Re: another survey (wasRe: OT, but getting close to not-OT: guitar/saximprov sessions)

[andy butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>]

Paul Mimlitsch wrote:

> Which brings me to a topic I've been wondering about lately:
> 
> 1) how many people on the list do solo non looping gigs?

not these days, except playing acoustic guitar for kids once a year

> 
> 2) "the beauty of the single not line" - how many guitar players/ 
> players of multitimbral instruments can do an improv. gig using only 
> single note lines and hold an audiences attention? for how long?

again not these days, used to do bass solos on jazz gigs, generally
single note lines without pre-determined structure.
Kept it short, but it did seem to grab the audience's attention on 
occasion. 

Anyway, it's an interesting thought, I'm inspired to put some single note
line stuff into the next loop gig

> 
> 3) if you're not comfortable doing this, is that because of preference 
> (ie: vertical vs. linear hearing)?  Being raised on a particular 
> instrument?  Or did you gravitate towards your preferred instrument due 
> to how you hear things?

Electric guitar just seems to be a perfect instrument for looping,
so many different sounds and relatively portable.

> 
> 4) if you play a mono timbral instrument (horns etc) is the desire to 
> "loop" a means of filling up vertical space to compliment your single 
> note line play?

If I'm using a mono instrument (rare) I'm more concerned about rhythm than 
vertical
harmony.
A lot of the time I'm aiming for the impression of the loop
flowing out of the "solo" 
Guitar becomes mono-timbral (more or less) when using an ebow.

> 
> Not sure if this makes sense - Just curious.

Interesting thoughts, useful to remember that the whole point is to create
music, and not to always focus on how to make the loops into music.

andy butler