Good Morning All -
A couple of experiences I was thinking about over my morning coffee that, for me, relate to improvisation and, perhaps, some of the things Ornette Coleman had to say. Whenever these things happen, I find myself... looking for something. Haven't found it yet.
You're out and about. There's some music off in the distance, close enough to hear, but far enough away that you don't hear it clearly. Something about the melody is really intriguing. You keep listening, wondering what it could be you're listening to. At some point, it becomes clear: it's actually some really well-known pop song. You misheard where 1 was. Once it comes into focus, you can't bring that "other melody" back. Weird.
You're out and about, maybe walking down a city street, maybe relaxing on the beach. Again, you hear some really intriguing music and stop to listen, wondering what it could be that you're listening to. At some point, it becomes clear: it's actually
two different songs playing at the same time. Again, probably well-known pop songs. For a while, they combined to make one piece of music in a weird and wonderful way.
A strange, related experiment if you are so inclined. For context, I teach special ed, and meet with various groups of students in my office. I always have a little
background piano jazz on, just to make the atmosphere a little more pleasant. As an aside, I have, on occasion, had students tell me the music is boring. I tell them that they're right, but it's boring because they're actually
listening to it, which is not its purpose. Every now and then, the conversation continues and I suggest we could put on some piano jazz that was meant to be listened to, and I put on some Bill Evans or Ahmad Jamal. Sometimes they like it, sometimes not, but they always seem to notice the difference.
Anyway, I usually have two or three computers going for work. One sounds better than the others, so normally I have the music playing on that one. Sometimes there are computer issues and I use another. One day, when the issues were resolved, I wanted to switch the music back from one to the other. I had the same loop playing for a few minutes on both at once, and everything went from banal to profound. I've tried that again on purpose a few times to similar effect. I think its interesting listening. If you have two computers, the time, and the inclination, give it a try: start the linked video on one, then start it again on another. See what you think.
Peace,
Cricket
