yet another improv (not that tonal)

[erak]

I'm rather new to improvising, and I don't have the slightest idea what I'm doing. Don't expect amazing chord progressions or ingenious use of harmonies, I just base myself on hand geography and certain motives.
I mess up a lot and lose track of what I'm doing, but I manage to get back into it. This is also because what I try to do is, most of the time, way too hard.

Try to enjoy.   (12min33sec)

[zong]

The main problem I see is that you don't quite seem to know what you're after (as you yourself said). But you have obvious minimalistic tendencies. So in the absence of a clear subject that you would want to develop, why not work with your minimalist ideas? The first minute and a half or so is quite good and rather intriguing, but then you seem to think that there's been too much of this stuff already and perhaps you should try something new. Try to resist that urge and explore fully the initial ideas, continuing to modulate them slightly and in the process letting them grow, and see where you end up. It is okay to stay within the same general pattern for the entire duration of the piece. Let it all accumulate; it will eventually grow on the listener, and the sense of unity that you achieve in this way will make up for the apparent monotony.

[erak]

I didn't really plan this or anything, I actually just sat down and started playing a repeated G# and worked from there. The beginning is more like an intro to what has to come, but you're right that I could make something out of it. I actually tried to maintain a structure by using the repeated notes again in other sections, and 2 cluster-ish "chords" that existed out of the dischord notes I played in the intro that I use throughout the whole thing as if it were normal chords you could improvise on. I have a lot of minimalistic ideas, but I try to work them out in a diffirent way.

I do sort of know what I'm after, it just doesn't sound the way I want it to, because I have no idea how to. It comes out totally diffirently, but with the same feel to it (mostly in rhythms)


Thanks for listening, I'll keep your comments in mind next time.



Edit: added another improv. I did this one friday night on my piano at home. My piano is absolute crap, it sounds like a rusted can and doesn't have any deep sound. Especially the basses are weak and it makes it sound really unconvincing.
I tried to use chord progressions and stuff, and tried to think in a much more tonal way. The whole thing is mainly in c minor. It was just an experiment to see if I could do anything with that. Around 4 minutes it sort of becomes boring because I was trying to see what I could do with that left hand motive I came up with and I liked it a bit too much. It doesn't really go anywhere. But at 6 minutes I try to work up into an unintentionally Prokofiev-inspired climax, and then recap the 2 themes, ending with the first theme again.
Lots of mistakes, but this was even more of an experiment than my other improv, but it's not too bad I think.... Let me know what you think. Don't mind the background noises, that's my mom heating up her dinner with the microwave.

[zong]

When you say "it doesn't really go anywhere" I think you identify the main problem. It should, in fact, go somewhere. Even free improvisation (Ornette Colman, Matthew Shipp, John Zorn, etc.), that doesn't stick to any given chord progression or even rhythmic pattern, does have a sense of direction; it doesn't sound as if it could being anywhere, go on indefinitely, and end anytime. But I believe that free improvisation requires even greater skill than a more traditional one, based on a clear progression and following a fixed form. Perhaps you should begin and master improvisation within set boundaries. Get a good subject, write it down (this is important), create an 8- or 12-bar progression for it, write it down, and go to work. Play a huge number of choruses and experiment with it, learning to exploit (and enjoy) the freedom that you have within the constraints of the form. I am pretty sure that all great improvisers got started practicing some variation of this method.

[erak]

Hm you seem to take this rather seriously  . Thanks for the help, I really apprecciate it. I don't think I'll do that too soon though, as I'm not really seriously into improvising (yet?). These are just tryouts, and I wanted to know what other people thought of them. Practicing choruses is something I already do once in a while, but I don't like sticking to it when I improvise.

[quantum]

improv9-6:

You manage to keep a consistent feel, without getting monotonous.  There is a good sense of structure and thematic development.  Regarding the ending: did you really intend to have it stop so abruptly?  The ending seems out of place with the rest of the piece.  If you think you are at the point where you want to end, try to formulate a way that says in character with the piece.  Unless you really want an abrupt stop, plan to spread out the ending over several bars of music.  Make it sound like you are leading to an ending.  Sort of like writing a concluding paragraph to an essay.


One of my inspirations to start improvising was my former battered old upright piano.  It just wouldn't do what I needed for classical music, so I wanted to explore what I could do to make use of its particular sound.  Try to see what interesting sounds you can come up with using your pianos quirks.

EDIT:
Also this recording seems to be a bit hicupy.  What did you use to record it?

[erak]

I did sort of want it to end that way. I managed to work my way through those random themes and managed to re-use them in some way to get structure. I randomly ended up using them again in reverse order, so I thought it would be fun to use the opening motive again to end the whole thing, but reversed. Hence the weird ending.


I know it sounds absolutely crappy, but I used the most absolutely crappy recording way ever; I recorded it using my mp3 player (which already doesn't have too great quality), but I forgot the cable at my dorm to transfer the file to my computer. So I used this free mic and put it right next to the earplugs to re-record it onto my home computer. Quite badass, sorry about that.