Perceive the sounds of non-humans as music. Biomusicology as a posture that find musicality as a part of the biology of living beings, not as a human created concept. Dario Martinelli wrote about in his book Of Birds, Whales and Other Musicians – Introduction to Zoomusicology. 2009 . At this moment I start calling the soundscape of the park as the Bio/geophonic orchestra, as a more accurate term.
Experiment 13 (After the Master PPS)
To keep developping this idea: Creating a metaphorical and artistic space where I co-create with non-human agencies without leading them but accompanying and celebrating their life is for me an interesting starting point for questioning.
Then, to expand my musical language, and use direct source from the nature pattern spiral, for experiment 13 I use the Fibonacci sequence represented in rhythmic and tones for making a co-creation with the Bio/geophonic orchestra.
In experiment 12 I composed Agape.
I need to integrate this composition and add a new with/to experiment 13 which I consider as a developed version of the Anti-Anthropocentric performance.
I would like to develop on how to make a musical prelude to the Bio/geophonic orchestra, but the challenge is that the music will be always different, so that is why instant composition should be present.
Period 3
In experiment 11, the length of the experiment was too long for the human audience. I should find a shorter structure for keeping more effectively the attention of people because of the goal of making them more aware of the musical communication from the Bio/geophonic orchestra. Also, it can help to write some melody that the audience can remember easily and feel more empathy with the music, of course keeping a balance with the instant composition which is part of the dynamic.
In experiment 10
As I do more experiments, I can gather and find more tools for co-create, and the context of the composition we are doing can be called instant composition. This term has been used widely by many artists in dance, music and theatre, however until this point I have explored mostly from my musical background, personal practices and experiences.
In experiment 9 participant observation with non-humans. It is very subjective to claim that indeed the birds or plants are reacting to my sound and in which way, and also this is not an artistic aim to control some reaction of the non-humans. As David Rothenberg said in an interview, it is more interesting to communicate with the musicality of the birds rather than trying to analyze what they are saying.
In experiment 8
I was exploring the question of how embodied listening influences my relationship with living non-humans. I also did a transcription of some singing of the birds.
It would be more valuable if I could receive a workshop on Embodied listening from the experts to redo my experiment.
Period 2
In experiment 7. Creating a metaphorical and artistic space where I co-create with non-human agencies without leading them but accompanying and celebrating their life is for me an interesting starting point for questioning.
How could be the esthetics of music for an anti-anthropocentric
practice? This performance was a try for answering this sub-question.
I missed a deeper connection with the term Intra-action by Karan Barad. Also, it was difficult to invite a bigger number of people to experience the performance.
In experiment 6 (05 02 2023) I was co-creating music with a tree using the device Plantsplay. I could confirm some of the musical elements used that fit very well with the idea of non-anthropocentric musical aesthetics.
In experiment 5 The electric response of the plants seems to be affected by our musical presence, and that affects me emotionally in a positive way. I think that this can be considered as a practice that is oriented to amplify the beauty of non-human agents without having the supremacy of humans because we were not imposing what music to make.
It is an aware artistic decision to always play improvised music in co-creation with non-humans, but this makes it difficult to analyze or go further with the research process. The parameters of rhythm and notes will always be different and not possible to anticipate by normal logic.
In experiment 4 I got some ideas of questions that I wanted to address to the human audience of a performance when I co-create with non-humans. I recorded those questions and included them in experiment 7.
This experiment was in the limit of not being an artistic experiment but more a personal experience.
Surrender to the space I am. Project Assignment 2. Experiment 1
After my first experiment, I realized that I should begin to look for ways to don't be so present in the soundscape with the saxophone, otherwise, my sound became very dominant compared with the other sounds and this is not the aim of my project. This is also an insight I had from the bootcamp, when I play in a public space, I am calling the attention and then I feel, oh, I play so well! My sound is beautiful, I am amazing! And I think this is an admiration, emotion and feeling that I can re-focus from my ego to the nature.
I reflect that may be I could do a music prelude to call the attention from audience and this drives to the main music lead by the non-humans.
What did not work?
Finally, I decided to focus on my personal experience without other musicians or dancer.
In experiment 3 I open a window for poetic analogies. Framing the landscape as a score for musical ideas.
It did not work that I did it in a virtual space, because of weather conditions. But I integrate the idea later in experiment 7.
In the 2nd experiment, I started to do a sound map for getting to know better the soundscape in the park Oude Warande. Then, I start contemplating a co-creation as way to question human supremacy above non-human agents, or anthropocentrism. I observed more clearly every source of sound that appears in the soundscape of the park at the time I was listening and recording. This experiment gave me more artistic ideas. Thinking about how to question anthropocentrism I imagined helping humans to feel more sensitive about non-humans through the music.
What did not work?
I was looking for some spiral as a nature pattern, but I could not find it. (In experiment 13 I plan to use the spiral in my musical language, taking from the Fibonacci sequence and building rhythmic patterns and tonnes)
While doing an exercise proposed by Kitt Johnson (Bootcamp 1). We were being guided with closed eyes by a peer, we were slowly walking in the darkness and being surprised and very sensitive through our other senses, hearing, smell and touch. This had some uncomfortable situations where I felt my private space not being respected, not at this specific moment but from memories that came to my mind because the sensorial experience we were having