Trust and responsibility
Group improvisation, much like any kind of collaborative work, requires trust. In ensembles like Dans les arbres and Huntsville the members share responsibility when creating musical situations together.
I need to be able to trust in my partners;
their musical choices;
my own material;
my partners' materials.
I need to be able to trust that together we can,
or alone I can keep the tension,
that my material or my partners' material can and will hold a situation,
that each tiny tweak and nudge,
are undertaken to contribute to the collective building of a piece of music.
Mutuality is essential, my partners need to be able to trust me the same way.
The sense of responsibility is most evident to me
when there is an audience,
but it is also present when recording in the studio.
We create something collectively.
Collectivity is demanding.
Indecisiveness is contagious.
The strong sense of responsibility
does something (almost physical) to me
when I play.
Even the tiniest concern or distrust can cause jumped pauses, rushed action, extinguished silence.
Perhaps this sense of responsibility,
which also enforces strong work ethics,
is part of the reason why there are difficult pauses,
why there are few stops,
why I sometimes find it difficult to contribute inaudibly?
And thus, why we almost never play short?
Perhaps this sense of responsibility,
which also enforces strong work ethics,
is part of the reason why the form is as it is?
Decisiveness is contagious!