HCMF : Workshop with Eddie Prévost

Friday 27th November - Bates Mill Blending Shed

Having experienced yesterday’s workshop performance I wasn’t sure what to expect of this one; the thought of working with a legend of experimental music like Eddie Prévost made me very nervous, and the room was extremely cold which didn’t help with the aforementioned nerves! I had decided that being nervous was probably a good thing in this case; it meant I was likely to be more alert and sensitive in my listening.

Luckily Eddie was an extremely patient and relaxed mentor, and this helped me feel a bit more at ease and able to concentrate on the sounds (although I did need encouragement to join in with the first improvisation – this would be my own hesitation at work again!). His advice was simple; to not feel limited by our instruments or the way in which we are taught to use them, to see them as the components of which they are comprised. He encouraged us to try and search for sounds we had not heard before, to explore and not be afraid of making ‘mistakes’, as sometimes such mistakes can lead to great things.

Overall (other than my hesitant start) I enjoyed using this explorative approach. I explored some parts of my instrument I had never used before, such as blowing into the body of the instrument, and also attempting some of the sounds I had seen the string players use the day before, such as the strings behind the bridge and scroll and some harmonic techniques. What I found most difficult was concentrating on searching for ‘new’ sounds whilst also responding to other members of the group, as I have mentioned before in this post I sometimes struggle in improvisational situations by listening too intently for an opportunity and being too hesitant. Yet to not listen at all and to concentrate only on what I am doing defeats the object of collaboration, the unpredictability of working with others and the wonderful moments and sounds this can bring about.

Eddie’s advice was interesting in this case, he noted that we should not try too hard to make our contributions ‘good’, that putting too much pressure on ourselves can sometimes stifle creativity. I would certainly agree with him in this case, but as I have mentioned before, it is often this balance that is the most difficult to achieve! He also mentioned that in his experience female improvisers tend to be very sensitive listeners, but by the same token are often more inhibited in their freedom of exploration. This might go some way to explain why I am often very hesitant, and also why the string and piano trio at the workshop yesterday were, I felt, a more sympathetic group; all three were women! Whether or not this observation applies across the board I am hesitant to assume, but I’ll trust Eddie’s vast experience in this case.

I have to say that I did not feel I truly settled in to any of the performances today, but I do not feel like this was a bad thing. The workshop has given me plenty to think about, in particular my limitations with regards to the freedom and confidence to explore new sounds and techniques. I often find in my compositional work and improvisational contributions that I tend to rely on ‘safe’ and ‘easy’ methods in the moment, purely because they are less likely to go ‘wrong’. Although it is important to be sensitive to sounds and make sure that contributions are positive, I think it is often this pressure to do it ‘right’ is what makes me more unlikely to be unsuccessful.