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Re: The Tech 21 MIDI Moose, and my simple-minded approach to looping



I completely resonate with your points here, Per. I think many musicians 
who 
are educators, have played jazz professionally, or who are free improv 
musicians definitely utilize this approach of hearing or imaging notes 
before they play them. I do the same much of the time, and often when I 
play 
traditional jazz and I'm soloing over the changes, I scat along with my 
guitar lines. It is good practice to keep my melodies "real"...because if 
I 
start "blowing" over the changes with 32nd notes, with a lot of chromatic 
runs and filler, like if you are soloing over Stella by Starlight or Giant 
Steps as 300 beats per minute, it becomes impossible to scat along with 
it. 
The soling loses some of its melodic appeal and moves into the technical, 
"oh yeah, I can play as fast as John McLaughlin" approach. Though this 
latter fun has its merits too and is a lot of fun. Also, this is why a lot 
of jazz educators recommend that when students learn songs that they first 
be able to hum or sing the head melody. The jazz songs I play best on are 
the ones that I can play in my mind, and consequently I can play them in 
any 
key, or solo while always having that melodic structure cycling through my 
heads to maintain the grounding.

...all this said, however, I am still a proponent of spontaneous 
experimentation and improvisation. I don't think being able to imagine the 
note before playing it is a hard and fast rule, but it is a good one.

Kris



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Per Boysen" <perboysen@gmail.com>

> I have a similar approach to music: I always start the  experimentation 
>in 
> my mind and take care to learn new things slowly  piece by piece, only 
> building on what I already know as my own  vocabulary.  I never play a 
> note (or a Mobius script) that I can't  already "hear as sung by me" 
> (meaning it must have a true  expressional value in my imagination, or I 
> will pass and stay silent  or go into a different direction).
>
> I think this is especially important for young musicians that learn  
>both 
> about making music and mastering an instrument at the same time.  
>Without 
> suitable guidance it's so easy to fall into the trap where  you loose 
> track of what is your own voice and what is simply  pyrotechnics without 
>a 
> unique content.
>
> I really hope that people on this list do not misunderstand my  musical 
> approach because I sometimes have posted detailed  descriptions of what 
>I 
> do, by technical means. Please note that these  descriptions have only 
> been posted on specific request. What really  matters IMO is the music 
>you 
> make and I think its' much more  satisfying to play music or listen to 
> others playing other music,  compared to describing music in words - as 
>we 
> tend to describe the  technical tools we all use for bringing over that 
> wonderful content  of Unique Musical Expression ;-)
>
> Another related thought: Often people ask on this list "how to set up  a 
> looping rig". I think the best way to set up a looping rig is to  not 
> think about technological tools at all. Just think about your  music, 
> yourself and your destination in life. Then figure out how to  express 
> these emotions and attitudes as sound statements and you will  find 
> yourself with a good blueprint copy of the rig you need to  assemble. 
> Going the other way, like buying some unit and say "oh,  this box has 64 
> outputs - I'm gonna need some huge mixer to do my  thing" (ironically 
>put) 
> is just something I can't understand.
>
> Greetings from Sweden
>
> Per Boysen
> www.boysen.se (Swedish)
> www.looproom.com (international)
> http://tinyurl.com/fauvm (podcast)
> http://www.myspace.com/looproom
>
>
>
>