275. A METHOD OF LEARNING INSTRUMENT PLAYING, IMPROVISATION AND SONG ADOPTIONS-RECOMPOSITIONS BY WHISTLING OR SINGING PARALLEL TO A RECORDED SONG ,

   A METHOD OF LEARNING   INSTRUMENT PLAYING,  IMPROVISATION  AND SONG ADOPTIONS-RECOMPOSITIONS  BY WHISTLING OR SINGING PARALLEL TO A RECORDED SONG , 

HERE IS EXAMPLE OF SUCH A MUSIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxym5yTmdC8&t=1420s

(see also post 128)

Now one could imagine a process in learning an instruments at the same time leaning improvisation For example let us take any one of the instruments below

0) A percussion instrument
1) A Guitar or ukulele
2) A Celtic Harp
3) A Bowed string instrument like Greek Lyra (or fiddle)
4) A diatonic Pan-Flute or a chord or bass harmonica
5) A single tube wind with the fingering system 6+1. E.g.  Irish whistle, flute , or reed instrument like clarinet saxophone , duduk, chalumeau  etc

 The central idea is of course that the versatility of playing a musical instruments is based on the ability to internalize and perceive mentally and emotionally the musical sound  and improvise (mimic, assimilate, innovate) rather than the ability of concentrating separately to technical skill of geometric patterns of playing for the particular instrument And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically harmonically , melodically and chromatically,  all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) (see post 258 that improvisation is at least at 2/3rds an internal feelings and intellect meditation process rather independent from the musical instrument played! The 2/3ds are of course the mental perception of the musical sound and the feelings-emotional  perception of the musical sound, and not the geometric instruments pattern of the musical playing! And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) ).

Here in the next video, the guitar teacher explains why it is simpler for the human nervous system to concentrate on the mental and emotional perception of the musical sound rather than on  the geometric patterns of playing the particular instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iacQvKMSx6A

So a daily or weekly process and practice could be nowadays as follows:

1) Chose in youtube a nice and happy song that you would like to listen and play. Better be happy rather than sad , as such a learning should raise our bodily frequency and should be laso a learning of how to be happy within the good joy (not the bad joy). E.g. it might be an early jazz song like those that the  carling family are playing and enjoying. If we do not want to start with a known song in youtube, he may start by playing and recording in Audacity a rhythm by a percussion instrument, and then use this as a base.

2) Derive an mp3 file from the youtube-video, and analyze it with the free software Audacity (or a similar) to verify by its chords that it is a chromatic tonality music song (see post 263 ) 

3) Try singing its melody (improvisationally) or whistle  (improvisationally) its melody. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN LEARNING ALL THE INSTRUMENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY.

3.2) COMPOSITE PRACTICE OF IMPROVISATION , REMIX -ADAPTATION OF A SONG AND INSTRUMENT PLAYING.

This ability can be activated as follows: At first listen for some weeks to nice songs preferably Jazz songs and familiarize with their melodies harmonies and techniques. Start with early jazz which is simpler and utilizes the triads of chords 1-4-5 or 1-2-5 etc. The preliminary stage of education of the subconscious determines also the speed of creations of emotions and feelings when improvising. It is important that the speed of actual musical improvisation is not faster than the speed of creation and shaping of the emotions and feelings. In different persons it is different speed.


3.2.1) Besides trying to whistle the melody , it can be tried to whistle a simplicial coutermelody of the melody (see post 289)

Listen them with one only earphone, leaving the other ear open and sing or whistle parallel to the melodies of the song, inspired or stimulated on the occasion of the written and listened song. The whistling improvisation may nevertheless deviate not only from the listened melodies but also from the listened chords and harmony, if the feelings require so. This is an important factor of the improvisation as melodic or harmonic "errors" in whistling a melody most often turn out to be improvements of the melody based on our own memories of nice melodies and inclinations in the feelings. General rules that two parallel melodies fit harmonically together as described in post  128, require only that the number of intervals of 3rd, 4th 5th and 8th are more than 50% compared to intervals of 2nds. In addition alternating with this whistling or singing we may  play on a  desired instrument similar melodies. 

 We may go as far as utilizing this method as a method of creating adoptions or remix of a  song. This requires that the improvised melody will fit only to a percentage x%<50% with the parallel sounding song and the rest 100%-x% the melody , rhythm and chords will not fit and will be the innivated adoption of the song (according to our inner emotional impulses and habits) . Of course the overall  result of the underlying song and its adoptoion will not be audible with good feelings as they will be incompatible , but the intention is to be inspired in real time by the song and create in real time an adoption of it. Finally oly the adioption will be presented not the parallel initialinspiration. 

Depending on the acquired skill on the instrument, the improvisation may be poorer or same rich as the whistling. Furthemore instead of only listening to the song, if opened in a software like  Audacity where its chords can be found and displayed below the waveform, we see also the underlying chords and we learn to associate the whistling or instrument playing ofthe melodies with the underlying chord progression. We keep doing it not only so  as to get pleasure but also to improve improvisation and playing skill on the prefered instruments.
The speed of improvisation must not be faster that the speed of creation of emotions prior or after the musical sound.

The speed of conducting the improvisation may be increased if while we improvise we pretend that there is a mandarin (fruit) flying a few centimeters above the top of our head and we look and listen and conduct the improvisation from that point in air or aether rather than from our hands or mouth.

3.2.2) We may also record the whistling in the computer, while we listen in one only earphone and in one ear, the parallel song from the mobile or another computer. This may create an entereily new song and new melody and even different chord progression inspired and stimulated by the initial parallel song.  That is why a more likable way of the whistling melody should not be considred as a "mistake" but as a more likable melody of a new song, inspired from the initial.

4) Start with the  known instrument or easiest instrument that here we  will assume that it is the guitar or ukulele or a wind etc. Play its chords rhythmically and improvise melodically whistling or singing simultaneously as in 3.1).

5)  Make sure that if e.g. you play the Celtic harp (which is a diatonic instrument ) is tuned at the right central diatonic scale of the song Usually Bb, or F , or G , or C etc Play the chord and improvise the melody with the right hand . Alternate chords and melody with the right hand. The melodic improvisation could be very close to the whistling improvisation. Use the left hand for an isocratic  bass line based on simple 2-voices harmony  (usually an interval of 3rd). It could even be the power-5 chord ofthe scale. Or it could be just one note per pentachord or tetrachord at the bass area.

6) If you feel comfortable and satisfied with the result,  record the improvisational playing separately each one upon the previous in Audacity to produce a sound file. Elaborate a bit and on the recording and maybe correct some volume, timing or even pitch imperfections. The idea is to be excellent in creativity , learning and enjoyment rather  in formal perfection. Then  publish it in youtube or facebook in a group of well meaning favourable friends, if you feel so, or simple keep it in your databases.

10) The above process 3)- 6) can one play by not starting with a known song in youtube, but by free improvisation directly from our emotional subconscious.
If we do not want to start with a known song in youtube, he may start by playing and recording in Audacity a rhythm by a percussion instrument, and then use this as a base.

See alo post 208

A practice that would implement also instruments is the next

(See also post 271 about learning many instruments simulteneously utilizing simplicial submelody improvisation system )

1) Download the song as an mp3 file , then open it in Audacity, and utilize its function of finding the chords.  

2) We look at the chord progression and try to identify the main  diatonic scale , from which it may deviate chtomatically. 

3) Then we choose the appropriate instrument that may diatonic at this scale or even chromatic. It may be a wind instrument like harmonica, flute, clariphone sax etc or it may be a bowed instrument like violin , metric-lyra celo-lyra (see post 264) or other stings instruments like cuatro, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, mandola, etc. 

4) At first we whistle the simplicial counter-melody while the song is  playing.

5) Then we repeat the whistling simplicial counter-melody with the chosen instrument

6) If we are multi-intrument player, we rotate the instruments from the easiest to the more demanding (e.g. harmonica, then celtic harp, then chinese panflute, then marked scale cuatro, then fretted-lyra , then straight flute,  then clariphone or sax etc)  playing similar simplicial counter-melodies for this song. If we do that we try to identify ourself  the with the simplicial counter-melody and consider that we actually we laer a simplicial counter-melody for thsi song rtaher than that we learn  the particular instrument that we play). See also post 271.

MELODIC TRIADS: SOLO COMPOSITION AND IMPROVISATIONS BASED ON ALTERNATING (MELODIC TRIADS AS  VECTOR) INTERVALS OF MAJOR(HAPPY) /MINOR(SAD) 3RD:RECIPES OF HAPPINESS AND SADNESS

When improvising is a solo in an almost random way but which tries to listen also to the inner emotions, a good path is to walk by intervals of 2nd small distances of total length an interval of 3rd and alternate  major (4 semitones happiness ) and minor (3 semitones, sadness ) exactly as it happens in a diatonic scale, as this also creates an underlying  major or minor chord. If on the other hand it is two consecutive intervals of minor 3rd it would create an underlying diminished chord and if consecutive major intervals of 3rd an augmented chords (that occur in the harmonic and double harmonic minor) , both more  rare compared to major and minor chords. 

This does not mean that we create a specific diatonic scale or mode of it but rather pieces of diatonic scales, therefore it is more probable that we are in a bebop scale (union of two diatonic scales).

This type of walking vector-intervals (see also post 183 1nd 159) in other words intervals closed together with all the intermediate notes of diatonic scale that it belongs to it we have called previous post as vector-chord improvisation as contrasted to arpeggio improvisations.

Therefore instead of the concept of scale (and as here we do not assume a chord progression or scale of chords) we have the concept of TRIAD  as vector interval of 3rd MINOR (SAD) OR MAJOR (HAPPY) . By composing triads we get various types of scales known or unknown but with recognizable hidden harmony.
OF COURSE WE MAY VERY WELL WALK BY TRIADS A DIATONIC SCALE GIVING SEQUENCES OF MAJOR (HAPPINESS) AND MINORS (SADNESS) 3RDS IN THE PROPORTION AND COMBINATION WE WANT.
KNOWING THIS IN MAJOR-MINOR 3RDS WE ALWAYS KNOW WHERE TO FIND HAPPINESS AND MORE HAPPINESS AND SADNESS AND MORE SADNESS.
Inharmony a chord is a triad, and triads of chords define usually in  a minimal way the harmony of a scale. Similarly here in melodic composition, the basic composition element is a melodic triad as above, and and triads of melodic triads define somehow an scale of an octave.

The usual  triads  are the next 3 in semitones

1-2
2-1
2-2
  giving in total  semitones 3 or 4 or an interval of  3rd

Of course we add wavings by intervals of 2nd and we go up or down according to the alternation of sad and happy changes of the emotions. The major/minor 3rds alternation also corresponds to alternation of sad and happy emotions. We may of course alternate to the solo also triad chords. If we are on string instruments tuned by 5ths, then we can also accompany this solo with the interval of 5th of the two immediately lower strings as a kind of power-5 chord. The melodic themes created in one or two consecutive such (vector) intervals of 3rd can be varied of course with translations, inversions, rotations (including expansions)  and mutations.
Normally two triads are for the first poetic line (8 beats) and two more for the 2nd poetic line (7 syllables).

If we do not walk the intermediate notes of the vector interval of 3rd and we just jump-play it, alternating major minor such intervals of 3rd we are simply in t what we have called in post 94 the melodic corridor, which e.g. how the siku pan-fludes and pan--flutes with double rows of pipes are designed in the folk music of andes.

In composing  melodic themes based on melodic triads we should use also the concept and technique  of  variational  independent base of melodic shapes or melodic seed (see post 106). I other words the melodic themes shapes that are mutually variational independent, in other words neither translation neither , inversion, neither rotation can derive any one of them from the others , and in addition all other melodic themes oft he song can be derived with variations from them.

We should not confuse the melodic triads, which is a concept similar to that of  a scale of notes with the shapes of melodies in a melodic triad (as e.g. in post 100-106).

 The way that an improvisation not based on a played song can be composed is with various methods:

AS IS THE CASE WITH ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES OF VARIOUS ORDERS OF DEPTH LIKE MUSIC AND ITS ORGANIZATION, THE IMPROVISATION CAN BE AT

 THE LOWEST LEVEL: 1) MELODIC ONLY (start with winds, or harp ar guitar , ukulele, with this order see e.g. post 266, 224)

AT A LOW LEVEL : 2) 2-VOICES OR PAIRS OF SIMULTANEOUS NOTES IMPROVISATION , (mainly harp but also guitar, ukulele, E.g. see posts 260 ,82)

AT A MIDDLE LEVEL: 3) CHORDS AND MELODY IMPROVISATION (Harp, or guitar , ukulele, e.g.see post 9 . Of course the closest to happy early Jazz songs is to use triads of major chords and in particular 1-4-5 of the Bb or F major scale, and then extend them possibly with chromatic tonality . See post 263 ).

AND AT A HIGH LEVEL : 4) MORPHOLOGICAL REPETITIONS PATTERNS OF PARTS OF THE PIECE  IMPROVISATION (on any instrument e.g. see post 203, 201)

I believe the most successful order is to start with the chords, and in particular a triad of major chords and in particular 1-4-5 of the Bb or F major scale, and then extend them possibly with chromatic tonality as in  post 263 with minor, diminished and augmented chords but not more than 1/3 of the total time and only if the whistling improvisation suggests it. The next simple idea in improvisational harmony is an harmonic linear progression of major/minor chords by intervals of  4ths. Then improvise fully by singing or whistling melodies on them and pass this whistling gradually to the rest of the instruments. 

The improvisation of each instrument with the chosen order, starting from the rhythm of the percussion instrument, is recorded (e.g. in Audacity) , and the next instruments are played at first live with a background from the speakers or earphones (like karaoke) from the previously recorded instruments, and then are recorded also with the rest of the recorded instruments. The final result as an .mp3 or .wav file is it is liable and satisfying is published a group friends or simply kept in nono-publishing data bases.

If he is lucky he might find some friends and try a group improvisation where he is playing in sequence some of the instruments he is learning or practising.

We remind here why in learning simultaneously many instruments it is by far better the improvisation method than reading a musical score.

THE ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVISING A MELODY VERSUS PLAYING A MELODY

PLAYING THE MELODY

DISADVANTAGES: 1) No sufficient space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) Rigid stereotypic repetition  , that the slightest deviation will cause the                                                feeling of an "error" or "bad sound". This will create fear and will "slauter" the "wings" to add your own "signature" to the melody. It will stop  also and suppress the ability to compose your own melodies.

ADVANTAGES: 1) You do not have to involve much of your emotions and creativity , after learning it it seems easier to repeat it each time and if the melody is played correctly it is expected by the audience to to appreciate it.


IMPROVISING THE MELODY:

ADVANTAGES:1) Plenty of free  space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) No rigid stereotypic repetition , each time played it is somehow different . The randomness of the decorative notes of the improvisation allows for searching the appropriate melodic center that corresponds to the intended emotion or for gradual correcting till the melodic center of the original melody is found  (in the scale stepwise glissando as default movements) This will create an euphoria of abundance of creativity and will multiply the ability to compose your own melodies in later times.

DISADVANTAGES: 1) It requires listening to your own mood (or the mood of the  audience) when improvising the  melody, and there is always the risk that the current version of the improvisation of the melody is not good enough compared maybe to previous improvisations or that the audience will not appreciate it enough as you appreciate it when your are improvising it.



IN OVER ALL IT IS OBVIOUS THAT IMPROVISING A MELODY IS BY FAR MORE ADVANTAGEOUS THAN JUST PLAYING THE MELODY.