När blir sångaren konstnär
(2025)
author(s): Martin Hellström
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
When does the singer become an artist?
We ran an opera laboratory at the Department of Opera at Stockholm University of the Arts, during the years 2017-2020.
With the searchlight focused on the creativity of the singer, we wanted to explore the borderland between the rehearsed and the spontaneous, in the art of performing opera.
Our basic questions were:
-when does the performance of the opera singer, which requires a high level of technical perfection, open up towards the unpredictable, creative moment?
-Where is the border line between interpretation and improvisation, does it even exist?
We commissioned a mini-opera to use as working material;Camilles irrfärder & äventyr, composed by Petter Ekman to a libretto by Tuvalisa Rangström. Windows for improvisation were included in the score, where the performers can play with text, rythm, melody or structure in different ways. In the work we alternated between artistic experiments and reflection. The ensemble reflected on how the different games and methods opened or closed the creative flow, and how the improvisations affected the performers' relationship to the material. A parallel focus was how the singers were inspired to change or expand their voices. We have found new methods in the work of developing the creative ability and force of the opera singer. We have applied the methods in different ways in higher education for Opera singers, developing new pedagogic approaches in the process.
The percussive world of the saxophone
(2025)
author(s): Sean Thompson
published in: Codarts
This research investigates the acoustic potential of key clicks and key slaps on the saxophone, exploring their role in shaping texture, rhythmic drive, and overall musical expression. While these extended techniques are often used sparingly or as novelty effects, this study proposes a more integrated approach by treating them as core musical elements within a compositional framework. By combining key clicks with slap tongue and multiphonics, I explore how these sounds can function not merely as special effects, but as primary tools in my music.
Drawing on both analytical and compositional processes, this project includes the development of an original solo saxophone work that blends these techniques in ways that are musically coherent and performatively engaging. A detailed analysis of how key clicks function acoustically serves as the basis for their structured use within the piece. This categorisation helps clarify the contexts in which these sounds are most effective, offering a practical framework for other performers and composers interested in incorporating the use of this technique.
The outcomes of this research also provide a springboard for further exploration, especially in contexts that involve electronics and real-time sound manipulation. By grounding the study in acoustic experimentation and performative application, this research contributes to the broader discourse on extended techniques for saxophone and contemporary performance practice.
Afro Cuban drumming: the drummers of Chucho Valdes
(2024)
author(s): Marc Gómez Masdeu
published in: Codarts
This research wants to be a guide of my personal and artistic process of how I have developed and improved my skills in Afro-Cuban music and Afro-Cuban Jazz through Enrique Pla, Rodney Barreto, and Dafnis Prieto. And how I have integrated this into my background to help me grow as an artist.
The topic that has motivated me to do this research is my interest in Cuban music and especially in Irakere. Many Cuban drummers are worthy of in-depth study, but I have chosen these three because all three have played or currently play with Chucho Valdes.
Talking about Enrique Pla undoubtedly leads you to the founding of Irakere; Rodney Barreto played in Irakere when they reunited again and Dafnis Prieto is his current drummer.
The strategy that I followed is:
Strategy:
Case study and experiment of the exercises with other students.
Methodology:
Triangulation (analysis/transcription, feedback/reflection, interview).
Experiment with the drummer’s feedback.
The results of this research can be seen in the following categories:
Personal: Results that have enriched me and my way of playing.
Audiences: Elements that may interest the reader and the musician who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of Afro-Cuban music, in particular, its drummers and more specifically those associated with Chucho Valdes
On a personal level, the most important thing has been this two-year process of studying these great musicians and everything that I have acquired musically, technically, and the transcriptions I made during the research.
Readers of this research can appreciate the interviews I have conducted with these three musicians and other related Cuban drummers, the exercises I have created to develop these aspects of the music and repertoire in particular, and the transcriptions of compings and solos that I have made of them.
I have learned many new skills and tips from these drummers and from listening more deeply to this music and this has enriched me a lot as a musician.
Looking back to the results of this research, one of the important conclusions that I reached is that any drummer who wishes to gain an understanding of this music has to listen to and study the tradition of the Afro-Cuban percussion, all the styles, and the periods, and of course open mind and don’t be a slave of it since you also have to listen to the evolution of styles.
Habitable Exomusics
(2020)
author(s): Jacob Anderskov
published in: Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Copenhagen
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
“The project examines post tonal material structuring principles in improvised music.
It deals with (searches for) unexploited opportunities or new forms of expressions within improvised music through studies of possible ways to organize the musical material - and with relevant practical and creative ways to find room for them in improvised music.”
Original RESEARCH QUESTION:
Through my own artistic practice, I will examine
- To which extent it is possible for me to use definable post tonal structuring principles in my improvisations, and
- Which of these principles can best be used in my improvisational universe.
The Improvisational Ear-How to build improvisational language through the study of speech
(2019)
author(s): Hue Blanes
published in: KC Research Portal
This artistic research investigates the transcription process in improvisational musical landscapes. Particularly the transcription process of speeches and speech patterns for the main purpose of developing and furthering jazz language to communicate more effectively as a communicator-improviser.
This research asks the question, how can musicians build improvisational musical language through the study of speech?
Effective methods of transcribing practice with the goal of developing the musical ear are developed during this research. These are demonstrated with analysis, harmonisation, survey, additional experiments and a set of improvisations and compositions. A systematic approach to improvisation in a spoken style will be shaped and consequently, the ‘voice on the piano’ will be found. These outcomes will be presented with the aspiration to venture toward melodic and harmonic possibilities of functional harmony not yet established in improvisational vocabulary.
Anarchiving (in) Ben Patterson's Variations for Double-Bass
(2018)
author(s): Christopher A. Williams
published in: Journal for Artistic Research
Here I employ techniques of anarchiving to explore the dynamics of notation, improvisatory performance, and analysis in Fluxus artist Ben Patterson's Variations for Double-Bass (1961). Coined by process philosophers Erin Manning and Brian Massumi, the concept of the anarchive refers to "a repertory of traces of collaborative research-creation events. The traces are not inert, but are carriers of potential." Variations' proto-anarchival qualities drive the structure of the exposition, which includes superimposed video documentation from my own performances, as well as brief analytical texts and performance instructions for the reader. I hope that this meta-anarchival process both sheds light on Patterson's work, and shows how documentation and analysis in the spirit of the anarchive can propel experimental (musical) practice forward in unexpected ways.
Frozen Improvisation
(2016)
author(s): Juan Manuel Cisneros Garcia
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Juan Manuel Cisneros García
Main Subject: Forte Piano
Research Supervisor: Bart van Oort
Title of Research: Frozen improvisation: The Mozart piano variations as a model for improvisation on the Classical Style
Summary of Results:
The fourteen sets of piano variations composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are a sort of microcosmos of his whole pianistic output. Their complete composition covered practically his entire lifetime, from 1766 to 1791 and some of them were originated in actual improvisatory performances. Considering also the historically documented connections between the variation genre and the extemporization practices, this research is focused on their study as models for learning improvisation on the Classical style. With this purpose, I am using a concrete methodology that is being developed now in Spain (IEM methodology) that places the improvisation in the core of music education, with special emphasis in the use of patterns extracted from the musical sources. This has been combined with the historically informed performance practice in order to develop a repertory of exercises and proposals to be used as a guided practice for this learning process.
Biography:
Juan Manuel Cisneros (Málaga, Spain, 1978) is pianist, composer and teacher. He has a Bachelor´s degree on Piano (Conservatoire of Málaga), Phylosophy (University of Málaga) and Composition (Conservatoire of Granada). He completed his studies as composer and pianist in the Centre Acanthes (Metz, France), among other musical institutions. He is currently performing in several ensembles, from early music to jazz, in Spain, France, Holland, Italy and Romania. His passion for historic keyboard instruments led him to the fortepiano and the harpsichord in recent years. He is developing an extensive activity in the field of historic improvisation, with frequent lectures, concerts and workshops in Spain and abroad. He is composition and improvisation teacher at the Conservatoire of Granada and teacher member of the IEM (Music Education Institute) methodology.
FolkImproV
(2015)
author(s): Andreas Aase
connected to: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
published in: Research Catalogue
Can pieces of dance tunes from Nordic folk music, organized according to principles from jazz, provide source material for building an improvisation language?
Scandinavian folk music traditionally used for dancing consists of melodies, organized in a limited amount of measures and sections (typically two or three eight-bar sections, played with repeats). The organizing principle in ensemble playing is for every musician to learn the melody first, and to let each following contribution be dictated by it. Variations in arrangements occur frequently in modern-day interplay, with harmony parts, chord changes, counter rhythms and dynamics meticulously employed in order to avoid monotony. But interpretation of the melody remains the main activity.
The ability for creativity on the spot is big among folk musicians, though it is seemingly framed by the strategies discussed above. I have yet to come across a methodical investigation of using material from traditional tunes as a musical vocabulary for improvisation. Consulting supervisors from the folk and jazz genres, I try to use source elements from the folk repertoire while employing organizing principles from jazz. As I present these ideas on several instruments, and over rhythmic foundations in a slightly modernized folk idiom, I'll try to encourage the use of these ideas in contexts not necessarily associated with traditional music. The project seeks to encourage participation, and may possibly work as tutorial material.
This exposition focuses on portions of a Pd.D.-level project I finished in 2009. The original three-year undertaking was supported by the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme, hosted by NTNU, and was supervised by John-Pål Inderberg and Geir Egil Larsen. The current version was supported by HiNT University College.
Improvisation Based on Yoga Listening Practices and Philosophies
(last edited: 2025)
author(s): MELISA YILDIRIM
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
This research endeavours to reveal the transformative potential of artistic creativity by combining musical improvisation and yoga-based embodied listening practices. The study incorporates three listening practices: humming and self-observation, listening only with the right ear, and listening to the space within the heart. The effects of these experiments are documented in a journal and recorded as audio files. In addition to improvisation as a musical practice and embodied listening, this research also considers how yoga, - which has become an important part of Indian culture over the centuries with its roots in Vedic culture - can shape artistic identity through its philosophical understanding of sound, and its perspectives on the human body as a cosmos.
The research emphasizes subjects such as the healing power of humming, chakra energy, collective consciousness, energetic centers of consciousness in the human body and their potential role in transforming the artist's identity. The thoughts and experiences in this research are personal, but the content of this article has been written based on these experiences as an attempt to present visions for global musicians to transition their musicianship into a more universal form, and to pose multifaceted questions to the reader.
This paper draws attention to different improvisation techniques makam terminology and explores existing literature to open innovative doors based on holistic experience. The findings reveal the vibrant and energetic connections between the effects of music and vibrations on human life and the body, and the various philosophies that nourish the artist's identity and expression.
This thesis encourages improvisation as a form of existence to establish deep spiritual connections with experiences from the past and present. Highlighting dimensions of music that are unnoticeable due to existing industrial structures and education models, the most importantly, esoteric knowledge of the body, inviting the reader to be open-minded for all sonic possibilities.
Goldberg’s Variations: investigating Aaron Goldberg’s improvisational style
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Jelle van der Meulen
archived in: KC Research Portal
Name: Jelle van der Meulen
Main Subject: Jazz Piano
Research Supervisor: Patrick Schenkius
Title of Research: Goldberg’s Variations: investigating Aaron Goldberg’s improvisational style
Research Question:
How can I emulate characteristic devices from Aaron Goldberg’s improvisational style and apply these to my own playing?
Summary of Results:
In this research paper four improvisational devices that Aaron Goldberg uses are analysed. Examples of these devices are taken from five transcriptions of improvised solos on jazz standards (Con alma, Fantasy in D, The shadow of your smile, (Un) stable mates and Perhaps) and from recordings where Aaron Goldberg functions as a leader. The devices are selected for their occurrence in (almost) all of the transcribed solo’s and because they stand out and attract attention.
Together they make up an important part of Aaron Goldberg’s playing style. The four devices are: chromatic runs returning to one note, arpeggios over the bar line, motivic development and lines in intervals. Following the analyses and some words on the (possible) origin of these devices (Aaron Goldberg didn’t invent them, they are part of the jazz vocabulary and came forth out of the improvisational styles of musicians from the history of jazz) the research deals with the emulation of the devices and offers exercises which an improviser can do to apply the devices to his/her playing.
Biography:
Jelle van der Meulen (1990) studied jazz piano from 2008 at the conservatory of Amsterdam where he received his bachelor’s diploma in 2013. There he studied with Karel Boehlee, Rob van Bavel, Hans Vroomans and Kris Goessens. In 2015 he started his master studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he studied with Juraj Stanik and is currently studying with Wolfert Brederode.
Jelle is the pianist of the hard bop band Bop This! and he leads his own piano trio. Jelle’s playing is featured on three recordings so far, the albums ‘Introducing’ and ‘Page Two’ by Bop This! and on the album ‘Out of Universe’ by the Amstel Bigband of which Jelle was the pianist from 2011 until 2014.
‘Ūd Taqsīm as a Model of Pre-Composition
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Nizar Rohana
connected to: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
In this research project, Nizar Rohana analyzes and reflects on taqsīm recordings by two leading figures of ‘ūd playing who were pillars of modern Arabic music, namely the Egyptians Muḥammad al-Qaṣabjī (1898-1964) and Riyāḍ al-Sunbāṭī (1906-1981). Rohana encodes and underlines their most significant traits in order to:1) enrich and develop my melodic-rhythmic vocabulary;2) deepen my understanding of the structural, melodic and rhythmic processes underlying the genre; 3) design a structural framework or a model for pre-composing taqsīm-like pieces of music.
To put it another way, the dissertation discusses the creation of pre-composed taqāsīm. The pieces follow a specific model of pre-composition that was designed while taking al-Qaṣabjī and al-Sunbāṭī’s taqsīm practice as a reference and a source of inspiration. This model contributes to both artistic research and practical knowledge, and provides new insights into structural, melodic and rhythmical processes of the genre. The artistic outcome of this project includes five new works for solo ‘ūd.
Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Ilya Ziblat Shay
connected to: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation is a practice-based research project that aims to highlight the role of freedom and fixity in music and to develop a discourse based on these two concepts. This research of Ilya Ziblat Shay suggests a creative approach based on the interrelationship between freedom and fixity, for example their combination, juxtaposition, and tension, and describes them as abstractions or placeholders for musical agents such as rhythm, notes, structure, timeline, and interactive computer systems. Another important notion is the inherent coexistence of the two concepts, and proposing the constant oscillating between them as a creative musical approach. Furthermore, the research aims to establish the use of freedom and fixity as a productive paths for extra-musical disciplines. Four works by the author are used as case studies to examine the integration of the research concepts as tangible musical forms. In each of the case studies the concepts are embodied differently, thus different relationships develop between them in each piece. This study relies on the author's experience and experimentation as a composer, performer, improviser, and electronic-music practitioner, and draws inspiration from works by other musicians and scholars.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: “The project examines post tonal material structuring principles in improvised music. It deals with (searches for) unexploited opportunities or new forms of expressions within improvised music through studies of possible ways to organize the musical material - and with relevant practical and creative ways to find room for them in improvised music.” Original RESEARCH QUESTION: Through my own artistic practice, I will examine - To which extent it is possible for me to use definable post tonal structuring principles in my improvisations, and - Which of these principles can best be used in my improvisational universe.open exposition comments (0)