(no)boundaries: A Study in Free Improvisation
- Submitting institution
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Birmingham City University
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output identifier
- 33Z_OP_I2001
- Type
- I - Performance
- Venue(s)
- The Hexagon at the Midland Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham. Vortex Jazz Club, London
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of first performance
- December
- Year of first performance
- 2017
- URL
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https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1043548/1043554
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
-
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Andrew Bain’s _(no)boundaries: A Study in Free Improvisation_ is a practice-led jazz research project presented as a Research Catalogue exposition. The core of the output is a CD (Whirlwind Recordings) and the Research Catalogue exposition documents the process of performance research for which that disc is an exemplar.
The project investigates the importance of an empathically creative connection between freely improvising musicians in a live context with no pre-conceived ideas and details the development of instantaneous group composition. As such, _(no)boundaries_ had no pre-composed music, there was no rehearsal period for the musicians (Bain playing drums and leading the sessions), and they had never played together before the first note of performance. In Bain’s research to date, the dynamic between pre-learned knowledge (embodied) alongside intelligent transactions during live improvisation (enacted knowledge), had been useful in helping to better understand the process of jazz improvisation. Even if there are pre-conceived elements, how the music is realised each time is unique. Conversely, even if the performers set out to have no pre-conceived ideas, in reality, they are still intuitively informed by their experiential and musical knowledge in performance. The two seem inextricably linked.
_(no)boundaries_ showed that group attunement in performance is possible with no pre-learnt repertoire or rehearsals, in an appropriate setting with the right co-performers. Even though no pre-conceived ideas were intended, _(no)boundaries_ evidenced improvisations guided by similar principles of standard jazz performance, pointing to the existence of a common performance mode.
N.B. Since publication, a bug has arisen on the ‘Audio’ page of the exposition causing problems with the embedded audio player on some devices/browsers. The audio is still available via the YouTube link on the same page.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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