Introduction
This exposition is the presentation of my final project of master studies in performing music with specialisation in jazz double bass, spanning from autumn 2021 to spring 2023. During the course of my studies, I have been grappling with questions regarding the intersection between performance and composition. As a performing jazz musician in Norway, I almost exclusively perform original music composed by bandmates or myself. The use of material composed by others is scarce, and the performing composer seems ever present. This blurs the lines between between compositional intention contra performer's interpretation, between precomposed material contra spontaneous improvisation.
My first two projects have reflected on how the composition as an object1 can evoke or restrain creative improvisation and interpretation. For my first project I transcribed, performed and researched music by other performing composers. I explored where the lines between composition and improvisation might be drawn, and how compositions indirectly influence my improvisations. For my second project, I composed and performed music researching alternative notation and oral composition approaches. I strived to create less specific compositions, more open to the creative interpretation and improvisation of the performing musicians.
Research question
In this project, I seek to shift the focus from the composition as an object itself, to my role and process as a performing composer, turning myself into the object of study. My central research question is: "How does my dual role of performer-composer interrelate and enrich my artistic praxis as a performer?" The phenomenon of the performing composer is by no means new, being commonplace in the premodern era [O'Grady, 1980, p. 58-59], again becoming popularised in contemporary music [Groth, 2017, p. 14], while also being widespread in popular musics. The resurgence of this praxis in contemporary music has made it an establishing and relevant field of research [Beaugeais, 2020; Groth, 2017]. However, most existing research has focused on the phenomenon from a composer perspective, whereas I consider it from a performer perspective. What I seek to contribute is to examine artistic possibilities this dual role facilitates for me and to articulate realisations I acquire through engaging in it that may be relevant for performers in general.
Method
My method is artistic research. I do not assert to do research on music [Borgdorff, 2006, p. 6-7], as a musicological study of the performing composer role in general would be. My approach is rather to research in music, expanding and developing my experiences as a performing composer. I compose, perform and reflect on the interrelation of the dual role of the performing composer. It is an auto-hermeneutical approach [Gorichanaz, 2017] in which my experiences and processes, my unique approach to this dual role is the focus of research. The research question is not, and can not be, answered through academic text alone. Rather, the research question is addressed in my artistic praxis. This exposition seeks to disseminate and reflect on processes I have been engaging in while exploring the research question artistically.
Structure
This main section of this exposition are the two pages "performer" and "composer." These discuss the research question from two different vantage points. Each page informs the other and is informed by the other. I encourage the reader to explore this exposition in a non-linear fashion, jumping to sections of interest and relevance to you.
In the "Performer" pages, I describe my aesthetics, performing praxis and reherseal processes as a performer. I discuss the term "interpretation" at some length, demonstrating how a performing composer praxis problematises hierarchical attitudes often associated with the term. In the "Composer" pages, I also describe aesthetics and artistic praxis, but from the perspective of me as composer. I discuss the relationship between improvisation and composition and how a performing composer praxis problematises concepts of "the composition" as a static entity. Finally, I describe my compositional process. On the bottom of the front page is a section documenting artistic results. Finally, the conclusion reflects on the totality of the artistic research project and how engaging with the research question has led to artistic development.