Category: Reflections on Practice

In the previous article I described a practice process I have been using recently for generating compositional ideas with the electric bass, for info you can read that article here. 

In this article however I aim to briefly discuss how I have been using the same approach for practicing improvising and developing improvisational vocabulary. 

The compositional approach I employed in the previous article utilised a long, low bass drone in which to audiate ideas. In this case, for developing solos, sections of the piece were looped and used as the basis for the practice. 

In my recent endeavours to explore creating bass guitar-centric music as a vehicle for exploring my own artistic development I took on a particular compositional approach which I hoped would help bring a new awareness to the origin and nature of my creative ideas. In short, it has done exactly that (to a degree) which I will only briefly allude to here as the main focus of this article is to articulate the process I took and the conditions set.

In relation to my previous post about my old wrist injury I was curious to transcribe something that would test my technical limits and test how far I can develop past what I feel my right hand is capable of. 

When I was 15 I was cycling from a friend's house to not more than half a mile home, when I suffered a rather impressive and as I've come to accept, life-changing limb injury for one travelling on two wheels.

Skip the next few paragraphs if you are squeamish...

It has been a while since I shared some of my current works in progress due to personal circumstances forcing a break, but now this post aims to be an overview of projects that I shelved and am now returning to develop. Below you will find snippets taken from these in either demo form (as the whole audio mix currently exists), or as examples of melodic, or textural ideas lifted from the project. I will endeavour to briefly explain each of these snippets, how they were created, why, what makes them interesting to me, and how they may be developed in the future. I will also give some generalised context to the piece that the snippet belongs to, as some pieces have a particular compositional process.

Is just doing something better than doing nothing in the practice room?

I recently read a 2010 study of 43 adolescent basketball free-throwers where the researchers attempted to find what the differences were between the practice habits of 'experts, non-experts, and novices'. Their practice goals, strategies, and self-reflection on their performance was monitored by requesting the participants to voice aloud their thoughts as they practiced taking free-throws.

'Shrinking Steps - Nate Chivers, for 4-string electric bass

Nate Chivers is a contemporary music composer studying for his PhD in  composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, UK. We recently discussed the opportunity for me to record one of his pieces ‘Shrinking Steps’ a contemporary solo bass piece and style of performance that is quite alien to me. For Nate, as an established contemporary composer it would be interesting to understand how his piece would be interpreted by an instrumentalist unfamiliar with the techniques and approaches utilised within.

In the earlier works for Second Circle I occupied the driving seat with much of the arranging and production work done alone and a mixture of detailed or not so detailed instructions given to collaborators to work with. I have hoped for the next stage of the ensembles development to move towards a more collaborative arrangement with the musicians, allowing them the space to explore their creativity and contribute musical ideas in the generation of new pieces rather than receive and interpret instruction. However, challenges arise in all areas of life, not least in artistic endeavour. Recent and very understandable individual circumstances for the musicians involved in the Second Circle project mean a plan for regular rehearsal and repertoire development in the pursuit of a full set or album of new musical material has become unfeasible.

"The ability to internally imagine sound meaningfully is not only important for music achievement [...] , but is also critical for creative thinking ability" (Webster 1990)

During the recording/composition stages of creating the pieces in 'At Home' there have been a couple of instances where an intuitive creation process has naturally occurred. Most recently in the creation of the ambient piece 'Home' (https://nicholasjameswaldock.uk/reflections/home-an-epilogue/) and before for the piece Lucky's Strike.

Contextualisation

Gerry Commane’s, also known as Gearoid Ó Comain or Gerdy Commane’s is a 32 bar, 4/4, AABB Irish Reel tune in D Major. A ‘Reel’ in traditional folk music is associated with a style for dancing, as is most forms of traditional folk music.

This piece was created in an entirely different way to all of the other piece in the 'At Home' album. I often listen to quiet background ambient music as a source of relaxation and focus to work with, as I find the non-descriptive and passive nature helps to create an ideal environment for concentration or rest.

As I was learning and developing the arrangement of the tune Watermans for the full arrangement with Second Circle (link), I practiced a few different approaches to performing the melody on the bass guitar. There were a number of challenges in creating good articulation and representation of the tune on the 6 string Overwater bass. I hoped there could be some interest in transposing the melody to a different bass guitar that inherently contains vastly different tonal and physical performance qualities.

This post will briefly explain what Second Circle is and its aims as an ensemble. Second Circle as a name, is a tip-of-the-hat to one of my favourite groups and one of my favourite compositions- First Circle by the Pat Metheny Group (ECM). The piece and same titled album was released in 1984 and won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. It has since become a favourite of jazz fusion fans the world over and still stands up today as a progressive piece of music.

Within this site you will find a slowly growing number of articles relating to my work as a PhD researcher at the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester, UK. My work is what is known as Practice-as-Research (PaR), an enquiry into the creative practices and creations of the individual. This is nested within an academic framework and lineage of similar enquiries within creative arts research and more specifically the electric bass guitar; my chosen medium.

This article's purpose is mainly for my own accountability and practice development, however, I do hope anyone reading this might gain some ideas to try - or not to try! - in order to further their own practice.

I was recently asked to perform for a friends undergraduate recital, a request I hadn't received for some time, and one that becomes more common the further from graduation one gets. The challenge for  undergraduate musics students in the current climate of lockdowns, tier systems, social distance and general Coronavirus anxiety is a difficult one to make music in, especially for the final of an undergraduate degree. the remit was this: pieces performed must be to filmed and recorded separately and remotely, preferably with a single take, i.e. without drop ins; and then edited together for submission. In this case the tune was Chick Corea's Spain. A solid, staple choice of repertoire for university music students, with a fun melody to play, irregular form, and a lovely chord progression to improvise over.

So much to practice, so little time...

It seems we are always running out of time. As budding musicians we can be so busy making ends meet and handling the challenges and necessities of daily life that it can be difficult to commit time in the shed to practice at all. We spend most of our time putting out fires so to speak, dealing with the things in life that are urgent and important and the things that are urgent but not necessarily important. When then do we find the time to work on what we know is important but not immediately urgent? I know for me, in the past my practice time has been the first casualty of the stressed and ‘busy’ life.