Preparación de los especímenes

So far our focus has been on exterior aspects of the improvisation process—ways of generating and organizing musical ideas. Now let us explore what might be termed the inner dimensions of improvisation, which takes us to the realm of consciousness or transcendence. Improvisers commonly talk about peak creative moments—also called

“flow,” “the zone,” or being “in the moment”—that are characterized by enhanced fluidity of performance, presence, mental clarity, freedom from conditioning, well-being, mind–

body coordination, group interaction, and other attributes of heightened consciousness.

Whereas ordinary consciousness is prone to conditioned patterns where individuals resort to pattern responses, heightened consciousness enables new levels of freedom and spontaneity, which are naturally high priorities for improvisers. While for many individuals Exercise 1r

Analyses

Choose three recorded samples of music from traditions or styles that are as contrasting as possible and do graphic analyses of them.

these episodes occur only on an occasional basis, even small glimpses of these states can be highly meaningful and inspiring in terms of the possibilities inherent in human creative development. Many improvisers have pursued disciplines such as meditation in order to help cultivate these capacities. The following are further strategies.

One approach involves a more engaged kind of listening, where hearing becomes as much an emotional, physical, and transpersonal/transcendent activity as it is aural. It is one thing to register the various sounds happening around us; it is quite another to experience them as deeply connected with our own consciousness, as if we were creating these sounds ourselves. In doing the following exercises, it is important to emphasize that expanded listening and experiences of heightened consciousness are not so much a matter of exerting intensive effort in hopes of involving a new experience but rather a process of letting go and simply allowing oneself to relax into a more complete immersion in the present moment.

It may be helpful to think of the capacity for expanded awareness and engagement in sound as a matter of unlocking inherent possibilities that lie dormant within us as opposed to learning to experience something that is foreign.

Exercise 1s

The sounds around you

While walking or sitting outside, whether in the woods, by the seashore, or in a city park, allow yourself to become quiet and fully engaged in the present moment. Listen to the full array of sounds around you. Take an inventory of all the sounds that you rarely notice and appreciate them as parts of the infinite sonic palette that exists. Imagine each of these sounds as parts of a piece of music. Let yourself relax into the sonic tapestry around you. One thing that may help is to use your breathing as a guide; with each exhalation feel yourself letting go and becoming more immersed in your surroundings. As you do this, observe your inner state; you may notice that your awareness expands, your clarity of perception increases, and a heightened sense of inner calm and well-being ensues.

Again, this is not a matter of forcing expanded experience, but rather simply allowing this expansion to unfold of its own accord.

Exercise 1t Feel the sounds

Proceed as above, but now add a new component: feel the sounds around you as facets of your own consciousness, as if they are flowing through you, or that you are actually creating the sounds.

Another way of cultivating the capacity for heightened listening and heightened consciousness is through the lens of the present—in other words, by exploring the different kinds of present experience that are possible. Musical moments may be experienced as parts of a linear flow, in which the meaning of any given event is largely dependent upon its relationship to what precedes and follows it, or as nonlinear entities that are relatively autonomous from their temporal surroundings. While linear or nonlinear conception is usually a matter of degree and at least somewhat dependent upon the musical context, we can cultivate our capacities for these kinds of perception as both musical listeners and performers. The ability to shift modes of present awareness enlivens our capacity to be in the moment and invoke heightened consciousness.

One approach to this shifting of present awareness from a linear to nonlinear orienta-tion is through directing our attenorienta-tion to “implicaorienta-tion–realizaorienta-tion” cycles. Implicaorienta-tion–

realization theory originated with the work of Leonard Meyer and was subsequently developed by him and his student Eugene Narmour. Originally oriented toward the perception of melody, from the standpoint of the listener, basic principles may be extrapolated from the theory that apply to broader musical parameters as well as the experience of the creative musician.

Music unfolds in time; one thing follows another. In musical contexts whose meaning is dependent upon the sequence of ideas, as in the use of motivic development, each idea that sounds, or is realized, may be perceived as related to what has preceded it and also as a catalyst for implied successors—those ideas that one expects might follow. Put another way: musical ideas (realizations) trigger expectations (implications) about what is to come next. When expectations/implications are fulfilled, a sense of unity is promoted. When expectations/implications are thwarted, a sense of surprise and variety is enlivened. The effectiveness of the music is dependent upon the balance between these two poles; excessive fulfillment of expectations breeds predictability and boredom, thus requiring some element of surprise, via expectations that are thwarted. By the same token, excessive thwarting of expectations breeds alienation.

We can heighten our engagement in the moment by observing our response to implication–realization cycles. The following exercises have us do this by focusing in two different directions. One involves what might be called “anticipatory hearing,” where we perceive each moment as a generator of future possibilities. Another involves the attempt Exercise 1u

Internalize sounds

Apply the above approach when you are listening to music, either live or recorded, where you experience the music as if you are the one creating it. This is an excellent practice to use in improvisation sessions during moments in which you are not playing;

the more you can engage with the sounds around you as if you were the one playing them, the more you will be able to interact and contribute when the time comes for you to play.

to perceive moments as autonomous, self-contained moments that stand on their own independently of what precedes and follows them.

While it is not possible to attend to every single moment in a piece in the manner indicated, listening with this intention will likely provide a clear glimpse of a newfound level of present engagement that may be invoked when you improvise. From this linear musical perspective, the present is the source from which the future springs and, by attending to what might unfold, we penetrate more deeply to the heart of the present moment.

Now let us attempt to experience heightened present engagement from a nonlinear angle.

Again, it will not be possible to experience every single moment in this way, and because nonlinear hearing is more challenging and context-dependent, even a few glimpses of this experience will be productive. It should be emphasized that music in which non-syntactic elements (e.g. density, dynamics, timbre, tessitura) rather than syntactic elements (particu-larly harmony) are prominent is more conducive to nonlinear perception.

While it is recommended that the exercises be done in improvised music situations where the music is being heard for the first time, the different kinds of perception are also possible in non-improvised music and you are encouraged to try out these exercises in different contexts.

Exercise 1v

Anticipatory hearing

In an improvised music rehearsal or concert in which you are not playing but listening to others, focus on experiencing each moment as a catalyst for future events. In other words, when an idea sounds (or is realized), sense what might follow (is implied). As you do this, observe whether or not your expectations are fulfilled and what response is thereby created.

Exercise 1w

Nonlinear hearing

In an improvised music rehearsal or concert in which you are not playing but listening to others, focus on experiencing each moment as an autonomous entity, whose meaning is independent of what precedes and follows it.

Silence

Another way of invoking heightened awareness is the use of silence in your improvising.

While it is only natural in our ardent pursuit of musical skills to focus largely on making sounds and understanding the various ways they are melded together, let us not forget that music consists of both sounds and silence. In fact, instead of thinking in terms of sound as the basic fabric of music, consider thinking of silence as the basic fabric and sounds as temporary interruptions in the silence. While it may be hard to find much music in which sounds are subordinate, in terms of length of time, to silence, an awareness of sound as a kind of a foreground phenomenon against a backdrop of silence can help get us out of middle-zone conception; it is yet one more way of expanding our boundaries and liberating us from day-to-day, conditioned modes of conception.

In the following “silence study,” two points are essential. One involves how silence is framed: silence needs to be prepared, executed, and resolved. In order to prepare silence, a second point is important, which is the creation of variety within one or more of the basic non-syntactic elements: dynamics, density, or register. Ultra-soft, ultra-loud, ultra-dense, ultra-sparse passages can help create a sense of expectation. When followed by silence, this expectation fills the space and continues to propel the music forward even though no sounds are being made. When prepared effectively, the silence can extend for some time, and then it is up to the musician to decide how it might be resolved. Resolution of the silence can be similar to how it is prepared (e.g. ultra-soft and low tones into and ultra-soft and low tones out of silence), or it can contrast radically (ultra-soft and low in, ultra-high and loud and high density out), creating an entirely different effect.