Rhys Tivey - September 7, 2014
I’m grateful for the opportunity to join such a unique and brilliant music community gathering.
For the session, I propose that we use a protocol or ‘ceremony’ for entering and exiting each improvisation, in order to explore and briefly reflect on what happens to our experience of playing when we (A) consider the location of our mental awareness as a central element in the process of improvising and (B) create a one-word verbal intention.
The protocol for each improvisation is as such:
- everyone in the room, including listeners, sit for a moment to draw their awareness onto their breath
- note the position and sensations of the body
- take note of all ambient noise
- open the eyes and notice the orientation of the room and the play of light
- invite your thoughts to gravitate toward a single word that embodies your intention for the improvisation, whether it be an emotion like “serenity”, “madness”, “resolve”, “joy”, “melancholy”, “gratitude”, or a conceptual or visual idea like “journey”, “stillness”, “mountain”, or even “lion”; performers share their words.
- play
- performers briefly recall their experience
I offer this protocol because I’m interested in how the location of our awareness and the thoughts and emotions that arise while improvising are often passed over in favor of trying to recall an objective opinion of the music as a separate entity. Alternatively, I think all of the thoughts and visions that occur while improvising are truly integral (even if unheard) elements in the creation and perception of the music. Recalling and articulating our full experiences to each other will be super fun.
Perhaps music with lyrics drives listeners’ free associations of thoughts more specifically than purely instrumental music. In the performance before the session, my compositions will emphasize lyrics.