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.
|
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.
|
Duets
|
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.
|
Notes
|
Everyone takes a note value
(1/4, 1/8, whole) and plays it repeatedly. Change
pitch, use rests
|
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
|
