“The fundamental condition of improvisation is the conversation and that you may do it with a musical instrument, you may do it with all kinds of gorgeous developed articulated artistic techniques, but the conversation is the template for the improviser. We listen to each other, we respond, we respect each other, we shut up while the other person is talking. All of these kinds of interactional things relating to who is in front of us, who we are talking to, what the conditions are, what the room feels like, and all of that.” Stephen Nachmanovitch
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- Shafeeq Alsadi
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abstract
Over the course of many years of playing the qanun; a trapezoidal middle eastern zither-like stringed instrument, I have noticed how often the instrument has been played within its modal traditional framework, leading me to a perception that the qanun and myself are prevented from discovering more techniques and new potentials. I, hence, have been attempting to explore the traditional manners of treating the instrument with regard to timbre, playing techniques, and different harmonic orientations - while trying to maintain its true qualities and not losing sight of its traditional soul. My aspiration, as well as my method, is to be open to what one can do with the instrument rather than to take a specific approach. The qanun had shown an untapped capacity for expanded techniques and a broader range of sounds that enrich and revitalize the instrument's sounds library. This research has enabled me to stretch my boundaries and explore unknown possibilities, which has helped in the expansion of my own self-expression as a composer. It also paved the way for me to investigate further unexplored potentials of the instrument as this research emphasizes to show the qanun’s enormous capabilities that have yet to be realized.
- Shafeeq Alsadi - Searching for possibilities - Exploring the potentials of my Qanun performance - 2022
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