The recording above is a documentation of a live performance made at HSM on the 27th Februari 2023.
The recording has two parts, the first part is called Svartvinter and it is a composition with a given melody and form. The second part is a semi-structured improvisation. In both the pieces I have worked with trichords as constructive element.
In this composition the trichord (0,3,5) plays a central role, both as motif and to create chords. The trichord is played in different transpositions as motivic variants. The different variants are labeled A, B, C & D in the grafic above.
The motivic variants are always played in the same order but, because I am playing solo, I can decide for how long I stay with one of them before going on to the next. In some ways this is similar to how Norwegian gangar music is constructed. By not deciding the number of repetitions or type of ornamentation this opens up for a small ratio of improvisation within the written composition, it is a way of creating musical flux that I find very efficient when it comes to solo playing.
During this project one of the ideas behind starting from a small musical material that I develop is to see how this effects the quality of coherence in the music. For the first part the composition stays very disciplined to its trichord source but by the time it reaches 01:47 into the recording, and the motif ”D” is played, all the pitches of a diatonic scale (A natural minor) have been presented and I start using the whole mode more liberally. There is also a major change in the rhythmical mode at the same moment. Perhaps a need to break free from the constraints of the original rule? The new root F that is introduced in this section reappears in the end as a reharmonization of the motif ”A” into a F6 chord and so another factor in musical coherence plays in - the inseparable relationship between material and form.
For the reader interested in music theory I would like to add a discussion on the utility of rethinking a diatonic scale into different objects or shapes, in this case the three-note collection with one minor third combined with a major second. When harmonizing the A-minor scale with this shape the intervals will sometimes be different while the shape stays the same, just like with triads, this is the nature of diatonic music. This is why (0,2,5) and (0,1,5) sounds so similar, because of the diatonic logic. It is only when the transpositions use the exact same intervals that the music starts to become a-tonal. But I wonder if I would have imagined the same construction if I had not gone through the process of thinking of trichords and instead had started with the A-minor scale? In that way I think this piece reflects how experimenting using different tools can help me hear something familiar in a new way.
Improvisation
The part that follows (around 06:20 into the recording) is an example of what I call ”semi-structured improvisation”. Some of the material I use was pre-determined and I had some ideas about the general mood and texture of the music. However, unlike Svartvinter where there was a melody and motifs in a certain order, the ratio of improvisation is bigger this time because I did not have a set form from the start.
The pre-determined material consists of a trichord in three transpositions plus their inverted forms all containing the pitch ”B”. The B can then be used as a pivotal note or pedal point. As you can see one of the inverted forms lacks the B and is therefore excluded.
Much of the preparation was spent examining the possibilities of these chords on the guitar in inversions and different spacings, using "the map" but also writing down passages and playing it back as a way of exploring ideas that I might try to revisit in a live performance.
When improvising I also explored how to prolong the content in making melodies using common tone transpositions leading away from the original material or by freer use of intervals that are created when the chord is inverted or spaced differently. The chord inversions also plays a crucial role in the dramaturgy, as different intervals will be more or less dissonant. In this piece I got particularly fond of the first inversion in open position (D#, B, E) that sounds similar to a E major seventh chord played from the seventh, the very dissonant minor ninth calling for resolution.
At the end of the improvisation E minor is established as a tonic.
I find it interesting to compare Svartvinter to the improvisation keeping in mind my initial ideas on the hierarchy between composed and improvised that I described on the page Point of departure. I find that having some pre-determined materials helps to give the piece a stronger identity and that the identity has a strong connection to the materials chosen. It that way I find the approach to be fruitful. At the same time, the strong limitations on materials used, trichords being a minimal musical set, can sometimes feel like very strong boundaries. I therefore feel I get the best results when I can expand on the material in ways that lead me to larger sets that are more familiar to the ear.
Playing solo allows me to have full control in regards to both material usage and the form of the piece. I can decide when to move on to a new section without having to decide on musical cues in advance. What I do not get is, of course, the in-the-moment interplay and collective material development that happens when improvising in an ensemble. I still find it useful to explore the solo format because I can explore ideas in my own pace and some of the discoveries will hopefully be useful to bring back to the ensemble format.