Normally, nothing runs through my head when improvising. Occasionally, a thought will suggest, in an unobtrusive way, “Oh, that’s quite cool, you should copy that”. Or, as when I was first messing around with extended techniques on my bass, “My luthier’s gonna kill me…” But, at this Stet Lab, for the first time, a thought sounded loud and clear in my head almost immediately, and brought forth an emotional response which I don’t think left me for the whole performance. The emotion was panic, and the thought that caused it was, “Oh Christ, it’s too melodic…” Continue reading ‘Lab report July 10th 2008: consequences of a noisy head’
Monthly Archive for July, 2008
The Cork Indy has a little article on Mike Hurley and Stet Lab.
[Mike Hurley:] “I have improvised in quite a free and gestural way since I was too young to know what free improvisation and free jazz were. …Like anything there was a fair bit of ‘trial and error’ when I was learning. …One prepares for an improvised show in a similar way to which one prepares for a surprise—it’s best not to worry about it.”
…Understanding personal differences is key, he says, to a successful collaborative improvisation, particularly as the process requires collective decision making and a trust in one another’s abilities.
Catch Mike and the Stet Lab (ir)regulars tonight (Thursday, July 10th)! [Details…]
I’ve often wondered what goes through an improviser’s head during group improvisation. The improvised public performances I’ve participated in before have been more like improvised compositions in a sense—one person takes charge, or there’s a kind of plan vaguely sketched out (usually with the proviso that things might happen differently). This was my first time going in ‘cold’, without a plan. Continue reading ‘Lab report June 12th 2008: thoughts of a newbie improviser’
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