Re: [Harp-L] New Improvisations; please let me know what you think!



Hi Sam
thank you I enjoyed that as I did, the other offerings to harpL. Because I put forth ideas does not mean that I am not enjoying what you are doing.


The melody for a moment reminded me of the tune "My favorite things' in one part.

I play 43 instruments (badly) and harmonicas well and I can safely say that the diatonic harmonica is one of the most expressive and difficult instruments to play well, let alone master.

J.S. Bach, was a musical revolutionary. what he did to music lets us have all the music forms we enjoy today. You couldn't look to a better source for inspiration.

I daydream the Bach household at times. I hear the romantic music of C.P.E. Bach floating downstairs and Papa (J.S.) Bach shouting up stairs "Call that Music!".

I have found that almost any treatment can be given to the works of J.S. Bach. Like his 13th invention takes a Latin feel nicely.

My father was the leader with Denmark's Radio orchestra. I remember what a shock it was when I first found that with out the music there to play, a virtuoso like my father was not able to make a meaningful sound. My Mother (Mary Priestley), who was a second fiddle with Denmark's Radio orchestra and later invented Analytical Music Therapy, had to work really hard to develop the ability to improvise. Even when she managed to break her musical training enough to improvise, said that she could never take that into working with-in a genre, like Jazz or Blues, that to do that was far too hard.

We are so ingrained with the modern idea of the singer/songwriter that we forget that the primary function of even the worlds finest musician is to interpret the composers music in the way the conductor feels it.

I suspect that what you are doing has possibly more to do with flexing your compositional sense rather that your musicianship.

Keep flexing. I am dumbfounded at how far harmonica playing has come in my life time, ca 60 years.

Have you heard the playing of Roland Van Stratten, I can recommend it and his first LP, Coral Love Dance, was I think the title.

Ya I love the idea that we don't all have to be a second class 'Little Walter' but rather we can be a first class our selves.

ATB - Yours David

On 12/09/2011 14:46, Sam Friedman wrote:
All points noted, and anything I disagree with I still respect (although, based on Joseph Blow's comment, he wouldn't make a very constructive teacher). I have a lot of tone work to do still, although at least in the "006" improvisation (that I think you speak of), those notes that I have strong somewhat out of tune warbles on are purposeful wrenching of the notes for effect. An ability to create an even tone across the instrument is important even if that is not the desired result, as is being able to find all possible ways to manipulate that tone to varying degrees purposefully. However I think a lot of people are so used to the idea of "all notes must be same" that when they hear something that is manipulated for the sake of it, their instinct sometimes is to jump out and claim foul-play(ing) rather than let themselves just listen to the sound itself and get a feel for that as a creation in itself. Because the context that people play this instrument in is either strictly "classical" or strictly "jazz" or strictly "blues", when something is played that confuses the genre-senses and blends things, there can be an urge to apply certain expectations of one genre to aspects of another; I personally don't like necessarily improvising in genres. In a rock context, the tone is about incredible distortion. In blues, bending notes. In classical, a pure evenness. So what if a piece is composed that has elements of all? A bach-inspired tone-wrenching exploration? Let yourself hear things on their own outside of preconceived notions of genre and "supposed-to's" before applying your developed genre-tonal bias. All mentioned musical development ideas I will look into, and appreciate the respectful well-intentioned criticism (David).

For David specifically, here is a more succinct theme-building improvisation, this one you may prefer the experience of, let me know what you think.

http://sammyasher.bandcamp.com/track/005


Sam



For a more succinct theme-building improvisation, this one you may prefer the experience of, let me know what you think (its short),


http://sammyasher.bandcamp.com/track/005


Sam




On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 9:20 AM, David Priestley ( for harp-L) <dmharpman@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmharpman@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:


Hi I think that the term "utterly Destroyed" overstates the case with a bluntness that goes beyond brusque. That said there is some tone balancing work that could be employed to good effect.

    Whilst I enjoyed the over all listen, I was at times left
    wondering why? Though not everything needs a purpose.

    If you are just doing this for yourself, as in a 'workout', then
    what ever you want and what ever you do is your ball game.
     There is no doubting that you can get about the instrument.

     If you are doing this with the idea of taking the listener on a
    journey you may do better to start with a reasonable simple and
    strong theme from which you then move, extend, embellish and
    eventually return. Keep in mind that more often than not folks put
    music on to alter their mood, to kick back and relax, to lighten
    their load.  If the structure is so complicated  right from the
    get go, with constant streams of quick flourishes  it will tend to
    misplace the listening ear. By which I mean that all the the
    flashy movement will hide the thematic statement  and it may well
    end up just getting the listener wound up and irritated.

    You may like to take this idea on board.
    That you try and develop the use of some of the ideas in the
    abstract modern art moment of the  late 19th and mid 20th century.
    In particular the style known as 'pointillism'  or to quote Wickky:

    *Punctualism* (commonly also called "pointillism" or "point
    music") is a style of musical composition prevalent in Europe
    between 1949 and 1955 "whose structures are predominantly effected
    from tone to tone, without superordinate formal conceptions coming
    to bear" (Essl 1989, 93). In simpler terms: "music that consists
    of separately formed particles—however complexly these may be
    composed—[is called] *punctual* music, as opposed to linear, or
    group-formed, or mass-formed music" (Stockhausen 1998, 452). This
    was accomplished by assigning to each note in a composition values
    drawn from scales of pitch
    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_%28music%29>, duration
    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duration_%28music%29>, dynamics
    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_%28music%29>, and attack
    characteristics
    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulation_%28music%29>, resulting
    in a "stronger individualizing of separate tones" (Frisius 1994).
    Another important factor was maintaining discrete values in all
    parameters of the music. Punctual dynamics, for example

        mean that all dynamic degrees are fixed; one point will be
        linked directly to another on the chosen scale, without any
        intervening transition or gesture. Line-dynamics, on the other
        hand, involve the transitions from one given amplitude to
        another: crescendo, decrescendo and their combinations. This
        second category can be defined as a dynamic glissando,
        comparable to glissandi of pitch and of tempi (accelerando,
        ritardando). (Boulez 1971, 60) end quote.

        Personally I find that much of this sort of thing should be
        done privately and not inflicted upon an audience. I also feel
        that there is a lot of guff spouted in the name of art. That
        said I am honestly trying to point you in directions that you
        may be able to make good ground on. To the idea of pointillism
        I would also add the concept of fractals, which you may find a
        useful idea, as far as a search for structure with-in a mass
        of points of sound.

        You will need to play ranges of notes over and over to ensure
        that they all have the same qualities about them. You have to
        have an acoustic base line,  i.e. a standard point of sound
        from which you make an alteration, in order to make that point
        of sound significant as opposed to  regular. It's as though
        your regular audio points take the place that silence would take.

        I would make sure that you do your best to record such work
        with a view to 3d/ surround sound reproduction. Now some would
        say that to use surround sound and pitch filters to alter the
        energy / dynamic and 3d placement in a mix is cheating. To
        which I would only ask are you perusing art or indulging in
        some playground competition.

        Feel free to utterly disregard all that I've said, I try not
        to take my self too seriously and when all is said and done
        these are nothing more than musings, which are  meant with a
        good intent.

Wishing you ATB -yours David


On 11/09/2011 21:36, Joseph Blow wrote:
Well, since you asked: Re: #1 Some fantastically great stuff that is utterly destroyed by the presence of sour notes. Maybe you're not using the right tool for the job.


Best of luck...



To all you harmoni-folks out there, I'd really appreciate if you listened through at least a few of these tracks and gave me some feedback... I believe for these recordings I am mostly using a C Golden Melody (diatonic)...


http://sammyasher.bandcamp.com/album/crowell-improvisations-on-9-6-2011


Thanks for listening!

Sam

    Sam Friedman
    sammyasher.bandcamp.com  <http://sammyasher.bandcamp.com>

-

    D Priestley AKA Dr Midnight.
    England's first  harmonica Guru.
    Please send some reply, so I know you got this E-mail.
    Do feel free get in touch.
    Harmonica lessons POA,(10 = 20% discount,&  20 = 25% discount).

    I teach from: 51 Barkston Gdns, the basement flat&  On-Line,
    Email me or call me to book lessons or get more info.

    E-mail=dmharpman@xxxxxxxxx  <mailto:dmharpman@xxxxxxxxx>
    Website=http://www.cognitionarts.com/
    Phone=(44) 0207 373 0295



-- D Priestley AKA Dr Midnight. England's first harmonica Guru. Please send some reply, so I know you got this E-mail. Do feel free get in touch. Harmonica lessons POA,(10 = 20% discount,& 20 = 25% discount).

I teach from: 51 Barkston Gdns, the basement flat&  On-Line,
Email me or call me to book lessons or get more info.

E-mail= dmharpman@xxxxxxxxx
Website= http://www.cognitionarts.com/
Phone=(44) 0207 373 0295




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