Strategies in Jazz Guitar Improvisation
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Stein Helge Solstad Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation NMH-publikasjoner 2015:7 g Stein Helge Solstad Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation Dissertation for the PhD degree Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo 2015 NMH-publikasjoner 2015:7 NMH-publikasjoner 2015:7 © Norges musikkhøgskole og Stein Helge Solstad ISSN 0333-3760 ISBN 978-82-7853-207-2 Norges musikkhøgskole Postboks 5190 Majorstua 0302 OSLO Tel.: +47 23 36 70 00 E-post: [email protected] nmh.no Trykk: 07 Media, Oslo, 2015 Acknowledgement I am indebted to several people who have provided both inspiration and assistance in my doctoral research. I am particularly grateful to Rolf Inge Godøy for being my main supervisor and for updating my understanding of relevant areas of cognitive psychology as they relate to improvisation. I am indebted to Chris Washburne for being my co-supervisor, for making the research in New York possible by accepting me as a visiting scholar at Columbia University and for providing invaluable help in my fieldwork and in the refinement of my theoretical approach. Many thanks to my five interlocutors in New York City, namely Lage Lund, Jack Wilkins, Ben Monder, Rez Abbasi and Adam Rogers, for being so generous and for helping me by illuminating the secrets in jazz guitar improvisation. I am also thankful to associates, especially Fred Lerdahl and George Lewis at Columbia University, for sharing my interest in cognition the years, and especially guitar students who have been a constant source of and ethnographic research in jazz. Thanks to students in my classes over stimulation, expanding my own understanding of the subject. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to Kjell Arild Madsen for being my mentor in this project, Bjørn Alterhaug for reading my initial drafts, Jan Inge Sørbø for constructive comments on the thesis, and Paul Columbia University as a location for conducting this research. I want to Berliner for interesting conversations and suggesting New York City and iii Stein Helge Solstad: Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation thank Richard Whitehead for detailed and competent proofreading and my “trial public defense” on the thesis. Hans P. Weisethaunet for being a knowledgeable and reflective opponent in Finally, and most importantly, thanks to my wife Marit for continuous Karen Mathea for being generous with a sometimes absentminded father. support and love all the way, and my children, Sondre, Haldor, Trygve and iv Abstract What strategies are used in professional jazz guitar improvisation? This guitarists; a basic coding strategy named chunking, an extended coding project finds that three main strategies are used by professional jazz strategy based on context seen as schemas and an altered coding strategy Chunking entails grouping small information units into chunks; these can then be based on skilled interaction in context, defined as templates. combined into larger, hierarchically constructed systems and function as a mental “store” from which the performer retrieves material during improvisation. Chunk networks are triggered in the form of a schema, which is an abstract general mental representation of contextual knowledge. Templates are large flexible schemas frequently used by experts. The practice-led research strategy has allowed questions, problems and challenges to be initiated and worked on in fieldwork. The aim has been to investigate how jazz guitarists recall, integrate, organize and develop their knowledge in improvisation. The inquiry includes participant observation, modal matrix playing with and interviewing five professional jazz guitarists in New York City. By examining the fieldwork a for analyzing structure, time and form in jazz guitar improvisation has been developed. The fieldwork intention has been to bridge the gap between the roles as researcher and studies have been supplemented by theoretical and contextual studies. The v Stein Helge Solstad: Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation performer, and in this process illuminate knowledge that might have an impact on different parameters in improvised music in general. crucially dependent on context, style and type of interplay. Improvising is This research project finds that professional jazz guitarists’ strategies are based on listening to what is happening in interplay and having flexible implicit (sub-conscious) and explicit (conscious) knowledge is used; the actions available to match the given input. Interplay defines the ways more familiar the context, the more use of implicit knowledge and intuition. The findings collapse the dichotomy constructed by the theories of top- needed dependent on time and place. down versus bottom-up expert skill, emphasizing that both approaches are vi Norwegian summary Kva slags strategiar er nytta i jazzgitarimprovisasjon? Funna i dette grunnleggjande koding kalla chunking eller gruppering, ei utvida koding prosjektet viser at jazzgitaristar nyttar tre hovudstrategiar: Ei basert på kontekst, kalla skjema, og ei intuitiv form for koding basert på høgt malar (templates). Chunking er gruppering av små informasjonseiningar til større hierarkiske einingar, utvikla ferdigheiter i kontekst, definert som chunks, som fungerer som eit mentalt lager som utøvaren hentar materiale frå gjennom improvisasjon. Nettverk av chunks vert utløyste i form av eit skjema, som er ein abstrakt generell representasjon av denne kunnskapen. samlingar av detaljar ved ein situasjonen eller eit problem. Når utøvarar Lang tids erfaring fører til gjenkjenning av mønster som skaper malar – samlar detaljar i templatar, trengst mindre analyse, og improvisasjonen kan byggja på meir intuitiv kunnskap. utfordringar har vorte starta og arbeidd med i feltarbeid. Målet har vore Ein praksisleia forskingsstrategi har vorte nytta, der spørsmål, problem og å finna ut korleis jazzgitaristar kjenner igjen, integrerer, organiserer og utviklar kunnskap i improvisasjon. Arbeidet er gjort gjennom deltakande observasjon, samspel og intervju med fem profesjonelle jazzgitaristar i modal matrise New York. Feltarbeidet er fylgt opp av teoretiske og kontekstuelle studiar. Ei er utvikla. Føremålet har vore å kombinera rolla som forskar og utøvar, for å analysera struktur, tid og form i jazzgitarimprovisasjon vii Stein Helge Solstad: Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation og i denne prosessen avdekka kunnskap som kan ha innverknad på ulike parameter i improvisert musikk generelt. strategiar er grunnleggjande avhengig av kontekst, stil og type samspel. Dette forskingsprosjektet viser at profesjonelle jazzgitaristar sine Improvisasjon er basert på å lytte til kva som skjer i samspel og at ein augneblinken. Ekspertise har fleksible handlingar tilgjengelege som samsvarar med det som skjer i (bevisst) kunnskap er nytta; dess meir kjend situasjonen er, dess meir nyttar definerer korleis implisitt (ubevisst) og eksplisitt ein implisitt (intuitiv) kunnskap. Funna slår saman motsetnadene skapt mellom skjemabaserte teoriar som gjer bruk av langtidsminne (top-down) og sanseorienterte teoriar (bottom-up) som nyttar sensorisk register og korttidsminne for å forklare ekspertise. I denne avhandlinga vert det slått fast at båe vert nytta avhengig av tid og stad. viii Contents Acknowledgement iii Abstract v Norwegian summary vii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 2 1.2 3 Research questions 1.3 Challenges 5 A practice-led inquiry 1.4 Inspiration 8 1.5 12 1.6 14 Scope 1.7 16 Personal and professional context 2 StudiesThesis overview and theories of jazz improvisation 17 2.1 17 2.2 Introspective phenomenological accounts 18 Improvisational practices in jazz 2.3 19 2.4 Observational studies using video 21 Ethnographic studies 2.5 22 2.6 23 Jazz analysis 2.7 My approach 25 Generative models in jazz improvisation ix Stein Helge Solstad: Strategies in jazz guitar improvisation 3 Methods 27 3.1 27 3.1 Methodologies 28 A practice-led inquiry 3.1.1 Research paradigms 28 3.2 Research strategies 35 3.2.1 36 3.2.2 39 Ethnography 3.2.3 42 Phenomenology 3.3 Methods for generating empirical material 47 The reflective practitioner 3.3.1 48 3.3.2 Fieldworks 50 Pilot studies 3.3.3 56 3.3.4 59 Analyzing the interviews 4 Chunking,Analyzing the schemas music and templates 69 4.1 69 4.1.1 Chunking capacity 72 Chunking: basic coding 4.2 74 4.3 76 Schemas: extended coding 4.4 77 Expertise 4.4.1 Mnemonics 78 4.4.2 Templates:Formulas expert coding 79 4.4.3 Hierarchy 81 4.5 83 4.5.1 Rules 85 4.5.2 Action-based chunking 87 4.5.3 Motor schemas 88 Patterns 4.5.4 89 4.6 Motor control 91 Levels of improvisation 4.6.1 Neurocognitive aspects of improvisation 94 4.6.2 95 4.7 Improvisation, chunking and schemas 98 Possible negative effects of schemas and chunking x Contents 5 Aspects of time 101 5.1 102 5.1.1 Micro timing 103 5.1.2 SwingNow-points 105 5.1.3 Introspective micro time 107 5.2 Meso timing 109 5.2.1 Choking 111 5.2.2 113 5.2.3 Introspective meso time 114 Phrasing in real time 5.3 Macro timing 116 5.3.1 Flow 118 5.3.2 122 5.3.3 Introspective macro time 124 The presence and interplay 5.3.4 Improvisation and time 124 6 Form 127 6.1 Harmonic rules 128 6.1.1 128 6.1.2 133 Parts: chunks 6.1.3 148 Overview: schemas 6.2 Fretboard patterns 151 Expertise: harmonic templates 6.2.1 Gestalt principles of diminished patterns 152 6.2.2 154 6.3 Improvisation and form 157 Expertise: visual templates 7 The jazz guitarists’ perspectives on practising and performing 159 7.1 161 7.1.1 Overview 161 7.1.2 Practising 165 7.1.3 169 Parts 7.1.4 Maintenance 171 Joins 7.2 178 7.2.1 Intention 178 7.2.2 Performing 180 7.2.3 Goal 182 Action 7.2.4