A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend an improvisation workshop with the fantastic guitarist John Russell of ‘Mopomoso’ – a group who promote freely improvised music in all its forms. Had someone told me I would be attending this whilst I was at Music College I probably would have laughed; improvising always struck me as terrifying and the idea of playing something without knowing beforehand what it was would have gone against everything I was comfortable with. But as I have come to realise some of the best and most successful music is often unintentional and comes from a truly organic desire to express something. That’s not to say that I went in confidently and with no worries at all, but perhaps with an open mind and a hunger to discover what makes improvised music come to life.
After wandering around the campus of Oxford Brookes University I finally stumbled upon the drama studio, home to the Oxford Improvisers and there we spent the next few hours engaging with eachother and really hearing individual personalities coming through. From the more traditional – violin, melodica and cello to the less usual; a lady had brought along a watering can and bucket of water. Under the experienced ear of John Russell we explored a range of ideas and at the end put together an exclusive showcase of the sounds we had created together.
After wandering around the campus of Oxford Brookes University I finally stumbled upon the drama studio, home to the Oxford Improvisers and there we spent the next few hours engaging with eachother and really hearing individual personalities coming through. From the more traditional – violin, melodica and cello to the less usual; a lady had brought along a watering can and bucket of water. Under the experienced ear of John Russell we explored a range of ideas and at the end put together an exclusive showcase of the sounds we had created together.
I felt completely liberated by the end of the session and have come away with tools and experiences which I have already put into practice without even realising it! Surely something about the lady and her watering can must have rubbed off on me because a few days later we had such a creative session in which we put together a 3min beatboxing extravaganza. I felt that I had discovered a new way of embracing the instrument and really experimenting not solely in a classical frame of mind, (timbre, texture, colour) but in a truly physical way too, finding new angles and even ways of blowing the thing!
New music really is about discovery and it was a privilege to be invited into such an honest environment in which to be utterly inspired!
MOC x
New music really is about discovery and it was a privilege to be invited into such an honest environment in which to be utterly inspired!
MOC x
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