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Tuesday, May 25, 2021

372 . IMPROVISING WITH A HANDPAN OR TONGUE DRUM. THE 4 SOURCES OF SIMPLICITY. RHYTHM, SHAPE OF A MELODIC THEME, BASS LOOP, 1,2 CHORDS.

 The basic idea here is to chose a source od simplicity and invarious degrees in time more complexity and returning to the simplicity.     Thus SIMPLICITY->COMPLEXITY->SIMPLICITY , ETC  and also by REPETITION , ASSIMILATION, INNOVATION . THE MAIN CONCEPTIS TO CREATE A "FLOW" AND REMAIN INTHE "FOW" A TERM OF PSYCHOLOGY THAT DESCRIBES THE FLOW OF ENERGY AND CREATIVE FORCE FROM THE IMMORTAL SOUL TO THE MORTAL PERSONALITY . The improvisation with such a melodic percusion instrument like a handpan or tongue drum (which is much like a metallophone) is the 1st type of improvisation (single instrument and unpredictable rhythm, unpredictable harmony, unpredictable melody ) as in post 295. 

We should not forget of course the 3 principles of improvisation as the post 295,

BASIC PRINCIPLE 1=HARMONY POLARITY 

BASIC PRINCIPLE 2: MELODIC MONOTONICITY-VARIATION POLARITY

BASIC PRINCIPLE 2: THE BIOWARE OVER THE HARDWARE.

For analysis of these 3 principles see post 295. 


THE 4 SOURCES OF SIMPLICITY ARE 

1) RHYTHM (GROOVE) (We keep the rhythm invariant and we shift it over the musical notes and octaves)

2) ASCENDING-DESCENDING-STAYING  SHAPE OF A MELODIC THEME (We keep the melodic theme shape invariant and we translate in the scale , or invert it or elongate it)

3) A BASS LOOP THAT REPEATS (We keep a bass loop invariant and we enhance it with melodic themes) 

4) ONE OR TWO CHORDS ALTERNATION (We keep the harmony of the 1or 2 chords invariant and we create parallel fitting melodic themes)

Here is a video by a nice girl and improviser who explains these 4 sources of simplicity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEuwaKR0cbY&ab_channel=AmyNaylor






Monday, May 17, 2021

371. THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC ADVANTAGES IN THE FLOW OF PLAYING MUSIC OF SOME OF INSRUMENTS.

 There are musicians that play 5-10 or 10-12 different types of instruments. An excellent example is Gunhild  Carling. This is not so much the result of a special irreplaceable inherent talent of a special artist as it is the result of a special talented way to learn  playing music.  It the result of a special  method of learning music and playing music. 

Each type of musical instrument is exceptionally good for some specific style or way of playing the music that no other type of musical instruments is as comparable good and capable of . 

Here si a list of examples

 

1) FLUTES-WHISTLES 

They  are particularly good for angelic sound, that because of the blowing makes the musician emotionally involved more that say just playing with the hands. Furthermore they are capable of easy trills and ornamentations , that other types of wind instruments are not capable.

 

2) HARMONICAS 

They are particularly good for creating easily melodic solos that are by default 50% intervals of 3rds and 50% intervals of 2nds. They are also very good in alternating solo with a locally fitting chord or pair of notes. Furthermore because of the blow and draw of breath they make the musician much emotionally involved. At low octaves the metal reeds are incorporated very well in the pipe organ which is a sound of better color than wooden reeds. 

 

3) CLARINETS, SAXOPHONES, OBOE,  CHALUMEAUX , DUDUK, XAPHOON ETC

They are particularly good in producing loud and non-breathy sound at the 4th octave compared e.g. to flutes. And as the flutes too  they are capable of easy trills and ornamentations ,

 

4) TROMBONES

They are exceptionally good in producing loud sound at the low 3rd and 2nd octave, and very close to the human voice. Furthermore, the slide of trombones gives a very pathetic and human-like glissandi of the sound of the musical notes which is unique among other instruments.

 

5) GUITARS, MANDOLINES, BOUZOUKI, UKULELE, CUATRO ETC

The guitars and ukulele-like tuned such instruments  are particularly good in playing easily fast harpisms (parts of arpeggios) over the strings of a chord , which gives a flowing harmonic solo or counter melody to a main melody.

6) FRETLESS GUITAR , OUD ETC

Here the main advantage is of course that can be played , all frequencies , even outside the  12-notes Bach-scale , like harmonics (overtones) and subharmonics (undertones). The glissandi that can be produced are magical.  But also one special characteristics is that because there are not metallic frets, when the string is pressed by the finger on the fingerboard, that sound is like a muted sound with a slight indeterminacy of the pitch, like a drop of water falling on a clay pitcher. 

7) BOWED STRING INSTRUMENTS

Here obviously the main characteristic advantage is not so much the continuous sound (which the winds have also), but the rhythm that bowing can give to a continuous note (which the winds cannot give so easily). Also that it is easier to sustain longer continuous notes compared to flutes. 

8) THE HARP, THE PANFLUTE

Here the main advantage are continuous up or down among the full scale and in many octaves of all the strings and notes ofthe scale. The main area of advantage and "flow" in the harpare diatonic solos and secondly chords and arpeggios of them. The sound of the harp due to the high impedance (because of small sounbox , the energy remains in the strings that pulsate longer) the sound is.....celestial. Furthermore in the harp there is great  easiness that we can alternate a solo with its locally fitting chord (as it is also done with harmonicas, that some times are also called harps). 

9) TONGUE DRUMS (HAND PANS, RAV VAST DRUMS ETC)

Here obviously the main characteristic advantage is to play melodic percussion rhythms.

10) When we shift to digital instruments in the tablet , or as special midi instruments etc, w get a whole space of different advantages. One of the most amazing examples is when the notes e.g. of a diatonic scale have a  2-dimenisonal layout (e.g. Vertically by 3rds and horizontally by 2nds) where we may play randomly horizontally inside say a 5-notes subscale of the diatonic and vertically in only 3 rows, thus temporarily inside one only chord.  This also can be done with string instruments like guitar, oud or cuatro, when the tuning is an overtone tuning, so that the chords of the default scale are played in one or at most 2 frets. 

 

 





Wednesday, May 5, 2021

370. THE TOOLS THAT SET SIMPLICITY IN PERCEIVING ANY MELODY

 As we have metioned efore inother posts, the 3 main tools to set simplicity in the perception of the melodies are 


A) PITCH STATICS : THE THREECHORDS AND TETRACHORDS (3 OR 4 NOTES Micro-subscales) in which the elementary melodic themes occur.In fast soloing ,they serve a s random-cloud palying aroun a note ofthem. 

B) RHYTM: The realization of an elementary melodic theme with a rhythmic patter, and the full melody by  a progression of rhythmic patterns

B) PITCH DYNAMICS : THE 3 POLARITIES , UP-MOVES, DOWN MOVES , STATIONARY  OSCILALTIONS

In other posts we have called the realizations of the 3 dynamics in the threechords and tetrachords, as far as abstract order-structure is concerned, as "Dolphin -Words". 


Synethesia (translating sounds to colors and shapes) plays also an important role in simplifying the perception of melodies 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVC3E16FCrk&ab_channel=TheRoyalInstitution