Cobra at ISIM, 2010

Here is the video of the performance of Cobra we did at ISIM, 2010. You will see Adam Osmianski prompting the ensemble using Cobra cards. To see a 'cheat sheet' of all the cues, click HERE.

Ophidian Ensemble: Adam Osmianski - prompter
Kristen Chamberlin - horn & conch shells; Ashley DiStefano DeAntonio - voice; Steve Grismore - guitar; Eric Haltmeier - alto saxophone; Keith Jackson, trombone; Scott Jones - trombone; Diego Lyra - piano, melodica; Jesse McBee - trumpet, Paul Scea - tenor saxophone, flute, percussion; Damon Short - drums; Lily Tan - melodica; Mike Vercelli - percussion; David Witter - trombone

Derek Bailey's 'On The Edge'

HERE IS A LINK to a page at ubu.com where you can watch two parts of 'On The Edge', a brilliant four-part documentary series on improvisation created by master improviser/guitarist Derek Bailey. It originally aired on the BBC in 1992. I would love to see this reissued on DVD.

Should We Teach Experimental Music to Children?

A great series of articles from Intransitive Recordings.

O.P. Air

While at the ISIM conference, several of us brainstormed the idea of doing a 'telematic' performance of Cobra (or an adapted version of it) with musicians of varying levels of musical experience. There have been several projects involving telematic music making (musical collaborations done in real-time via computers/video conference with musicians in various parts of the country) over the past few years. But to our knowledge, a telematic collaboration in improvisation with musicians of a young age (middle school) and more experienced musicians (college students and faculty), would be a new undertaking. Some type of structured improvisation (Cobra, Soundpainting) seems like a logical way to engage in this endeavor. In fact, bassist Mark Dresser speaks of his experiences with telematic music (and using Soundpainting) here. A collection of journal articles dealing with telematic music can be accessed (with subscription) here.

As we are in the very beginning stages of developing this project, we are starting to organize thoughts, challenges, and possibilities therein. Ashley and I have begun having our middle school students improvise interactively using Cobra cues (and some of our own adapted cues). Paul Scea has expressed an interest in having his students at WVU (where he actually offers a course in which he teaches Cobra) participate in this project. We have all started talking about the technology necessary in order to make the project work. We've also had some interest from Arthur White and his crew at the University of Missouri. At this point, in order to give the project a name, we shall refer to it as 'O.P. Air'.

Some initial thoughts:

• Our current thought is to have one central prompter (who for lack of a better term right now we will shall refer to as the 'Wizard') who will give cues to "local prompters", who will then in turn give cues to their respective ensembles.
• Although the 'Wizard' (who should be able to hear all/each of the ensembles at will) can give cues to local prompters, she/he will also receive cues from the local prompters as they are requested from ensemble members in each location.
• The local prompters will simply act as a liaison between their ensemble and the 'Wizard'. At this point, we think the local prompters will not give cues on their own. This decision was made in part to encourage the democratic nature of this kind of music making, thereby allowing for the performers in each ensemble to play the largest role in making musical choices and requesting cues.
• Each location will only hear themselves. Only the 'Wizard' will have the ability to hear everyone (I think this poses the greatest technological challenge). In a sense, each local ensemble will endeavor to create their own musical 'piece'. The 'Wizard' may endeavor to interject musical decisions that influence all of the local ensembles.
• High-quality audio recordings should be made in each location in order to document their local performance. These recordings will then be shared and combined in order to create a 'master recording'. That master recording can then be collaboratively edited to create a musical product that combines the musical thinking of all of the ensembles.

We are still discussing which Cobra cues may or may not be conducive to this project. I will post more about this soon. We do think an adapted form of Cobra will work best, although we are also exploring adding some new cues, some of which may be influenced by Soundpainting.

We are also still discussing the technology to make this work. Will Skype be feasible? Should we explore some of the other computer technologies that others have already used---if so, what might those costs be? If we use Skype, how many accounts/laptops would be necessary for this to work.

There are certainly many questions to be addressed. Nonetheless, I think this project offers many exciting musical and educational possibilities.

Introducing Improvisation to Students

The musician and music educator in me was greatly affected by my experiences during my attendance at the ISIM Conference in Ann Arbor, MI. Within days, my mind was reeling with ways that improvisation could be more widely used in the music classroom. As a general and vocal music teacher of a community of students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, it was my understanding that these students would need preparation to break out of the confines of traditional music program and enter into a world completely unknown to them.

As my colleague Eric and I brainstormed on the ten hour drive back to New Jersey, excited over our collaborative Cobra project, one thought would not leave my mind: How do we prepare our students to break boundaries that they have been comfortable in for years? This question turned into an experiment in lesson planning in both choral and general music atmospheres, utilizing what my students have learned to know as “Improv Games.” These games are meant to build a repertoire of improvisational techniques and strategies in students of all grade levels. Students who are new to any experience can feel self conscious, inhibiting their performance and creativity. Participating in Improv Games allows students a “bag of tricks” from which to pull from, giving students assurance in their own abilities to improvise in a performance atmosphere and preparation to craft their own improvisations as they gain further practice. Teachers and directors are to purely act as facilitators presenting games in a safe, trial and error environment. Students should feel free to create, take risks, make mistakes and interact with each other in their impromptu music making. Student reflection is critical, and the class should take time to discuss both the process and results of their music making, as their mental and musical process is critical to the resulting product.

I am pleased to report that my students have not only been open but excited to participate in these activities as we experiment and learn together. I have been presenting most games on a trial basis, as the activity may easily change based on the needs of the student. It is my goal to post detailed lesson plans or directions of each Improv Game and discuss the classroom experience from both the view of the teacher and student, posting reflections not only written by myself but by students as well. Games will be posted by their title so the lesson plans can be easily searched on the blog at later times by readers interested in implementing them in their own classrooms or ensembles. I urge readers to comment and share their Improv Game experience on the blog. Spread the word, so to speak, to other teachers and musicians, creating an open forum to grow and learn in our professions.

Ideas abound...

Earlier this month, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the International Society for Improvised Music Conference (ISIM) in Ann Arbor, MI with my colleague in music education, Ashley DeAntonio. I have attended the ISIM conference for the past three years now, each year becoming extremely inspired through the performances, presentations, and conversations of which I have been a part. In addition to performing with Paul Scea (Director of Jazz Studies at West Virginia University) as a part of our duo, 'Space Genetics', I also had the chance to perform with the 'Ophidian Ensemble' in a performance of John Zorn's game theory-based piece, 'Cobra'. The 'Ophidian Ensemble', organized and "prompted" by Adam Osmianski, consisted of 14 musicians--among us were college students, public school music teachers, collegiate music faculty, and freelance musicians. Zorn's 'Cobra' has been around for several years now and continues to be performed in a variety of contexts. Although quite familiar with Zorn's extensive musical work, this was the first chance I had to learn about and be a part of a performance of 'Cobra'. Some details about the piece can be found on the web HERE and HERE. I also had the opportunity to watch a performance of the University of Missouri Improvisation Ensemble (taught by Arthur White and led by David Witter) perform a piece using Walter Thompson's 'Soundpainting' technique.

After experiencing these performances, and after being a part of many great conversations with some terrific musicians, Ashley and I have been very inspired to implement these kinds of improvising with our students. The music education value in all of this is immense and falls right in line with where my philosophy of music/education has been for a long time.

Using this blog, we will be keeping a record of our experiences implementing these kinds of improvisation in our classes. Additionally, we will be looking at ways we can connect our work in improvisation with the work of our friends/colleagues in improvisation around the country. Stay tuned...