12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 147

Date: 05/27/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

In my improvisation today I worked with the theme of tone color exploration within a specific mutliphonic. I used a single fingering as the primary point of departure and focused on an increase in volume to allow internal pitch clusters to create their own sound universes. I approached this improvisation by focusing on the counterpoint created by tones coming in and out of the sound spectrum, and as a result ecurring themes immediately took shape. For example, a common occurrence was the Concert C in the upper register, which my embouchure seemed drawn to at the end of an increase in volume. It seemed that the peak wanted to gravitate not towards the upper tones but towards this comparatively lower pitch. From this Concert C I would then create fingering cycles of semi tones around this pitch.

As the improvisation evolved, I also began incorperating tongue articulations that would abruptly end the chord. I would then immediately either begin the chord again or chose new tones to bring out, the end result creating a “push and pull” texture. The single, primary fingering used was as follows:

(Left Hand) B-A keys, Octave Low Bb, Palm D // (Right Hand) F key. In tandem with this fingering I also cycled the follow fingerings: F, E and F#, while trying to simultaneously maintain some harmonic shape in the upper register.

-Neil

The image “The Meeting Place” accompanying today’s post by Conrad Marca-Relli (1982).