4.4 Conclusions

 

After undertaking this type of research, I have to ask myself if the reflections, and my focus on roles during this project period, have had any consequences for the way I perform. Is this a useful way of thinking, or is it more a theoretical explanation, constructed to support my position as an artistic researcher? I pointed out earlier that my awareness of roles has to be an intuitive, practical knowledge that is realised in the improvised interplay. Parts of what I do in my improvisation with others is not in principle very different from what I used to do before starting this research, even though it now seems much more developed, something that has been confirmed by my colleges, supervisors and audiences. I have to rely on my own experiences in order to know what has prompted this assumed development. I have registered a gradual change in my performances, in the way I practice and in the way I listen to music. My thinking and acting are related to layers and functions in music in a different way than previously, both regarding my own playing and that of others. I am more aware of the wholeness; what is in front, what is commenting or contrasting, what is under, over and around in the musical scenery. In particular the combination of roles and functions has been a field of development. With my electronic instruments I can work with several layers or musical elements continuously, and at the same time. (It is, of course also possible to work with parallel musical layers of music with the acoustic voice alone, even if the sounds do not happen simultaneously. However, as I pointed out previously, live electronics open up for this in a much broader sense.) The “thinking and playing in layers” has been an important field for me to develop, and this is also one of the great challenges when working with electronics. How do the sounds and the different forms I give them work together, how are they related, and what makes interesting relationships between sounds? How can I control and develop different parts of the music at the same time? How long can a sound be repeated and still sound interesting? When does it need to be transformed and changed in order to bring the music forward? How many musical elements can I actually perceive, control and develop at the same time? How will my playing with different roles affect my fellow musicians? As far as I can register, an awareness of roles, both as intuitive knowledge, but also as a way of thinking and reflecting in the rehearsal and evaluation process, has been necessary and important in this work. And of course: the thinking and acting are linked together through these activities.

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