Re: Re: Great Quote about Looping by Brian Eno

[mark francombe <mark@markfrancombe.com>]

So, what we are saying is that ... " Music isnīt finished till you stop finishing it, then its finished"

I think that many of us are drawn to live looping and improvisation, exactly because, the looping makes the music.. not us.. the music is finished right away!

Its also bit like what Eno has said about his way of working of setting up the parameters and rules of a performance and then just sitting back and watching it unfold.
I sometimes "work" very hard while playing... jumping on pedals, and tweaking knobs the whole time, oh and playing a few guitar notes in between, but mostly I prefer to take it easy and see what the loop does, let the thing degrade a little on its own. 

Its like playing with another musician, listening to them and then making ones own choices as to how to interject and converse with the music. I feel a little like Eno was supposed to have done during the recording of Low (canīt say if this is myth or not tho) where him and Bowie held up cards for the musicians E.FLAT. FASTER. DARKER, G_MAJOR...

Improvisation is not just about making things up as you go along, its about accepting the resulting beauty or cacophony as the music.. Cage was also interested in this.

Who hasnt tried this?

Exercise #1 "The Glorious Loopfucker"

1. Build up and nice big loop in a key of your choosing, let it wash over you, wallow in its glory, savor its majesty. 
2. Randomly slide you fingers up and down your neck (not sure if this can work with non fretted instruments..), fast and slow, while NOT LOOKING.. choose a fine feeling fret to begin your loop fuckage..

3. Powerfully and strongly, on the top of the bar, come crashing in on this... unknown, frightening and unpredictable key.
4. Cringe at its out of tune-ness, but play on, let its unconventional modulation be your friend... be strong.. and wait it out

5. Marvel, that within moments the new resulting discord begins to work, indeed becomes the piece.
6. Remember with horror the earlier section of the music, that was so passé , so infantile, so.. so... so... 
7. shed a tear for those lost naive days.

8. Hit undo... wait till it comes back, smile, welcome the return of normality and order.. fade, leaving a chord ringing in reverb.
9. Look around to see if anyone saw, notice that you forgot to press record...
10. Stroke your feline audience.

Mark