Rewilding Music: Improvisation, Wilderness, and the Global Musician

7/25/2019 Rewilding Music: Improvisation, Wilderness, and the Global Musician

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Rewilding Music: Improvisation, wilderness, and the global musician

Rewilding Music:

Improvisation, wilderness, and the global musician

Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis

Master hesis ! "inal Pro#ect in $lobal Music%ordic Master in $lobal Music

&ibelius 'cademy, (niversity o) the 'rts*elsinki, "inland

&pring +.

%athan Riki homson, pro#ect tutor*eikki (imonen, thesis supervisor

v./+01+http:11www/laonikos/com

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his research investigates how being in the wilderness a))ects group

improvisation and in which ways the wilderness can be a potential learning

environment in the education o) global musicians/ It starts by constructing a

theoretical )ramework around improvisation, the wilderness as a place,

mind)ulness, and what a global musician is, and uses a case study to connect

artists3 e4periences to the theoretical )ramework/ Looking at place and at artists

as emplaced beings is a starting point )or a discussion o) the wilderness

environment and how it is 5ualitatively di))erent to an urban environment/ '

short interlude on mind)ulness, in relation to improvisation and to the

wilderness, is )ollowed by an overview and analysis o) Immersive Listening, an

artistic research pro#ect with si4 improvising artists 6three musicians, three

dancers7/ he participants spent three days near a wilderness location in late

summer +8 and returned to *elsinki )or a per)ormance and open discussion/

'n analysis o) the participants3 discussions, re)lective diaries, and per)ormance

documentation connects insights )rom the pro#ect to the previously constructed

theoretical )ramework/ Main insights concern participants3 listening, presence,

and acceptance o) di))erence, as they relate to cosmopolitan listening/ '

discussion o) the case study shows that e4periences in a natural environment

can have a positive impact on the interaction o) urban per)ormers )rom di))erent

artistic and cultural backgrounds/ In )ostering key 5ualities )undamental in

cosmopolitan listening in 5ualitatively di))erent ways than in urban conte4ts, the

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wilderness can potentially be a valuable resource in global musicians3

education/

Keywords: improvisation, wilderness, global music, mind)ulness, education,

)udo-sei, embodiment, cosmopolitan listening

NOTE: British English spelling has been used throughout this writing. Where material hasbeen uoted !rom e"ternal sour#es$ the spelling o! the original te"t has been used. %ideos$images$ maps$ or other visual elements or te"t e"tra#ts that are under #opyright have beenused in this essay !or a#ademi# resear#h purposes only.

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pro#ects and research, has been an important source o) encouragement and

support/

=avid Rothenberg, whom I met at said ohannes artola who

supervises it and makes sure everything works/

I am also grate)ul )or institutions and services, such as libraries, the internet,

healthcare, roads, universities, co))ee places with wi-)i, and all o) my workplaces,

past and present, without which indulging in writing would have not been possible/

Last, but not least, all the teachers in the wild: blackbirdsong in a spring evening,

the smell o) a bog in the autumn, the 5uenching )reshness o) a small water)allB the

so)tness o) )resh sphagnum mossDthese haiku-moments which have shaped me by

grounding me to the beauty )ound in the small, the unimpressive, the here and now/

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Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis &elsin'i$ () *ay +,(-

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hough these shorter sessions have helped develop the idea and e4ecution o) this

larger e4cursion, they do not constitute case study material )or this research directly/

he obvious sources o) concepts and ideas )or the theoretical )ramework come

)rom the )ields o) musical improvisation, nature writing, psychology, ethnomusicology,

and ecomusicology/ &ome less directly evident sources include Nen philosophy,

phenomenology, mind)ulness and meditation, and ecology/ he nature o) this

research demands an interdisciplinary approach in order to illuminate the various

dimensions o) the research 5uestion, and to arrive at insights which lie beyond each

individual discipline3s reach/ Recent advancements in some o) these )ields have

made possible the construction o) a )ramework within which the research 5uestion

can be e4plored/

's mentioned earlier, the aim o) this research is to determine in which ways being

in a natural environment a))ects group improvisation/ here already e4ist

improvisational practices which draw inspiration )rom the natural world and the

processes that govern it 6see emergent improvisationin &gorbati, +8B ++7/ ;hat

is speci)ically o) interest to this research, rather than a development o) an

improvisational practice model which is inspired by an intellectual understanding o)

nature, is studying how physically being in the wilderness a))ects improvising artists,

that is, in which ways the wilderness environment is embodied in group

improvisational practice/ his is done through looking particularly at the skills,

knowledge, and attitudes which are use)ul in trans-cultural1trans-disciplinary1trans-

genre improvisationDwhich are later grouped under trans1idiomati#improvisationD

and how the development or engagement o) these competencies may be positively

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a))ected by spending time in the wilderness/ In investigating improvisation through

the lens o) the natural environment, this research e4amines the inherent relationship

between improvisation and space: the ways we both comprehend intellectually and

embody physically our emplaced e4periences, and the speci)ic ways the wilderness

may a))ect improvisation, both in interpersonal interactions and artistic content/

he starting point and continued )ocus )or this research has been in)ormed by my

own prior personal e4periences o) being in the wilderness )or e4tended periods o)

time, being involved in improvisatory music-making, and re)lecting on the ways my

e4periences in the wilderness have in)luenced and in)ormed my music-making/

2eyond the ways I have been a))ected as an individual, I became interested in how

similar e4periences can a))ect working together within a group, due to its relevance

in the conte4t o) global music and the interpersonal character o) a group interaction/

My interest in e4ploring the e))ects o) the natural environment in improvisation

was greatly enhanced and ampli)ied at the


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Listening 3laygroundpractice 6Rosenbaum, n/d/7, and Pauline liveros3 4oni#

*editations 6FE@7/

2eing surrounded by people )rom a large range o) disciplines, #oined together by

their passion )or researching music in relation to nature, instilled con)idence in my

ideas/ "or the )irst time, I encountered researchers and per)ormers )rom )ields such

as acoustic ecology, soundscape ecology, bioacoustics, biomusic, Koomusicology,

ecopsychology, and was present in discussions o) political, environmental, and social

issues in relation to music and nature/ he ethics o) sourcing wood )or violins and

marimbas, the environmental impact o) touring or people coming )rom )ar-away

places #ust )or a concert, or how a local band has mobilised a community to act

towards preventing an environmental threat to their area through songs, gigs, and

protest concertsDthese are all sub#ect to the )ield o) ecomusicology, which is

interdisciplinary in nature/

Listening, presence, acceptance, assumptions about other group members, non-

#udgementality and going beyond one3s own com)ort Kone are all elements o)

working together in improvisation that will be looked at in this research/ Looking at

the )unction and importance o) such skills in trans-cultural and trans-disciplinary

work, this research e4plores how the natural environment can be a conducive

environment )or developing such skills/ he potential applications )ocus on, though

are not limited to, the education o) the global musician, as a music practice that

responds to contemporary challenges arising )rom globalisation/ Interesting points

)or )uture research are touched upon, as well as the implications o) embracing the

natural environment as a place )or )acilitating artistic development/

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B. Structure of Research

his research aims to construct a theoretical )ramework, e4ploring ideas about

improvisation, the wilderness, and mind)ulness, )ollowed by an analysis o) data )rom

a case study 6Immersive Listening research pro#ect7 and an e4amination o) the

insights )rom the case study drawn against the previously constructed )ramework/

Chapter Iis an introduction to the research/ 9ey concepts are laid out and

de)ined in order to )acilitate understanding o) the research/ his chapter also

includes my personal background and motivations )or writing this paper, as well as a

statement o) the research 5uestion/

Chapter II, The Nature o! Improvisation, takes a more detailed look into what

improvisation is, learning it, and its relation to global music/


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Interludetakes the reader on a small deviation )rom the main course o) the te4t,

to e4plore the concept o) mind)ulness, as it applies to improvisation and

per)ormance/ he concept o) a spiritual or mind)ulness retreat as a method )or

personal, or spiritual, development, is also looked at/ his is in order to demonstrate

how the Immersive Listening research pro#ect can be seen as a retreat, in its

distance )rom our habitual spaces and )ocus on the present e4perience/

Chapter III, The Improvisation o! Nature, rather than looking at the ways in which

nature improvises, instead e4plores how nature mani)ests itsel) in improvisation

through being embodied by the participants/ It is centred around the Immersive

Listening research pro#ect/ he chapter starts with a description o) the pro#ect3s

conte4t and content, and is )ollowed by an analysis o) participants3 re)lections,

discussions, and )inal per)ormance, as it relates to an embodiment o) the wilderness

environment/

he case study material consists mainly o) interviews with the participants, group

discussions, participants3 own #ournal re)lections, and my own personal re)lections,

as both pro#ect )acilitator and participating artist/ his research also draws on short

interviews conducted with some o) the organisers o) 4'iing on 4'in5estival +,(6.

4'iing on 4'in6&o&7 is an international contact improvisation dance )estival, which

has taken place every "ebruary in "inland )or a number o) years/ hough the

location o) the )estival changes )rom year to year, there is always a strong

connection to a natural environment/ I spoke to some o) the organisers about this

aspect o) the )estival, and about nature in their work as improvisers in general/

Returning to these interviews in the writing o) this research, it appeared that some o)

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these dancers3 thoughts and e4periences with regards to improvisation and being in

the wilderness resonate with insights )rom the analysis o) the Immersive Listening

pro#ect/

Chapter IV, 2ewilding *usi#, ties up together loose ends/ he insights )rom the

Immersive Listening pro#ect are discussed and connected to the previously

constructed theoretical )ramework, looking at the particularities and 5ualities o)

embodying the wilderness and how these e4periences may be conducive )or

improvising or collaborating in unknown and un)amiliar conte4ts/ It revisits the global

musician3s responsibilities and roles, and, through a discussion on cosmopolitan

listening, it aims to demonstrate the possibilities o) the wilderness as an educational

environment )or global musicians/

his )inal chapter ends with conclusions, in which the insights are summarised

and the research 5uestion revisited in light o) the research and its )indings/ here is

an element o) sel)-re)lection with regards to my own artistic identity, in other words

how I have personally changed through this pro#ect and research/ he discussion

also contains 5uestions )or )uture research, an overview o) the limitations o) this

research, and closing remarks with regards to my personal belie)s about music,

society, and education/

C. Personal Background

I think o) mysel) as a creative artist and wilderness guide/ I have been trained as

a composer and pianist in my studies at the $uildhall &chool o) Music and =rama

6+E!7, and as a wilderness guide at ampere ocational College 6ampereen

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&eudun 'mmattiopisto7/ 's a guide, I work in ;ilderness Oouth Centres 6&uomen

%uorisokeskukset7 )or a total o) about three months a year/

My main instruments at the moment are piano, electronics, and electric guitar,

and I am currently learning the shakuhachi/ hough I work primarily with music and

have a particular a))inity to music-making, I also per)orm with movement, write

poetry, and produce arts events/ I see all o) these as di))erent e4pressions o) the

same process, similarly to how in other cultures there is no di))erentiation between

music and other arts, such as in anKanian ngoma6*oward, +@7/

's a per)orming artist I am particularly interested in improvisation, stemming )rom

a wish to be involved directly with sound/ hough composition, which I had

previously studied, is deeply en#oyable and insight)ul, it is to a certain degree

removed )rom the immediacy and ephemerality o) sound-making intrinsic in

improvisation/

Improvisation is a way o) being immersed in the moment and o) surprising

onesel) in responding creatively to un)amiliar situations/ I see improvisation as a yet

unvisited wilderness area: though the e4act details o) the hike will be un)amiliar and

new, the process o) embarking on such an unplanned #ourney is )amiliar and can be

practiced by visiting new and un)amiliar terrains again and again/

I believe improvisation is a healthy and invaluable way o) music-making )or any

musician/ he attitudes necessary )or and developed through improvising are

trans)erable, and particularly use)ul in collaborative pro#ects which involve people

)rom di))erent disciplines/

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"or the past two years I3ve been studying on the $LM'& programme at the

&ibelius 'cademy, now part o) the (niversity o) the 'rts/ My wish was to deepen my

musicianship in a wider sense, and )ind ways o) connecting my e4periences in the

wilderness to the collaborative music-making that I so en#oyed in my last years in

London/

his thesis is the culmination o) these two years o) studies and personal

6re7search into my own artistic identity: as a collaborative musician, improviser,

wilderness guide, and researcher/ I have a strong belie) that the core attitudes we

need to embrace as individuals and as societies in order to deal with the crises that

)ace the world today are tightly connected/ he othering o) re)ugees and )oreign

cultures is accompanied by an othering o) natureB appropriation o) those cultures by

an appropriation o) the natural environment/ he arts have a uni5ue capacity in

grounding us to the present moment in all its historical and relational conte4t, and to

highlight that in being human we are inherently connected to each other and to our

environment/

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D. e! Concepts

' number o) key concepts and de)initions relevant to this study are presented

here, in order to )acilitate understanding o) the main body o) this research/ &ome o)

these terms, such as improvisationand wilderness, will be e4panded upon later as

necessary and only a short overview o) the term is presented at this stage/

". #he $lo%al Musician

he %ordic Master o) $lobal Music 6$LM'&7 is a #oint music master developed

by $LM(&, the $lobal Music %etwork 6$LM'&, n/d/7/ $LM(& is a network o)

higher-education institutions whose main aims are stated as intercultural

communication, knowledge sharing, capacity building and organiKational

developmentB and musical interaction )or mutual inspiration and innovation

6$LM(&, n/d/7/

he $LM'& programme was initially launched in + among three %ordic

universities: Royal 'cademy o) Music, 'arhus 6=enmark7, &ibelius 'cademy

6"inland7 and Lund (niversity3s MalmA 'cademy o) Music 6&weden7/ It is now

continued by the Royal 'cademy o) Music in 'arhus 6=enmark7 and the (niversity o)

the 'rts, *elsinki 6"inland7, a merger between the three art academies o) *elsinki:

heatre 'cademy 6eatterikorkeakoulu7, "ine 'rts 'cademy 69uvataideakatemia7

and &ibelius 'cademy 6&ibelius-'katemia7/ he programme is currently in its si4th

year and will include bachelor degree studies as o) 'utumn +., e4panding to a )ull

8/8-year degree in "inland/ he scope o) the master is to train global musicians/ In

the course3s own description:


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he programme embraces cultural diversity and aims to educate innovative

transcultural musicians and pedagogues with a strong sense o) global

responsibility/ hrough the $LM'& curriculum, musicians )rom a diverse range

o) musical and cultural and backgroundsQ will develop the ability to per)orm,

communicate, collaborate and lead in a wide range o) musical, cultural and

socially-engaged conte4ts/ 6$LM'&, n/d/7

Rather than striving to produce a walking le4icon o) the world3s various musics,

the $lobal Music programme aims to e5uip musicians with the skills and attitudes to

respond meaning)ully in any given conte4t/

Peter Renshaw, a creative learning consultant with a keen interest in the arts and

li)elong learning, has put together an e4tensive list o) competencies necessary )or

artists working in cross-sector, cross-arts, and cross-cultural settings, which shares

much common ground with the skills relevant to a global musician3s work 6homson,

+07/ hese competencies are broken down into &alues6e/g/ honestyB

compassionB integrity7B interpersonal skills6e/g/ empathyB trustB opennessB Q

con)idence to share one3s vulnerability7B co''unication skills6e/g/ )raming

appropriate 5uestionsB active listening QB being open and non-#udgemental7B

personal skills6e/g/ time-managementB reliabilityB Q managing stress7, as well

as perfor'anceand creati&e skills6e/g/ technical skills on instrument or voiceB

musical versatility and )le4ible approaches to per)ormanceB Q 5uality o) listening


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and sensitivity to soundB Q )luency in improvisationB Q understanding di))erent

approaches to arts practice7 6Renshaw +, pp/..!E7/

Renshaw also includes what is not typically considered artists3 skills, such as

leadership skills6e/g/ creating an inspiring, enabling environmentB Q having the

capacity to respect, listen to and act on other points o) viewB Q to be able to work

collaboratively7 and 'anage'ent skills6e/g/ having a realistic timescaleB Q

being pragmatic about logistical challengesB Q managing an e4perienced team o)

workshops leaders and supporting musiciansB Q helping to build up and nurture

appropriate partnerships7 6Renshaw +, pp/..!E7/

Moreover, global musicians ought to widen their understanding o) what music is

and can be, in order to interact with people who share di))erent ideas about music/

Looking at music-making through a lens inclusive o) other cultures, the idea o)

music, o)ten taken )or granted within the same culture or subculture, becomes

sub#ect to discussion and re)lection/ ;hat is music =o people )rom other cultures

share the same idea about music as I do ;hat is important in their music *ow do

they understand or listen to my music In which ways am I biassed listening to

theirs


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hese are naturally all too )amiliar 5uestions )or ethnomusicologists/ In )act, any

global musician will have to embrace an ethnomusicologist3s mindset in working with

the other: this certain openness and willingness to communicate and understand

)rom another person3s point o) view/

(. )co'usicolog!

E#omusi#ologyas a term appeared in the literature in the FEs, though it only

gained wider recognition at the turn o) the millennium 6e#omusi#ology, n/d/7/ Rather

than ecological musicology, the term stands )or ecocritical musicology/ hat is, a

musicology which adopts a critical and aware attitude towards the connections

between it sub#ect matterDmusicDand the environment, similarly to what

ecocriticism is to literature/

Musicologist 'aron &/ 'llen, in his de)inition o) ecomusicology, e4plains that itQ

considers the relationships o) music, culture, and natureB i/e/, it is the study o)

musical and sonic issues, both te4tual and per)ormative, as they relate to ecology

and the environment 6+, p/ 0F+7/

Like ecocriticism, ecomusicology is by nature an interdisciplinary )ield/ 'lthough

the connections between music and the environment have been around since at

least 'ncient $reece, there has been a revival in this interest partly due to an

increased awareness o) environmental issues in the last decades/ It is naturally

connected to disciplines with a similar interest in the inter-relations o) their sub#ect

matter and its conte4t, such as ecology, ecocriticism, and so on 6'llen, +, p/ 0F7/

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"urthermore, a number o) )ields have emerged our o)Dor were later attached toD

the )ield o) ecomusicology, such as biomusics, acoustic ecology, soundscape

ecology, Koomusicology and so )orth/

Likewise, this research lies com)ortably within the realm o) ecomusicology,

e4ploring e4actly the relationship between natural environment and improvised

music-making/

*. I'pro&isation

Improvisation is an elusive word, as virtually any essay or book written on the

topic rea))irms/ >apanese composer >o 9ondo used to say that there are as many

kinds o) music as there are people on this planet 6Paul %ewland, +G, personal

correspondence7/ Replace music with improvisation and the words are e5ually

apropos to the 5uestion at hand/ In spite o) a pleasant elusiveness o) the term, it is

nevertheless necessary to delineate what improvisation is )or the purposes o) this

research/

't the etymology o) the word lies improviso, Latin )or un)oreseenB not studied or

prepared be)orehand 6improvisation, n/d/7/ In its broadest de)inition, there)ore,

improvisation is a per)ormance in which the per)ormers do not know what3s going to

happen/ 'rguably, they know what is going to happen in terms o) the attitude they

bring into the per)ormance )rom moment to moment, the process/ *owever, the

artistic outcomeDthe content, in terms o) material, )orms, structures, interactionsDis

unknown: unrehearsed and unde)ined until the very moment it is brought into

e4istence/

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+. Soundscape

&oundscape is a term )irst established by R/ Murray &cha)er in the FEs, which

has since shaped entire disciplines studying the world through sound, such as

soundscape ecology 6&cha)er, FEEB 9rause, +87/ ;hile innovative in the FEs

when &cha)er )irst started using the word soundscape, it has since entered standard


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,. Soundwalk

&oundwalk is a term originating with &cha)er and the ;orld &oundscape Pro#ect,

which re)ers to walking with a )ocus on listening to sounds and one3s relationship to

the environment through sound/ *ildegard ;esterkamp, associated with the ;orld

&oundscape Pro#ect, e4plains that a sound walk is any e4cursion whose main

purpose is listening to the environment/ It is e4posing our ears to every sound

around us no matter where we are 6FE@, p/ G7/ &cha)er 6FEE7 makes a distinction

between a listening wal', essentially any walk )ocused on listening, and a

soundwal', an e4ploration o) the soundscape o) a given area using a score as a

guide 6FEE, p/ +07/ hroughout the Immersive Listening pro#ect, we have been

using the word soundwalk to re)er to ;esterkamp3s de)inition o) soundwal'6which is

closer to &cha)er3s listening wal'7 and will thus be used as such in this writing/

&cha)er 6F.EB FEE7 treated listening walks and soundwalks as crucial in ear-

cleaning, a process o) opening the aural sense to sound around us/


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day o) the Immersive Listening research pro#ect would start and end with a

soundwalk, )ollowed by a re)lection on the soundwalk/ his provided a )orum )or

discussion with a shared set o) e4periences and allowed us to enter a space o)

listening intently to our surroundings/

-. ilderness

he terms nature, environment, and wilderness have all been used to mean a

range o) things over the years, depending on the )ield and conte4t/

he term natural has been used in research in the humanities to describe an

environment other than urban 69aplan U 9aplan, FGFB Rohde U 9endle, FF@B

;rightson, FFFB 'llen, +7 in order to study the 5ualitative di))erences o) such

spaces and our relationship to them/ In 9aplan and 9aplan 6FGF7 naturalwas also

applied to park areas 6or green areas7 within urban environments, pastures, )ields,

and )orests alike/ &ome o) the e))ects they were studying were present even in such

instances o) )orest or nature within urban environments, with the degree o) the

e))ect varying between these places and a solely natural environment, that is, an

environment with no built structures or human inter)erence/

In popular terms, the word has o)ten been used in the conte4t o) nature

prote#tionor nature #onservationto mean an environment that is primarily non-

urban/ ' discussion about plans )or a local park in a big city is not typically re)erred to

as nature conservation/

his othering o) the environment by humansDtreating nature as an ob#ect to be

manipulated rather than as part o) one3s identityDis, in )act, central to &mall3s

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dissection ;estern culture3s assumptions about the world 6FEG7/ In a chapter titled

The 7ommanding o! Nature$music educator and philosopher Christopher &mall

e4amines how these assumptionsDthe Cartesian mind!body, or the Christian

human!nature dichotomies, which have dominated much o)


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the word will also depend on whether the discussion is about psychological studies

6which typically re)er to natural environments7 or the Immersive Listening pro#ect/

/. Rewilding

Rewilding is a process o) restoration o) natural environments, in contrast to the

idea o) nature #onservation/ It was coined by =ave "oreman in the FFs and has

since entered standard


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relationships with our immediate environment and )ind more meaning)ul ways o)

connecting to it: in other words, to escape )rom ecological boredom 6+0, p/ 7/

0. 1low

"low, as described and studied by *ungarian psychologist MihVly

CsiksKentmihVlyi and his associates, is a state o) optimal e4perience in which a

person is immersed in the activity they are per)orming 6CsiksKentmihVlyi, FF7/ It is

usually de)ined as an activity in which the individual3s skills are in balance with the

challenges o) the activity and is characterised by a heightened and seemingly

e))ortless concentration in the activity, a distorted sense o) time, and e4periencing

the activity as being intrinsically rewarding, among others 6%akamura U

CsiksKentmihVlyi, +7/

he concept is o)ten associated with peak per)ormance and creativity 6IvtKan U

*art, +., p/ 87, and )low has been shown to be more en#oyable when attained

within, or with, a group 6;alker, +7/ 8roup !lowmay be linked to has been

described by improvisors as group mind 62orgo, +., p/ +7: the )eeling that the

per)ormance takes a direction )or which no individual member is making the

e4ecutive decision/

2. )'%odi'ent


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and theoretical limitations o) a metaphysical mind1body dualism 6;eiss U *aber,

FFF, p/4iv7/


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In the Immersive Listening case studies, improvisation is used as a medium to

study these e))ects, due to its intrinsic directness and openness to the current

situation, as opposed to a per)ormance mode which )ocuses on stylistic elements/

his is accompanied by verbal re)lections on those immersive e4periences/

he research 5uestion, there)ore, can be )ormulated as such: *ow does being in

the wilderness a))ect us, physically and cognitively In which ways are these

e4periences embodied, and how do they mani)est themselves in artistic creativity, as

e4pressed in improvisation

he above 5uestion )orms the core o) the researchSs impetus, which is )urther

concerned with a second 5uestion: ;hat implications do these )indings have in an

educational conte4t )or global musicians


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research in which the artistic e4perience is integral to the knowledge produced/ he

knowledge that artistic research strives )or, sicQ is a !eltknowledge 69lein, +, p/

.7/ In this spirit, artistic research is artistic practice in which the artist produces an

artwork and researches the creative process, thus adding to the accumulation o)

knowledge 6*annula et al/, +8, p/ 87/

he theoretical )ramework constructed )rom e4amining concepts and ideas in

related disciplines is done side by side with artistic practice, in which we e4perience

ourselves 6as artists!researchers7 the e))ects o) being in the wilderness in our art-

making/ 's participants in the case study, we re)lect verbally about the e4periences,

both in discussion and in written re)lections/ 't the same time, there is an

understanding that artistic e4perience is itsel) a )orm o) re)lection 69lein, +, p/

87 which is irreplaceable by words/ Re)lection, both verbal and artistic, is a )orm o)

understanding these processes and is vital in artistic research/ In some aspects, the

knowledge itsel) is unmani)estable e4cept throughimprovisation/

's such, the knowledge that is arrived at through this research cannot be

separated )rom the artistic e4perience which led to this knowledge, such as the

personal and artistic backgrounds o) the participants/ %or can it be considered

independently o) the speci)icities and particularities o) our e4periences or the

environments we have been e4posed to/

he te4t is thus accompanied by videos related to the Immersive Listening

e4cursion into the wilderness, such as documentation o) some o) the e4ercises and

e4tracts )rom the )inal improvisation1per)ormance/ he improvisation itsel), as well as

all the e4ercises we per)ormed during our time in the )orest, )orm part o) the

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research, and their documentation provides a more direct insight into the e4pression

o) this embodied knowledge through improvisation/

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C*'P


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to the per)ormers/ In other words, in musical per)ormance, like in a dance

choreography, the )ocus o) a per)ormance is on authentically 6re-7producing an

already e4isting work/ he work3s identity as a work e4ists more or less

independently o) who is per)orming it and where, and the parameters o) authenticity

and #udgement o) the per)ormance depend on the idiom and conte4t/

'n e4ample )rom apanese )olksong 9urokami share the same

5uality, among others/ ;ithin this practice there is music which allows the per)ormer

to make more or less creative decisions with regards to certain aspects o) the )inal

product/ his brings )orth the individuality o) the per)ormers, such as in the case o)

#aKK standards, "eldman3s open scores, or Cage3s aleatoric music/ he per)ormers

are )ree to creatively engage with the content, yet the identity o) what is produced,

the )orm, lies elsewhere/

In more improvised per)ormances, the product or per)ormance in its entirety is

inseparable )rom the people involved in it, and, in )act, )rom the situationDtemporally

and spatiallyDin which it is per)ormed/ he per)ormance has no substance, no

identity, other than the one created in the present moment, by the people creating it/

"orm and content are )orged in the moment as a )unction o) the present situation/

Participants create both )orm and content un)oreseeably/

Improviser 2ailey delights in this ephemerality o) music, )or whom the essence o)

improvisation is probably as elusive as the moment in which it )inds its e4istence,

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and )inds that this nature o) improvisation e4actly resembles the nature o) musicD

that is to say, that it is essentially )leetingB its )ocus is its moment o) per)ormance

6FF+, p/ 807/ 2ailey3s perspective is shared by other prominent thinkers on

improvisation and improvisers themselves, such as &tephen %achmanovitch, a

student o) $regory 2ateson3s and improviser himsel), who believes that to improvise

is to be completely present right here in this place and this time 6+, p/ E7/

It is in this sense o) the word improvisation that the interest o) this research lies,

because o) the creative responsibility the improvisers have with regards to creating a

space in which they can be interact creatively/ he )unctiono) the situation 6spatially

and temporally7 is ma4imally e4pressed in this speci)ic artistic )orm, e4actly because

o) a lack o) idiom, which would in other instances provide a )orm and structure within

which one could make creative and aesthetically appropriate decisions/

Composer Cornelius Cardew, in his handbook )or Treatise, mentions brie)ly his

e4periences with the ''M improvisation group/ *e wrote that, as improvisers,

we aresear#hing)or sounds and )or the responses that attach to them, rather

than thinking them up, preparing them and producing them/ he search is

conducted in the medium o) sound and the musician himsel) is at the heart o) the

e4periment/ 6FE, p/ 4viii, emphasis in original7

Cardew speaks o) the process o) searching and e4ploring as the sine 5ua non o)

improvisation, a valid apprehension o) the e4plorative aspect o) improvisation coming

)rom the point o) view o) an improviser, rather than a theorist/ ;hen improvisers

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approach music-making as such they are open to the moment, to their being here

now, and the current situation is e4pressed through them in per)ormance/ It is a

mode o) art-making which e4plicitly connects per)ormers to each other, to

environment, and to the audience/ Cardew )ocuses )urther on the sub#ectivity o) the

e4periencerDthe musician or improviserDas being at the heart o) such musical

6re7search/

his research study is concerned with group improvisation/ $roup, or collective,

improvisation is di))erent to solo improvisation in that the per)ormers need to be

aware o) their )ellow improvisers, and be in conscious interaction with them/ In solo

improvisation, one does not need to negotiate any musical choices with anybody

else: the entirety o) musical choices depend on that one person/ In group

improvisation, however, the per)ormance almost has a li)e o) its own/ Moreover, in

solo improvisation, one does not need to negotiate space, in the sense o) letting

things develop without being involved in them, or silence, stepping back )rom being

an active creator o) material and simply observing )or a while/

2orgo 6+.7 has written how developing a group mind is integral to collective

composition 6p/ +7, evidence o) an emergent order which permeates the group and

its creative decisions in the course o) per)ormance/ his emergent order, in group

improvisations or creative processes where there is no underlying structure or leader

guiding the group 6&awyer, FFF7, is contrary to an established order, de)ined

respectively by a structure 6e/g/ idiomatic, cultural, notational7 or leader 6internal,

within the groupB or e4ternal, such as a conductor7/

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' de)ining di))erence between a group improvisation and a group per)ormance o)

a set piece are silences, or entries and e4its o) per)ormers into and )rom play/ &uch

decisions are negotiated in real time by the group and are not dictated by a structure

e4ternal to the group, or at a time prior to the per)ormance, such as by a composer,

choreographer, or )ormal idiomatic structure/ he responsibility )or this, and other

creative choices lie entirely within the per)ormers, regardless o) whether the sonic

outcome )alls within an idiom 6e/g/ )ree #aKK7 or not 6e/g/ Murayama3s non-idiomatic

improvisation or the 'MM group in the (97, and are taking place in real time, as the

per)ormance un)olds/

he research is )urther concerned particularly with improvisation between people

who do not share a common improvisational )ramework or genre, )or e4ample, #aKK

or contemporary dance/ he )ramework re)erred to can be cultural, disciplinary, or a

genre 6di))erent genres within the same culture or discipline7/

"or all its clumsiness as a word, the term trans1idiomati# is employed here as a

potentially use)ul concept: a group improvisation whose contentual 6e/g/ musical7

outcome transcends the individual cultural, linguistic, or disciplinary idioms which the

individual improvisers are )amiliar with or trained in/ Improvisation between a

$hanaian percussionist and a uvan throat singerB between a classical musician and

a #aKK musician )rom the same cultural backgroundB between a )olk dancer and a

contemporary poet/ here are common elements that cut across all these di))erent

)orms 6content-wise7 o) improvisation, competencies that one could put into use in a

very wide range o) conte4ts and situations, regardless o) one3s own idiom or

pre)erred discipline/ Learning to improvise e4pertly only in a #aKK idiom does not

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necessarily e5uip one with the right competencies to engage in a meaning)ul

improvisation with a dancer, a )olk musician, or a poet/

rans-cultural and trans-disciplinary improvisation seem, there)ore, to be

essentially much more similar than they are di))erent/ ;hat is di))erent is the idiom

they are concerned with: cultural or disciplinary, respectively/ he core underlying

processes in which the improvisers go throughDthe acts o) empathising, connecting

to something other than what they are, letting go o) assumptions and #udgementsD

are common to both, and integral to creating a meaning)ul e4perience )or per)ormers

and audience alike/ It is e4actly these processes that this research is interested in

e4ploring, because o) their trans)erability and relevance to the work o) global

musicians/

he word trans1idiomati#has been previously used by #aKK sa4ophonist and

improviser 'nthony 2ra4ton and )ollowers o) his teachings and ideas/ 2ra4ton uses

the term to essentially describe drawing inspiration )rom many di))erent sources or

idioms, rather than only one idiom, during the course o) per)ormance 6Lock, +G7/ 't

the time o) writing, 2ra4ton is unwilling to talk in-depth about his ideas, and neither

he nor his )ollowers have speci)ied or discussed the amount o) blending o) di))erent

idioms that needs to take place to 5uali)y as trans-idiomatic, or the process in which

the blended idioms come out as trans-idiomatic, rather than simply !usion music,

which is a well-established term/ In 2ra4ton3s use, the term trans1idiomati#is more

ambiguous than it is use)ul/ In the in)erred use which appears in the interviews

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where it is mentioned, it does little more than essentially describe any artist,

anywhere in the world, at any point in history/+

erms and de)initions, however, are only valuable inso)ar as they bring clarity to

communication/ he scope o) this research is not to try and propagate a new

meaning )or the word trans1idiomati#or to be a provocation o) 2ra4ton3s term.

*owever, )or the sake o) clarity, any instances where the word trans1idiomati#is

used in this paper it acts as an umbrella term )or trans-disciplinary1trans-

cultural1trans-genre improvisation in the interest o) clarity and simpli)ication/ he

)ocus o) the discussion will be the commonalities o) all these kinds o) improvisation,

rather than their individualities, and as such the word trans-idiomatic is used to re)er

to the shared elements across these di))erent kinds o) improvisation/

he essential and working de)inition o) improvisation )or the purposes o) this

essay, there)ore, is that it is a practice o) unpremeditated music-making rooted in the

present momentB a )unction o) the relationship o) improvisers to their histories,

present state o) mind, other improvisers, audience, and environment, as e4pressed

in creative processes/ "urthermore, it is an improvisation that occurs with other

improvisers 6as opposed to solo7 and whose resulting content does not )all

com)ortably within any one o) the individual improvisers3 idioms or practices/ In its

totality, the content o) the per)ormance transcends the individual per)ormers3 idioms,

and the identity o) the per)ormance is inseparable )rom the present situation/

+eith !arrett, when as"ed whether he ta"es inspiration from other arts rather thanmusic, without hesitation as"ed bac" do babies come from babies# $%ibb, &''().Arguably any artistic practice is informed by other artistic and non*artistic e+periencesthe artist has had in their life.

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;hat will be e4plored in a later section is the ways in which being in the

wilderness provides a common starting point, an embodied structure which can

in)orm the interactions o) a group in improvisation, both in terms o) content and in

terms o) the relationship o) the participants to each other and the process o) working

together/

". I'pro&isation and )'%odi'ent

In the industrial world, art has o)ten been spoken in terms o) ob#ects, or artworks/

his is reasonable in the plastic and literary arts, where the )inal product is indeed an

ob#ect/ In relatively recent years this has also been applied to music/ his happened

)irst with the advent o) notation when music became the notated work, o) which the

audience e4periences versions, per)ormances, or e4ecutions/ ' more recent shi)t

was with recording technology, where the per)ormer is no longer tied to the music:

one can en#oy music without the presence o) musicians/ 2laukop) 6FF+7, social

musicologist and author o) *usi#al Li!e in a 7hanging 4o#iety, speaks o) the

trans)ormation o) musical activity into a real ob0e#t 6p/ E8, emphasis in original7

and describes its impacts on music-making practices/

' view o) art as being primarily a product, an ob#ect, or a commodity, is limiting an

understanding o) artistic practice/ 'rt tends to be viewed as an arte)act, rather than

an e4perience/ 's 'merican philosopher >ohn =ewey points out, whose bookrt as

E"perien#e6F0@7 presents an aesthetics based on the e4periential nature o) arts,

since the actual work o) art is what the product does with and in e4perience,

identi)ying art with the ob#ect apart )rom human e4perienceQ is not )avorable to

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understanding 6p/ 7/ his view is embraced among others by Christopher &mall,

who believes that art is not about ob#ects meant )or contemplation, but is essentially

apro#ess, by which we e4plore our inner and outer environments and learn to live in

them 6FEG, pp/ 0!@7/ &mall, a music educator and per)ormer himsel), indeed wrote

an entire book on *usi#'ing, a gerund o) the noun musi#,which he uses to highlight

the )act that music is not a thing but an activity, something people do 6FFG, p/ +7/

iewing music-making, particularly improvisation, as primarily a process allows

us to consider the ways that this process is a))ected by its immediate environment,

both directly and indirectly, rather than considering art as independent o) its conte4t/

%othing in this world e4ists independently o) its environment and we are, in )act, an

immediate )unction o) our environment/ In =eweySs words:

Li)e goes on in an environmentB not merely in it but because o) it, through

interaction with it/ %o creature lives merely under its skin/ Q he career and

destiny o) a living being are bound up by its interchanges with its environment,

not e4ternally but in the most intimate way/ 6F0@, p/ +7

In the


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p/ 87/ hrough the lens o) embodiment we can construct an understanding o) the

ways in which the environment a))ects the creative e4pression o) improvising artists/


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be a))ected by these immersive e4periences in the natural environment a!ter these

e4periences, and once the participants had returned to an urban environment/

Improvisation is a direct interaction with the situation, which includes the physical

environment in which improvisers )ind themselves/ ImprovisationSs intimate

relationship with embodiment renders it an ideal tool )or e4ploring the research

5uestion/

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(. #eaching i'pro&isation

he 5uestion o) whether improvisation can be taught or not is arguably at least as

debated as the de)inition o) improvisation itsel), and is a continuous source o) debate

among musicians today 62orgo, +8, p/G7/ he issue with the debate seems to lie

more with the de)inition o) tea#hingthan the de)inition o) improvisation/ *ickey

6+F7 looks at the education o) improvisation through ideas on education by

ishman et al/ 6FF07/ *e presents learning as a continuum: on one side o) the scale

is the teacher-directed transmission modelB on the other side is learner-oriented

enculturation 6"igure 7/ &chooling typically )inds itsel) on the transmission side o)

the spectrum/ n the other side o) the scale are, )or e4ample, competencies related

to cultural behaviours: learning to eat with hands in India, )or e4ample, is something

no one is schooled in, but children pick up as they grow up 6*ickey, +F7/

#rans'ission )nculturationdida#ti#9 tea#her1dire#ted learner1oriented

6structure7 6)reedom7

5igure (/ Continuum o) Wteaching3 6adapted )rom *ickey, +F, p/+GE7/

he various methods employed in improvisation and its education have been

outlined be)ore 6see Pressing, FGEB more recently homson, +GB *ickey, +F7/

;hat is o) interest and relevant to this research is understanding what constitutes a

conducive environment )or learning to improvise, and by e4tension whether the

wilderness, as a place, has some o) these 5ualities/


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usually labelled as improvisations, yet they are very much improvised acts 6&awyer,

+7/ (n)oreseen, unpremeditated e4pressive acts, they are improvisatory in

nature, in the idioms o) language or walking respectively/ In walking to work,

although one might take a similar route every day, the speci)ic route o) the commute

will be di))erent every time/ 't rush hour, pavement space needs to be negotiated

rapidly between )ellow commuters, shoppers walking in and out o) buildings, people

on the phone, travellers with luggage, the occasional cyclist, and so on/


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the stu)) they will be working with, )or there is no substitute )or the artistic e4perience

itsel)/ In &cha)er3s words, ///Q one learns about sound only by making sound, about

music only by making music/ 'll our investigations into sounds should be veri)ied

empirically by making sounds ourselves and by e4amining the results 6F.E, p/ 7/

his indicates the importance o) being involved directly with the material o) the

artistic practice/

't this stage, it will be use)ul to distinguish between two di))erent elements o) an

education o) improvisation: the environment, the space in which the education takes

placeB and the skills needed to respond creatively in improvisation/ he environment

implies both a physical and mental space, potentially created or )acilitated by a

teacher/ ;ith regards to skills, Pressing 6FGE7 had compiled an e4tensive view into

the methods and models o) improvisation/ ) most interest to this research is

Pressing3s last category o) improvisation and improvisation education, allied to the

sel)-realisation ideas o) humanistic psychology 6FGE, p/ @@7/ his is this kind o)

improvisation that is closest to practices embraced in music pedagogic systems such

as the ones developed by &hinichi &uKuki, NoltVn 9odVly, and Xmile >a5ues-

=alcroKe 6*ickey, +F7/

a. Environment

'n environment which is conducive to learning to improvise needs )irst and

)oremost to be a sa)e space/ his includes bothphysi#ally, that is, being a space

where the improviser can physically rela4 and not have to worry about in#ury,

damage to instruments, and so onB andmentally$ a place in which the improviser is

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unoccupied with in)ormation and worries irrelevant to the task at hand, and a place in

which the student can be unhindered by worries and #udgements about the content

o) one3s imagination/ heatre improviser and educator 9eith >ohnstone 6FG7

mentions numerous times the importance o) providing a model o) reassurance and

calm )or students, and speaks that the role o) a teacher is to be living proo) that the

monsters are not real, and that the imagination will not destroy you 6p/ G@7/

he space also needs to be stimulating, rather than sti)ling/ 's mentioned earlier,

&cha)er 6F.E7 talks about the importance o)playing with sound when learning about

sound, and being immersed in music-making when learning about music/ ne learns

by doing, and having an opportunity to engage one3s senses in the process o)

improvising is paramount to the practice itsel)/ he challenge o) the task at hand

should constantly re)lect the skills, abilities, and curiosity o) the per)ormer, in order to

)acilitate what was earlier described as a )low e4perience 6CsiksKentmihVlyi, +F7/

'nother 5uality o) a learning environment )or improvisation is that it needs to be a

non-#udgementalenvironment.he improviser should not )eel inhibited in their

creative e4pression by the presence o) strangers or e4posure to a critical audience,

who may be #udgingDverbosely or silentlyDthe improviser3s per)ormance/

>ohnstone touches upon this again and says that the role o) the teacher is to allow

the improviser to be uninhibited in their creative responses: In li)e, most o) us are

highly skilled at suppressing action/ 'll the improvisation teacher has to do is to

reverse this skill and he creates very Sgi)tedS improvisers 6FG, p/ F87/ In a non-

#udgemental environment, a per)ormer may behave in ways they would not

otherwise, making unplanned discoveries about themselves and their practice/

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"urthermore, a non-#udgemental environment encourages making mistakes/ In

)act, it nurtures a mindset in which there are no mistakes 6i/e/ unacceptable or

inappropriate content7 and the participant is encouraged to )ocus on this inner

process o) sear#hing, without thinking about the approval or disapproval o) certain

material by a potential audience, or teacher/

b. Skills

Many o) the skills that are practiced through, and are valuable in, improvised

practice are much in line with what Peter Renshaw lists as the 5ualities, skills and

attitudes perceived as central to e))ective creative practice in participatory settings

6Renshaw, +, pp/ ..!.EB +0, pp/ 8.!8G7, as listed earlier 6see p/ 7/

n top o) these interpersonal and artistic 5ualities that Renshaw lists, speci)ically

in improvisation the two commonly listed core skills are the capacity to listen a#tively

and to be presentin the current situation and together with other people 6Childs et

al/, FG+B 2ailey, FF+B 9ossak, +EB &gorbati, ++B *annula, +8B

%achmanovitch, +7/ In all the comple4ities o) these words, there is contained a

range o) many related skills, and though very closely related, the two terms are

di))erent:

Listening, apart )rom )ocused hearing, means the capacity to listen to one3s own

impulses, to be aware o) what others are doing, and how the environment a))ects

one, including the audience, reverberation, weather, and so on/ Listening means

being perceptually open to what is happening around/

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Being presentmeans being acutely aware o) the particularities o) the present

moment, the here and now, and accepting whatever is happening as part o) how

things are/ It means being )ully present with other people in the same situation, and

aware how each person3s presence a))ects the others, as well as sensitive to the

ways in which the environment, including the space and its acoustics, the audience

and its mood and participation, in)orms and a))ects the per)ormanceB and that the

per)ormance is, in )act, a !un#tiono) such parameters, rather than independent o)

them/

*. I'pro&isation and the $lo%al Musician

$roup, trans-idiomatic improvisation can be a rewarding process )or the global

musician to be involved with/ he dimensions in which the global musician can

bene)it )rom improvisation are outlined below:

a7 he competencies needed )or, and developed through, improvisation, such as

listening, openness, honesty, vulnerability, sharing, giving space, letting go, and so

on/

b7 'n understanding that learning 6and, there)ore, musicking7 is not an

achievement, but apro#ess$ and that relevant competencies should be developed

continuously throughout one3s practice/

c7 Moving away )rom models and )ocusing on trans)erable skills/ In musical

terms, moving away )rom relying on a structure which takes on some o) the

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responsibility )or the 5uality o) the per)ormance, and creating one3s own structure,

taking )ull responsibility )or the course o) the per)ormance/

'rguably, the single most common trap )or an improviser, or in )act any creative

artist working in diverse conte4ts, is the )ormula, or the tendency to hold on to

something that has worked be)ore in the hope that it will work in a new conte4t/

Improvisation )ocuses on developing the skills necessary to respond creatively in

new conte4ts, trusting that the process will work/ It re5uires trust in onesel) and one3s

skillsB trust in othersB and an uninhibited mind )rom assumptions and preconceived

ideas o) how things should turn out, in order to be able to respond as creatively as

possible to the current challenges/

d7 Learning through enculturation: because o) a necessity to )amiliarise with a

mode o) learning closer to enculturation rather than transmission, the global

musician gains con)idence in creating their own learning e4perience independently

o) available transmission possibilities 6and, where possible, in con#unction with

them7/ he reality o) doing )ield work and engaging with musicians )rom a diverse

range o) backgrounds is that there is not always a teacher with whom a global

musician can study )ormally/ he global musician needs to be able to respond to

such situations independently and be responsible )or learning about and learning to

interact with a person and their cultural1artistic background/

lga ;itte, an ethnomusicologist and teacher at the Royal 'cademy o) Music in

'arhus 6=enmark7 has previously lead a class on 4inging$ /an#ing$ 3layingas part

o) the $LM'& programme/ In one o) those classes in +@, she approached

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music-making and improvisation through an ethnomusicological lens and spoke

in)ormally o) modes o) improvisation/ ' modeo! improvisation6unrelated to modes

as tonalities and scales7 is essentially the way a per)ormer apprehends improvising:

)or e4ample, in what parameters does one primarily think about music 6in terms o)

pitches, scales1modes, moti)s, te4tures7B what is signi)icant in their music-making

6story-tellingB silenceB movementB tonality7B how are they communicating their musicB

what do they pay attention to when the listenB and so on/ In other words, a mode o)

improvisation is akin to a person3s Weltans#hauung6world-view7 o) music, or a

*usi'ans#hauung6music-view7/

' mode o! improvising or*usi'ans#hauungcan be verbalised, though more

o)ten it is something one knows but cannot verbalise: an embodied knowledge about

one3s own practice/ In ;itte3s class we were asked to write on a piece o) paper what

we perceive as the central element o) other people3s modes o! improvisingB we then

swapped papers and attempted to improvise while per)orming through another

person3s mode o) improvising/ In this e4ercise, we became aware o) the e4istence o)

such modes o) improvisation, and the ways in which we embody an understanding o)

other people3s modes o) improvisation/

It is a vital skill )or the global musician, there)ore, to be able and develop empathy

towards other people3s modes o) improvising or art-making/ here will, in )act, be

cases where music is not an appropriate word, such as when encountering

anKanian ngoma$a tradition which includes music, drumming, dance, and

0he word -eltanschauung $from erman -elt world, and Anschauungview/outloo") is used to describe a person0s collective beliefs, assumptions, andperspectives on the world, and may include philosophical, spiritual, e+istential, andethical values or beliefs $Naugle, &''&, pp. 1231()

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storytelling 6*oward, +@7/ his openness towards one3s own generally assumed

concepts, ideas, belie)sDin other words, an ethnomusicological, in character,

curiosityDis essential in creative interactions between artists )rom un)amiliar

backgrounds/

Improvisation also provides a model o) music-making that is centred on process,

rather than product/ In an era dominated by musical ob#ects such as C=s, scores,

tracks, video clips, and so on, )ocusing on music as a process rather than a product

enables one to have a more rich understanding o) the variety o) musical practices

around the world/ Rather than asking what kind o) scales, instruments, pitches,

patterns, etc, this music is made o), one is encouraged to ask instead the more

complicated, and more relevant, 5uestion o) how and why is this music playedB how

do people who play it understand it which is sociomusicological or

ethnomusicological in nature/ his opens, rather than closes, possibilities )or

conversation and allows an interaction removed )rom politics o) apprehension and

e4ploitation/

"urthermore, and as will be seen at a later stage, many o) the skills and

competencies involved in improvisation are trans)erable and very valuable in

interacting in un)amiliar conte4ts/ 's such, improvising as a practice o))ers an

opportunity to develop such skills, which the global musician may then use in non-

improvisatory conte4ts dealing with responding creatively in new and unplanned

situations/

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B. #he ilderness as Place

". Place

apanese philosopher ;atsu#i etsurY3s work revolved

around his term !udo67, which is typically translated as climate or climaticity

6MochiKuki, +.7 and which he used as a general term )or the natural environment

o) a given land, its climate, its weather, the geological and productive nature o) the

soil, its topographic and scenic )eatures 6etsurY, F., p/ 7/ 5udois thus the

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entirety o) the environment in which a human being )inds onesel), and which,

e4pressed in human activities 6e/g/ the arts7, behaviours 6e/g/ going )ishing7, and

customs 6e/g/ building a house out o) bamboo7, is part o) one3s personal and cultural

identity 6pp/ E!G7/ *is term !udo1sei67 means #ust that: the )unction o) climate

as a )actor within the structure o) human e4istence 6p/ v7/

5udo1seide)ines e4actly what it is this research is attempting to observe/ In

essence, and through the Immersive Listening research pro#ect, the aim is to look at

improvisation as !udo1sei6a )unction o) climate or climaticity7, and construct an

understanding o) how the di))erent immediate environments 6)orest, urban7 mani)est

themselves in improvisation/

(. #he Indoors

Indoor spaces, in which urban people arguably spend most o) their time, are

insulated )rom the outside world and conditions inside them are to a certain degree

controllable, centrally or individually/ he indoors is o)ten insulated )rom heat, sound,

and, with the use o) blinds and curtains, the surrounding landscape or cityscape/

&ur)aces are usually )lat and rooms usually cubic in shape/ here is a door )or

entering the room which can be closed in order to isolate inside )rom outside so that

the activity that takes place indoors is not disturbed/

here are numerous bene)its to such an arrangement/ Inside a room, one is

protected )rom the elements, and it3s possible to work consistently regardless o) time

o) day, season, or, in )act, location/ he room, acting as a sort o) blank canvas, can

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be re-arranged according to the needs o) the user6s7, and support the activities that

take place therein/

hough people living in urban settings spend the vast ma#ority o) their time

indoors, there have been no conclusive studies with regards to adverse health

e))ects o) indoor spaces 6


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Indoor spaces insulate )rom stimuli o) the outside world, urban or natural, with

increasing e))iciency/ ;hereas double-glaKed windows do not let the trains, buses,

or construction sounds seep through, they also do not let birdsong, sounds o) the

rain or wind, or children playing/ he e))ects o) the environments we are

6re-7e4posed to, there)ore, upon e4iting the indoors are to be looked at in the

)ollowing sections/

*. #he 4utdoors

'nthropologist "lorence 9luckhohn posited that each culture needs to address

certain basic human problems, one o) which is man3s relation to nature 65uoted in

9aplan U 9aplan, FGF, p/ E+7/ ;hile a culture!nature, or human!nature, dichotomy

may be perceived as obvious, and in line with the Cartesian body!mind division o)

e4perience, it is not culturally universal/ In a case study o) the *agen people o)

Papua %ew $uinea, )or e4ample, &trathern 6FG7 discusses the danger o) this

seemingly unchallenged assumption/ &he discusses the wild!domestic dichotomy in

the *agen, and how wild elements can e4ist within what we identi)y as culture, and

domestic elements can e4ist within what we call natureDdemonstrating that a

direct association o) wild!domestic to nature!culture is impossible/ ' culture!nature

dichotomy is not universal, nor can it be assumed that similar dichotomies e4ist in

other cultures/

It is evident )rom &trathern3s comments that any discourse on nature, especially

as it relates to anthropocentric constructs such as culture, society, and so on, is

more comple4 than #ust a matter o) choosing the right word/ "or this discourse, it is

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accepted that both the wilderness and the urban are natural, in so )ar as they are

both o! this world/ hey di))er 5ualitatively and in the ways these 5ualities a))ect us:

physically, mentally, and in terms o) our identity/ &nyder points out, in the same spirit,

that whereas big cities can be called natural, as they )ollow processes o) nature #ust

like anything else in e4istence, they are not wildplaces:

hey do not deviate )rom the laws o) nature, but they are habitat so e4clusive in

the matter o) who and what they give shelter to, and so intolerant o) other

creatures, as to be truly odd/ 6&nyder, FF@, p/ +7


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&cha)er 6FEE7, who was earlier discussed in the de)inition o) the word

soundscape, )urther subdivides soundscapes into lo1!iand hi1!isoundscapes/

' soundscapeishi-)i when discrete sounds can be heard clearly because o) the

low ambient noise level/ Q &ounds overlap less )re5uently 6p/ @07/ Pre-industrial

town soundscapes are more hi-)i than an industrial city3s soundscapeB daytime is

more hi-)i than night-timeB winter is more hi-)i than summerB and so on/

'lo-)isoundscape, on the other hand, is characterised by opa5ueness and

density, in which what would otherwise be )oreground sound signals are ob)uscated

and lost 6&cha)er, FEE, p/ @07/ ' big water)all, the hum o) the highway, being in the

metro: in all these situations there is a density in sound which makes it di))icult )or

other sound signals to be heard, and, there)ore, more di))icult )or in)ormation to be

carried through sound, as anyone who has tried to say something to another person

in the a)orementioned soundscapes can attest/ ;ithin the )ield o) soundscape

ecology, there are three more use)ul terms related to the composition o)

soundscapes: geophony, biophony, and anthropophony69rause, +8, p/ +7:

8eophonyconsists o) non-biological sounds: the wind, a river, waves, a volcano,

and so on/

Biophonyconsists o) sounds created by living organisms: the obvious e4amples

are birds, mos5uitos, dogs, and the less obvious are the snapping shrimp 6producing

bubble-like sounds in salt marshes7, gira))e hums, or a beaver smacking its tail on

the water/

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nthropophony, lastly, is e4actly what it seems: sounds generated by humans/

his includes speech and music, as well as what we call noise/

9rause makes a gross categorisation o) all human-related sounds under

anthropophony/ his includes sounds o) music and theatre, conversations,

construction works, a busy highway, an aeroplane engine, radio shows, a train

whistle, and mobile phone ringtones/ ne )urther distinction could be made between

anthropophony, sounds produced by humans directly, and technophony, sounds

produced by humans through technologyDthough, again, this brings with it )urther

complications, such as whether musi#is anthropophony or technophony/ Perhaps

9rause himsel) wanted to avoid embarking on such a #ourney/ *owever, there are

many )undamental di))erences between all these sounds which 9rause bundles

under anthropophony in terms o) how we relate to them, and whether we perceive

them as pleasant or unpleasantB as wanted or unwantedB and so on/ ne certain

aspect o) anthropophony, which distinguishes it )rom geophony and biophony, is that

all anthropogenic sounds bear with them a human agency: they are either created

)or another human beingB by another human beingB or are a side-e))ect o) a )unction

or technological arte)act designed by a human being or serving another/ 's such,

and like architecture, an environment saturated with anthropophonic sounds

indicates an anthropocentrism, in terms o) intention and agency, which is what

distinguishes it )rom biophony and geophony/

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9rause has also coined what he calls the ni#he hypothesis/ hrough re)lecting on

his own e4periences and observations and building on the idea o) &cha)er3s hi-)i

soundscapes, 9rause posited that there is an inherent balance in the )re5uency

spectrum o) sounds in a natural soundscape, which lacks in city environments

6+8, pp/ 0F!@7/ *e theorised that in a natural environment with a speci)ic

geophony, living organisms which use sound as means )or communicating had to

)ind an available )re5uency bandwidth which was )ree, or unoccupied by the

already e4isting geophony/ his behaviour ma4imises communication while

minimising energy, and naturally such a behaviour is to be pre)erred to behaviours

less e))icient and more costly/ 's more and more species end up living in the same

biome, each will tend to )ind its niche, creating what is perceived as a harmonious or

balanced soundscape/ 9rause3s ni#he hypothesisaims partly to e4plain why people

report )eeling that natural soundscapes are more rela4ing and sound more

harmonious, even though there are no pitches or traditionally perceived harmonies/

his is evident, )or e4ample, in the abundance o) natural sounds in alarm clocks

and rela4ation tapes/

In an urban environment, the tram, the pneumatic drill, the bus, the car3s horn, an

aeroplane: the sources o) these sounds are not particularly picky about the

)re5uency they produce because the sound is a side-e))ect o) another )unction/

;hereas car horns or alarms, )or e4ample, are designed to stand out against the

general soundscape, and are thus louder and o) higher )re5uency than other sounds

in the acoustic environment, horn or alarm sound designers do not consult each

other and agree to occupy a di))erent )re5uency than all others, nor would such an

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endeavour be practical/ 's such, there is a larger con)luence o) sounds than in a lo-)i

natural soundscape, in which all sound-making animals have had to negotiate a part

o) the available )re5uency spectrum in order to communicate e))iciently/

,. Spatiall!

Particular places and ob#ects encourage or stimulate a particular kind o)

behaviour: a chair invites sittingB a door, openingB an amphitheatre, observing the

stageB a library, being 5uiet and readingB and so )orth/ 'rchitecture and design are

both words closely related to urban environments and they are primarily concerned

with !un#tionand intention/ 'rchitecture is concerned with space, inwhich things

happen, and is in essence the art o) rearranging material to create )unctional spaces/

=esign deals with ob#ects, withwhich things happen, and constructs arte)acts which

can then be used )or a speci)ic )unction/

;hether it is cities, like London, which over the centuries have grown organically,

or cities built decisively and with a plan, like Manhattan, any city planning has to take

into account the behaviour that needs to be )acilitated through architecture/ *uman

intention permeates urban li)e/

his strongly a))ects the way we interact with our environment and our behaviour

within it: we are only allowed to per)orm certain kinds o) behaviours in certain kinds

o) spaces/ ne cannot drive a car in a library, or read a book in the middle o) the

highway/ hese structures determine the patterns o) behaviour that urban dwellers

become accustomed to, and 6re7play every day in their daily routines/ he sign

warning people that loitering is prohibited is a stern reminder that spaces e4ist )or a

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purpose/ Purposeless being may take place in designated areas: a park 6though late

at night it3s suspicious7, a beach, and other areas associated with leisure/

's architect 9oolhaas 6++7 portrays in his seminal essay ;un'spa#e, urban

environments are ri)e with patterns o) waste, consumption, pollution, and the

intention to perpetuate the system which produced these structures 6social and

architectural7 in the )irst place: a modernised world centred around the corporate and

the entertaining, the political and the private/ Civilisation has moved )rom a direct

contact and interrelation with the wild, the sel)-willed, the non-human, towards the

human- or sel)-centred world/ 's 9oolhas comments 6bleakly, comically, or both7,

he cosmetic is the new cosmic 6++, p/ F7/

he wilderness is there)ore, in a sense, the opposite o) architecture: the

uncontrolled and mysterious/ It is that o) which we are not in control, and in which

are not the sole solicitors o) )unction/ he word unbuilt, as in unbuilt environment,

was one o) the terms that participants in the Immersive Listening research pro#ect

used to describe the wilderness and di))erentiate it )rom urban settings, and )rom

green areas within cities, such as parks/

Lacking in architectural structures, the wilderness also lacks social structures that

both are the source o), and e4ist within, architectured space/ &/ 9aplan and albot

6FG07 touch upon this aspect o) the wilderness in their psychologically oriented

de)inition o) what wilderness must be/ hey put out three dimensions o) the

wilderness: a7 dominated by the naturalB b7 there is a relative absence o) civiliKed

resources )or coping with natureB and c7 there is a relative absence o) demands on

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one3s behavior that are arti)icially generated or human-imposed 6&/ 9aplan U albot,

5uoted in 9aplan U 9aplan, FGF, pp/ @G!@F7/

Returning to the de)inition o) wilderness as a sel)-willed land, it is clear that a

core characteristic o) a wilderness is the )act that it is a non-intentional, or, rather, a

pan-intentional place/ It is a place where no one species, in particular, makes

e4ecutive decisions with regards to the arrangement o) living and non-living beings in

the environment to satis)y that one species3 needs/ In contrary, the resulting order

emerges)rom a constant interplay and negotiation o) the needs o) all the

participating organisms/ his wholeness or interconnectedness is what $ary &nyder

calls the 'ssembly o) 'll 2eings 6FF, p/ +7/ his does not mean that humans are

e4cluded )rom the de)inition o) wilderness: where humans are in such a place, their

living becomes part o) the assembly o) all beings/ It happens, however not in

hierarchical terms, and not at the e4pense o) the ma#ority o) other beings 6$ri))iths,

5uoted in Moss, +E7/

he wilderness is also characterised by a lack o) )latness o) sur)ace: there are no

straight lines/ he ground is rarely )lat, there are no s5uares, and )ew clearly

delineated borders/ ouch is engaged, rather than protected: we )all out o) balance,

we go up and down, and around, we push branches away with our hands, we get

wet, even with shoes we )eel the so)tness o) the moss as opposed to the hardness o)

open rock, we )eel branches cracking under our step, and so on/ "or 2arry LopeK,

the wilderness is, in )act, a place that makes us stumble 6+@, p/ 4i7/ In the

wilderness there are no elevators and no automatic doors: the space itsel), in all its

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comple4ity and three-dimensionality, stimulates sensesDsuch as balance and touch

Din ways that an urban environment usually does not/

-. #he 5ealing ild

9aplan and 9aplan 6FGF7 reviewed a number o) studies which investigated the

psychological e))ects o) natural environments in various settings/ 'n interesting

observation they made was that, although there is a great variety in pre)erences

amongst people, the pre)erence o) natural environments was remarkably consistent

despite demographic di))erences and across diverse settings 6p/ @7/

he positive e4periences that natural settings o))er has been studied e4tensively

6e/g/ 9aplan U 9aplan, FGFB Capaldi et al/, +@7/ hough these e))ects are not

limited to being in the wilderness as such this will be the )ocus o) this brie) overview,

because o) the immersive nature o) the case studies which constitute part o) this

research/

he e4pression o) getting away or escaping is commonplace when people

seek a place in which to rela4 and

Documents

Rewilding Music: Improvisation, Wilderness, and the Global Musician