Free Improvisation and the Horn
by Pamela J. Marshall
A shorter version of this article appeared
in March 2003 in Cornucopia, a publication of the New England
Horn Society.
Do you noodle around while you’re warming up? Have you
experimented with making “alternative” sounds on
your horn? If so, maybe you’d like to try free improv.
I’m not talking about the more structured improvising
of a solo in a jazz tune or Baroque figured bass. The guidelines
for a free improv session can be anything you want.
Who's doing it
There’s quite a community of people doing free improv.
In January I attended a workshop at NEC hosted by Jean Rife.
The Reveille Trio – trombonists Abbie Conant, Julie Josephson,
and Sarah Kline – demonstrated their approach, which
involved a lot of listening to each other and subtle interactions.
I’ve also heard Berklee professor and trombonist Tom
Plsek perform with fellow improvisers in Cambridge. His group
was a lot more active and loud with wonderful walls of sound
using novel sound production techniques.
Making noise
We horn players don’t have to leave the fun to the trombonists.
The trombone is particularly conducive to “alternative”
sounds, and of course glissandos are a natural. But horn players
can make interesting sounds too. We’ve got stopped and
muted sounds, bending tones with the hand or lip, flutter
tonguing. We can also play notes with a slide removed, turn
the mouthpiece around to make wind noise, and put a mouthpiece
in a slide and toot on that.
You and your playing partners
Free improv isn’t just funny noises. The music you make
depends on how you and your partners listen to each other.
Three or four players is a good number because you can develop
a variety of textures and still hear what everyone is doing.
I think it’s easier to play with other wind players,
because you can relate and react more directly to what you
hear. However, if a keyboard player wants to join in, don’t
turn him/her away!
Making a plan
It’s helpful to make a very general plan. Here are some
examples of plans you might make: choose a mood, situation,
or image to inspire you; choose one or more tonal centers;
restrict the pitches each player uses; specify a musical quality
like fast, sustained, high, low. Your plan might include a
number of sections and ways to transition between sections.
You can agree on a signal for changing sections or a time
limit.
While you’re playing
Here are some suggestions to think about as you start playing.
As you go, you’ll be able to draw on your musical training,
and your non-musical knowledge too, for ideas.
- Listen to the interval between your note and other sounding
notes; change to another interesting interval
- Listen to a gesture and respond by playing a variation
on what you heard
- Set up a rhythmic figure and repeat it; let your partners
weave some music around it
- Make a noise – try humming or flutter-tonguing, take
out a slide or buzz the mouthpiece
- Try some percussive sounds – kissing sounds or hand-slaps
on the mouthpiece, tapping on the mute or bell; weave rhythmic
patterns into the other music you’re hearing
Examples of improvising plans
In a recent concert by Just In Time Composers and Players,
we did some improvisation with keyboard, horn and English
horn. One plan involved having one player sustaining notes
when the other two played faster gestures. The keyboard player
started with slow chords. On signal, the horn took over the
sustained notes; then the English horn; finally, in a fourth
section, the keyboard player came back to sustained chords.
The sections and the return gave the piece a good shape.
At the Reveille Trio workshop, we divided up into groups
of three and did some short exercises. In my group, each player
picked three pitches and played only them for the duration
of the short exercise.
In another JIT improvisation at the Depot Square Gallery
in Lexington, MA, a painting of a courtyard filled with motor
bikes inspired the keyboardist to start with a low, growlly
pitch bend and the rest of the ensemble picked up on that
with note bending and flutter-tonguing.
Have fun
Remember to listen and leave space in the musical texture.
To paraphrase suggestions from Abbie Conant and the Reveille
Trio: as you play, become aware of the room, your fellows,
and the audience; the point is not to show your skills, but
to find a shared musical intention. Personally I relish the
freedom to play what comes to mind, rather than being restricted
to written music. Above all, listen…and have fun!
Improv info online
Online you can learn about free improv events in Boston at
Twisted
Village.
There are also discussion lists that I’ve just learned
about at www.topica.com.
Look for boss-improv for Boston, phiba-improv
for Philadelphia-Baltimore area, and rockies-improv
for the Rocky Mountain region. I don’t know how useful
these lists are.
Thank you to Tom Plsek for information about online resources.
Pamela J. Marshall is a composer and horn player. She
lives in Massachusetts and is a member of the Concord Orchestra
and Just In Time Composers and Players (www.justintimecomposers.org).
See her music at spindrift.com.
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