Background & Personal Information
Profession: Musician through improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation was a language in the way she saw her world in the most natural way possible giving life’s circumstances.
Improvisation Activitys & Reflections
Audrey Chen asked people to volunteer to improvise as a group with the only limitation being duration. I really liked this inclusive way of teaching it made for a more interesting and engaging experience.
We reflected as an entire group about our listening experience which made for some really intelligent conversations. As a first year it was really nice having second, third year students and people taking a master degree in the room and listening to there intelligent questions.
A bit of topic however, this relates personally to me there is this series I’m current in love watching called power book 2: ghost where the lead actor is playing a role called Tariq who is a university student. He takes a class called ‘canonical studies’. The way we reflected about our listening experiences in todays masterclass felt canonical studies which made for a really enjoyable, engaging experience for me.
Three volunteers, two used their voices and the third used an instrument. They improvised a composition in which in reflection I felt discomfort and uncomfortableness. Firstly I didn’t know what to expect however thought the composition there was an element of predictability that occurred to expect the unexpected in the way tension was built and released. A comment from a third year was “it felt like the three bodies became a sense of one” however, this comment was opposed by other third year that in fact “three bodies felt very individual”. It was really interesting to see opposing views being discussed and brought me back to the feeling of Tariq in canonical studies.
This really got my mind thinking and I came to some reflections and conclusions myself. Improvisation is a language. What I mean from his statement is through improvisation its a way of communicating without speech as its very revealing. Audrey Chen feels she has to be first to say something or be quick with an introduction which now is apart of her personality which comes from the fact she’s an asian American so she wants to give the picture she speaks English. I feel this is a good personality triat as it relates back to being reviling therefore others can understand a full picture. Improvising as a group overtime you are forced to be revealing which is why musicians who improvise together are able to predict each others next move because the picture is more full.
Individually everyone found their timing and sense of place in the composition. Naturally everyone was communicating through their imagination though the senses of listening and feeling.
Melody in Improvisation
You have to figure out where to include melody. Where melody is created shortly after it is destroyed.