounds as parts of a piece of music. Let yourself relax into the sonic tapestry around you. One thing that may help is to use your breathing as a guide; with each exhalation feel yourself letting go and becoming more immersed in your surroundings. As you do this, observe your inner state; you may notice that your awareness expands, your clarity of perception increases, and a heightened sense of inner calm and well-being ensues. Again, this is not a matter of forcing expanded experience, but rather simply allowing this expansion to unfold of its own accord. Exercise 1t Feel the sounds Proceed as above, but now add a new component: feel the sounds around you as facets of your own consciousness, as if they are flowing through you, or that you are actually creating the sounds.
- 38. Another way of cultivating the capacity for heightened listening and heightened consciousness is through the lens of the present—in other words, by exploring the different kinds of present experience that are possible. Musical moments may be experienced as parts of a linear flow, in which the meaning of any given event is largely dependent upon its relationship to what precedes and follows it, or as nonlinear entities that are relatively autonomous from their temporal surroundings. While linear or nonlinear conception is usually a matter of degree and at least somewhat dependent upon the musical context, we can cultivate our capacities for these kinds of perception as both musical listeners and performers. The ability to shift modes of present awareness enlivens our capacity to be in the moment and invoke heightened consciousness. One approach to this shifting of present awareness from a linear to nonlinear orienta- tion is through directing our attention to “implication–realization” cycles. Implication– realization theory originated with the work of Leonard Meyer and was subsequently developed by him and his student Eugene Narmour. Originally oriented toward the perception of melody, from the standpoint of the listener, basic principles may be extrapolated from the theory that apply to broader musical parameters as well as the experience of the creative musician. Music unfolds in time; one thing follows another. In musical contexts whose meaning is dependent upon the sequence of ideas, as in the use of motivic development, each idea that sounds, or is realized, may be perceived as related to what has preceded it and also as a catalyst for implied successors—those ideas that one expects might follow. Put another way: musical ideas (realizations) trigger expectations (implications) about what is to come next. When expectations/implications are fulfilled, a sense of unity is promoted. When expectations/implications are thwarted, a sense of surprise and variety is enlivened. The effectiveness of the music is dependent upon the balance between these two poles; excessive fulfillment of expectations breeds predictability and boredom, thus requiring some element of surprise, via expectations that are thwarted. By the same token, excessive thwarting of expectations breeds alienation. We can heighten our engagement in the moment by observing our response to implication–realization cycles. The following exercises have us do this by focusing in two different directions. One involves what might be called “anticipatory hearing,” where we perceive each moment as a generator of future possibilities. Another involves the attempt 15 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1u Internalize sounds Apply the above approach when you are listening to music, either live or recorded, where you experience the music as if you are the one creating it. This is an excellent practice to use in improvisation sessions during moments in which you are not playing; the more you can engage with the sounds around you as if you were the one playing them, the more you will be able to interact and contribute when the time comes for you to play.
- 39. to perceive moments as autonomous, self-contained moments that stand on their own independently of what precedes and follows them. While it is not possible to attend to every single moment in a piece in the manner indicated, listening with this intention will likely provide a clear glimpse of a newfound level of present engagement that may be invoked when you improvise. From this linear musical perspective, the present is the source from which the future springs and, by attending to what might unfold, we penetrate more deeply to the heart of the present moment. Now let us attempt to experience heightened present engagement from a nonlinear angle. Again, it will not be possible to experience every single moment in this way, and because nonlinear hearing is more challenging and context-dependent, even a few glimpses of this experience will be productive. It should be emphasized that music in which non-syntactic elements (e.g. density, dynamics, timbre, tessitura) rather than syntactic elements (particu- larly harmony) are prominent is more conducive to nonlinear perception. While it is recommended that the exercises be done in improvised music situations where the music is being heard for the first time, the different kinds of perception are also possible in non-improvised music and you are encouraged to try out these exercises in different contexts. 16 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1v Anticipatory hearing In an improvised music rehearsal or concert in which you are not playing but listening to others, focus on experiencing each moment as a catalyst for future events. In other words, when an idea sounds (or is realized), sense what might follow (is implied). As you do this, observe whether or not your expectations are fulfilled and what response is thereby created. Exercise 1w Nonlinear hearing In an improvised music rehearsal or concert in which you are not playing but listening to others, focus on experiencing each moment as an autonomous entity, whose meaning is independent of what precedes and follows it.
- 40. Silence Another way of invoking heightened awareness is the use of silence in your improvising. While it is only natural in our ardent pursuit of musical skills to focus largely on making sounds and understanding the various ways they are melded together, let us not forget that music consists of both sounds and silence. In fact, instead of thinking in terms of sound as the basic fabric of music, consider thinking of silence as the basic fabric and sounds as temporary interruptions in the silence. While it may be hard to find much music in which sounds are subordinate, in terms of length of time, to silence, an awareness of sound as a kind of a foreground phenomenon against a backdrop of silence can help get us out of middle-zone conception; it is yet one more way of expanding our boundaries and liberating us from day-to-day, conditioned modes of conception. In the following “silence study,” two points are essential. One involves how silence is framed: silence needs to be prepared, executed, and resolved. In order to prepare silence, a second point is important, which is the creation of variety within one or more of the basic non-syntactic elements: dynamics, density, or register. Ultra-soft, ultra-loud, ultra-dense, ultra-sparse passages can help create a sense of expectation. When followed by silence, this expectation fills the space and continues to propel the music forward even though no sounds are being made. When prepared effectively, the silence can extend for some time, and then it is up to the musician to decide how it might be resolved. Resolution of the silence can be similar to how it is prepared (e.g. ultra-soft and low tones into and ultra-soft and low tones out of silence), or it can contrast radically (ultra-soft and low in, ultra-high and loud and high density out), creating an entirely different effect. Solo Pieces The following is a series of formats for solo, unaccompanied improvisation. Solo improvis- ing challenges us to access a wider range of strategies to sustain interest. Solo impro- vising can be not only tremendously rewarding, it can help us cultivate skills that are invaluable in collective formats (which, for most musicians, will comprise the bulk of their improvising). 17 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1x Silence study This exercise is done in a solo format. Play an improvisation of one to two minutes that incorporates at least one, and ideally several, prominent stretches of silence as part of the musical fabric. The silence needs to be more than merely the length of time to take a breath on a wind instrument. One of the criteria for the effective use of silence is the sense that the silent moment is self-contained and complete as opposed to eliciting a feeling of discomfort, as if the musical flow has been abruptly interrupted. Effective use of silence is experienced as part of the musical flow.
- 41. The next solo pieces take motivic development to a new level. Instead of developing a single motive, they involve developing two or contrasting motives by moving back and forth between them. Key to these exercises is that each idea is crystal clear, and that the ideas are clearly contrasting with one another. Here it may be helpful to think of the contrasting motives as different characters on a stage in a theater piece. When character A enters, we immediately gain a sense of who he or she is, and that character B is a completely different personality. Clear ideas engage us and generate a sense of expectation about what is to follow. The clearer the ideas, the more likely they will be retained in short-term memory, which is required of the following piece. 18 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1y Two-part solo piece Improvise a piece that consists of two sections. Section A will have no pulse; section B will be pulse-based. In section A strive to use as much variety as possible along the parameters of dynamics, duration, density, and register. In other words, explore the extremes of these parameters (very soft, very loud; very dense, very sparse, etc.) Use silence as part of the musical fabric; silence can be more than just a pause to take a breath, it can stand on its own as a self-contained part of the musical flow. Section B involves the establishment of a clear pulse. Seek to utilize dynamics and registral variety. You are encouraged to explore different layers of the pulse (e.g. 2:1 relationships, 4:1, etc.) as well as motivic development. Exercise 1aa Multi-motivic development solo piece Establish a motive A and allow it to develop briefly. Then introduce a contrasting motive B and allow it to develop briefly. Then return to A and develop it further, and similarly return to B and develop it further. Continue alternating the two motives. Eventually, you may let the two motives merge. This may be done with and without pulse. • Variation: Establish and develop three or more contrasting motives (e.g. A, B, C). Exercise 1z Scale-based solo piece Solo piece using designated scales/modes (e.g. pentatonics, octatonics, phrygian, etc.). Proceed, as in the above two-section exercise (no-pulse/pulse; non-syntactic variety), but this time select a scale with which you will improvise.
- 42. Free or Open Collective Improvising Most of the above exercises, while not specifying style constraints in advance, have delineated at least one and often multiple improvisatory parameters. These constraints will become more involved as we move further through the book. As a complement to these approaches, it is not only highly valuable to engage in completely free or open improvisation formats—with nothing specified in advance—but these approaches can also yield highly magical and powerful results. At this point, improvisers need to call upon their utmost capacities in listening and creative engagement, because now there is nothing to fall back on. The larger the free improvising ensemble, moreover, the more important these issues become. Free or open improvising can be a great way to process many of the concepts covered as well as to unearth entirely new ideas. In addition to the above considerations, two key issues bear emphasis in this kind of music-making: clarity of ideas and endings. 19 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1bb Multi-motivic development using designated scales/modes Proceed as in the above multi-motivic development exercise, but select a scale or mode that you are familiar with in which this multi-motivic development will occur. Exercise 1cc Unaccompanied time feels Set up a rhythmic groove on your instrument by repeating some basic idea, and then improvise around the idea, retaining enough of its basic character to sustain its role as a rhythmic anchor. Eventually your improvisatory excursions may become longer, but they should reiterate some fragment of the initial idea often enough to sustain continuity and the sense that you are playing on this particular groove. For those who play single-line melodic instruments, this may be challenging given the rarity of this kind of opportunity. Recommendation: strive for variety in register and dynamics in framing this anchor, in addition to a crystal-clear sense of pulse. • Variation: when you establish the initial idea to start the groove, leave an equal amount of silence between iterations of the idea. In other words, if the idea is two bars, then that should be followed by two bars of silence (during which, nonetheless, a solid pulse should be felt). Then, after a few iterations of the basic idea, gradually begin to fill in the spaces. Can be done with and without designated scales/modes.
- 43. Clarity of Ideas Strive for statements that are as clear as possible, whether they are simple or complex ideas. How do we define clarity? One criterion is the degree to which the idea stands on its own as a compelling statement that commands our attention. Another is its capacity to suggest forward motion. In other words, clear ideas are more likely to generate a sense of what may come next—which may often involve some reiteration of the idea—than unclear ideas, from which future development is nebulous. In going into some strategies for ensuring clarity of ideas, it is important not to become enmeshed in value judgments when we improvise. Improvisation should be a process of mindful and joyful play; we are engaged in the moment, we attend as fully as possible—mentally, aurally, emotionally, physically—to what is happening around us, and we embrace what transpires and the opportunity to contribute to the flow in whatever ways we can (which include playing or not playing). Moreover, any idea that might be deemed less clear may, through simple strategies, be transformed into a highly compelling musical statement. Let us first consider some approaches that may enhance clarity. First, it is important to emphasize that clear ideas need not be complicated or virtuosic. A single, short staccato note surrounded by silence can be a crystal-clear idea, as can be a long tone that is held for five or ten seconds or more. At the same time, so can a high- density flurry consisting of streams of notes, perhaps akin to the “sheets of sound” that were associated with the jazz saxophonist John Coltrane later in his career. Clear ideas are like characters on a stage; when they enter, you know immediately that this is a new character, a new entity with its own personality, history, and future potential. One strategy for promoting a sense of clarity is to create ideas that utilize the extremes of some of the basic non-syntactic elements—such as dynamics, density, duration, and register—considered earlier. In other words, instead of playing ideas that are not very soft or loud (dynamics), whose note activity is not very fast or slow (density), whose notes are not very long or very short (duration), and which are not very low or high (register), try creating ideas that extend beyond these “middle zone” parameters. In no way is this to suggest that the interesting and crystal-clear ideas that use these parameters are not possible. Rather, the process of consciously stepping outside of these parameters may require us to engage more fully—to be more present—in the creation of ideas, and this can carry over to situations in which we may create ideas that, say, utilize mid-range dynamics or register. Another helpful strategy may be to combine non-syntactic extremes that may be less commonly combined, such as extremely soft flurries, or loud, short notes, or high, soft tones separated by long stretches of silence. When an idea is introduced that is not as clear as it might be, one strategy may be, instead of jumping in with a perhaps nebulous sense of direction, to simply wait and see if the first player or players may achieve greater clarity on their own. Another is to play something entirely contrasting to the first idea, which may compel the musician who plays it to shape it into a more accessible form. A third idea is to try to find some kernel or core ingredient in the idea and exaggerate it in an attempt to “press the issue.” In essence, making sense of unclear musical ideas is not entirely different than what happens in verbal interactions when the point of the dialogue is obscured. At some point, one of the parties will likely ask, 20 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 44. “What are we talking about?” The same thing can happen in improvisation; the only difference is how this question is posed. Transparency, Laying Out, and Soloing Two of the most important aspects of collective improvisation are the capacities to lay out— to not play for possibly extended periods of time—and to play transparently, as these allow the ideas of others to move to the forefront. A third necessity is the ability to move to the forefront when the music calls for it. One of the signs of mature improvisers is the ability to move fluidly between these roles. The ability to listen intently and not play is much like being a good listener in a conversation; sometimes in the course of human interaction the most valuable contribution is made by simply listening in a heartfelt way to what our partner or colleague is saying.The same holds for music. To play transparently, promoting related goals, means to play ideas that support but do not overshadow what else is happening. This may happen by playing softly, interjecting silence between one’s notes, or playing timbres that add interest but do not predominate. Drum-set players, when playing in ensembles that also include strings and woodwinds, must pay special attention to playing transparently because even relatively soft cymbal sounds can easily assume prominence. The same holds for when the music moves into rhythmic grooves; drummers in eclectic instrumentation formats need to find new ways to play grooves that are transparent enough to allow all instruments to be heard. Having established the importance of these kinds of musical sensitivity, it is equally important for improvisers to step up and assume a solo role from time to time. Sometimes a single player can take the whole ensemble to an entirely new plateau. When all of the musicians in an ensemble are able to sustain a level of engagement that permits them to move between these roles—silent listener, transparent supporter, or soloist—truly exciting and magical results are possible. Endings Endings are one of the most challenging yet important, and in fact exciting, aspects of improvised music, particularly in open improvisation. Few things distance audiences from the music more than excessively long pieces, and endings can be among the most compelling moments of an improvisation because, unlike in composed music, when at least the musicians are aware of the approach of the ending, now no one knows. The ability to create compelling endings in collective improvisation is clearly an art. A few principles will help cultivate this ability. First, the ability to create effective endings is based most fundamentally in the ability to engage in the music on a moment-by-moment basis. It is from this vantage point that the improviser is able to spontaneously decide—feel, intuit, reason—that this particular instant may be the last in a given piece. Creating endings, therefore, is not so much a matter of playing an idea that is particularly suited to be the very last idea, but rather simply being 21 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 45. able to choose not to play anything further and letting the most recent event stand as the ending. The more one is able to engage in a moment-to-moment manner, the greater the freedom to make this kind of musical decision. A second principle extends from the first, which is that the kind of awareness that allows compelling endings is no different than the kind of awareness that leads to compelling beginnings or interactions at any point in a piece. From this standpoint, musicians ought to be able to end pieces even after a few seconds. This, in fact, is a kind of litmus test for the ability to create effective endings. Playing very short improvisations—which is challenging the larger the group—is a good way to cultivate this awareness.Try collective improvisations with the stipulation that they will last for only 30–45 seconds. Then try even shorter pieces that are to end after perhaps 10 seconds. In these attempts, it is important to proceed as if the piece might follow a more conventional course of development—lasting four to eight minutes or more—and at the same time maintain the intention of finding an endpoint at any given moment early on. This, in fact, is an excellent head-set to maintain at all times— the capacity to either continue or to end—as it indicates a heightened sense of being in the moment. It is also helpful to be aware of three possible kinds of endings. Most common is the gradual decrescendo and fade, where you sense early on in this closing passage that the end is near and it is just a matter of time before the last note sounds. A second type of ending is more common in composed notated music, where a gradual crescendo and buildup in intensity eventuates in a final chord or gesture in which everyone cuts off together. Since this final event requires some kind of cue, improvisations do not often end this way. Instead, when improvisations reach such peaks in intensity at points far enough into the piece where they could serve as endings, the culminating chord or event—rather than being sharply cut off as in an orchestral work—tends to decay into something more resembling the first type of ending. However, this is not to rule out this possible ending in improvised music, and there is nothing wrong with a policy whereby ensemble members can give a visual cue for a cut-off to make this effect possible. A third type of ending is perhaps the most interesting of all of the options, involving sudden endings that present themselves spontaneously and are instantaneously seized by the musicians. In such instances, unlike the above two scenarios, neither musicians nor listeners have any idea in advance that the ending is imminent; it comes out of the blue.These “found” endings can be highly effective in the way they take everyone by surprise. In fact, these endings are often only realized as endings after the fact. A typical scenario is as follows: some passage is followed by an instant of silence, which is initially conceived as a space that connects prior sounds with sounds yet to be made. Then—and all this happens within the briefest instant of time—it may occur to one or more of the musician(s) that this could possibly be the end of the piece. But until group consensus is attained, the question still remains—is the piece continuing or not? Only after the silence remains uninterrupted for a sufficiently longer moment—again, we are talking about a few seconds at most—will the collective decision for the piece to be over be officially made. At this point the ending—in terms of the final notes sounding—is realized only in retrospect. Whereas endings following gradual fades or buildups are anticipated prior to the fact, found endings are experienced retroactively—“Oh, that was the end!”—much to the delight of players and listeners alike. 22 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 46. This is not to suggest that found endings are more desirable than the other two types of endings and that improvisers should strive to end all of their pieces this way. Rather, improvisers should be open to the phenomenon of found endings so that they may be seized when they present themselves, a capacity which, to reiterate, is based in a keen moment- to-moment awareness and freedom. But different improvisatory moments will call for different kinds of endings, and improvisers need to be conversant with all possibilities. An excellent way of developing this important capacity is to play short improvisations, with the length delineated in advance. Tracks 2 and 3 on the website provide two examples of relatively short improvisations and the following exercise has you play even shorter pieces. The extremely short improvisations are particularly valuable because they force us to invoke a degree of moment-to-moment concept we may not ordinarily experience. Our task is then to sustain this awareness over the course of improvisations of any length. Culminating Exercises 23 Improvisation Across Boundaries Exercise 1dd Collective improvisation In an ensemble format, create several improvisations of the following durations: 45 seconds; 10 seconds; 90 seconds; 5 seconds; 2 minutes. Exercise 1ee Small group improvisation (three to six players) Map out a multi-movement form that includes as many of the above elements as possible (e.g. non-syntactic variety; pitch-based, pulse-based, and form-based improvising; silence and listening; solo passages, etc.) using a notational system of your choosing (graphic score, narrative sketch, etc.). Try to find a balance between pre-ordained structure and spontaneity. Perform in class. Exercise 1ff Free collective improvisation Divide the class into several randomly chosen groups (e.g. count off 1, 2, 3, 4—and the 1s form a group, 2s, etc.) that are to improvise with nothing planned in advance. Emphasize the importance of clarity of ideas, listening, laying out when needed, assuming prominence when needed, etc. TRACK 2 TRACK 3
- 47. Concluding Thoughts: Template for Artistic Development Artistic development may be thought of in terms of input and output phases, both of which are important and complementary aspects of a program of study. Input involves focused skill acquisition and study, output involves creative expression. Since most of the musicians who will be working with this book have engaged in considerable input activity but have had limited output experience, our focus so far has been on initiating output activity in this opening chapter through stylistically open improvisatory exercises. By tapping into the inner reservoir of musical and extra-musical experiences that each of us has acquired, we have elicited a creative flow which prepares us for the subsequent input activity that is to follow. This is not to suggest that input and output phases need to occur separately. Indeed, they work hand in hand, as will be seen in forthcoming chapters. In that most of the input and output activity to follow will be style-specific, you are highly encouraged to continue working with the stylistically open formats provided in this chapter as they will serve as stimulating catalysts for creative application of the skills you will gain. Interspersing one or more of the above exercises between forthcoming chapters or sections of chapters may be one way of accomplishing this. Listening Resources Improvisation enables us to tap into the totality of our musical experiences and forge unique expressions that transcend category.The musical pulse of our times lies as much, if arguably not more, in the intersections between genres as in the discrete musical categories that tend to prevail in academic and commercial music sectors. From this standpoint, it is important to listen to as wide a variety of music as possible—whether this music is improvised or not— and to compile a personal library of sources that you find inspiring. This, of course, is a lifelong endeavor and one which will not only help provide you with much creative vitality in your music-making but also bring you great personal fulfillment. The following is a very encapsulated list of artists and recordings that may help you get started. It is intended to provide a kind of snapshot of the diverse range of music that falls under the heading “improvised music,” which has emerged as a kind of default way of describing the increasing volume of music that defies categorization and within which improvisation is a common thread. The list includes artists such as John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Miles Davis, and the group Weather Report, who have stretched the boundaries of the jazz idiom; artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Cecil Taylor, and Nicole Mitchell from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, which from the 1960s has served as a forum through which a largely African-American innovative voice has been able to evolve, galvanize and make significant contributions to the contemporary musical world; artists such as John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain and groups such as Oregon and Eastern Bloc which have drawn from Indian, Arabic, and other world cultures; musicians such as Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht who come from largely European contemporary classical musical backgrounds; improvisersTetuzi 24 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 48. Akiyama and Yumiko Tanaka from Japan, and Yan Jun and Wang Yong from China, providing a small representation of the growing improvised music scene in the Far East; and artists such as Evan Parker, John Surman, Joelle Leandre, and Wojieeck Konikiewicz from different parts of the thriving European improvised music scene. It must be emphasized that any attempt at such a list immediately calls attention to the vast numbers of artists and even greater volume of recordings that are also important yet due to space limitations could not be included. Hopefully this list will help those for whom much of this music is new embark on a quest that knows no bounds. And while this list purposefully focuses on music with strong improvisatory aspects that tends to transcend conventional categories, a virtual kaleidoscope of great style-specific music from all over the world is also available, including European classical music and its offshoots, from which the contemporary improviser may gain immeasurably. It should also be noted that at the end of Chapter 3 a list of jazz and related sources with strong rhythmic time-feel components (some examples of which are found in the list at hand) will be provided. Art Ensemble of Chicago Rarum VI-Art Ensemble of Chicago Selected Recordings (ECM 2002) Peter Brötzman, with Han Bennink and Fred Van Hove FMP 130 (Unheard Music Series, Atavistic 2003) Marilyn Crispell Vignettes (ECM 2008) Alice Coltrane Translinear Light (Verve Music Group 2004) John Coltrane A Love Supreme (Verve Music Group 1964) Miles Davis Filles de Kilimanjaro (Columbia 1968) Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht Photosphere (Nemu/Be1Two 2005) Zakir Hussain Making Music (ECM 1987) In Performance (Live) (Electra Entertainment 1980) Joëlle Léandre Joëlle Léandre Project (Leo Records 2004) Nicole Mitchell/Black Earth Ensemble Vision Quest (Dreamtime Records 2008) Roscoe Mitchell, with George Lewis and Muhal Richard Abrams Streaming (Pi Recordings 2006) Oregon In Performance (Live) (Electra Entertainment 1980) 25 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 49. Evan Parker Eleventh Hour (ECM 2005) John Surman The Spaces in Between (ECM 2007) Cecil Taylor Unit Structures (Blue Note 1987, original released 1966) Weather Report Heavy Weather (Sony 1977) Yumiko Tanaka, with Ivar Grydeland Continental Crust (Sofa 2005) The following is a more general list of prominent artists in contemporary improvised music whose work you are encouraged to learn about as you further expand your listening library. Artists and Ensembles Geri Allen, Susan Allen, AMM, Ray Anderson, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Vijay Ayer, Derek Bailey, Hans Bennick, Karl Berger, Tim Berne, Carla Bley, Jane Ira Bloom, Jerome Bourdelain, Joanne Brackeen, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brotzman, Earle Brown, Steve Coleman, Nels Cline, Anat Cohen, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Marilyn Crispell, Robert Dick, Pierre Dorge, Dave Douglas, Mark Dresser, Eastern Bloc, Marty Erlich, Douglas Ewart, Michael Formanek, Gerry Hemmingway, Liang Heping, Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, Kazuo Imaj, Toshiimaru Kakamura, François Janneau, Joseph Jarman, Keith Jarrett, Mathias Kaul, Mazen Kerbaj, Jin Hi Kim, Wojciech Konikiewicz, Oliver Lake, Yusef Lateef, Joelle Leandre, George Lewis, David Liebman, London Improvisers Orchestra, Lionel Loueke, Rudresh Mahanthappa, John McLaughlin, Myra Melford, Pat Metheny, Nicole Mitchell, Roscoe Mitchell, Musica Viva, Stephen Nachmanovitch, Miles Okazaki, Pauline Oliveras, Oregon, Ivo Papasov, Evan Parker, Claudio Parodi, Anto Pett, Edwin Provost, Sun Ra, Leo Smith, Michael Jeffrey Stevens, John Surman, Cecil Taylor, Walter Thompson, Henry Threadgill, Ursel Schlicht, Ralph Towner, Cuong Vu, Dan Weiss, Christian Wolff, Liu Yuan, and Carlos Zingaro. Musicians who play instruments such as flute, oboe, bassoon, French horn, cello, viola, and to a somewhat lesser extent violin, are often hard-pressed to find improvisers on their instruments that might serve as role models.The following is a brief list that may be helpful in this regard. Contemporary Improvisers on Largely“Classical Instruments” (Instruments not CommonlyAssociated with Improvisation) Violin: Julie Lyon-Lieberman, India Cooke, LaDonna Smith, Mark O’Connor, Leroy Jenkins, Billy Bang, Stephen Nachmanovitch. Viola: Judith Insell, Jeremy Kittel. Cello: David Darling, Gil Selinger, Deidre Murray. Bassoon: Michael Rabinowitz, James Johson, Daniel Smith, Ray Pizzi, Paul Hanson. Oboe: Kyle Bruckman, Brenda Schuman-Post, 26 Improvisation Across Boundaries
- 50. Paul McCandless, Joseph Celli. Flute: James Newton, Ali Ryerson, Robert Dick. Voice: Thomas Buckner, Bobby McFerrin, Ursula Dudziak, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Norma Winstone, Betty Carter. French Horn: Jim Rattigan, Tom Varner, Adam Unsworth, Jeffrey Agrell. Further Reading Jonathan Kramer, The Time of Music. New York: Schirmer, 1988. Geroge Lewis, A Power Stronger than Itself: History of the AACM and American Experimental Music. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008. Stephen Nachmanovitch, Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts. Los Angeles: Tarcher, 1990. Eugene Narmour, The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic Structures. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1990. Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice. New York: iUniverse, 2005. Ed Sarath, “A New Look at Improvisation.” Journal of Music Theory 40.1:1–38, 1996. Kenny Werner, Effortless Mastery. New Albany, IN: Jamey Aebersold, 1996. 27 Improvisation Across Boundaries SUMMARY QUESTIONS 1 What is meant by the term trans-stylistic and how does it differ from conventional approaches to improvisation study (e.g. as found in jazz improvisation coursework)? 2 True or false? The ultimate aim of the trans-stylistic approach is to replace style- specific improvisation study, which is no longer necessary due to the eclecticism in today’s world. 3 What are the two categories of basic elements or parameters delineated by Leonard Meyer? Give examples of each category. 4 Define these terms: • Dynamics • Density • Duration • Registral variety or tessitura • Motive • Ostinato • Motivic sequence • Drone 4 Provide some of the characteristics of heightened consciousness or “flow.” 5 Name two important considerations for effectively using silence in your improvising. 6 List three possible types of endings in improvised music. 7 List three kinds of formal structures.
- 51. chapter 2 Music Fundamentals The initial improvising experiences in Chapter 1 likely gave rise to some compelling moments, perhaps providing glimpses, even if fleeting, of the infinite creative scope that is possible through improvisation. These initial experiences also likely shed light on the need for further technical, aural, and theoretical skill development if substantive progress as an improviser is to occur whether in trans-stylistic or style-specific formats. As we move in a style-specific direction, with the intention not of forsaking trans-stylistic engagement but rather of integrating it within a broader scope, the syntactic parameters of harmony, melody, and rhythm begin to assume central focus. Whereas we broached syntactic elements peripherally in Chapter 1, in this chapter we begin a formal, systematic study of this domain. We begin with the basic components of Western tonal and modal music: key signatures, scales, intervals, and modes. If you already have a solid grounding in these aspects, you may either use the opening of this chapter as a quick review or skip directly to whatever areas might be new or in need of strengthening. Of utmost importance is that you establish as part of your regular practice routine work in aural transposition, which entails taking basic melodic patterns derived from various scales and working them out by ear in all 12 keys. This is an excellent means for developing technical facility on your instrument and also builds ear-to-hand coordination, so that you can play what you hear, which is naturally essential for improvisers. In this chapter, we: • Cover clefs, key signatures, scales, intervals, modes, and melodic cells. • Do written and improvisation exercises that will aid mastering these elements. • Begin work with aural transposition.
- 52. Staff, Clefs, Scales Let us begin with the basic elements of Western musical notation. Musical sounds, or notes, are notated on what is called the staff, which consists of five lines. Notes are placed either on the lines or in the spaces between the lines. Higher pitches fall higher on the staff; lower notes fall lower.The staff may be extended through the use of ledger lines to represent notes that are higher or lower than the highest or lowest lines or spaces of the staff.To the far left of the staff is placed a clef, which indicates which notes correspond to which lines and spaces. Examples 2.1 to 2.4 give four staffs, each with a different clef, with the note middle C indicated on each. Middle C is a common reference point and will be discussed further below. The note C is among the basic series of pitches in Western music that are designated by the seven letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Each of these seven notes can be lowered, as indicated by a flat symbol (b), or raised, as indicated by a sharp symbol (#), to yield a total of 12 tones that comprise Western pitch practice. For instance, in addition to A is Ab and A#; in addition to B is Bb and B#, etc. At first glance, this would appear to yield 21 tones. However, some of the derivatives cancel each other out—e.g. since A# is the same sound as Bb, one need include either one or the other, not both—and thus while one might be able to theoretically spell 21 different notes, the practical reality is a total of 12 tones. These tones may be used in different registers or octaves. An octave is an eight-note expanse that is measurable by building a scale on any tone and proceeding upward or downward—according to the alphabetic sequence—until one arrives at that same tone either in a higher or a lower position. In other words, a scale built on A eventually comes to the end of the alphabetic sequence whereby A recurs; this note actually sounds like the initial A, just a higher version of the pitch.Thus, when we specify a middle C, we are talking about the version of the tone C that appears in a particular position relative to lower and higher versions of that tone. Example 2.5 illustrates middle C by placing it within a series of several octaves in which other C notes are identified. Example 2.6 illustrates a C major scale beginning on middle C and ending on the C an octave above it. 29 Music Fundamentals EXAMPLE 2.1 EXAMPLE 2.3 EXAMPLE 2.4 EXAMPLE 2.2
- 53. Example 2.7 illustrates a chromatic scale built on middle C going to the C an octave above, in both ascending and descending forms. The scale includes all 12 tones, and uses sharps in the ascending form and flats in the descending form. The note C raised to C# is the same pitch as D lowered to Db; the note D raised to D# is the same pitch as the note E lowered to Eb. In this way, any note can be spelled enharmonically; that is, with the letter name of the note above or below it but with necessary accidentals. Notice that in certain cases, notes in the ascending form are not followed by the same note with a sharp but simply by the next note, as in E to F and B to C. The counterpart to this is found at the same spots in the descending form, where C proceeds directly to B without an intervening Cb and F proceeds to E without an intervening Fb. The reason for this is that there are natural half-steps between these notes, and the use of those accidentals would, in fact, make the modified note the same pitch as the one that follows it. In other words, Cb is the same pitch as (and thus may be spelled enharmonically as) B, Fb as E, E# as F, and B# as C. It is important to be aware of these natural half-steps, where no intermediary notes may be located, and the use of enharmonic spellings by which one pitch may be notated with different letter names. 30 Music Fundamentals EXAMPLE 2.5 EXAMPLE 2.6 EXAMPLE 2.7
- 54. Key Signatures Just as the lines and spaces of the staff, with the aid of a clef, delineate what particular note sounds at a given point in time, the use of a key signature delineates what key area the music is centered in. A key area is defined by a tonic note—or main tone—and the notes of a scale generated from that tonic note. Later we will see that chords—simultaneously sounding groups of notes—are generated from the scale. As there are 12 chromatic tones, there are 12 keys and corresponding key signatures. The top line proceeds from the key of C major, with no sharps and flats, through the sharp keys; beginning with G major, with one sharp, and through D, A, E, B, F#, and C#. This sequence follows what is called the cycle of fifths, and as we proceed through the cycle we add one more sharp with each successive key. Note also that the name of the key is one half-step above the farthest sharp to the right. The bottom line lists the flat keys, and proceeds through the cycle, this time with descending fifths, beginning with F major with one flat, and on through Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, and Cb. Note that, with the exception of F major, the second last flat from the right is the name of the key. You will find the ability to recite the sequences of sharp and flat keys quickly to be a very useful skill, as it will come into play in the determination of interval sizes and qualities, chord structures, and chord functions. Major Scale Example 2.9 illustrates the C major scale in the four different clefs introduced above: treble, bass, alto, and tenor. All scales begin on middle “C,” except for the one written in bass clef, which begins an octave below and ends on middle C. While many musicians may rarely encounter alto and tenor clef, basic knowledge of them is essential to abilities such as score reading, or composing with these and other instruments that utilize the clefs, and thus should be considered important to overall musicianship.The counterpoint exercises that are included in Appendix I also make use of these clefs and so it is important to develop a basic familiarity with them. 31 Music Fundamentals EXAMPLE 2.8 Key signatures
- 55. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
- 56. game? I watched ye whilst we was eatin', an' I seen ye'd got it figgered out." After a moment of silence, Connie asked abruptly: "How am I going to manage to get away for a week or ten days?" "Git away!" exclaimed Saginaw. "You mean leave camp?" The boy nodded: "Yes, I've got to go." He seated himself astride the log and talked for an hour, while Saginaw, his pipe forgotten, listened. When the boy finished Saginaw sat in silence, the dead pipe clenched between his teeth. "Well, what do you think of it?" The other removed the pipe, and spat deliberately into the snow. "Think of it?" he replied, "I never was much hand fer thinkin'—an' them big figgers you're into has got me woozy headed. Personal an' private, I'm tellin' ye right out, I don't think it'll work. It sounds good the way you spoke it, but—why, doggone it, that would be outfiggerin' the Syndicate! It would be lettin' 'em beat theirself at their own game! It can't be did! They ain't no one kin do it. It ain't on." "What's the matter with it?" asked the boy. "Matter with it! I can't find nothin' the matter with it—That's why it won't work!" Connie laughed: "We'll make it work! All you've got to remember is that if any stranger comes into the camp asking for Hurley, you steer him up against Slue Foot. This von Kuhlmann himself will probably come, and if he does it will be all right—he knows Slue Foot by sight. The only thing that's bothering me is how am I going to ask Hurley for a week or ten days off? Frenchy's going in tomorrow, and I've got to go with him." Saginaw Ed slapped his mittened hand against his leg: "I've got it," he exclaimed. "There was three new hands come in today—good whitewater men fer the drive. One of 'em's Quick-water Quinn. I've worked with him off an' on fer it's goin' on fifteen year. He'll do anything fer me, account of a little deal onct, which he believed I
- 57. saved his life. I'll slip over to the men's camp an' write a letter to you. Then later, when we're all in the office, Quick-water, he'll fetch it over an' ask if you're here, an' give it to ye. Then ye read it, and take on like you've got to go right away fer a week er so. You don't need to make any explainin'—jest stick to it you've got to go. Hurley'll prob'ly rave round an' tell ye ye can't, an' bawl ye out, an' raise a rookus generally, but jest stick to it. If it gits to where ye have to, jest tell him you quit. That'll bring him 'round. He sets a lot of store by you, an' he'll let ye go if ye make him." And so it happened that just as the four were turning in that night, a lumberjack pushed open the door. "Is they any one here name o' C. Morgan?" he asked. Connie stepped forward, and the man thrust a letter into his hand: "Brung it in with me from the postoffice. They told me over to the men's camp you was in here." Connie thanked the man, and carrying the letter to the light, tore it open and read. At the end of five minutes he looked up: "I've got to go out with Frenchy in the morning," he announced. Hurley let a heavy boot fall with a thud, and stared at the boy as though he had taken leave of his senses. "Go out!" he roared, "What'ye mean, go out?" "I've got to go for a week or ten days. It's absolutely necessary or I wouldn't do it." "A wake er tin days, sez he!" Hurley lapsed into brogue, as he always did when aroused or excited. "An' fer a wake or tin days the books kin run theirsilf! Well, ye can't go—an' that's all there is to ut!" "I've got to go," repeated Connie stubbornly. "If I don't go out with Frenchy, I'll walk out!" The boss glared at him. "I know'd things wuz goin' too good to last. But Oi didn't think th' trouble wuz a-comin' from ye. Ye can tell me, mebbe, what, Oi'm a-goin' to do widout no clerk whoilst yer gaddin' round havin' a good toime? Ye can't go!"
- 58. "Steve can run the wanagan, and Lon, and Saginaw, and Slue Foot can hold their reports 'til I get back. I'll work night and day then 'til I catch up." "They ain't a-goin' to be no ketch up!" roared Hurley. "Here ye be, an' here ye'll stay! Av ye go out ye'll stay out!" Connie looked the big boss squarely in the eye: "I'm sorry, Hurley. I've liked you, and I've liked my job. But I've got to go. You'll find the books all up to the minute." Hurley turned away with a snort and rolled into his bunk, and a few minutes later, Connie blew out the lamp and crawled between his own warm blankets, where he lay smiling to himself in the darkness. By lamplight next morning the boy was astir. He placed his few belongings in his turkey, and when the task was accomplished he noticed that Hurley was watching him out of the corner of his eye. He tied the sack as the others sat upon the edge of the bunks and drew on their boots. And in silence they all crossed the dark clearing toward the cook's camp. With a great jangle of bells, Frenchy drew his tote-team up before the door just as they finished breakfast. Connie tossed his turkey into the sleigh and turned to Hurley who stood by with Lon Camden and Saginaw Ed. "I'll take my time, now," said the boy, quietly. "And good luck to you all!" For answer the big boss reached over and, grabbing the turkey, sent it spinning into the boy's bunk. "Ye don't git no toime!" he bellowed. "Jump in wid Frenchy now, an' don't be shtandin' 'round doin' nawthin'. Tin days ye'll be gone at the outsoide, an' av' ye ain't at yer disk here be th' 'leventh day, Oi'll br-reak ye in two an' grease saws wid the two halves av ye!" Reaching into his pocket, he drew forth a roll of bills. "How much money d'ye nade? Come spake up! Ye kin have all, or par-rt av ut—an' don't ye iver let me hear ye talk av quittin' agin, er Oi'll woind a peavy around yer head." Connie declined the money and jumped into the sleigh, and with a crack of the whip, Frenchy sent the horses galloping down the tote road. When they were well out of hearing the Frenchman laughed.
- 59. "Dat Hurley she lak for mak' de beeg bluff, w'at you call; she mak' you scairt lak she gon' keel you, an' den she giv' you all de mon' she got." "He's the best boss in the woods!" cried the boy. "Oui dat rat. Ba goss, we'n she roar an' bluff, dat ain' w'en you got for look out! Me—A'm know 'bout dat. A'm seen heem lick 'bout fifty men wan tam. Ovaire on——" "Oh, come now, Frenchy—not fifty men." "Well, was seex, anyhow. Ovaire on Leech Lak' an' sacre! He ain' say nuttin', dat tam—joos' mak' hees eyes leetle an' shine lak de loup cervier—an' smash, smash, smash! An', by goss, 'bout twenty of dem feller, git de busted head." Connie laughed, and during all the long miles of the tote road he listened to the exaggerated and garbled stories of the Frenchman— stories of log drives, of fights, of bloody accidents, and of "hants" and windagoes. At the railroad, the boy helped the teamster and the storekeeper in the loading of the sleigh until a long-drawn whistle announced the approach of his train. When it stopped at the tiny station, he climbed aboard, and standing on the platform, waved his hand until the two figures whisked from sight and the train plunged between its flanking walls of pine. In Minneapolis Connie hunted up the office of the Syndicate, which occupied an entire floor, many stories above the sidewalk, of a tall building. He was a very different looking Connie from the roughly clad boy who had clambered onto the train at Dogfish. A visit to a big department store had transformed him from a lumberjack into a youth whose clothing differed in no marked particular from the clothing of those he passed upon the street. But there was a difference that had nothing whatever to do with clothing—a certain something in the easy swing of his stride, the poise of his shoulders, the healthy bronzed skin and the clear blue eyes, that caused more than one person to pause upon the sidewalk for a backward glance at the boy.
- 60. Connie stepped from the elevator, hesitated for a second before a heavily lettered opaque glass door, then turned the knob and entered, to find himself in a sort of pen formed by a low railing in which was a swinging gate. Before him, beyond the railing, dozens of girls sat at desks their fingers fairly flying over the keys of their clicking typewriters. Men with green shades over their eyes, and queer black sleeves reaching from their wrists to their elbows, sat at other desks. Along one side of the great room stood a row of box- like offices, each with a name lettered upon its glass door. So engrossed was the boy in noting these details that he started at the sound of a voice close beside him. He looked down into the face of a girl who sat before a complicated looking switchboard. "Who do you wish to see?" she asked. Connie flushed to the roots of his hair. It was almost the first time in his life that any girl had spoken to him—and this one was smiling. Off came his hat. "Is—is Heinie Metzger in?" he managed to ask. Connie's was a voice tuned to the big open places, and here in the office of the Syndicate it boomed loudly—so loudly that the girls at the nearer typewriters looked up swiftly and then as swiftly stooped down to pick up imaginary articles from the floor; the boy could see that they were trying to suppress laughter. And the girl at the switchboard? He glanced from the others to this one who was close beside him. Her face was red as his own, and she was coughing violently into a tiny handkerchief. "Caught cold?" he asked. "Get your feet dry, and take a dose of quinine, and you'll be all right—if you don't get pneumonia and die. If Heinie ain't in I can come again." Somehow the boy felt that he would like to be out of this place. He felt stifled and very uncomfortable. He wondered if girls always coughed into handkerchiefs or clawed around on the floor to keep from laughing at nothing. He hoped she would say that Heinie Metzger was not in. "Have you a card?" the girl had recovered from her coughing fit, but her face was very red. "A what?" asked the boy.
- 61. "A card—your name." "Oh, my name is Connie Morgan." "And, your address?" "Ma'am?" "Where do you live?" "Ten Bow." "Where? Is it in Minnesota?" "No, it's in Alaska—and I wish I was back there right now." "And, your business?" "I want to see Heinie Metzger about some logs." A man passing the little gate in the railing whirled and glared at him. He was a very disagreeable looking young man with a fat, heavy face, pouchy eyes of faded blue, and stiff, close-cropped reddish hair that stuck straight up on his head like pig's bristles. "Looks like he'd been scrubbed," thought Connie as he returned glare for glare. The man stepped through the gate and thrust his face close to the boy's. "Vat you mean, eh?" "Are you Heinie Metzger?" "No, I am not Herr Metzger. Unt it pays you you shall be civil to your betters. You shall say Herr Metzger, oder Mister Metzger. Unt he has got not any time to be mit poys talking. Vat you vanted? If you got pusiness, talk mit me. I am Herr von Kuhlmann, confidential secretary to Herr Metzger." "I thought you were the barber," apologized the boy. "But anyhow, you won't do. I want to see Heinie Metzger, or 'hair' Metzger, or Mister Metzger, whichever way you want it. I want to sell him some logs." The other sneered: "Logs! He wants to sell it some logs! Unt how much logs you got—on de vagon a load, maybe? Ve dondt fool mit logs here, exceptingly ve get anyhow a trainload—unt Herr
- 62. Metzger dondt mention efen, less dan half a million feets. Vere iss your logs?" "I've got 'em in my pocket," answered the boy. "Come on, Dutchy, you're wasting my time. Trot along, now; and tell this Metzger there's a fellow out here that's got about eight or nine million feet of white pine to sell——" "Vite pine! Eight million feets! You krasy?" The man stooped and swung open the little gate. "Come along mit me, unt if you trying some foolishness mit Herr Metzger, you vish you vas some blace else to have stayed avay." He paused before a closed door, and drawing himself very erect, knocked gently. A full minute of silence, then from the interior came a rasping voice: "Who is it?" "It is I, sir, von Kuhlmann, at your service, unt I have mit me one small poy who say he has it some logs to sell." Again the voice rasped from behind the partition—a thin voice, yet, in it's thinness, somehow suggesting brutality: "Why should you come to me? Why don't you buy his logs and send him about his business?" Von Kuhlmann cleared his throat nervously: "He says it iss vite pine—eight million feets." "Show him in, you fool! What are you standing out there for?" Von Kuhlmann opened the door and motioned Connie to enter: "Herr Morgan," he announced, bowing low. "Connie Morgan," corrected the boy quickly, as he stepped toward the desk and offered his hand to the small, grey-haired man, with the enormous eyeglasses, and the fierce upturned mustache. "I suppose you are Heinie Metzger," he announced. The man glared at him, his thin nostrils a-quiver. Then, in a dry, cackling voice, bade Connie be seated, giving the extended hand the merest touch. Von Kuhlmann withdrew noiselessly, and closed the door. Metzger opened a drawer and drew forth a box of cigars which he opened, and extended toward the boy. Connie declined, and
- 63. replacing the cigars, the man drew from another drawer, a box of cigarettes, and when the boy declined those he leaned back in his chair and stared at Connie through his glasses, as one would examine a specimen at the zoo.
- 64. HE LEANED BACK IN HIS CHAIR AND STARED AT CONNIE THROUGH HIS GLASSES, AS ONE WOULD EXAMINE A SPECIMEN AT THE ZOO. "Young man, how do I know you have any logs?" the question rasped suddenly from between half-closed lips. "You don't know it," answered the boy. "That's why I came here to tell you." "White pine, you said," snapped the man, after a pause. "Eight million feet?" "Yes, white pine—at least eight million, maybe nine, and possibly more, if we continue to have good luck." "Where are these logs?" "On our landings on Dogfish River."
- 65. "Dogfish! You're the man from Alaska that bought the McClusky tract?" "I'm his partner." "Show a profit last year?" "No. But we only had one camp then, and this year we have two and each one has cut more than the one we had last year." "Who did you sell to, last year?" "Baker & Crosby." "Satisfied with their boom scale?" "Well, no, we weren't. That's why we thought we'd offer the cut to you this year, if you want it." "Want it! Of course we want it—that is, if the price is right." "What will you pay?" Herr Heinrich Metzger removed his glasses and dangled them by their wide black ribbon, as he glanced along his thin nose. "Sure you can deliver eight million feet?" he asked. "Yes, our foreman reports eight million already on the rollways, or in the woods all ready for the rollways. Yes, I can be sure of eight million." "We have a big contract," said Metzger, "that is just about eight million feet short of being filled. If we can be sure of getting the entire eight million in one lump, we could afford to pay more—much more, in fact, than we could if there was anything short of eight million feet." Connie nodded: "There will be eight million feet, at least," he repeated. "What will you pay?" For a long time the other was silent, then he spoke: "It is a large deal," he said. "There are many things to consider. Lest we make haste too quickly, I must have time to consider the transaction in all it's phases. Meet me here one week from today, at eleven o'clock, and I will give you a figure."
- 66. "A week is a long time," objected the boy, "And I am a long way from home." "Yes, yes, but there are others—associates of mine in the business with whom I must consult." The boy had risen to go, when the man stayed him with a motion. "Wait," he commanded. "Your name is——?" "Morgan—Connie Morgan." "To be sure—Connie Morgan." He picked the receiver from the hook of his desk phone. "Get me the Laddison Hotel," he commanded, and hung up the receiver. "The delay is of my own making, therefore I should pay for it. You will move your luggage into the Laddison Hotel, which is the best in the city, and shall remain there until our deal is closed, at the expense of this company ——" "But," objected the boy, "suppose the deal don't go through?" "The expense will be ours whether the deal goes through or not. You see, I am confident that we can deal." The telephone rang and Metzger made the arrangements, and again, turned to the boy. "Each evening at dinner time, you are to ask at the desk for an envelope. In the envelope you will receive a ticket to the theatre. This, also, at our expense." He smiled broadly. "You see, we treat our guests well. We do not wish them to become tired of our city, and we wish those with whom we have dealings to think well of us."
- 67. C CHAPTER XVIII CONNIE SELLS SOME LOGS ONNIE MORGAN left the office of the Syndicate, and once more upon the sidewalk, filled his lungs with the keen air. "It's going to work!" "It's going to work!" he repeated over and over to himself as he made his way toward the store where he had left his discarded clothing stuffed into a brand new brown leather suitcase. The boy returned unhesitatingly to the store, not by means of street signs, but by the simple process of back-trailing. Trained in observation, his eyes had unfailingly registered the landmarks in his brain—even when that brain had been too busy wondering what was to be the outcome of his conference with Heinie Metzger, to know that it was receiving impressions. It was this trained habit of observation that had enabled him to select his wearing apparel and the brown leather suitcase. He had simply studied the passengers on the train, and selecting a man who looked well dressed, had copied his apparel and even his suitcase. The clerk at the store directed him to his hotel, and a few minutes later he stood in the window of a thickly carpeted room, and stared out over the roofs of buildings. "It's—it's like the mountains," he mused, "stretching away, peak after peak, as far as you can see, and the streets are the canyons and the valleys—only this is more—lonesome." Tiring of looking out over the roofs, he put on his overcoat and spent the afternoon upon the streets, admiring the goods in the store windows and watching the people pass and
- 68. repass upon the sidewalks. It was a mild, sunshiny afternoon and the streets were thronged with ladies, the browns, and greys, and blacks, and whites of their furs making a pretty kaleidoscope of colour. At the Union Station he procured a folder and after looking up the departure of trains, returned to his hotel. He walked back at the time when factories, stores, and office buildings were disgorging their human flood onto the streets, and the boy gazed about him in wonder as he elbowed his way along the sidewalk. He smiled to himself. "I guess I don't know much about cities. In the store I was wondering where in the world they were going to find the people to buy all the stuff they had piled around, and when I was looking out the window, I wondered if there were enough people in the world to live in all the houses—and now I'm wondering if there is enough stuff to go around, and enough houses to hold 'em all." In this room Connie glanced at his watch, performed a hasty toilet, and hurried into the elevator. "Gee, it's most six!" he muttered, "I bet I'm late for supper." He was surprised to find men in the lobby, sitting about in chairs or talking in groups, as they had been doing when he left in the afternoon. "Maybe they don't have it 'til six," he thought, and seating himself in a leather chair, waited with his eyes on the clock. Six o'clock came, and when the hand reached five minutes after, he strolled to the desk. "Anything here for me?" he asked. The clerk handed him an envelope. "Heinie's making good," thought the boy, and then, trying not to look hungry, he turned to the clerk: "Cook hollered yet?" he asked casually. The man smiled: "Grill's down stairs," he announced, pointing to a marble stairway at the other end of the room. "I ain't too late, am I?" asked the boy. "Too late! Too late for what?" "For supper. It ain't over is it?" "The grill is open from eight in the morning until midnight," explained the man, and as Connie turned away, he called after him: "Oh, Mr. Morgan——"
- 69. "Connie Morgan," corrected the boy gravely. "Well, Connie, then—you are not to pay your checks, just sign them and the waiter will take care of them." "That suits me," smiled Connie, and as he crossed the tiled floor he muttered: "If they hadn't wasted so much space making the office and rooms so big, they wouldn't have to eat in the cellar. In Fairbanks or Skagway they'd have made four rooms out of that one of mine." At the door of the grill a man in black met him, conducted him through a maze of small tables at which men and women were eating, and drew out a chair at a table placed against the wall. Another man in black appeared, filled a glass with water from a fat bottle, and flipped a large piece of cardboard in front of him. Connie scanned the printed list with puckered brow. Way down toward the bottom he found three words he knew, they were tea, coffee, milk. The man in black was waiting at his side with a pencil poised above a small pad of paper. "Go ahead, if you want to write," said the boy, "I won't bother you any—I'm just trying to figure out what some of these names mean." "Waiting for your order, sir." "Don't 'sir' me. You mean you're the waiter?" "Yes, sir." "Well, I'm hungry, suppose you beat it out and bring me my supper." "What will it be, sir? I will take your order, sir." "Cut out that 'sir,' I told you. If these things they've got down here stand for grub, you'll just have to bring along the whole mess, and I'll pick out what I want." "Might I suggest, s——" "Look here," interrupted the boy, grasping the idea. "If any of these names stand for ham and eggs, or beefsteak, or potatoes, or bread and butter, you bring 'em along." The man actually smiled, and Connie felt relieved. "Whose place is that?" he indicated a chair across the table.
- 70. "Not reserved, sir." Connie glanced around the room: "You ain't very busy, now. Might as well bring your own grub along, and if you can ever remember to forget that 'sir' business, we'll get along all right—I'm lonesome." When the waiter returned with a tray loaded with good things to eat, Connie again indicated the empty chair. "Against the rules," whispered the waiter, remembering to leave off the "sir." Connie did justice to the meal and when he had finished, the man cleared the dishes away and set a plate before him upon which was a small bowl of water and a folded napkin. "What's that?" asked the boy, "I drink out of a glass." "Finger bowl," whispered the waiter. "Do you wish a dessert?" "Might take a chance on a piece of pie," answered the boy, "here take this along. I washed up-stairs." When the waiter presented his check, Connie took the pencil from his hand, signed it, and passed it back. "Very good. One moment, 'til I verify this at the desk." He hurried away, and returned a moment later. "Very good," he repeated. Connie handed him a dollar: "I'm going to be here a week," he said, "I want three good square meals a day, and it's up to you to see that I get 'em. No more lists of stuff I can't read. No more 'yes sir,' 'no sir,' 'very good sir.'" The waiter pocketed the dollar: "Thank you, s—. Very good. Always come to this table. I will reserve this place for you. You will find your chair tilted, so. I shall speak to the head waiter." Connie went directly to his room and putting on his cap and overcoat, returned to the lobby and again approached the man at the desk: "What time does the show start?" he asked. "Curtain rises at eight-fifteen." "Where is it?"
- 71. "Which one?" The boy reached for his envelope and handed the ticket to the clerk. "Metropolitan," informed the man, with a glance at the cardboard. "Marquette, between Third and Fourth." The boy glanced at the clock. It was a quarter past seven. Hurrying to Nicollet Avenue, he walked rapidly to the depot and accosted a uniformed official: "Is the seven-fifty-five for Brainard in yet?" "Naw, third gate to yer right, where them folks is waitin'." Connie turned up his collar, pulled his cap well down over his eyes, and strolled to the edge of the knot of people that crowded close about one of the iron gates. His eyes ran rapidly over each face in the crowd without encountering the object of his search, so he appropriated an inconspicuous seat on a nearby bench between a man who was engrossed in his newspaper, and an old woman who held a large bundle up on her lap, and whose feet were surrounded with other bundles and bags which she insisted upon counting every few minutes. Closely the boy scrutinized each new arrival as he joined the waiting group. Beyond the iron grill were long strings of lighted coaches to which were coupled engines that panted eagerly as they awaited the signal that would send them plunging away into the night with their burden of human freight. Other trains drew in, and Connie watched the greetings of relatives and friends, as they rushed to meet the inpouring stream of passengers. It seemed to the lonely boy that everybody in the world had someone waiting to welcome him but himself. He swallowed once or twice, smiled a trifle bitterly, and resumed his scrutiny of the faces. A man bawled a string of names, there was a sudden surging of the crowd which rapidly melted as its members were spewed out into the train shed. A few stragglers were still hurrying through the gate. The hands of a clock pointed to seven-fifty-four, and Connie stood up. As he did so, a man catapulted down the stairs, and rushed for the gate. He was a young man, clothed in the garb of a
- 72. woodsman, and as he passed him, Connie recognized the heavy face of von Kuhlmann. "That's just what I've been waiting for," he spoke aloud to himself, after the manner of those whose lives are cast in the solitudes. The man glanced up from his newspaper, and the old woman regarded him with a withering scowl, and gathered her bundles more closely about her feet. The play that evening was a musical comedy, and during the entire performance the boy sat enthralled by the music and the dazzling costumes. He was still in a daze when he reached his hotel, and once more stood in his room and gazed out over the city of twinkling lights. He turned from the window and surveyed his apartment, the thick carpet, the huge brass bed, the white bath tub in the tiny room adjoining, with its faucets for hot and cold water, the big mirror that reflected his image from head to foot—it seemed all of a piece with the play. Instantly the boy's imagination leaped the snow-locked miles and he saw the tiny cabin on Ten Bow, the nights on the snow-trail when he had curled up in his blankets with the coldly gleaming stars for his roof; he saw the rough camp on Dogfish and in a flash he was back in the room once more. "This ain't real living," he muttered, once more glancing about him, "It's—it's like the show— like living in a world of make-believe." Undressing, he drew the white tub nearly full of water. "I'm going to make it just as hot as I can stand it. Any one can take a bath in cold water." He wallowed in the tub for a long time, dried himself with a coarse towel, and rummaging in his new suitcase, produced a pair of pink pyjamas which had been highly recommended by the clerk at the big store. Very gingerly he donned the garments and for some moments stood and viewed himself in the mirror. "Gee," he muttered, "I'm sure glad Waseche Bill ain't here!" and switching out the light, he dived into bed.
- 73. VERY GINGERLY HE DONNED THE GARMENTS AND FOR SOME MOMENTS STOOD AND VIEWED HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR. Promptly at eleven o'clock, one week from the day he arrived in Minneapolis, Connie Morgan again presented himself at the office of the Syndicate. That he had been expected was evidenced by the fact that the girl at the switchboard did not ask him any questions. She greeted him by name, and touching a button beneath the edge of her desk summoned a boy who conducted him to Metzger's private office. The lumber magnate received him with an oily smile: "Promptly on the minute," he approved. "That's business. Sit here and we will see whether two business men are able to make their minds meet in a contract that will be profitable to both." The man
- 74. placed the points of his fingers together and sighted across them at Connie. "In the first place," he began, "the quantity of logs. You are sure you can deliver here at our mills at least eight million feet?" "Yes." "Because," continued the man, "owing to the conditions of a contract we have on hand, any less than eight million feet would be practically of no value to us whatever. That is, we have concluded to rely entirely upon your logs to fulfill our big contract, and should you fail us, the other contract would fail, and we would be at the expense of marketing the lumber elsewhere." "How much more than eight million feet could you use?" asked the boy. "As much more as you can deliver. Say, anything up to ten million." Connie nodded: "That's all right," he assented, "and the price?" "Ah, yes—the price." Metzger frowned thoughtfully. "What would you say to twenty dollars a thousand?" Connie shook his head. "I can get twenty-five anywhere." "Well, twenty-five?" Again the boy shook his head. "You told me you could pay liberally for the logs if you could be sure of getting them all in one lot," he reminded. "I can get twenty-five, anywhere, and by hunting out my market I can boost it to thirty." Metzger's frown deepened. "What is your price?" he asked. "Fifty dollars." "Fifty dollars!" The man rolled his eyes as if imploring high heaven to look down upon the extortion. "Ridiculous! Why the highest price ever paid was forty!" "We'll make a new record, then," answered the boy calmly. "Forty dollars—if you must have it," offered the man. "Forty dollars or nothing. And, even at forty, we must insist on inserting a protective clause in the contract."
- 75. "A protective clause?" "Yes, it is this way. If we assume to pay such an outrageous price for your logs, we must insist upon being protected in case you fail to deliver. Suppose, for instance, something prevented your delivering the logs, or part of them at our mills. Say, you could deliver only four or five million. We could not pay forty dollars for them, because our price is fixed with the understanding that we are to receive eight million." "That's fair enough," answered the boy; "we'll fix that. If we don't deliver eight million, then you take what we do deliver at twenty dollars." Metzger pondered. "And you will bind yourself to sell to us, and not to others, if you deliver a short cut?" "Sure we will." "Well, there is fairness in your offer. We will say, then, that we are to pay you forty dollars a thousand for any amount between eight and ten million, and only twenty dollars if you fail to deliver at least eight million." "I said fifty dollars," reminded the boy. "And I say we cannot pay fifty! It is unheard of! It is not to be thought of! It is exorbitant!" Connie arose and reached for his cap: "All right," he answered. "The deal's off." At the door he paused, "I liked your hotel, and the shows," he said, but Metzger cut him short: "The hotel and the shows!" he cried. "Bah! it is nothing! Come back here. You are an extortionist! You know you have us at your mercy, and you are gouging us! It is an outrage!" "See here, Metzger." The man flinched at the use of his name, shorn of any respectful Herr, or Mister. But he listened. "It's my business to get as much for those logs as I can get. There is nothing more to talk about. If you want 'em at fifty dollars, take 'em, if you don't—good-bye."
- 76. Muttering and grumbling, the man motioned him back to his seat. "We've got to have the logs," he whined, "but it is a hard bargain you drive. One does not look for such harshness in the young. I am disappointed. How would forty-five do?" "Fifty." "Well, fifty, then!" snapped Metzger, with a great show of anger. "But look here, if we go up ten dollars on our part, you come down ten dollars on your part! We will pay fifty dollars a thousand for all logs between eight and ten million—and ten dollars a thousand for all logs delivered short of eight million—and you bind yourself to sell us your entire drive on those terms." "That's a deal," answered the boy. "And our crew to work with yours at the sorting gap. When will you have the papers?" "Come back at two," growled the man, shortly. When Connie had gone, Metzger touched one of a row of buttons upon his desk, and von Kuhlmann entered, and standing at military attention, waited for his superior to speak. For a full minute Metzger kept him standing without deigning to notice him. Then, scribbling for a moment, he extended a paper toward his subordinate. "Have a contract drawn in conformity with these figures," he commanded. Von Kuhlmann glanced at the paper. "He agreed? As it iss so said here in America—he bite?" Metzger's thin lip writhed in a saturnine grin: "Yes, he bit. I strung him along, and he has an idea that he is a wonderful business man—to hold out against me for his price. Ha, little did he know that the top price interested me not at all! It was the lesser figure that I was after—and you see what it is, von Kuhlmann—ten dollars a thousand!" The other made a rapid mental calculation: "On the deal, at five million feet, we make, at the least, more than three hundred thousand!"
- 77. Metzger nodded: "Yes! That is business!" he glared into von Kuhlmann's face, "This deal is based on your report. If you have failed us——!" Von Kuhlmann shuddered: "I haff not fail. I haff been on Dogfish, and I haff mit mine eyes seen the logs. I haff talk mit Hurley, the boss. He iss mit us. Why should he not be mit us? We pay him well for the logs from which comes the paint off. He haff brand with the dissolving paint three million feets. Mineself I apply vater unt from the ends, I rub the paint, in each rollway, here and there, a log." Metzger pencilled some figures on a pad. "If you have failed us," he repeated, "we pay four hundred thousand dollars for eight million feet. Four hundred thousand! And we lose forty dollars a thousand on the whole eight million feet. Because we expect to pay this Hurley ten dollars a thousand for the three million feet branded with the dissolving paint—and also to pay ten dollars a thousand for the five million that will be delivered under the contract." The man paused and brought his fist down on the desk: "Ha, these Americans!" the thin lips twisted in sneering contempt, "they pride themselves upon their acumen—upon their business ability. They boast of being a nation of traders! They have pride of their great country lying helpless as a babe—a swine contentedly wallowing in its own fat, believing itself secure in its flimsy sty—little heeding the Butcher, who watches even as he whets his knife under the swine's very eyes, waiting—waiting—waiting only for—The Day!" At the words both Metzger and von Kuhlmann clicked their heels and came to a stiff military salute. Standing Metzger, continued: "Traders— business men—bah! It is the Germans who are the traders—the business men of the world. Into the very heart of their country we reach, and they do not know it. Lumber here, iron there, cotton, wool, railroads, banks—in their own country, and under protection of their own laws we have reached out our hands and have taken; until today Germany holds the death-grip upon American commerce, as some day she will hold the death-grip upon America's very existence. When the Butcher thrusts the knife the swine dies. And,
- 78. we, the supermen—the foremost in trade, in arms, in science, in art, in thought—we, the Germans, will that day come into our place in the sun!" "Der Tag!" pronounced von Kuhlmann, reverently, and with another clicking salute, he retired. At two o'clock Connie found himself once more in Metzger's office. The head of the Syndicate handed him a copy of a typed paper which the boy read carefully. Then, very carefully he read it again. "This seems to cover all the points. It suits me. You made two copies, did you?" Metzger nodded. "And, now we will sign?" he asked, picking up a pen from the desk, and touching a button. Von Kuhlmann appeared in the doorway. "Just witness these signatures," said Metzger. "If it's just the same to you, I saw Mike Gillum, one of your foremen, waiting out there; I would rather he witnessed the signing." "What's this? What do you mean?" "Nothing—only I know Mike Gillum. He's honest. I'd like him to witness." "Send Gillum in!" commanded Metzger, glaring at the boy, and when the Irishman appeared, he said brusquely. "Witness the signature to a contract for the sale of some logs." Arranging the papers he signed each copy with a flourish, and offered the pen to Connie. The boy smiled. "Why, I can't sign it," he said. "You see, I'm a minor. It wouldn't be legal. It wouldn't bind either one of us to anything. If the deal didn't suit me after the logs were here, I could claim that I had no right to make the contract, and the courts would uphold me. Or, if it didn't suit you, you could say 'It is a mere scrap of paper.'"
- 79. Metzger jerked the thick glasses from his nose and glared at the boy. "What now? You mean you have no authority to make this contract? You have been jesting? Making a fool of me—taking up my time—living at my expense—and all for nothing?" Connie laughed at the irate magnate: "Oh, no—not so bad as that. I have the authority to arrange the terms because I am a partner. It is only the legal part that interferes. Hurley, our walking boss has the power of attorney signed by my partner, who is not a minor. Hurley is authorized to sell logs and incur indebtedness for us. I will have to take those contracts up to our camp and get his signature. Then everything will be O.K." Metzger scowled: "Why did you not have this Hurley here?" "What, and leave a couple of hundred men idle in the woods? That would not be good business, would it? I'll take the contracts and have them signed and witnessed, and return yours by registered mail within two days." The head of the Syndicate shot a keen sidewise glance at the boy who was chatting with Mike Gillum, as he selected a heavy envelope, slipped the two copies of the contract into it, and passed it over. Connie placed the envelope in an inner pocket and, buttoning his coat tightly, bade Metzger good-bye, and passed out of the door. Alone in the office Metzger frowned at his desk, he drew quick, thin lined figures upon his blotting pad: "These Americans," he repeated contemptuously under his breath. "To send a boy to do business with me—a past master of business! The fools! The smug, self-satisfied, helpless fools—I know not whether to pity or to laugh! And, yet, this boy has a certain sort of shrewdness. I had relied, in case anything went wrong with our plan, upon voiding the contract in court. However, von Kuhlmann is clever. He has been this week on the field. His judgment is unerring. He is German!" Late that evening, clad once more in his woodsman's garb, Connie Morgan sat upon the plush cushion of a railway coach, with his new leather suitcase at his feet, and smiled at the friendly
- 80. twinkling lights of the farm-houses, as his train rushed northward into the night.
- 81. C CHAPTER XIX THE UNMASKING OF SLUE FOOT MAGEE ONNIE MORGAN did not leave the train at Dogfish Spur, but kept on to the county seat. In the morning he hunted up the sheriff, a bluff woodsman who, until his election to office, had operated as an independent stumpage contractor. "Did you arrest three I. W. W.'s in Mike Gillum's camp on Willow River a while back?" he asked, when the sheriff had offered him a chair in his office in the little court-house. "D'you mean those two-legged skunks that tried to brain Hurley when he was bringin' 'em in fer tryin' to burn out his camp?" "Those are the ones." "They're here. An' by the time they got here they know'd they hadn't be'n on no Sunday-school picnic, too. Doc swore out the warrants, an' I deputized Limber Bill Bradley, an' Blinky Hoy to go an' fetch 'em in. 'Treat 'em kind,' I tells 'em when they started. But, judgin' by looks when they got 'em out here, they didn't. You see, them boys was brought up rough. Limber Bill mixed it up with a bear one time, an' killed him with a four-inch jack-knife, an' Blinky Hoy— they say he eats buzz-saws fer breakfast. So here they be, an' here they'll stay 'til June court. They started hollerin' fer a p'liminary hearin', soon as they got here, but I know'd Hurley was strainin' hisself fer a good showin' this year, an' wouldn't want to stop an' come down to testify, so I worked a technicality on 'em to prevent the hearin'."
- 82. "A technicality?" "Yeh, I shuck my fist in under their nose an' told 'em if they demanded a hearing, they'd git it. But it would be helt up in Hurley's camp, an' Limber Bill, an' Blinky Hoy would chaperoon 'em up, an' provided they was enough left of 'em to bother with after the hearin' them same two would fetch 'em back. So they changed their minds about a hearin', and withdraw'd the demand." Connie laughed: "I'm Hurley's clerk, and I just dropped down to tell you that if those fellows should happen to ask you how you got wind of where they were hiding, you might tell them that Slue Foot Magee tipped them off." "If they'd happen to ask!" exclaimed the sheriff. "They've b'en tryin' every which way they know'd how to horn it out of me, ever since they got out here. What about Slue Foot? I never did trust that bird—never got nothin' on him—but always livin' in hopes." "I happen to know that Slue Foot is an I. W. W., and if these fellows think he doubled-crossed them, they might loosen up with some interesting dope, just to even things up. You see, it was Slue Foot who advised them to go to Willow River." "O-ho, so that's it!" grinned the sheriff. "Well, mebbe, now they'll find that they kin pump me a little after all." "And while I'm here I may as well swear out a couple of more warrants, too. You are a friend of Hurley's, and you want to see him make good." "You bet yer life I do! There's a man! He's played in hard luck all his life, an' if he's got a chanct to make good—I'm for him." "Then hold off serving these warrants 'til just before the break- up. When the thaw comes, you hurry up to Hurley's camp, and nab Slue Foot." The sheriff nodded, and Connie continued: "First I want him arrested for conspiring with the Syndicate in the theft of thirty- four thousand dollars' worth of logs during April and May of last year." "With the Syndicate—stealin' logs!"
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