Blog

Watching musicians with great listening ability

Randy Chiurazzi — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:17:48 +0000

I went to hear the jazz group Road Work Ahead. Bill Mays- Piano, Bob Plank- Drums, Peter Sprague- Guitar, Bob Magnusson- Bass. They played Jazz arrangements of some popular stuff and mostly originals. The players made "IT" happen: separate instruments semlessly blend and create hybrid sounds coming from hybrid instruments... if you closed your eyes you might imagine that you were hearing the "Guitariano", the "Guitbass", or the "Drugitarbassiano". I left so highly motivated to continue my ear training practices. Listening is what does it. They had mastererful technique but it was the sound caused by this unseen act that was tieing them together. The players mixed eachother's sounds together in their inner ears, sent that sound out, and received a new version back. It was similar to the feedback loop effect I describe in this blog post. They deserved the standing ovation we gave them. Go see Road Work Ahead if you like Jazz. They are the very real deal. For you Jazz buffs, they are the deal inspired by Buddy Bolden back when it all got started.

You are the instrument

Randy Chiurazzi — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:24:27 +0000

Trey Gunn posted this video of a great Jazz pianist describing how your instrument is an illusion. How your internal process is the thing that is really happening. I have experienced where the notes I am playing "fit" with the texture of the music around me because of my perspective on them, not necessarily because of their technical place in the music (i.e. playing a major scale because a certain kind of chord is playing in the background). An example of the notes flowing out of my "perspective" would be that when I am confident in the stream of notes (and/or silences), they flow best. I have had my solos fall to pieces when that confident sensation is not there. This observation has led me to beleive that it is most important to practice things like "playing from a sense of confidence" and practicing "tenacious focus". I have caught myself in moments where these things are in abundance, and I can do no wrong whether the notes are technically "in" or "out" . Perhaps this "perpsective effect" works like some kind of quantum mechanical law. Enjoy.

Possible approaches to improvisation

Randy Chiurazzi — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:22:55 +0000

-Throw a rock through the window of your:

expectations

likes, dislikes

understandings

philopohies

ideas

concepts

memories

mind set

mind field

mindfeild

thought parents

thought children

practiced patterns

pitter patterns

ponder patterns

pain pots

pill poisins

THEN

let yourself understand chaos if you see it

Sound Music Generator

Randy Chiurazzi — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:21:34 +0000

I was checking out this great wind acitivated musical instrument:

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-beach.html

I become the suit man

Randy Chiurazzi — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:47:46 +0000

Paul Moeller from Technomania circus shot this great example of a suit composition. This one is called, "wired". Watching this video shows an intersting compositional appoach that the "suit idea" is best suited for (questionable puns notwithstanding). It is the following cyclical realtionship as composition generator:

The movement of the player causes the sound, then the sound influences the movement of the player, the movement of the player causes the sound, then the sound influences the movement of the player, etc.

The player in this video is tighly linked to the sound and the sound is tightly linked to the actions of the player.

It is that relationship that my work wih the suit is exploring.
This blog post is about a similar effect I found in the "wild" when I saw "Road Work Ahead".

Thanks Paul!

The video:

It's about Whirring through space

Randy Chiurazzi — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:33:33 +0000

Jonathan Piper's picture on "The Garage Gig" page of me whirring in a semi-here/semi not-here moment inspired this reflection. The image gets at what it is like to be behind the controls of the 'sound suit'. In one sense, I am very clear on what I am going to do (I am "here"), but I am also in between knowing what I am going to do, and not knowing (the "not-here"). The image also gets at what it is like to hear what is going on while gesturing: the sound picture is aslo whirring; here, not-here, or not-quite-here- arriving just as the physical gesture arrives...sometimes as a sudden calm where sound and gesture are in the "not-here", and I am in the eye of a moment; the focus of the lens... then slamming together ,"here", like wavecrests, the photo is that moment. Thank you Jonathan!

The sound suit as spontaneous soundtrack generator for performer

Randy Chiurazzi — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:27:13 +0000

Sound suit performances as simultaneous soundtrack and choreography.

Ripping them a new one with electricity

Randy Chiurazzi — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:07:58 +0000

I really enjoyed playing the material with electric guitar and effects at Brick by Brick last Sunday. I think it got out to the audience. When I played with the league of Crafty Guitarists, all 13 of us would focus quietly on having a great performance about 5 minutes before curtain call. But, right as that ended and we were about to go on, Robert Fripp would say something to the effect, 'now let's rip them a new one'. I finally sense some real version of that. I could really feel my commitment to the material I was performing that night. I had a sense that all I have are some notes and guitar effects, electricity, so I better really reach in and make something exciting happen. It's actually not a lot (notes, effects, electricity), but committing to the act made it come alive for me. Then, it seemed, it was getting out to the audience- Brick by sonic Brick.

Creating a guitar suit

Randy Chiurazzi — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:26:42 +0000

I am working on the guitar suit that I will be using next Saturday, 1/22/2011 at the second annual San Diego Experimental guitar show. I will create multi-timbral sound clusters (sound clouds if you will), by moving an amplified guitar over the various string-exciting objects adhered to the suit. The most important construction tip came from my brother. He suggested that I use velcro to affix the components. As I began using velcro I realized why it is the most important tip. Now the suit can be configured for different kinds of composition:

Promo Piece 1 Promo Piece2