Sustain
|
Play one continuous tone in
any way you see fit. Listen to everyone. When
directed, play a different tone.
A good way to balance the room.
|
| Notes |
Everyone takes a note value (1/4, 1/8, whole)
and plays it repeatedly. Change pitch, use rests |
Circulation
|
Everyone plays a note or
sound in turn.
Can have no pulse, or have a pulse where everyone
gets a beat.
Develop the ideas that come. Remember your
beat, but play elsewhere as needed.
Then go back to one at a time with a beat and end
where we started.
|
| Free |
Just Play, Can use a
directive like fast, slow, groovey, punk, etc.
Can also just be a title.
Can also have a leader to start and end.
|
Duos
Trios
|
Two people play, one
drops out and another picks up. Go around the room
this way.
Trios can work this way too. Can assign roles or not.
|
| Roles |
People are assigned roles for
each section of an improv. details
REPEAT, SUPPORT, COLOR, LEAD, FREE. Or Rhythm,
Color, Lead
Works very well as trios around the room: Color,
Rhythm, Lead. When lead player stops, rhythm becomes
lead,
color becomes rhythm and next in line becomes color.
|
| Conductor |
Someone non-verbally directs
the improvisation, does not play.
A conductor can be helpful with any exercise or performance.
|
Groovester
|
Somebody starts an ostinato,
others add their own sequentially. Hold onto yours,
but develop it.
Then play it exactly again and develop it more. Go
somewhere else. Last player to start ends it by
completely stopping.
Everyone else stops in reverse order until the one who
started is playing his/her original idea alone.
|
Spaces
|
Player1 starts.
Player 2 plays in the spaces of Player 1. Player3
plays in the spaces of player 2. Etc. ..
Finally player 1 plays in the spaces of the last
player. Leave Spaces.
|
Styles
|
Someone plays a style of
music they are familiar with (funk, polka, folk,
thrash).
Everyone follows in any way they can. When it wanes,
someone throws in a different style.
|
Crescendo
Diminuendo
|
Increase density/dynamics
smoothly over a set period (15seconds, 30 secods,
2minutes)
Decrease density/dynamics smoothly over a set period
(15seconds, 30 secods, 2minutes)
|
| Telephone |
Someone plays a phrase.
The second player repeats what he can.
The third player repeats what she heard the second player
play and so on.
|
| Endings |
Try to end gracefully.
Give a time limit and a leader and a directive (slow,
sudden).
|
| Rally |
Copy: Play a
short phrase. Everyone else
tries to play the same phrase. Next person plays a
different phrase and so on around the room
Response: Play
a short phrase. Everyone
respond to that phrase (same length).
Next person plays a different phrase and so on
around the room
Combination: Alternate Copy and
Response
|
| Melodies and Not |
Split the room in two.
Half the Room play melodically thinking of phrasing.
The other half doesn't
|
