Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• The music of speech: exploring the spoken voice as an artistic tool for composition and improvisation (2022) author(s): Beatrice Milanese published in: Codarts
  The purpose of this research is to extend my performance as a jazz vocalist by including a previously unexplored element in my practice as a composer and vocalist: the spoken voice. After listening, transcribing and analyzing examples of spoken voice as they already existed in composed and improvised music, I undertook a vast series of quasi experiments and evaluated those in connection to the continuous feedback by my experts. By doing so, I got deeply informed about the consequences of including spoken voice techniques in my compositions and improvisations. This Master Research project brought me to two main conclusions. The first conclusion is that implementing my speaking voice in my improvisations in a jazz context required the development of my own method, where the action of speaking is harmonically and rhythmically supported and enhanced by the action of extemporaneously playing the piano. The second conclusion I draw is that including the spoken voice in my compositions and improvisations required theatrical training in order to perform them convincingly. A vast number of video files is added to this report to show the steps I took to result in my final outcome. This final artistic result is documented in the recorded video of my original composition “The Tell-Tale Heart” for voice, piano and contrabass clarinet. In this composition, my ultimate and highly individual application of the spoken voice both influenced the process of creation and shaped my way of performing the piece. This research is supposed to resonate between singers, composers and musicians and encourage them to widen their compositional palette through including new unexplored elements, stretch the boundaries of their interpretational skills, experiment with crossovers between artforms in their music, develop their own improvisation methods. Finally, I would like to encourage jazz singers to go beyond the role that is unconsciously being given to them.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Mastering the art of taqsim solo improvisation on quarter tone and fretless guitar in the maqam tradition. (2022) author(s): Jan Wouter Oostenrijk published in: Codarts
  As a young guitarist invited to join a Moroccan band, I discovered there are notes between the notes which weren’t playable on my instrument. That's how I developed an interest in North Africa and the Middle East. This also led me to Codarts 20 years later to study taqsim performances, which are considered the highest form of modal melodic improvisational art in the Arab culture. The research allowed me to explore the beauty and richness of this music, and look beyond the equally tempered Western tonal system into the world of Maqam playing. I transcribed and analysed taqsim recordings of the masters, studied maqam literature and scores of traditional compositions based on maqam repertoire. I used the Arabic 24-tone system and the Turkish comma system (Pythagorean tuning) as theoretical references. By taking ud classes I practiced intonation, phrasing and ornaments that I applied on fretless guitar and quarter tone guitar. Outcome: In addition to my educational background in classical and jazz music where improvisation is often more vertically related to harmonic progressions, the maqam system provides a tool for horizontal modal melodic developments. A way to shape coherent storylines (sayr) with the use of authentic microtonal tetra-chords such as rast, bayat and hijaz, tonicization of scale degrees, sequences and movable pitches that build tension and change modal gravity. The musical embodiment hereof is found in taqsim solo improvisation performances.
  open exposition comments (0)
• From the pit to the stage: a comparative approach to solo bass playing (2021) author(s): Felipe Devincenzi published in: Codarts
  This research attempts to translate technical skills and notions from lyrical singing to double bass playing. Based on the Donizetti-Bottesini partnership, the idea was highly influenced by translation concepts developed by theorists Ricardo Piglia and Walter Benjamin. Research strategies include expert feedback, side by side work with tenors, experimental practice and extensive recording analysis on selected repertoire. Together, they outline a basic strategy that enriches solo performance. Conclusions could be applied to any similar repertoire by any other performer who reads this report.
  open exposition comments (0)
• The art of chopping (2021) author(s): Pablo Rodriguez Gonzalez published in: Codarts
  Traditionally, the violin is seen as a melodic solo instrument and on rare occasions it assumes rhythm and harmony as a principal function, as in the case of, for example, a second violin in a string quartet or an orchestra. When I started to play the guitar eight years ago, it fuelled my interest into how I could possibly translate the feeling of being a guitarist or percussionist into that of a fiddle player. Immediately after this I discovered Turtle Island String Quartet, a classical string ensemble specializing in modern styles such as jazz, rock and funk. In their performances they made use of advanced percussive bow techniques, commonly called “chopping” or “chop”. Upon starting my master studies, my main teacher, Christiaan Van Hemert advised me to check fiddler Casey Driessen (1978, Owatonna, Minnesota, United States). He is an American bluegrass fiddler and singer who has performed with many well-known artists such as Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Steve Earle, Tim O'Brien and Darol Anger. His use of advanced percussive bow techniques (chop) was outstanding. It made me realize that it was possible to use the violin as a groove-rhythm instrument. ARTISTIC RESEARCH QUESTION How could I expand my knowledge and use of percussive-bowing techniques used by fiddler Casey Driessen through the analysis of his music, and the translation of vocabulary from the flamenco cajón, so that I could incorporate them into my solo compositions and rhythmical improvisations?
  open exposition comments (0)
• Learning from a vocal approach on music (2020) author(s): Sophie Elisabeth Ehling published in: Codarts
  When we speak, there is rhythm, intonation and expression in the words that we choose. When we sing, a melody is added, the story surrounded by musical context. When I play the cello, I can express feelings, thoughts and stories without using any words. I based my research on the relation between language and music, because I wanted to know how to be more expressive in my cello playing. Singers have the text to guide them into making clear what the story is about. As instrumentalists, we might not use words during a performance, but we can definitely learn from involving vocal elements into our approach to music. That is why I consulted experts in the German, French and English language, as well as singers and cellists, to guide me in my process of making an ‘instrumental translation’ of vocal repertoire, in order to broaden my spectrum of possibilities to be expressive. Based on the results of desk research, text and score analysis, interviews and work sessions with the experts and experimentation on the cello, I made a comparison that led me towards the final result, recording the third movement of César Franck’s sonata, a piece in which I could put a lot of the new things that I had learned. I hope that this research can assist anyone who is looking for a way to become more ‘outspoken’ in their instrumental playing, and to stimulate instrumentalists to always stay open for new ways to interpret a piece.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Improvisation, Musical Analysis and Fretless Guitar: investigating the taksim practice within Ottoman Classical Music (2020) author(s): Juliano Abramovay published in: Codarts
  This research has developed tools and identified a series of procedures through an analytical investigation of how improvisation functions within the context of the taksim, a solo improvisational style found within the Ottoman Classical Music tradition. By transcribing and analyzing improvisations from masters on the style, it was possible to catalogue different types of musical structures, from ornaments and small phrases to the overall scheme of improvisations and strategies employed by the musician while performing it. The elements observed within master's improvisations were adapted to the technique of the fretless guitar, the instrument in which the research has been developed. With the aid of specialized software, a series of videos were produced where structures observed through analyses of improvisations are presented in a didactical manner. Practical examples introducing ways of employing these structures on the fretless guitar are also a part of the research output. The final goal of this research was to create my personal identity on the fretless guitar by using the tools developed here.
  open exposition comments (0)