Contrapuntal thoughts

[nickc]

Last nights musical thoughts... and Ted, I just want to thank you for all the advice and feedback you have provided. I'm rarely on my computer due to work/child but I look forward to reading and putting into practice all of your musical thoughts and advice. I thoroughly enjoy all of your music. Your music is unique to you which is how it should be... although few will ever achieve that. It takes a lifetime to discover yourself and the same applies to music. The more I study, the less I know.

[/youtube]

[ted]

I enjoyed this, especially the middle section, with its strong Asian influence. As you say, the best bits of our improvisation are invariably those wherein we are most ourselves. You have also acquired the habit of thinking through both hands, a strangely uncommon trait of improvisers, most of whom seem to think through one hand, usually the right. I think we can safely ignore just about everything that is said about improvisation on the internet in tutorials. They all base themselves on sets of imitative rules about which notes to play; equally useless whether the rules are old-fashioned or modern. William Harris was an exception, if his essays on improvisation are still on the web somewhere they are well worth reading.

Found them, the bulk are here:https://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/music.essays.html but there are probably others.

I had a brief exchange of music and ideas with Bill shortly before he died eight years ago. He told me things about my playing I had no idea I was doing; a very perceptive mind.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I found this pretty convincing. You seem able to keep thematic strands integrated on the fly, and I enjoyed the harmonic changes, which added colour. I agree with ted about improvisation tutorials; I get the impression a fair bit of what they say is teaching "improvisation by numbers".

[furtwaengler]

This is great. And I went away with it stuck in my head.

I've never used any tutorials or had any training in improvisation. I think iit goes both ways...the one way where musical experience and study improvise improvisation, and improvisation as a means of furthering along musical exploration, experience, and study. This forum is a fountain of inspiration and information. I've gained a lot by Ted's perspectives, though I'm not going to claim that I understand what I'm reading every time. I'm looking into the William Harris essays now.

[Derek]

Found them, the bulk are here:https://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/music.essays.html but there are probably others.

I panicked today thinking I had lost my local copies of this. In response, I'm cloning that entire url locally in case, including his recordings. I'm surprised I haven't done this yet.

[Derek]

Really enjoying this recording by the way!