"Oh, Pierre!" influencing Pingree ensemble

Having spent time learning and experimenting with 'Oh, Pierre' in the Pingree School Instrumental Ensemble, I am beginning to see the impact on the students as they improvise in a variety of contexts.  For a concert we have scheduled tomorrow night, the Pingree students are going to play a piece originated by the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble called 'War'.  In rehearsing the 'solo section' of the song, the group started some collective 'jamming' that started to stretch beyond the traditional confines of this three chord groove tune.  They gradually started 'deconstructing' the music, improvising on different ideas inside the song.  At times, I would show a few 'Oh, Pierre' signs in order to suggest a new path in their improvising. I found that giving a cue or two would shift their listening to a more interactive domain.  After signs are given, it somehow puts the ensemble in a frame of mind that then allows for them to listen and interact in ways comparable to when they perform 'Oh, Pierre'.  They have been improvising in a deeper and more empowered way, and seem to be extremely invested in the process.  I am planning to post a link to a recording of the performance they offer tomorrow night.  I am very much looking forward to it.  They've been doing some great work.

The First "Oh, Pierre!" of the Fall 2011 Term in the WVU Big Band

It really went well. The students learned it in a few minutes. Seven of the eighteen people had been involved with the telematic concert last year, that certainly helped the learning curve.

They were beginning to make calls after the first fifteen minutes or so. They particularly enjoy the Landmarks and are pretty clever about it. They gravitate towards the humorous which is interesting. My personal favorite involved making monkey sounds....

I think this piece is now a permanent part of this band's repertoire.

Oh, Pierre! beyond the classroom...

Last Friday evening, I brought a high school sophomore of mine to give a brief performance for a school function. He performed a five-minute improvisation at the piano and did a great job. His performance was well-received and he seemed to feel good about it as well.

Before bringing him over to the performance, we met in the school music room. While there, he informed me that he was really enjoying the 'whole improv thing with the hand signs' we were doing in class. He told me he had been in a rehearsal outside of school with a few other student musicians where there were just jamming together. Looking for their jamming to take on some new life, he taught the group several of the hand signs from 'Oh, Pierre!'. He said this had a great effect on the music of the group and that he really loved using them and was starting to see just how useful they could be in helping his group to communicate musically.

Cool...

A New Year With Cranbury Improv

The Cranbury School Improv Ensemble began their rehearsals just last week. Student volunteers turn out for the ensemble has been wonderfully overwhelming, these kids love their improv!

We have had two rehearsals so far, with some returning members and some brand new, so much of our time the past two rehearsals have been spent reviewing "Oh! Pierre" cues. I have already seen an improvement in the students' ability to listen and react to what is happening in the ensemble, versus playing for playing sake. Students are definitely taking their time to make musical decisions that will influence the piece and are playing as an ensemble, instead of just following cues.

Next rehearsal I hope to have students call cues from the ensemble and possibly have a few student conductors lead. I think the following conversation outlines how important "Oh! Pierre" has become to these middle school students:

Student: Ms. D, I saw on the schedule we don't have a rehearsal in December. Why?

Me: I figured with the winter concert schedule and all of you being in so many ensembles we should have a break. Did I assume incorrectly?

WHOLE ENSEMBLE: Yes!

Student: Can we have an "Oh! Pierre" rehearsal before break? I can't go an entire month

without playing!

Starting with Soundpainting

I've got a very young big band this year. I introduced them to Soundpainting in the second week of classes. I thought I would start there so that they would have Soundpainting as a background before being introduced to "Oh Pierre!".

They are very quick to learn it and kwow around 45 gestures after three 15 minute rehearsals. Once they've learned a few more gestures I'll have them take turns being the conductor. Once they are comfortable with that, we'll learn Oh, Pierre!.

'Oh, Pierre!' at Pingree School

I have recently started introducing 'Oh, Pierre!' to my new students at the Pingree School in South Hamilton, MA. So far, I've started teaching some cues to students in my Instrumental Ensemble (2 guitars, 2 basses, 2 keyboards, trombone, drums) and in my Contemporary Music Ensemble (violin, viola, flute, clarinet, 2 saxes, keyboard, tuba, drums, percussion). They all seem to be having fun learning the cues, and seem to be trying to figure out where exactly this is all headed. I am very impressed with their open-mindedness. I can already tell this is going to be a blast. As the year goes on, I will be posting feedback (my own as well as theirs) as well as audio and video clips of our work.

Missouri University Creative Improvisation Ensemble

The University of Missouri Creative Improvisation Ensemble in a performance at the 2010 International Society for Improvised Music Conference utilizing a modified form of Walter Thompson's 'Soundpainting'.

Another Cranbury Rehearsal

Had another outstanding 'Oh, Pierre' rehearsal last night. We had a slightly larger group this time. After reviewing the cues, we had students take turns in being 'prompters'. We did reach the point where members of the group started requesting cues as well. The more we practice, the more interesting, fun, and different the music becomes. The next step will be introducing Landmarks. Things are shaping up nicely!!

Here are some reflective comments from students following the rehearsal:

Today was really fun!
1) I find it so much fun when we create combinations of sounds that we never thought were even possible!!
2) I get a kick out of hearing one type of sound and a totally different one after it
3) This is a place where we can explore our own voice and instruments
4) It's a great way to end the day!
Thanks for inviting me to come! I love this group!!!

1) Funny stuff rocked!
2) Needs to be more spontaneus (not sure if I spelt that right)
3) I like not having to play sheet music

In improv, I learned so much! Here are some of the reasons I liked it....
You always have to be on your toes, ready to get involved!
You can learn so much and have fun in such a short time.
Improv has so many different techniques, so everyone is super creative!

I liked having members of the group conduct, and I also liked switching to brushes and mallets (texture changes). I thought it was a good idea to listen and play with eachother, something I don't think we get enough of in class.

1. Are we going to do guerilla warfare?
2. I think that everyone is more comfortable with the cues today
3. What is guerilla warfare?

Fun with Landmarks

1. 3 people trying to hold a conversation as they speak 3 different languages (Malay, German, Portuguese).

2. Spiraling, but using single words that must continue to form a sentence.

3. Play TV theme songs.

5 Short Pieces

I recorded the rehearsal in order to test the recorder. But, I thought they were interesting enough to post. I conducted one of these, and the other four were by four different members of the ensemble who took a shot at being a Monkey.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11944689/Number%20One.wav

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11944689/Number%20Two.wav

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11944689/Number%20Three.wav

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11944689/Number%20Four.wav

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11944689/Number%20Five.wav

Thoughts following the first Cranbury rehearsal...

Following our first rehearsal of "Oh, Pierre!" we asked students to submit three thoughts they had in reflection on the experience.

Here are some examples of responses:

1. I liked being in the school at night...it made me feel like a secret agent.
2. I thought it was easier for me to sing because i could be quiet and no one would notice (Quiet Mistakes)
3. I'm excited to see how much we/I can improve over the course of all the rehearsals!

1. I am DEATHLY AFRAID of this
2. To contradict that, i am UBER excited
3. I have a feeling i'll be more confident in my improv after this
4. This will be hard, but i'm up for the challenge

1. How do you pick out what symbol to use if everyone wants to do different things at the same time?
2. What if you are picked to play whatever and you don't want to play?
3. Is it possible to mess up in this?

1. Improv is not so bad as a group
2. Improv is fun!
3. more swing stuff

1. It was something new and fun
2. It was nerve-racking learning all the signs
3. It was a great opportunity to improvise

1. Going to sound interesting
2. Loved the snacks!
3. Don't mind playing by myself

"I have to say that I had no idea of what to expect before I came tonight, but I had a lot of fun! My favorite part was the dramatic changes of the music. I hope we can do a little more of where one person has "Freedom" and then the rest of the group has "Hits" at the same time, kind of like a solo section in Jazz Band. I also thought that the "Drone" was a good cue to use for transitioning smoothly between 2 very different styles of the song. Thanks for doing this with us!"

1. This seems like it will be an interesting and fun experience
2. I am excited learning new cues
3. Will we ever sound together while improvising or will we always be
playing totally separate things all the time?

Middle Schoolers' Initial Reaction to Oh, Pierre!

Yesterday, Eric and I held our first rehearsal with our middle school (grades 6-8) music students. In order to gauge our students' developing thoughts, skills and understanding of improvisation in our CD-SIDE composition, we gave students a short survey before we began on their initial reactions on being invited to participate in the project. Their answers are as follows:

OH PIERRE! Pre-participation Survey

What was your first impression of this project as you read the permission paper?

"I thought that it seemed new and strange and interesting."

"I was excited! I thought it would be a cool experience."

"I first thought I could finally stop being afraid of improvising"

"Good because you're not given any restrictions (time, key signature)."

How would you describe your experience and your level of comfort with improvisation either instrumentally or vocally?

"Experience 5/10, Confidence 2/10."

"I am fairly experienced and I'm not that comfortable with improvising."

"I am usually afraid to play in empty space since I tend to add and drop a beat or two from measures"

"Instrumentally-okay...not much confidence. Vocal- do not like singing in front of people."

"I have had much vocal improvisation from theater camps and I love it- I have to be in the mood."

What is one thing that excites you about this project, likewise what is one thing (if any) that may concern you about this project?

"I'm concerned about what it will sound like. I like how we have our own individuality in our improv."

" I am always afraid to lose time on the drums, but I've never really tried vocal."

"I am excited to hear what the final product sounds like. I'm not concerned about anything."

"I just like music. It will probably end up being pretty bizarre."

What do you hope to gain (either musically or otherwise) from your participation in this project?

"I hope to gain knowledge."

"To become a better improvolizationalist."

"Better improvness."

"I hope to play a totally different kind of music and learn to stay in time, but still be creative!"

LANDMARKS really are useful.

These are some of the things we've done so far with Landmarks:

specific chords

determined endings

modes to improvise on

quarter tones

groupings of instruments

vocal sounds

chords in a sequence conducted

beatbox effects

speaking on a topic

predetermined readings

play objects around you

applause

3 Rehearsals Into It

I've now had 2 rehearsals utilizing all the signs. It is really going well. Still only a few students are comfortable calling from the ensemble.

I had 2 of the students take my place and be the conductor today.

The LANDMARKS is fantastic. We've used particular modes, animal sounds, specific endings, specific styles, and vocal sounds for instrumentalists.

OH, PIERRE! Cue Sheet

1st Rehearsal a Success

We rehearsed Oh Pierre last night for the first time with a 12 piece group. They picked it up very quickly and seemed to be into it. Only a few of these people had done Cobra before, but all but one knew basic Soundpainting signs. A couple of them were comfortable calling for signals right away.

I didn't see any problems with what we had. I did incorporate a sweeping hand motion to indicate “everyone” or “everyone within a certain physical area” rather than pointing individually “you” to speed things up.

We did all of the calls except the LANDMARKS. I'll toss that notion in next week.

25 Symbols or Less!

Oh Pierre!

(Ashley DiStefano Mary Catherine Peter Di Tenório DeAntonio/Eric Haltmeier/Paul Scea)

Landmarks [“L” in one hand and a number of fingers in the other]

Predetermine Groups

Particular Modes

Endings

Anything else

Intuitive Musical Calls (some borrowed from Soundpainting)

Start [conduct]

Stop [ conduct]

You [point to person]

With [cross forearms]

Continue [false start in football]

Drone [straight line palm down horizontal movement]

Change what you are doing [letter C]

Up or Down [back of hands up or down]

Freedom [make a diamond with both hands]

Audio Stutter [fist on palm/fist off palm to start and stop](= Soundpainting “Stab-Freeze”)

Hit [short conducting motion]

Like Instruments [mimic instrument, as in play air trombone to indicate all trombones]

Sound Memories [point to head and hold up finger](3 maximum)

Groove [finger snapping]

Swing [like a yo-yo]

Extended Techniques [fists together then pull fists apart horizontally]

Spiraling [forefinger up and spiraling motion](“ordered cartoon trades”)

Events [“E” with fingers + number of events in the other hand]

Long/Short [distance between thumb and forefinger]

Fader

tempo [“T” followed by fader]

volume [“V” followed by fader]

Notes:

Wizard/Monkees/Performers

Finished Audio Product/Separate Video and Audio

10-20 players per group

multiple 8 minute pieces

TO DO:

1 Get Arthur up to speed-he's onboard now. He need the finished piece to begin rehearsal. I'll take care

of that via Skype.

2 Complete notion of columns -DONE

3 Create symbols – Are we there?

4 Come up with individual rehearsal schedules

5 Determine tech rehearsal

6 Determine dress rehearsal

7 Determine performance date

Your Brain on Improvisation

Other folks doing some cool work...

More thinking about 'Columns'

In thinking some more about the columns for 'CD-SIDE', I was trying out some improvisation in some instrumental lessons and ensembles this week. In trying to break things down into the simplest and most 'objective' ways of dealing with sound, I built upon what we had been discussing by using the following sets of opposites:
Soft/Loud
Slow/Fast
Short/Long
Low/High
Empty/Full (thinking in terms of space or density)
...also wondering about...
Even/Uneven (with steady pulse/without steady pulse)

Experimented in using the 'volume' cue (from Soundpainting), but applying it to any one (or even combinations of) the above opposites. Students of all levels seem able to successfully follow these cues, and in doing so are also able to reflect on how they sometimes combine elements together without realizing it (i.e. when they play fast they, tend to play loud, etc).

This led to some interesting discussion about using more subjective opposites in their improvisation (i.e. happy/sad, bright/dark, lazy/energetic, silly/serious). We did try out improvising using the subjective opposites with the 'level cue' arm gesture. The musical results were interesting and led to some good reflective discussion regarding which of the 'Simple opposites' they found themselves working with in order to create in a more abstract way.

Just wondering if/how this way of thinking in opposites might/might not play into the cue system. Also makes me think of the Cobra 'crossfade' cue and it how might apply. And also keeps me thinking further about some kind of 'sound board' where the various cues might live (as opposed to hand signals in order to request cues).

Just food for thought...

Notes from First Video Conference

Here Are Some Ideas For Columns:

Who

"You"

Predetermined Groups

Simple Sound Descriptions

Soft

Loud

Long

Short

Fast

Slow

Musical Roles

Melodic

Harmonic

Rhythmic

Textural

Special Symbols

Continue

Start

stop

"with"

Change

Up or Down

Total Freedom

Sound Memories

One

Two

Three

Effects

Drone

Swing

Groove

Extended Techniques

Spiraling (Ordered Cartoon Trades)

Hit/Chord Memory

Audio Stutter

Dorian Mode

Lydian Mode

Notes:

Wizard/Monkies/Performers

Predetermined Landmark Calls

Finished Audio Product/Separate Video and Audio

10-20 players per group

multiple 8 minute pieces

TO DO:

get Arthur up to speed

complete notion of columns

create symbols

come up with individual rehearsal schedules

determine tech rehearsal

determine dress rehearsal

determine performance date

International Improvised Music Archive

A nice resource for articles dealing with improvisation in music. Includes reviews, improvisation games, and historical articles.

LINK

Improv Game #1-Musical Mad Libs

Musical MAD LIBS

- A blank MAD LIBS sheet is projected on the board. There are many websites that offer free MAD LIBS for students, such as http://www.classroomjr.com/printable-mad-libs-for-kids/. Word clues such as nouns, verbs, adjectives; should be replaced by descriptions of sounds, instruments to be used, dynamics or other improvisational cues that has been used in the class room. Some cues for example:

Spoken Event (3 times)

Staccato Xylophone

Forte Female Voices

All voices whisper

Tribal rhythm on percussion instruments

Beatbox Male Voices

Sing your favorite nursery rhyme

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES!

***The teacher prompted cues should be used as an introduction. The larger goal of the activity is for students to develop their own cues in order to replace the word cues in the MAD LIB. Students may use the word clues as inspiration for their musical cues, i.e. “How would you make a verb sound?”

Students should perform the MAD LIB as an "Improv Ensemble", the teacher or student volunteer will read (or sing) the MAD LIB story while the class performs the musical cues that occur throughout.

Below is a MAD LIB example that my 4th grade general music classes performed:

"The Snow Globe"

I have a magic snow globe. It was given to me by (Whispers) who lives in (3 Events). It’s magical because when I shake it (All instruments/voices <>), it (Staccato playing). Then I can pretend to go to (Sing Holiday Songs). But when I shake it (Vocal Sound Effects), the snow globe (Staccato Instruments).

One day not long ago, when I shook the globe, something really (2 Forte Events) happened. In fact, it was so (Legato Voices) that I called (Cartoon Order) so I could share the news. This person thought it was (Duet with partner) He called the (Speech >).

A reporter came to my house to see the globe for herself. Now the globe is (character order holiday song clips), and so am I!

The End...

More reading...

The Shape of Education to Come: Improvisation and Critical Pedagogy
by David Bell

LINK

Scott Thomson - 'The Pedagogical Imperative of Musical Improvisation'

LINK to the Thomson article in 'Critical Studies in Improvisation'