#improvise 4 with Jaren Angud: application of the non-pitched palette

(circa 2008) trying to close the door after filling an entire freshman practice room with packing peanuts. In our defense, juries were close and they were not practicing...at the time. No, I wasn't wearing a wig.

improvising can make you tired

notecards and...the can

Jaren Angud and I have known each other since undergrad. We made a lot of music together, but had not done so in a while. However, while improvising it was like we never stopped. The vibe was relaxed, which allowed us to feel comfortable creating music within the contexts we set.

The coolest part about this project is seeing what each player brings to the table. Different people, life experiences, sound concepts, musical tastes, and more. Even though we still play well together, we have also both grown as people and musicians since the last time which hopefully comes across in our performances.

-Jaren recently got off the road with the Beauty and the Beast World Tour and is currently the drummer for the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.-

So...here it is -  the first of many posts where I will be collaborating with other great musicians to help me prove to you that improvisation is a legitimate expressive tool, even without chord progressions or set structure.

I would like to stress that before recording, we didn't write anything out! Instead, to give us a little bit of direction for each piece, I wrote the terms (plus more) from this worksheet as seen on post 1 and mixed them up in a can. We chose 2-3 cards per session and tried to make it happen! Below, I will outline which cards were chosen for each video.

*headphones strongly encouraged*

The cards picked for performance #1:
-rhythmic/groove-oriented
-vary dynamics

The cards picked for performance #2:
-sparse/gestural
-loud dynamic

The cards picked for performance #3:
-rhythmic/groove-oriented
-vary dynamics
-sparse/gestural

Performance #4 was actually sparked by experimenting with the snare drum in #3. We wanted to explore long notes/the roll. This is a real example of how one session can inspire another! The more time we spend with our instruments, the more possibilities come to the surface.

I hope you enjoy this new direction of my blog and I can't wait to share all of the experiences and music with you all!!