Forum - Week 11 - Millions of Peaches

Finally, a genuinely great improvisation session. Despite being a couple members
down, our group managed to bond very well, often giving each other space and using
their 15 seconds to the max. David D apparently recorded the whole thing on his
crappy voice recorder, so hopefully I will be able to provide links to some of the
best grooves. One accidental groove that proved humorous to the group was when Matt
figured out the main mandolin theme from that Deep Forest song “Sweet Lullaby” on the
keyboard, and I attempted to sing the bit that the girl sings (Ni ma oe e fasi
korona. Dolali dasa na, lao dai afuimae). Needless to say, it sounded pretty
hilarious and I’m glad it was at a time when Stephen Whittington was present. I think
next time I will pull out some Presidents of the USA lyrics.

A new avenue was taken in this session, as now I walk around the room informing
members of upcoming changes to key or tempo. This is perhaps the magic key to our
band’s success, as we could improvise for 20 minutes without getting tedious. Perhaps
the most prominent example would be when I told everyone that Jake is about to slow
the tempo right down, then told Jake that everyone is expecting him to do it. We fell
from a high energy funk bash into a ultra-smooth porno groove, and it really put a
smile on everyone’s face. Jake has found a great position in the group, where he
provides basic timekeeping in some parts then all out drum loop disintegration for
his sections. I had an idea that Jake could use Live for the looping and tempo
functions, but mess with the beats in Plogue. I think this would allow a greater
degree of customisation of sound, especially considering Live’s clunky effects
interface. Matt also pulled out some genius moments, including pitch-bent chords and
even a whammy-bar-esque piano solo. A welcome addition is Adrian's bass guitar,
especially when coupled with Dave pulling off an incredible guitar solo in the heat
of a groove. Aural nirvana.

It was a shame that some members were not present, yet I can’t help but wonder if the
smaller group allowed for a more concentrated environment. In turn, I blame the
lecturers for making the groups too big. I’m sure they could skip over the idea (as
they do) and say “Well you should learn how to work in a large group”, to which I ask
the question, “Who says?”. I mean, since when is there limits to improvisation? Are
we getting graded on group size? Like 2 of my 3 ex-girlfriends say, “Size doesn’t
matter.”

And by popular demand (Luke), here is my latest photoshoppery.
Click to enlarge.