#patricksuler

I spent much of my day job career as a video editor. Also being a musician and composer to boot, I have a very keen sense of structure, or the lack thereof. 

On the one hand...

...structure is super awesome. It just works. Structure is a major reason why pop songs feel so good and satisfying. Structure is why movies feel right when they’re well written. Structure is why novels keep you turning the page.

On the other hand...

...sometimes too much structure feels stiff. When not executed correctly, it feels unnatural and contrived. Sure, we can chalk that up to poor writing. Lack of structure sometimes feels very organic, and fresh...when executed correctly.

A great example (and perhaps an overused example) is any of Brian Eno’s ambient albums. Many cite “Discreet Music,” but personally I like “Music for Films.” What’s nice about “Music for Films” (which was not composed for films actually), is that although most of the pieces are clearly improvised, and somewhat free flowing, they’re also short. Often we associate improvised music with being very long (like Eno’s “Neroli.”)

Perhaps a great word to use here is “sometimes.”

Because sometimes totally improvised music is boring as shit. But sometimes its very refreshing, and is inspirational.

My normal inclination here (and nearly everything else in the universe) is striking a balance. But I’ve noticed that most musicians (or maybe artists in a larger sense?) typically tend to be one way or the other. An artist might be a great improviser, but weaker with composing within a structure. Or another artist might excel when they have time and space to really think these things through...

It occurs to me that perhaps these leanings map with an individual’s personality type. Being a great improviser feels like an extrovert strength. Planning and composing feels more like an introvert strength. I’m sure there are many brilliant people in the middle of that spectrum, like J.S. Bach or Jimi Hendrix. 

Two of my favorite artists are Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd; this pair has worked together extensively on a ton of totally gorgeous music, particularly several soundtracks to indie films. I read an interview with Mr. Budd where he said he only improvises these days [sic]. Well, one of their great collaboration is a song called “Neil’s Theme” from the soundtrack for the film Mysterious Skin. There’s a video on YouTube where the Robin Guthrie trio plays the song live at a club. That makes me wonder, was the song totally improvised? Or was it improvised initially and then adopted into a through composed song?

Examples like that fascinate me. I suppose that process is using improvisation as a compositional technique. That brings to mind the amazing composer and cellist Zoë Keating who–from what I’ve read–improvises as a means of composition. Then she uses pieces of those improvisations as a melody, or riff, or “spirit” of a tune, and then in performances, uses them as a platform for additional improvisations. And the recordings and videos I’ve heard and seen of her seem fresh and well balanced.

Consider any bar blues band. They virtually play one song. All night. Every night. And that’s ok, right? It’s assuring. It’s the right tone for that environment. But ask the New York Philharmonic to improvise for two hours. Chaos!