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Week 740: “Whisky Story Time” by Alabaster DePlume
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Improvisation is an underrated skill.
In fact, I think many people would benefit from taking an improv class or two. Not because everybody should be a comedian, and not even because being spontaneous can be fun. The real benefit of practising improv is not learning how to be unpredictable, but learning how to react to the unpredictability of others.
Life, after all, doesn’t stick to a script. Sometimes the most frustrating moments are the moments that don’t conform to the scripts we’ve laid out in our heads. Being ready to improvise is important because it can save you from feeling like you have to bend life to your will, and allow you to let life happen.
Improvisation in musical performance isn’t the same as improvising in daily life, but it’s related, and musicians vary in their level of stick-to-the-scriptness. Some musicians practise their performances meticulously to ensure that every note is perfect. Others have general guidelines, but are fine allowing certain moments within songs to be more free-flowing. Still others prefer everything to be improvised.
Alabaster DePlume (aka Gus Fairbairn) is firmly on the improvisational end of this spectrum.
In fact, he takes it to a new level by not only improvising his shows, but by playing with different musicians each time he plays. The results vary, he says, depending on the group. He described what improvisation feels like to him in an interview:
It doesn’t feel like inventing something, it feels more like getting out of the way. It feels like someone wants to pass through the door – any thoughts or concern about ‘myself’ or ‘what I’m doing’ is like standing in the way of that person. […] In the show I bring material – songs and tunes and poems. They’re available to us in case they’re useful. They’re like snacks at a party – it’s nice that they’re there, but the main thing is the people and how they interact.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The pentatonic nature gives it a soothing simplicity.
2. The sax sometimes sounds reversed, or like it’s had too much whisky.
3. There are multiple sax tracks playing at once, and they often (but not always) play the same melody. Sometimes they just support the main melody, or drop in and out at random.
Recommended listening activity:
Doing something related to (but not on) your to-do list.
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