Safety First

update 26–Nov–08: change “pass (40+ grade)” to “3rd (45-49)”.

Here’s my take on our marking criteria for the forthcoming performance. Please leave comments.

• 40% continuous assessment
• 60% exam/performance

Of this, I’ll deal only with the latter in this article. This exam/performance breaks down as follows:

• 70% tactics and interaction
  • of which 10% (10/70) is specifically dealing with volume/dynamics
• 30% stage craft

some hypothetical examples

1st (70+ grade)

• tactics and interaction: the performer…
  • deploys a variety of strategies,
  • imaginatively selected (generally avoids obvious responses),
  • each creating a complex group sound, and
  • dynamically tests/interacts with the group.
• stage craft: the performer…
  • exudes confidence and
  • there are few, if any, moments of uncertainty.
• volume/dynamics: the performer…
  • demonstrates the full dynamic spectrum of their instrument, but
  • is mindful of the capabilities of the others (though not hampered by them).

2.1 (60+)

• tactics and interaction:
  • a few strategies,
  • generally avoids obvious responses,
  • contributing intelligently to a group sound, but
  • often does not drive the group.
• stage craft:
  • mostly confident, but
  • there are moments of uncertainty.
• volume/dynamics:
  • mindful of the capabilities of the other, and
  • partially explores the dynamic range.

You get the idea, so I’ll skip down to…

3rd (45-49) pass (40+ grade)

• tactics and interaction:
  • one consistent strategy, which is
  • obvious, and
  • follows the group rather than driving it.
• stage craft:
  • appears largely uncertain or apologetic.
• volume/dynamics: the performer…
  • does not drown anyone out, but
  • plays mp/mf all the time.

fail (40- grade)

• tactics and interaction:
  • …strategy… er, what am I doing here?
  • where’s the rest of the group?
• stage craft:
  • really does not belong on stage.
• volume/dynamics: the performer…
  • drowns people out and/or plays at one dynamic level consistently…

here’s the (final) posters… go forth and multiply!

and here’s the colour version if you feel like emailing it to some friends..

For your reference, here is the marking criteria that the Safety First class used in 2006. This is for reference only: we are not using this criteria.

• 40% continuous assessment
• 60% exam/performance

this latter divides into

1. stage presence, presentation, etiquette, theatre
   • whether the student has convincing stage presence
   • is audience aware
   • can manipulate the audience
2. overall quality of the group improvisation (and demonstration of a sophisticated take on social structures)
   • was it good?
   • was it entertaining?
   • was it interesting?
   • was it crafty?
   • was it weird?
   • was it waaaaaaay out there?
   • can I get a recording of that?
3. individual musicianship
   • [musical responsibility]
     • [demonstrate an awareness of the consequences of actions]
     • able to adapt to unexpected stimuli
   • listening (stimulus and response)
     • student thinks outside the box (experimental)
     • their responses to stimuli is well judged, but is not-mannered
4. participation
   • amount of playing vs the quality of the contributions. in other words, you can play very little, as long as that little kicks butt

70-80 1st
60-69 2.1
50-59 2.2
45-49 3rd
40-44 pass
35-39 fail (near)
0-34 fail (abject)

Thanks Han for posting the class diaries as you have done so far.. I thought they were really helpful in catching all the nuances and the dynamics of the class.. (from a non native speaker perspective i have generally much less problems reading and writing than listening and talking)

wouldn’t blame you if you are not going to do that anymore, since this space seems to have lost momentum.. but with just four of us class maybe we get the sense that we manage to communicate enough during class time?

anyway, i enjoyed last class, we might well have played some of the best improvisations so far during that time

thanks for the links,  the Braxton material especially, is quite precious and interesting.. found a recent interview to Frith done at Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) in Belfast (found that on the side links to Franziska Schroeder’s youtube video) and it’s quite interesting, at some stage he talks about the differences between playing in duo, trio, quartet and so on.. the quartet for is pretty unpredictable according to him.. my thoughs are we definitely need more practice together, in and out of class..

the saturday morning improv was quite interesting, the setting seemed a bit strange, we surely got the shock factor in right, as in i felt we got pretty much all the attention that was available in the room (sadly i had noticed earlier how ‘unconventional’ ways of live performance –i.e. laptop music– don’t seem to get the same respect and attention that someone playing a more traditional instrument usually does)

not sure about my playing in that particular improvisation, for most of the time i felt like i was simply executing some of the techniques i use on the cuatro, without much creative input, or risk.. the public performance aspect somehow took away from the purer aspect of playing.. still, i managed one of that short leaps, when rubbing one of the knitting needles under the strings accidentally hit the frets and resulted in that washboard sound that i’d be familiar with in a 1920s Hawaiian guitar context, but that it hadn’t occurred to me during these improvisations yet…

(and that’s another thing that Frith was talking about in that interview, part 3 or 4 i think.. how we develop our techniques, how we choose to use them when we play…. he also talked about the big difference between hearing the recording of an improvisation or performance and the experience of playing or participating to the same performance)

I’m a little snowed under with another project and will unfortunately have to bow out of doing a full-scale teaching diary for the time being (you are, of course, welcome to write about the class in any form you want). I will leave you with a few links though.

• If you haven’t already, as discussed in today’s class and pointed to in my last post, have a listen to the two magicians.
• More on Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, Gerry Hemingway and Evan Parker.
• The musician who said improvisation was about finding an ending was Charles Hayward.
• The duet that Kevin mentioned by Marian Murray and myself was from the May 2008 Stet Lab (you’ll find this under the title ‘don’t eat the red acid!’).

Finally, if you’re looking for further listening material, I highly recommend destination OUT which posts rare and/or obscure recordings of improvised music(s). (They have, among other things, recently completed a Braxton blogathon.) Subscribe to their feed, download their mp3s, listen, study and learn… and have fun.

Basically, I am free

Monday before 2 and after 3.30
Tuesday after 2.30
Thursday after 2.30
Friday after 12.30