Michael Joviala

Category: Uncategorized

  • Picturing Music

    I’ve been thinking about representation lately.

    No, I don’t need a lawyer. I’m talking about how we ‘picture’ music. As an experiment last week, I asked my kids to draw a picture of rhythms we were working with during the session. I didn’t ask them to use notation. Some of them are too young to know any notation anyway (the older ones have basic reading skills). I just said, “Draw a picture of the two’s on one side and the three’s on the other,” which had been the focus of the day’s activities.

    A few drew groupings of lines or shapes, but most simply drew whatever it is they liked to draw. There were human figures, airplanes, even a well-shaded piece of fruit. I asked them to hold up the side that matched the music they heard, and I improvised music in two or in three. In most cases, I would have been unable to discern which drawing was which by merely looking. I needed an explanation from the artist. When it seemed to me to that there was an identical piece of fruit on both sides of the paper, the student explained to me that the one with more empty space was for the two’s. Of course, the words ‘draw’ and ‘picture’ naturally send kids into a particular mindset. Interestingly, this mindset is usually representational in some way. We don’t always draw what we really see.

    Our minds are built to associate meaning with symbol, and musical notation takes advantage of this proclivity. All of the words and symbols on this page are mostly arbitrary. We have agreed on their meaning, and so I am able to communicate with you. It has without question made possible some profound and glorious combinations of sound throughout its history, and yet I find myself wary of placing too much emphasis on it in my teaching. Notation creates a hierarchical grid that is not part of my experience of so much of the music that I make and that is important to me. Making things worse, the names in American English are highly problematic. Four-quarter time? Sure, makes sense. One quarter is 1/4th of a measure of four beats. So how can one “quarter” note stand in for 1/3rd of a bar in three-quarter time? And on and on. (In naming their rhythm units after knitting needles, the British have an advantage here.)

    I experience a rich interplay of pulse levels and even meters when I listen to, for example, a Sonny Rollins recording. There is great pleasure to be found in the play of two’s and three’s (on many levels) as my perception shifts from one to another. The musicians communicate through a dynamic, flexible and somehow simultaneously precise and ambiguous rhythmic language. Of course, students learning a Haydn Sonata need to be able to decode the shift from eighths to sixteenths to triplets and then to thirty-seconds, but I am loathe to lock them into that too soon via notation.

    When a quarter becomes the de facto representation of a beat, something is lost. Anything can represent a beat: a quarter, an eighth, an apple… In the Dalcroze classroom I try to split the difference between my natural inclination to avoid reducing music to representation too soon and my responsibility to make sure my students are prepared for their music lessons. I want to create musical experiences that will be solid, tangible, lived, felt and authentic. If I am doing that, I can feel more at ease showing them a quarter note and telling them that it represents—or can represent—a beat.

    I made the drawings some time ago to help myself visualize a couple poly-meters and cross-rhythms. Some will be easy to see, some less so.

    But I’m ok with that.

  • Come Play With Us

    I’m leading drop-in online guided improvisation sessions in February 2023 on Saturdays, 1:00-1:45pm Eastern. To learn more about it and find out how to join, click here. No improv experience necessary and only you (and whoever is in your house!) will hear yourself.

    A few past attendees were kind enough to write descriptions of what the sessions are like. I’m sharing them here. This time, I’ll post videos of myself playing through the prompts here. Join us!

    “I loved the guided improvisation classes with Michael last year! There were many new ideas to try out in my improv that I had never considered. The use of visual reactions via a powerpoint presentation helped spur creativity and kept the class moving without too much dialogue. Participants were muted for the improvisation, and the anonymity helped me to feel safe in taking creative risks. I’m looking forward to another session this winter!” Katie, Denver

    “As a working musician trying to find the right work-life balance, I took the online guided improvisation sessions with Michael to give myself time to check in with my mind and body. The instructions are easy to understand. I am given enough time to play for each one. It requires me to stay focused and actively present during the session as the instructions flow from one to the next. I feel calm and refreshed afterwards. I like to use this as a warm-up exercise to improve focus and concentration in my personal practice.” Tina, New York City

    “Michael’s online guided improvisation sessions are a true musical gift. Each time I’ve participated, he’s crafted unique prompts that encourage the participants to explore their instrument in new ways. By participating online, I found the freedom to express without any self-consciousness, and his thoughtful prompts provide a structure where I otherwise might have floundered. It is a really wonderful way to help craft a personal practice and I look forward to every opportunity I have to participate.” Liz, New York City

    A sample prompt

  • Guided Improvisation Sessions

    As we returned to (mostly) in-person teaching and learning, I found myself wondering if I could create a short class that would actually work best remotely. I thought about things the internet does well, like encouraging a feeling of connectedness while simultaneously allowing users to be completely isolated. To exploit this paradox, I began teaching series of guided improvisation in short series from time to time.

    The idea is simple. Much like a guided meditation session, participants will use a series of instructions to lead them through an open improvisation session. Each participant will be muted, free to make as much or as little sound as they like. The instructions will appear on the screen as prompts. I’ll be playing, too. You’ll have the option of turning up the sound to see how I am interpreting the prompts, or you can keep me muted as you like. At the end, we will have a brief discussion, during which you can share experiences, ask questions or ask to practice something specific with me.

    The sessions are open to any instrument, including voice, and can even be adapted for movement. Though it is probably not suitable for complete instrumental beginners, complete beginners to improvisation are welcome. The prompts will contain a mix of very open and very specific, so even experienced improvisers should have plenty of inspiration.

    Each class will be unique. To prepare for the classes, I notice things I do when I improvise freely or I explore themes that call out to me. I’ve created the instructions out of things I find myself doing when I play alone. The prompt might be very specifc: “Play and hold a single tone; Keep imagining it while you play the next one.” Or very open: “Play a rhythm you would not easily be able to write down.” Though we might have time to practice a bit during the discussion, the overall goal is for each person to connect to their artistic selves through the experience and discipline of in-the-moment-composition, otherwise known as improvisation. After the class, I send you notes and the powerpoint slides.

    I used this format in a recent class for the Dalcroze Society of America as part of their Dalcroze Lab series. You can actually view a recording of that class here (note: there is a charge for this).

    Please join me and spread the word. Classes will meet on Saturday between 1:00-1:45pm Eastern on January 23rd through February 25th, 2023. Drop-ins are welcome at $10 per session, or you can pay for 5 classes. Respond to the contact form on this page, and I’ll send you the information. You can also visit the classes page here, which I’ve also updated to include the upcoming Dalcroze and Dalcroze teacher-training classes at the Kaufman Music Center.

  • Improv Sonata, 2009

    In June of 2009, the Bloomingdale School of Music presented a composition of mine which I called ‘Sonata for Improvised Piano’. An excerpt appears above. The piece exists in two versions, one completely written out, and the other written with a combination of graphic and conventional notation. The piece was designed as an entry way into composition for classically trained pianists who may never have improvised before. In this particular concert, the piece was presented three times. Bathsheba Marcus Conley and Katy Luo, both fine pianists with an interest in contemporary composition,  each played an interpretation of the piece. I played the piece in its written-out version. Neither Bathsheba nor Katy had ever improvised publicly, and neither had heard the other or me prior to the concert. To my ears they were both a smashing success, and it was great fun for me to hear 3 entirely different but related performances.

    The program notes follow, as well as 3 audio versions of the first movement.

    Composition Notes

    The 3 pieces all began life as improvisations. Over time themes emerged – but not necessarily musical ones. For example, early in the development of the first movement, I became interested in a childhood memory of what may have been a migraine headache which partially blocked my vision for a short period of time. I was young enough not to have had language for this, but listening to my improvisations brought back these memories which I had not thought of for years. I began improvising to verbal directions and images, such as the following:

    Trying to see

    quietly feeling your way

    Erratically

    stop

    catch your breath

    poised to dive… Go!

    You’re safe

    step lightly

    almost lose your balance

    falling awake

    drag your feet

    The finished pieces are the result of a kind of dialogue between improvising through these images, and composing through them.

    Performance Notes

    The 3 pieces are separate, but together constitute one “dream” with 3 episodes. The verbal directions are meant to be the main guide through the piece. They do not form an entirely coherent narrative, but flow from one image to the next as in dreams. They are a combination of visual image, feelings and active-verb directions. To play the pieces, the performers are following the verbal directions and images, as well as using musical material I have provided. There are specific musical instructions to be carried out, which appear in the score in boxes, and suggested material which appears between the boxes as the player reads through. It is as though the boxes are “islands”, and the player’s job is to swim from musical island to musical island expressing the verbal directions as she goes.

    In each improvised movement, there is a passage written in standard notation which I ask the performer to play exactly as written. Since this afternoon’s concert will contain 3 performances, these will be “islands” for the listener to grab on to as well!

    *********

    Here are three versions of the first movement from that performance. The first two are improvised, the third is from the written-out version. This movement is quiet and slow moving, with lots of open space.

    1.

    2.

    3.

  • Notes and Music from ‘Playing Through’, Solo Piano Concert from 2009

    In December of 2009, I presented a concert of solo improvised piano at the Bloomingdale School of Music. Here are the program notes from the event. I have posted a few mp3’s from the evening, as well.

    Program Notes

    Unlike the magician’s art which is betrayed by divulging its secrets, the improviser thrives on listeners who are ‘in’ on the game. One of my main sources of musical pleasure is in experimenting with different ways of improvising. Here are the rules and parameters I’ve set up for myself for this evening’s concert.

    The Bach Partita that I am using (No. 1) has six separate movements or sections, and I will improvise my way through them in their original order. They are written using the form, style and rhythms of particular dances popular in the Baroque era. I will attempt to follow Bach’s basic harmonic plan (with an occasional straying here or there), and hope to gather melody, motif and phrase along my walk. Though I do aim to retain the basic feeling of the original dances, I allow it to be filtered through my own rhythmic language and musical experiences. Sometimes as I move through the piece I feel as though I am wandering from room to room in a fantastic old house, and I occasionally find myself compelled to improvise a transition from one room to the next, perhaps reflecting on what I have seen. For those keeping track of my progress, I will attempt to make clear where I am in the house at any given moment!

    I have chosen five Debussy preludes, all from book II, for the next part of the program. These are highly evocative pieces which employ the full range of the piano’s possible dynamics, timbres, and textures. I have abstracted certain rhythmic, register, and intervallic information (you will notice me reading music) which I will use to create my own narrative in the spirit of each prelude. Because the harmonic language will be my own, these improvisations will be more of a departure from the original than the Bach.

    The program will conclude with 4 original compositions. Though they do exist in written form, these short pieces have stubbornly refused to be played in any one particular way, and so it seemed appropriate to include them. Tempo, dynamics, meter, texture, orchestration are all up for grabs. Some days they seem to become a showcase for my left hand, all too busy with other chores to be allowed to make melody itself! These pieces share a certain harmonic elusiveness, influenced perhaps from contemporary jazz composition. Jazz tends to favor the ‘theme and variation’ form of improvisation, but I will play through the form of these pieces several times with melody largely intact. Sections may expand or contract, interludes may occur, but hopefully the theme itself will give the listener something to ‘hold on to’.

    11/28/09

    1. Improvisation based on the gigue from Bach’s Bb Partita for keyboard: Gigue

    2. Improvisation based on Feuilles mortes, the second prelude from book 2 of Debussy’s preludes for piano: Leaves

    3. An orginal composition: Four Square

  • One Musician/One Magician plays the Carlyle

    Last May, Jeff and I performed at a private party for kids at the Carlyle Hotel in the gorgeous Bemelmans Bar. Our set of music and magic concluded with an impromptu sing-a-long complete with My Favorite Things, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Frere Jackque that I will never forget. I’m sure Bobby Short was smiling somewhere! Here are a few pictures from the event. Sorry there are none of Jeff, but stay tuned – more shots will be added later.

    Audience Participation

    Jeff has their attention!

  • Program Notes from Premier of One Musician/One Magician, March 2010

    Program Notes

    Welcome to the maiden voyage of One Musician/One Magician! For the past several months, Jeff and I have been amusing ourselves by exploring the intersections of our respective arts, and we are delighted to present some of our findings today.

    Our primary goal is to create music you can see and magic you can hear. We began with the premise that both magicians and musicians create illusions of weight, space, and time. The parallels and possibilities were so immediately apparent that it was a bit of a challenge to decide where to start.

    Magic plays with pattern, expectation and surprise to achieve its effects, and most composers and improvisers hope to achieve similar goals in their music. Both magic and music are disciplines rooted in the imaginations of performers and audience alike. One large and obvious difference, however, is that music is entirely invisible. All of the elements that make music work (i.e. form, phrasing, repetition, variation, tension, resolution) may or may not be heard, felt, or perceived in the mind of the listener. For the magician’s audience, it is much easier to see that a coin has appeared or vanished, a juggling pattern has been disrupted, or a deck of cards seems to defy gravity. So, by attaching a visual to various musical elements (beat, accent, phrase, form, for example) it is my hope that the kinesthetic imagination can be activated.

    The soundtrack for today’s performance comes from composer Claude Debussy and jazz pianist Chick Corea. Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite evokes soaring mountains, adventurous (and sleepy) elephants, skittish dolls and comic cakewalks. Each piece is a study in itself of a specific aspect of time, space and energy. Corea has written some wonderfully evocative pieces as well, many of which seem to me to be more ‘about’ children than ‘for’ them. We have found these pieces especially conducive to juggling balls, vanishing coins, and gravity-defying cards. Today, we are using Corea’s music to introduce the magic tricks which will be tied to specific musical elements. The listener will then have the opportunity to continue the fun in his or her own imagination to the music of Debussy. Enjoy the show!

    Michael