12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 259
Date: 09/16/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
In a rehearsal yesterday with Chris Icasiano for our duo Bad Luck, we worked on melodic material we’ve constructed that can only be played by the two of us. This is an artistic process we’ve cultivated over several years together now. Our compositional process is reliant on each other for execution, with passages that are specifically written for textural or conceptual figures unique to our playing, usually via composing based on each others interests in solo work. This concept bled into my 12 Moons improvisation today.
For the past several days I’ve also been very discouraged by my sound. I had a lip blister which made it difficult to play and even more difficult to form my regular embouchure. The embouchure changes I needed to make in order to play did open up some new sound fields for me, but today my mouth is thankfully feeling just about back to normal. The reed I stumbled on this morning was really optimal for this kind of improvisation. There are colors and textures in this piece that aligned perfectly with the physical conditions in my body and horn today. In this way, from yesterday’s rehearsal and more confidence in my sound, my mind was free to explore more complicated figures that are unique to my own sound interests.
In this piece I used a recurring 5/8 phrase with the beaming of 2-3. Using odd metered phrasing is a very common approach for me in solo playing. I used 2 Figures during this improvisation, and each figure had two fingering systems. I divided Figure 1 up in my mind as having three tiers. Tier 1 is the lower register melody (this opens the improvisation). Tier 2 is a mid register counter melody added to the bottom (this begins to enter at :27). Tier 3 is in the upper register, which is added to the bottom and middle melodies. This begins to enter at 2:22. Each of these Tiers was played by adjusting my air flow and embouchure pressure while maintaining the fingering and rhythmic cycle.
At 3:10 I make an abrupt harmonic change and Figure 2 enters. There is also a slight, momentary pause before it begins. I maintained the 5/8 time signature and 2-3 phrasing. This figure has a slightly different sound profile than Figure 1, with tighter chord voicing’s and a darker aesthetic quality to it. I then began alternating between the Figure 1 (3 Tiers) and the Figure 2 landscapes from this point forward. The piece ends with a focus on a more static upper register tone in the Figure 2 fingering system.
Figure 1
System 1: 2-3 Phrasing (written in order they were played)
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
System 2: 2-3 Phrasing (written in order they were played)
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Palm Eb, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
Figure 2 fingerings (same as above, but supplement the F Palm key instead of the Eb palm key, and completely take away the octave key). To do this, reach over to the key with the left thumb which was formally pushing down the octave key. For specific reference, this fingering system is notated below as well.
System 1: 2-3 Phrasing (written in order they were played)
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-, Low C
System 2: 2-3 Phrasing (written in order they were played)
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 1-2, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Palm F, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Low Bb // (Right Hand) 2-, Low C
-Neil
The image “Samurai, the Watcher” accompanying today’s post by Tateishi Koichi (1965).