Roger Aldridge
Roger Aldridge
Roger Aldridge
@roger-aldridge

Beyond Notation

user image 2015-03-04
By: Roger Aldridge
Posted in: Article
Beyond Notation

Whenever people ask me to describe my music I often include the words fun and adventure. These qualities are expressed in how I encourage performers of my music to think of what I have written as being a point of departure, to discover  their  vision of the music, to experiment with it, and find ways for the music to be a fresh, fun, and adventurous experience each time it is performed. 

For that to happen, I usually do not compose music that is completely notated. The amount of music that I notate is on a sliding scale. At one end of the scale are extended pieces like  Donut Music  and  Buzzards In Love  which incorporate improvisation within a highly-notated work. At the opposite end of the scale are minimalist pieces like  New Tango No. 1  and  Smaller Ups And Downs  which have a small amount of notated music and use a particular concept for an improvisational framework. These improv-based pieces are dependent upon the performers to bring the music to life. By having a sliding scale of notation, ensembles interested in performing my compositions can choose the pieces that are a match for how much improvisational freedom they want to have in the music. 


I understand how music can have different expressive interpretations given to it by directors and performers. However, I want to go beyond that to embrace a spirit of "Let's see where we can go with this". That is, 
for performances of my music to be a journey of discovery -- a collective creative process between the composer, performers, director (if one is used), and the audience -- in which the music is alive, spontaneous, and it continues to evolve with each performance. I think of this creative process as being like a jazz solo. 

I enjoy being surprised when performers take my music in directions that I had not thought of.  There is an element of risk with this approach; however, that is part of the fun and adventure.  

Roger Aldridge
03/06/15 11:54:21AM @roger-aldridge:
Exactly! It's my thinking that if I already know how the music will sound, what's the point? Of course, as the article describes, I like to have a sliding scale for the amount of improv-based freedom in the music. That way, bands interested in playing my stuff can select the pieces that are a good match for them. Sadly, at the point, some of my pieces that have the most freedom, and are the most Out, have not been recorded.
reeker
03/06/15 10:39:02AM @reeker:
I totally agree. Notation is great and a wonderful tool to use while composing. I think the real fun or magick begins when you write/play on the fly. If you use a combo of the two amazing things can happen. In the end it is all about creation. You never know what you are going to come up with and it is always a fun adventure of discovery! :)

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