12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 14

Date: 01/14/2013
Instrument: Tenor Saxophone
Location: Home studio (Clinton, WA on Whidbey Island)

Notes:

My piece today uses no extended techniques, but focuses instead on traditional pitches and a repetitive rhythm in a cycle of 5 beats.

I centered this improvisation around seven interval sets: Minor 9th, Octave, Major 7th, Minor 7th, Major 6th, Minor 6th, and the Perfect 5th. I attempted to keep the tempo steady throughout, and use a repetitive rhythm of a 5 note grouping with the following shape: down, up, down, up, up. I was careful to try and establish a definite mood with all of the above possible intervals, and in order to aid this I limited myself to select specific pitches. My range expands chromatically from a middle octave concert Bb to a high octave Db.

Though this piece is very repetitive, I made an effort to create specific events.. For example, I played the “Octave” interval of a concert Db only after having played either one the two dissonant intervals: Major 7th or a Minor 9th. At two points I also move up a whole step, then down a half step before beginning a wide interval. This was to try and punctuate the distance in the other intervals played throughout the piece. Also, there are only a handful of times I play the Perfect 5th interval, and after doing so I immediately move down a half step and play a minor 6th interval. Throughout this improvisation I gave unequal weight to specific intervals and pitches. There are some intervals and pitches that are played only once or twice, where others are repeated many times