Online Free-improv Collaboration

Recently inspired ( http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/zorn-16096.html ) I have decided to compose/organize a piece of music for a group of online performers.

Basically, the idea (for now) is that I will create some sort of graphic score and a percussive electronic backing track and then distribute this to whoever is participating. The performers will then record themselves as they follow the score, listening to the provided track to provide precise cues. The performers will then send their tracks back to myself and I will mix them together. The general style here is jazzy/noisy free improv.

What I need now, is performers!

I would like to tailor the score, at least somewhat to the instrumentation that will be available to me. So, post here if you want to play and you have some means of making a decent recording of yourself. For now, I'll take anyone who wants to play, but if there is some overwhelming response to this, I might decide to select a certain instrumentation (we'll just see what comes in)

SO.. if you are interested, post here with whatever instrument you play. It will be a very free improv.. so there won't be much time taken by this project for practice or whatever.

Thanks

I'm in.

...

Cody, you're embarking into wild and wonderful waters. There's A LOT you can do with "composing" improvisations and steering and shaping the piece - you can convey a lot of information with the score... I think there's a couple threads around discussing it, I'll try and dig up any relevant or insightful comments. ;)

This will be interesting. :)

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Threads of relevance:

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/limitations-staff-notation-system-11475.html

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/music-notation-modernization-association-4657.html

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/machine2-7872.html (piece of mine, incorporating graphical elements in a standard-notational environment)

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/symphony-1498-line-woooooow-14710-3.html (LOLtastic, but also got into some serious discussion and narrow-minded flailing - dig the interaction between Me and DEV.)

Great! thanks..

This project is quite exciting to me

Is there noone else?

This project can't work without participants.

I'd be in, but I don't know anything about jazz performance.

I can improvise, but not in that style yet.

I'd be in, but I don't know anything about jazz performance.

I can improvise, but not in that style yet.

ok.. I don't really care about style that much as long as you feel like you could follow a graphic score and be a little noisy about it.

ALSO>>>

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY

@ Voce - the style only requires a willingness to let yourself be free in playing. No one can say it's right or wrong, good or bad - as long as you're honest about it.

:thumbsup:

I'm in on the euphonium. Seems like an very interesting project.

great!

If Voce is in (we want you to play!!), and Ferk is willing to play (I think he said he would) then this would be enough performers, albeit a strange ensemble. So.. I've got:

Trombone (robinjessome)

Euph (Brainstar)

Bass (Ferk.. hopefully)

Viola (Voce MAYBE)

Guitar (Myself)

I'll sit on it for another day or two to see if anyone else wants in (a sax would be nice!) and then get to drawing out the score.

I've got written down the form and the basic Ideas.. I just need to convert it to some sort of score format and assign the solos.

Does anyone involved so far really WANT a solo, or does anyone NOT want a solo?

Thanks

Cody

Yeah, I'll do it (the improv itself, I mean. I don't care whether or not I have a solo.) :X

fantastic

i want to try but there's already one guitarist..

i want to try but there's already one guitarist..

Didn't Ornette roll with two guitarists? And certainly Miles did.

Oh yeah, man, I'm down :) I'd do a solo, but don't expect any jazz. I'm like Voce there -- never could wrap my head around jazz.

two guitars is fine by me :)

Didn't Ornette roll with two guitarists? And certainly Miles did.

Oh yeah, man, I'm down :) I'd do a solo, but don't expect any jazz. I'm like Voce there -- never could wrap my head around jazz.

I don't know about ornette's guitars but he did have two basses on his Pulitzer winning record.

good! then i'm in. give us the score/tempo/tracks etc whenever it is ready.

I'll sit on it for another day or two to see if anyone else wants in (a sax would be nice!) and then get to drawing out the score.

How about the next best thing? A clarinet :) I'll have to record everything on my (horribly crappy) phone recorder though. Unless I can beg for my mic back from my mother...

I'm a percussionist....I'd be down with doing this, most likely.

Sweet.. this is great!

OK.. I have plans to send the score out on the 10th of June. I'll probably post it here and then PM everyone that is interested.

Jamie: Would you rather play some sort of mallet instrument, or something like aux perc or drumkit??

I would love to do it! Especially while I'm home and I have my good mic. I have access to:

marimba (5 oct)

vibraphone

xylophone

snare drum

timpani

drumset

accessories (tamb, tri, etc)

So are you gonna make a graphic score? Just a bunch of shapes and squigglies that we are supposed to interpret? Are you going to have us all do it separately and mash it together or would you like to say, start with one person and send that audio to the next person to build on in conjunction with the provided score?

For me, feel free to include soprano/descant recorder. I have a pretty wide range on it and can do a variety of things. Good for soloing. If you want a trumpet, I could do that. If you want a tuba to complement the trombone and euphonium, I could do that. If you want a horn for the hell of it, I can do that also. I'm also comfortable on Bb clarinet and alto clarinet, and if you REALLY want a sax I could fill in if you don't get a proper sax player. My sax is crap, but I can do SOME stuff with it... just can't play low or extra high. Hell, if you want bassoon I could noodle on that - it'd probably be good for a groovin' ostinato. Whatever you want, man, take your pick or mix and match. If you don't like it, you can throw it out in the end. :thumbsup:

cool...

basically the score I'll be sending out is a bunch of lines and squiggles mixed with a few short phrases and a couple of sets of pitches to pick from at a certain time.

I am going to send it out to everyone with a click track at the same time and then mash them all together when they come back. In the future I might like to do one where each person adds their part.. but for now this is quicker and easier to do.

The score will have a few precise time indications so that it all pretty much goes together.

Also.. the click track will not be clicking the whole time.. It will be there to indicate a couple of section changes that need to be very precise (everyone playing a unison line.. basically you'll get 'click' 'click' PLAY'.. metronome through the phrase and then nothing again) and a section at the end where everyone starts playing in rhythm.

For the most part, unless you have a solo, it will be pretty clear (I HOPE) what you are supposed to play although some things will be left up to the performer (tempo, register, articulation etc.) However there are two sections labled FREAKOUT where the performers should just go crazy- do whatever you want.

There will be three solos which I have not yet assigned. The solos are completely free. There will be no click track during the solos and everyone else will be playing along more quietly.

EnigmusJ4: play whatever you like :) recorder would be fine by me (and I might give you a solo if you like) feel free to send in more than one take if you want on different instruments and I might use it.

For now, I am thinking the more the better, but when it comes to mixing, I might be more selective about what you hear when. I'll just have to see what I get. I've never done ANYTHING like this before, and i really don't know what to expect. As far as I am concerned, the best I can hope for is a decent sized group of people that are willing to try it out... which I think I've got.

Cody

Having a metronome click the whole way through would be extra nice... at least... I think so. Maybe have the unison lines in MIDI on the click track so we can line up with it. Free improv is free enough... having 10 people all with completely different beats and tempos is just madness. That is, unless you want it to sound like disorganised Ligeti. :happy:

That is, unless you want it to sound like disorganised Ligeti. :happy:

lawl Ligeti is anything but disorganized.

:X