Category: Improvising

Making music in the moment; resources for doing improvisation

Vortex debut CD

THE VORTEX Series for New and Improvised Music is a fascinating concert series organized by Todd Brunel, clarinetist and improviser. I had the honor of working on the debut CD, doing the mastering and graphic design, and I also play horn on one of the tracks. All the performances are live improvisations from Vortex concerts,   Read More...

Summer Improv Ensemble

I’m leading two freestyle improv workshops June 22 & 29, 2010. Here’s some of the exercises we’ll practice: Warmup One sound (from Tom Hall): Going around the group, each player plays a single sound We can do this with a beat or without. Direct your attention as we do this: 1. Pay attention equally to   Read More...

Improv Class End-of-Semester Wrapup

At the end of my first semester teaching improv class, I am smiling about how much fun it was, despite the very small class. We practiced some great ear-training exercises, like follow the leader by repeating a 4-beat snippet of melody, predictably trickier the less diatonic the melody. Another good drill we liked (which you   Read More...

Improv Class Experiences

This fall I’ve been teaching a class in free improv to two adult students at Lexington Music School, both experienced musicians. We’ve had a lot of fun as we practiced crafting music in the moment. One student is continuing and we’d love to make the class a larger group. If you’re curious, and somewhere northwest   Read More...