Hear the results of what happens when you get a choir used to singing early music and you put them through Heather and Joe's improvising regime in our latest musical improvisation podcast
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We managed to corner Andrew Yeoh and some of his helpers from the Bristol Improv Festival. FInd out what the improv scene in Bristol is up to in our latest podcast Heather and Joe were given exclusive access to a BREMFCC rehearsal, however, when Andrew Robinson, the choirmaster, told us he had a presentation he would like to show us all on improvisation in early music, we were intrigued. Find out what happened by listening to our latest podcast.
The awesome Jam Tarts Choir from Brighton were subjected to a series of experiments in a glorious hour of improvisation. We put them through their paces, and they rewarded us with some truly inspirational sounds. Listen to how we got on in our latest podcast The results are in! And the winners of Heather and Joe's inaugural Sunday Morning Psychedelic Singing Experiement were...all those involved. This was definitely an experiential event, by that I mean that listening to the recording only gives a hint of the craziness, randomness and occasional beauty that emerged from the mouths of the participants.
The rules were deliberately sparse and were as follows:
er...that was about it really. You can hear edited highlights along with some words of wisdom from Heather and Joe in our latest podcast So we spent a wonderful weekend with the instigators, the pack leaders of musical improv, Nancy Howland Walker and Marshall Stern who have founded the zenprov movement in the States, and who inspired us to take the road less travelled in the first place. Find out what happenned when we turned on the mic in our latest podcast
So recently, Heather and Joe decided it might be fun to get the improv master, founder of the Maydays and business guru, John Cremer round for a chat. How were we to know we'd end up singing loads of songs together? That's musical improv comedy for you - "Put your hands on it"! Listen to the results in our latest podcast.
Our latest podcast is now available. Joe and Heather found ourselves backstage at the Greenwich Theatre to meet up with Dylan Emery and Duncan Walsh Atkins from Showstopper to talk about all things musical and improvised and comedy.
Just recovering from 24 hours of improv which involved a gig, a daytime jam and our weekly 4-hour workshops. Has made me realise that I could just do this all the time and never get tired of it.
The improv jam was a great opportunity to meet like minded individuals who realise the potential of improvisation in business and life. Heather and I were fortunate enough to be let loose on the group of 13, and in turn, joined in with the creative exercises that were often being created in the moment also. It was very interesting to hear experiences from the wider improv world, and to explore topics as diverse as story-boarding and disagreement. Even when a whole day is set aside, it seems like there is never enough time, and we were cramming in exercises right up to the last minute. It was mainly thanks to Caryn Vanstone and Steve Chapman who conceived the idea, but also to Neil Mullarkey who organised the great location, right next to Regent's Park at the comedy school. Bring on more 24 hours like that and we'll be very happy! OK here is a challenge for all of you out there who fancy themselves as a musical improviser. Have just put a Stephen Sondheim style backing track on the website. This is what I would be really interested to know;
Is it possible to improvise over this kind of music? In a show I would not be afraid to back a song in this style, but that is with the safety net of improvising with the singer. Having eye contact and listening to their phrasing means that it is possible to give and take a little, end sections at the same time, and pick mood changes. With just a cold backing track, how could a singer move with the rapid tempo changes, the contrasting emotions? It would be amazing to pull it off, and we would be intruiged to hear your attempts. If you have the time and the technology (a smart phone would do), we would love you to record and send your results to us at openyourmouthandsing@gmail.com. We could include some examples on a future podcst. We have talked about Sondheim in our musicals podcast if you want to find out a little bit more. Have fun with it, and do let us know how you got on, even if you dont want to send us your recordings! |
AuthorHeather Urquhart and Joe Samuel have over 15 years experience performing, teaching and writing about Musical Improv. Based in the UK they have facilitated workshops and graced stages around the world. Archives
November 2022
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