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75-679-1-PB.Pdf (PDF, 1.575Mb) ORE Open Research Exeter TITLE Creating A Dialogue through Improvisation in Cross-cultural Collaborations AUTHORS Sanderson, Griselda JOURNAL Music and Arts in Action DEPOSITED IN ORE 27 November 2015 This version available at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/18808 COPYRIGHT AND REUSE Open Research Exeter makes this work available in accordance with publisher policies. A NOTE ON VERSIONS The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication Music and Arts in Action | Volume 5 | Issue 1 Creating a Dialogue through Improvisation in Cross-Cultural Collaborations GRISELDA SANDERSON Waulk Records | United Kingdom* ABSTRACT This research paper investigates the role of improvisation as dialogue between oral music practitioners from diferent cultures and compares modes of practice between the subject of this research and other similar collaborations. Ideas for developing good practice through processes of familiarisation, learning and communication are discussed alongside issues surrounding musical identity. With regard to creative outcomes, an attempt is made to devise a model whereby cross- cultural collaborations can provide benefts to both participants and their wider communities. *Manor Cottage, Berry Pomeroy, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6LH UK © Music and Arts in Action/Sanderson2016 | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 19 http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/improvdialog Music and Arts in Action | Volume 5 | Issue 1 INTRODUCTION For several years, I have been improvising music in cross-cultural collaborations, speci cally !ith West "#rican musicians including master drummer $amuel %krumah Yeboah, 'oroccan (na!a master $imo )agna!i and (ambian griot *uldeh +amara. -ese interactions have all taken place !ithin the UK. "s a result o# these experiences, I have become increasingly interested in developing a methodology #or generating ne! cross-cultural musical pro/ects !ith pro#essional musicians. 0y engaging !ith, and creating a dialogue between, such musicians the hope is that all collaborators can generate a better understanding o# the structures and values inherent !ithin one another’s musical cultures. It is hoped that the resulting creative outcomes !ill represent that increased understanding, demonstrating an appreciation o#, and a meaning#ul interaction between the musical cultures involved in each collaboration. 'y role in this research is as an insider-researcher. -is implies that much o# the information represented has come about as a result o# kno!ledge gained through rst-hand experience and is there#ore highly subjective. $ome information is anecdotal, in particular that !hich resulted #rom my conversations !ith *uldeh +amara. Ho!ever, !ithin ethnomusicological studies today, gures such as Jef 4odd 4iton 567789 outline the processes o# musical-being-in the-world that are at play in this area o# musicological research. -is methodology emphasises the importance o# immersion in a cultural activity. It ackno!ledges the importance o# the physical act o# music-making, modes o# social interaction and actions that are culturally specifc and related to the tradition !ith !hich one is engaging not as a learner, but as an experienced participant. "#ter the event, the researcher is able to dra! on his or her experience o# musical-being-in the-!orld, analysing the information gleaned, assessing the interactions that took place and dra!ing meaning#ul conclusions, In this instance, my rst-hand experience as a researcher is supported to some degree by the experiences o# my collaborators as !ell as other musician-researchers !ho have #ound themselves in similar cross-cultural collaborative environments and to !hom I make re#erence throughout the paper. IMPROVISATION "lthough !e used a range o# other methods to acquaint ourselves !ith one another’s musical histories 5e.g., listening to recordings and live renditions o# our traditional music) much o# our initial material !as generated by improvising together. (roup improvisation is about both spontaneity and relinquishing control over at least some o# the musical ideas, and there is an element o# uncertainty inherent in the process, 2o!ever, musicians !ill de ne improvisation !ithin a broad range o# parameters depending on their e.perience and the genre o# music !ith !hich they are most #amiliar. Improvisation is not the only musical phenomenon in !hich elements o# uncertainty are at play. Indeed uncertainty plays a vital role in many aspects o# musical interaction. ;xtemporisation and variation !ithin xed musical structures #re:uently occur in the Fulani music that I !as to become so #amiliar !ith. $imilarly, at a © Music and Arts in Action/Sanderson 2016 | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 20 http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/improvdialog Music and Arts in Action | Volume 5 | Issue 1 $cottish traditional music <pub’ session, a series o# chunks #rom a memorised communal repertoire are put together seemingly at random, selected spontaneously by one or several o# the participants as the set develops. =espite a strong element o# uncertainty, these processes !ould rarely be de ned as improvisation by the musicians themselves. Tere are many similar examples. -e style o# improvisation in our collaborations !as not free improvisation, but a bringing to the table o# a range o# pre-learned musical concepts, each o# us dra!ing on our speci c communal memorised repertories. "n internalised structural memory !as a key element in the creative process. ;ach player came !ith his or her individual style and infuences, !hich !ere added to the mix. It !as these #our elements ? improvisation, memorised traditional repertoire, internalised traditional structures and individual style– that provided the palette #rom !hich our creative explorations began. THE CROSS-CULTURAL COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT 'y previous musical interactions !ith musicians #rom oral traditions had generally come about through encounters !ith #ello! ;uropeans at traditional music #estivals !ithin ;urope. We had a great deal in common, musically and culturally speaking, -ese encounters involved little improvisation. In contrast, !orking !ith UK-based musicians #rom West and North "#rica re:uired a diferent approach because !e shared #e!er musical concepts. -at is !hy using improvisation as a starting point !as so important. 2o!ever, in all collaborative !ork there is a need to be a!are o# potential difculties !hen both spoken and technical language are not shared. Aur confrontation could only be positive if it !as based on respect and the !ill to kno! and understand each other1s cultures. It !as there#ore vital to gain at least some background cultural kno!ledge o# one1s collaborators be#ore engaging in a musical dialogue. Ane collaborative pro/ect that illustrates some o# the challenges associated !ith cross- cultural musical dialogue is "#ro+ubism, a band 5and album o# the same name9 created in 2010. -is !as a high-pro le cross-cultural music pro/ect orchestrated by %ick (old o# World +ircuit Records. "#ro+ubism !as a collaboration between +uban guitarist ;liades Achoa o# 0uena Dista $ocial +lub and a group o# 'alian musicians that included 4oumani =iabate as !ell as guitarist =/elimady 4ounkara 5a 'anding griot and #ormer star o# 0amako1s $uper Rail band9 and ngoni player 0assekou Kouyate. In an intervie! !ith (old, Will 2odgkinson, a /ournalist #or the (uardian, asked him and the musicians about the collaboration.6 (old states that there !ere language problems between the French-speaking 'alians and $panish- speaking +ubans. +ultural issues related to lifestyle also created tension between the t!o groups. In a seemingly !eary tone, (old asks the intervie!er Eho! many times today have they told you music has no barrier and it’s a universal languageFG 52odgkinson BC6C9. -is example suggests that the pro/ect !as not characterised by cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding, rather by its opposite: an entrenchment o# diference and an a@rmation o# the po!er imbalances that are so o#ten involved in cross-cultural collaborations o# a commercial kind, 1 Hodgkinson, W; Buena Vista Take Two in The Guardian (1.10.10) http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/30/afrocubism-buena-vista © Music and Arts in Action/Sanderson 2016 | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 21 http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/improvdialog Music and Arts in Action | Volume 5 | Issue 1 "ccording to Kouyate, during the "#ro+ubism pro/ect, there !as no time #or the musicians to get to kno! one another musically through rehearsals. EWe had to learn about +uban music on the spot,” he states. In the same article =iabate comments, EI don’t play their music, and they don’t play my music. We do our o!n music and it becomes a #usion” 52odgkinson BC6C9. 2o!ever, on a promotional video #or the "#ro+ubism pro/ect posted on &ou4ube, =iabate alters this statement, saying E-e 'alians, !e have played the +ubans1 music. -e +ubans also have played 'alian music, and this has #acilitated the creation o# ne! music.”B "lthough the creative output may have become critically and commercially success#ul 5in BC66, "#ro+ubism !as nominated #or a (rammy a!ard #or <0est 4raditional World 'usic "lbum19, the comments made by some o# the musicians indicate that the level o# musical exchange in the pro/ect !as some!hat superfcial. (enerally speaking, musicians must do the best they can in collaborations !ithin the constraints o# time and budget, " diferent model o# cross-cultural musical interaction is put #orward by "merican guitarist and /ournalist 0anning ;yre !ho collaborated !ith the 'alian guitarist 4ounkara during the 1990s. ;yre tells us that Ethe learning consisted mainly o# a series o# improvisationsG 52000, p.235). 2o!ever, in contrast to the brevity o# the "#ro+ubism meetings, ;yre stayed !ith 4ounkara #or seven months, indicating the importance o# taking time to establish a meaning#ul dialogue in collaborative !orking practices.
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