Brief Reading Notes

by riegera

Nachmanovitch’s idea of resonance really struck me as well. The discussion of those things in life that just feel “right” or resound with one’s inner truth was fascinating. People in the arts and sciences have been yearning to understand this principle. Although this is a bit off track, what came to mind when reading was a research recently conducted to assess why Grammy award winning singer Adele’s song, “Someone Like You” infallibly reduced listeners to tears. While this song is not a tear-jerker for me, others, while listening are said to feel several “right” moments in the song that are insatiably moving.

The Wall Street Journal reported that when surveying those who were familiar with the song: “Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an “appoggiatura” An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. “This generates tension in the listener,” said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. “When the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good.”

It is fascinating to see this existential/philosophical analysis of the “right” that relays an inner truth analyzed in this manner. It is hard to know whether the Adele song accidentally employs these techniques or purposely utilizes these sonically dissonant tones to evoke emotion in the listener. Either way, this would be a fascinating phenomena to research further and I look forward to reading more into Nachmanovitch’s theories.

Retake Musical Fiasco

by riegera

Projects that are a bit rough from the start truly benefit from giving it a few retries while implementing helpful changes and adaptations. The first time I tried my musical fiasco exercise during out of our classroom, I had a group of too many people who were hyped up on pre-finals snacks and the exercise was difficult to conduct. Still, I learnt many useful things from this round that I was able to implement into my second out-of-classroom try. This time I had a digital catalogue of various instrument sounds in the form of a whole browser full of youtube sound clips. Surprisingly the “intro to musical instrument” videos aimed at toddlers were super inspiring as people quickly selected their choice of instrument. 

Lindsay’s comment on my last post regarding this exercise suggested that this could be a good exercise for musicians. Musicians who are keen in the world of free-styling and musical improvisation would do a variation of this exercise during jam sessions, however this could be a very helpful exercise for the more classically trained musician who is not as accustomed to spontaneous musical collaboration. I would love to try this and see if it could be effective. 

Overall the exercise was great. It was conducted with 4 of my close friends and therefore everyone was very comfortable in that everyone knew each other. I did not completely realize the way in which one’s comfort level within a group impacted the game. Therefore if I were to perform this exercise in a different setting, with individuals who were less familiar, I would definitely do an improv warm-up beforehand. The way in which the exercise gets “band members” to open up, and collaborate as a team can be immensley helpful in numrous environments. 

 

 

 

Musical Fiasco

by riegera

Last week I presented my project. I wanted to work on something that combined a fun exercise with an innovative way to practice collaboration. Collaboration is one of the words we are hearing more and more to date as the popularity of “team style” working groups and open office spaces increase. As beneficial as collaboration can be, it creates a dynamic of team reliance. It was my goal that the exercise would evaluates our ability as a group to collaborate using musical improvisation as a fun, melodic gage. 

I began the exercise by selecting an instrument, I chose the saxophone and quickly emitted a slightly brassy pitch through pursed lips in attempt to reproduce the sound of the instrument. Once my melody was solidified, others joined. The exercise continued until the whole class was performing in a semi circle – creating a unique but harmonious sonic palate. I was rather impressed for the first try it sounded pretty decent.

Upon repeating the exercise, I began to notice a trend: whoever began the exercise seemed to be the designated, “lead musician” so I tweaked the exercise slightly in order to “level the playing field”. It was suggested that the leader should become a conductor once two or more people joined, but it was difficult for our group to approach the stage before having thought of an instrument to select as well as a riff that would actually fit the melody line. 

A few participants mentioned that selecting and reproducing an instrument sound was one of the more difficult parts of the exercise. The exercise would probably be helped by reviewing a selection of instruments and tones before the exercise begins. Technically, participants could choose their instrument beforehand; while this does remove some of the improvisational components, it can make the exercise easier. Smaller group sizes (e.g. 4 – 5) would be another beneficial change. A handful of participants would perform, allowing the rest of the participants to be audience members until the next group to take the stage. Overall I was thrilled with the outcome and along with these additional changes, I feel that it could be an exciting team-building exercise. 

 

Improvisation Portrayed Across Mediums

by riegera

 

In class last week, we discussed the readings. The question posed to our class challenged us to think about the way in which education, although invaluable can stunt one’s growth to some extent. One of my fellow classmates brought up the topic of the stifling of creativity in music education. Having been in a music conservatory for a stint around age 5 I could relate to this. A composer at heart I was suddenly expected to play nothing but the notes on the page. I feel that although the training was beneficial, had our family not moved leaving me “music-instructor-less” and free to strike up any chord I pleased, I would not have the connection with the piano as a form of expression in the way I do today. Although I still have much to learn about stage improv, I comprehend the freedom and intrigue of it through my own experience as a musical improvisor. The video below is a soundbite of the old Hollywood musician and socialite Artie Shaw improvising in Jazz cadence on the clarinet. Although I am very familiar with his more classical works, his improvisational pieces are undeniably brilliant and stand out from his other works. It is fascinating to see improv portrayed across mediums.

 

 

Improv Everywhere

by riegera

The credit for the idea behind this post goes to Paul as well as to our latest class session. Paul blogged a post a little while ago about a comedy improv group that takes it to the streets. The concept was hilarious albeit familiar. Although the clip we viewed was of an “impromptu musical” which we decided was about 50% improv, it sparked my memory. Several years ago I heard a public radio broadcast about an improv group that randomly selected a “lonely looking fella in a bar”, bestowed the name “Ted” upon him, showered “Ted” with gifts and “inside jokes from the college days” and threw him a birthday party. I’d been looking for the name of this group ever since and did not find it until class last night. It was the same group! Below you can see a clip of how the group begins with a setting and a common goal and improv within the created scenario.

 

Belated Halloween Post

by riegera

Reading through our class blog, I became slightly green eyed about the Halloween posts and although Halloween has come and gone, I still wanted to blog about it. If you asked, I could list off the names of five or more friends who declare Halloween to be their favourite holiday. Growing up in Europe, Halloween was not nearly as popular as it is here in the United States.

Sure there was the whole “All Hallows Eve” deal. Some kid on the block would initiate a party with sparkling cider, Jaffa Cakes, number biscuits, Party Rings and candied apples and you’d come dressed in something homemade that was sure to be random or etherial (example: I was a woodland fairy, a sheep, autumn, a greek muse, a snowflake throughout the years…you get the picture). Despite the tasty snacks and fun crafting sessions, I never quite understood the neon-colored candy crazed Halloween celebration particular to the United States…until I moved.

Halloween in the US seems to be reserved as the single day in a year where complete and utter spontaneity and randomness are festive for the occasion. People of all ages gather together to indulge in the fun of being in a costume and blabbering nonsensically in “character”. Even though life in general is an improvisation, you are bound by social order and public morale. Acting the way one would on a Halloween night on any other day of the year would probably result in being cited as a “public nuisance”. Therefore, I consider Halloween a sort of improv holiday; a chance to let go and act out.

 

Television “Improv”

by riegera

True, “improv” in itself should be something essentially free without a pre-planned structure or reference frame. This creates a magical candid, and natural effect. When you watch an improv show, you don’t just see a perfectly rehearsed actor, rather an improvisor grappling with being in the scene while creating it – much like real life.

This is the reason that many “slice of life” television shows have adopted this as a core scene-delivery method over the old fashioned script.  BBC’s family sitcom ‘Outnumbered’ is one that employs improv between scripted scenes. To be more specific, they let the kids improvise while the (often surprised) adults are forced to respond accordingly.  The scene below from Outnumbered featuring an improvised conversation initiated by little “Karen” (actress Ramona Marquez) is a good example of this.

 

Improv and The Quest For “Funniness”

by riegera

Improv, what is it anyway? According to “Truth In Comedy” writers Charna Halpern and Del Close, improv is not a garnish, not a scene manufacturing tool but rather an on-stage creativity free-for-all. I have certainly gone to some of these shows that frequent the low lit stages of English suburbs or the bustling atmosphere of the Hollywood Improv and have found them to be entertaining without fail. The thrill of seeing an actor approach the stage with an unwritten script is something that draws in an audience. These performances are often charismatically over the top and brimming with humor, but does that make improvisation funny? Isn’t that one of the goals in the life of the improviser to bring laughter and glee to the captive audience? How can the improviser know what is funny ahead of time? After all, the act doesn’t come from a room with five genius writers around a roundtable editing, comparing and testing out hopefully comedic sequences. Still, this fact could come at an advantage for the improviser. “Why do sitcoms have those canned laughter tracks” I remember asking a director friend once, He answered “In case nobody laughs, it won’t be a total flop”. Whether this was the truth or merely in jest, the advantage that improvisers have is the ability to feel the audience in the moment. They hold the power to capture the “humor-zones” of each audience and take it all the way. Improvisers don’t have a set train track so can derail at whim to greater and more hilarious destinations.