"Secret World" : Improvised Piano and Theremin

Hello Friends ~

Looks like you had a load of fun doing that, Amey ;-)

The music in the background inclines me to getting the album!

When you say "improvisation" - What exactly does this mean? Did either of you have any kind of plan or score when you got down to playing, did one of you play what was in your head for the other to hear, before you played together? Or did you just go to your instruments and start playing?

Fred.

Hey Fred :) I am glad you enjoyed it :)

The only indication we would get before we would start playing on a piece, was Doug sitting at the piano, with a chord in mind play 10 second or so and then press record and went at it. Sometimes he started and I joined in and other times I started and he joined in... It was so freeing to play this way! No structure, no time constraint, no rushes, just us with our own agenda. The whole album is like that ~ but curiously enough, all of the songs are very melodious and flowing. I have known Doug for a long time so it helps to feel that you have some sort of connection when you take on a project of that sort...

I hope I answered your question :)

"I hope I answered your question :)"- Amey

Thank you, Amey - Yes you did answer my question completely.

I have participated in some collaborations like that, using synths.. Extremely enjoyable, but just for fun with mostly nothing worth retaining coming out of it..

The only exception was one piece, in a "Tangerine Dream" sort of genre - analogue sequencers being tweeked, that sort of stuff... But IMO its not really the same as piano and theremin at all ... The sequencers were providing a predictable structure, over which synths were improvised... And even with this, there was a lot of editing required to make it "work".

When its just been a few synth players (or synth and guitar), I have never got anywhere - lack of telepathy probably ;-) .. That and not knowing music well enough - someone calling out a chord change, and I stop playing until I have heard the chord! LOL ;-) ... Which is ok - except they wanted me to play the damn chord!

To be able to play with someone and create beautiful music without having any kind of script or trial run - WOW!

OT:

(I dont personally get on with theremin group experimental improvisations - Lydia does these sometimes in her classes, with a crowd of thereminists improvising - no reference notes, just a massive heterodyne of heterodyning instruments.. I like some experimental theremin stuff, but not when more than two thereminists are playing without any recognisable musical intervals)

Fred.

It is funny you said that, cause I feel that there is some sort of telepathy going on to be "connected" with one another. I am not into that kind of thing, but I really witnessed another kind of language... THe kind you can't hear nor read... It was very cool :) As you said, there will be editing going on, like piano pedal dampening, fade ins and outs of theremin notes, cut out long and unnecessary parts... The "real" work is only beginning. 

Doug is such a fantastic pianist, he's very sensitive so it is "easier" to play with him. This project is very exciting

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Fred wrote: "When its just been a few synth players (or synth and guitar), I have never got anywhere - lack of telepathy probably ;-) To be able to play with someone and create beautiful music without having any kind of script or trial run - WOW!"

"It is funny you said that, cause I feel that there is some sort of telepathy going on to be "connected" with one another. I am not into that kind of thing, but I really witnessed another kind of language... " - Amey

Yeah, im not "into that kind of thing" either.. But fortunately ;-) there are more rational explanations I think.

I suspect it comes down to our individual "matrix" - the way our brains are "wired", our exposure to musical influences, all that sort of thing.. If you are playing with someone who is "biased" similarly to you, I suspect that your predictave abilities (knowing what they will play next) and creative abilities (knowing / creating an improvisation to fit what they are / will be playing) then together you can create a wonderful composite.

I think the word for this is synergy - a process where the sum is far greater than the parts (more like a multiplication than an addition).. I think this occurs in much music, whether "constructed" or "improvised" - But the difference between what you have done or if you were playing to a script, is that its all "in the moment" - you are both composers / creators and performers.

You could play the same piece again - but if you dont deviate from the original, you will be doing a lot less than you did the first time you created the piece - you wont be composing the music.

Those synergistic moments are, IMO, what makes life worth living.. Everything else is flat by comparison - Even Eurika moments pale by comparison.

Fred.

Fred Wrote: "Those synergistic moments are, IMO, what makes life worth living.. Everything else is flat by comparison - Even Eurika moments pale by comparison."

oh Fred... You are so right on this! I very much agree!! <3

You and Brion have described your collaborations over the years as products of a "third mind." What is the source of this concept?

Burroughs: A book called Think And Grow Rich
Gysin: It says that when you put two minds together. . .
Burroughs. . . . . there is always a third mind
Gysin: . . . . a third and superior mind. . . .
Burroughs: . . . . as an unseen collaborator.

From The Third Mind, William Burroughs & Brion Gysin, 1978

You got a good sound out of the theremin and your playing is a good "fit" for the mood of the piano.  Congratulations!

THank you Fred, Gordon and Kevin :)