12 Moons solo saxophone project

Date: 01/04/2013
Location: Home studio (Clinton, WA)
Instrument: tenor saxophone

Notes:

I began the day by working on a new composition for a small, six piece ensemble to be performed at an upcoming Racer Session (visit www.racersessions.com) later in January. In that composition I wrote a simple, 3 note theme which I will then re-interpret for each member of the ensemble. In this way I will have 6 pieces composed specifically for these ensemble members, but I still retain compositional cohesion overall by using using the 3 pitches as the fulcrum of all the melodic material.

My solo piece today was inspired by the above work. This morning I was fascinated by a particular multiphonic, which you will hear throughout this piece. In tandem with the “3 note” concept above, I used 3 different starting points on the instrument to create descending and fluttering chromatic gestures. I tried to stagger my level of activity in these descending gestures with the use of silence and this single multiphonic chord.