Final Thoughts
“Happy Accidents”
What does penicillin, the microwave, post-it notes, chips, Viagra, Coca-Cola, the ice cream cone, and many other things have in common? They are all extremely successful inventions that were discovered by accident1. I have had many inspiring conversations on this theme over the years with various numbers of musicians, such as Agustí Fernández and Sten Sandell. The conclusion seems to be that the "happy accidents" are cornerstones for many musicians on the scene of improvised music. And as to my artistic research, I consider them to be one of the cornerstones in my studies at RMC.
I ask myself: Have I made discoveries? Absolutely! Have I made “fruitful mistakes”? Indeed! Where are they technically and musically leading me? Well, in many directions at the same time. Some known and some are yet to be discovered. And how can I contribute to the improvising, contemporary and double bass society with my knowledge? Well, to spread the information about this work and what I have accomplished.
My Predecessors
There are many double bass players that successfully contributed with contemporary techniques and thereby developed the language of the double bass, on the improvised scene as well as the contemporary scene. Humbly I realize that most of my personal “discoveries” of contemporary techniques are probably already out there. One example is a right hand tremolo technique that I discovered many years ago. I did not hear or see anyone else do this for years and finally I thought: “Oh, maybe it was my discovery after all?” Then one day I heard the great solo bass recording by Barre Phillips that goes by two names: Basse Barre2 and Journal Violone3, an album that was officially regarded as the first improvised solo double bass recording. And guess what, the right hand tremolo technique was there, and has been there since 1968!
What Is Unique?
So with this in mind I ask myself again, what is unique about this research? I am, as the title suggests, “making a process visible with the hands, the bow and the bass.” In this process, every single part has been of importance. That is, the work that I do in the practice room and at the rehearsals, in the studio or live, and all the documentation and analysis along the way. The archive is the result of all this work, and I would not have played the same way in the live videos that I analyzed if I had not gone through with this conscious process. I would not have had the same result without that structure. But inside this structure, there has been plenty of space to nourish improvisation, leading to “fruitful mistakes” and discoveries. Hence, with the result; discoveries, thereby resulting in new contemporary techniques.
I consider every technique that I recorded to be a complex composition of musical layers. That is why I created the archive with all these specific titles. Thus, if you change one layer just a tiny little bit, then you change the whole composition. A majority of the technical videos are based on a live version. They are the same, but not the same. And the next time they appear in a concert or a session, they will be different, and so on, until they transform into something new. That is the beauty of the complexity, and that is the beauty of improvisation. To capture one version, and then move on.
In my own work I prefer to constantly retesting procedures, modifying them, and eventually throwing them away and replacing them with other procedures4
I Did It
I probably would not have done the research in the way that I did, if I knew in advance that it would be so time and energy consuming. I have spent hours and hours in the studio, hours and hours of editing the audio and video files, and hours and hours on every small step of the way. But I did it, and I think it was thanks to my inner will and my obsession with and love for my instrument, the improvised music, and the equal musical communication that I am striving for and hope for you to find when you perform. To show the complexity of my instrument, or at least a tiny part of it, and also to show what you can achieve with imagination and hard work.
2: Phillips, B (1969)Barre Bass. Futura
3: Barre Phillips "Journal Violone" solo bass LP 1968
4: Troop, R (1999) György Ligeti. Phaidon, p.141
