Leaderboard

If you are in an ensemble where improvisation a part of your routine, try this as an exercise in trust and bonding. There is one general rule. Do not play a note or phrase unless it is directed by another member of the ensemble. And by directed I mean without overt gestures like what a conductor might use. You may look at each other, but that is not dependable because if one looks at another person who is looking at another person, that person doesn't see your direction. So, basically the directions that are the most effective are telepathic. The whole exercise is a sort of musical Ouija board. There are no guidelines or expectations in style and no presumptive outcome. Just freedom of thought. I was playing piano in one of these experiments, and it started out slowly, cautiously. Little by little sounds emerged, a brief gesture here, a rumble of low notes there. We were picking up steam. I was catching a message from the cellist but it wasn't clear what she wanted. So I received other messages and passed my own around. It was going nicely, but the cellist kept playing the same thing over and over like a broken record. Finally after about ten minutes, I got up and walked directly to the back of the stage where a row of folding chairs were in a loose line against the wall. Without any thought whatsoever I pushed the line as hard as I could and they tumbled over like dominoes, making an awful racket. Just realizing what I had done, I turned around to find the director with his eyes open wide in disbelief. And I calmly back down at the piano. The exercise was over. And I'm like, why are you looking at me like that? The cellist made me do it ...