Reflection

The concept of natureous music is influenced by diverse materials from other musical genres, different art forms, and daily life around me but the main sources are free improvisation and folk music. During the working process, many influential elements were associated and intricately woven like a spider web. By action and reaction, those factors were condensed and gradually formed one concept. The project yielded a new perspective of the composition, an unlike notation method, different use of sound and disposing instruments, and intermingling irregularities as one sound.

In this exposition, I clarified the sounds and composing methods to investigate natureous parameters evidently. Alternative sounds are widely used in classical contemporary music and free jazz/free improvisation. The purpose and the way of using it are varying depending on the field and genre. As the use of alternative sounds as the main component, my project has a similar approach with, for example, Magda Mayas who is a classical pianist, especially specializing in the prepared piano or Vilde&Inga, the Norwegian string duo which I mentioned in the previous chapter. However, in this thesis, I proposed to use alternative sounds like musical notes to describe the theme and articulate the musical structure to convey the image and the story of the music to the listener effectively.

I actively applied collective improvisation as a main component in the basic framework which is a composing tool and a guideline in the music. There are many cases of free improvisation with a general theme or concept such as Brötzmann‘s Machine Gun. However, the difference in my method is specifying the musicians’ roles to arrange and blend different elements to describe the theme clearly. Although the musicians have limited freedom, still they improvise on their roles while interacting with each other and remaining well-connected.

As a methodology, in alternative sounds, I compounded both the traditional method and my own exploration. Since the imitation of past musicians and their sounds is a standard method in traditional jazz studying, it also can be applied to alternative sounds. Because there is no notation for it, or even if there is, it is unclear and complex to comprehend all the details, I recommend this method to understand and practice alternative sounds. During searching for a specific sound, the musician can discover new techniques and create new approaches that lead to another idea. It does not only occur at own practice but also rehearsals or live situations. This method of searching for a new sound has other possibilities by expanding the sources or tools. For example, interchanging the idea between different instruments or extending the instrument by applying new gears.

The elements of the composing method I extracted are based on music which has more freedom. I focused on the features in this music, rearranged and applied them as a composing tool by exaggeration. My purpose was to create the music without the conservative structure while the listener can comprehend and interpret it by themselves.

I hope this exposition contributes to new perspectives on the application of alternative sounds and the sequencing of musical elements in the composition. During the span of my experimentation, I could advance my perspective and widen the musical boundaries. Even though the concept of natureous is quite abstract and challenging to define as a methodology, I believe this new approach could contribute to opening up new territories and yield different aspects of human aesthetics.