12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 190

Date: 07/08/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

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

Notes:

In my practicing today, I focused on creating harmony with multiple chords that gave me a gut reaction. I tried to reflect on how the chords that affected me aligned with my mood. For the past several days I’ve been trapped in melancholy, but I also feel myself now emerging from this cycle. What brought either end of this on I couldn’t say, but I feel that this improvisation is a reflection of my internal multi-day experience with this, and now the beginnings of my relief. I feel joy and sorrow intertwined in this piece. The chord progressions used on this improvisation were not notated down, but were slowly arrived at in the old fashioned song writing way of creating sound to fit a moment.

I hear this improvisation as having three chord actions. Each of those written below can be heard at various points in the improvisation, but I’ve also included a notation as to where they can be easily found (for reference sake).

Chord action 1 (this chord progression opens the improvisation)

(Left Hand) Fork F, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-D keys, Low C

(Left Hand) Fork F, C key, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F# key, Low C

Chord action 2 (the chord progression first appears at 1:45 in the slow, and quiet middle section)

(Left Hand) Fork F, C key, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E keys, Low C

(Left Hand) Fork F, C key, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F key, Low C

Chord action 3 (this chord progression closes the improvisation)

(Left Hand) Fork F, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F key, Low C

(Left Hand) Fork F, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) F-E keys, Low C

-Neil

The image “National Velvet” accompanying today’s post by Andy Warhol (1963)