12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 116

Date: 04/26/2013

Instrument: Soprano Saxophone

Location: Mountain cabin near Index, WA

Notes:

My wife and I spent the day at our cabin near the face of Mount Index, tucked in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. The cabin is only 10 x 12 feet, and was built with the help of my friends a few years ago. With the return of Spring I’ve been looking forward to going back for months now. The road is often impassable during Winter, and this was our first trip back up this year and my first time recording in this space. In the right corner of the cabin is a small wood stove, and I recorded my improvisation today in front of the fire.

In this improvisation I aimed to capture the joy of this amazing day and the lightness of mood we carried with us. During the recording I was very aware of my environment. The air was warm and mild, my wife was scooping up leaves a few yards away, and the murmur of the distant Skykomish River could be heard. Through this light hearted spirit I created a blues-inflected gesture around a central melody: E–A–G–G. I would occasionally incorporate the major third (G#) against the G as well. As the piece progressed I began to expand the original rhythmic and melodic shape by creating faster cycles. This improvisation also uses as sharper tuning made by pushing the mouthpiece much further on.

The basic fingering was as follows:

Concert E. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys, Low C

Concert A (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys, Low C, Side Bb

Concert G (Left Hand) B-G keys, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys, Low C, Side Bb

Concert E. (Left Hand) B-A-G keys, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E-D keys, Low C

-Neil

The painting “Lamp” by Philip Guston (1979)