During the '70’s and '80’s, the Woodstock-based Creative Music Studio was considered the premier study center for contemporary creative music. Unprecedented in its range and diversity, CMS was an acknowledged phenomenon in the international music world, Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman, the Creative Music Studio (CMS) brought together leading innovators in the jazz and world music communities, among them Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, Leo Smith, Foday Suso, Abdullah Ibrahim, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Giuffre, Frederic Rzewski, Carla Bley, Dave Holland, Paulo Moura, Nana Vasconcelos, Pauline Oliveros, Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, Baikida Carroll, Trilok Gurtu, Steve Gorn, Ismet Siral, Jack DeJohnette, Fred Frith, Oliver Lake, Lee Konitz, Leroy Jenkins, George Lewis, just to name a few. (A complete list is available at www.CreativeMusicStudio.org.)
The Workshops offered here give a rare insight into the non-stylistic daily "Basic Practice" at CMS, originally designed to facilitate improvisational communication and the dawning of original approaches. As it turned out, Basic Practice also provided a new approach to rhythmic-dynamic-harmonic flexibility and focus that provided a new sense of detail and spontaneity while opening the vista within and beyond any given stylistic environment.
"These approaches are just as fresh and needed today as they were in the 70s and 80s" KB
1. Elemental Studies and Practices
1.1. Basic World Musical Studies
With the increasing exposures of world musical styles and forms, and the expanding cross-cultural influences in almost all areas of contemporary music from acoustic and electronic composition and interpretation to the many forms of world jazz and world pop, there is a growing need for a clear and thorough understanding of the world-wide common grounds and principles of music.
Presently, music is presented mostly in stylistic confines that exist side-by-side without much interaction and communication between them. However, many musicians, composers, educators today are crossing over between different styles and forms of music on a regular basis.
Here we address the common grounds and contrasts of world-musical forms in:
• harmonic sensibilities ( experience of overtones, tuning, tempered and non-tempered systems )
• rhythmic sensibilities ( pulse, language, form, additive vs. divisive rhythms, odd-even patterns, timing )
• dynamic sensibilities ( language and form dynamics, beat-for-beat dynamics, sound-silence )
1.2 Focusing on the way we listen and play
I found, that the study and experience of the elements common to all musical styles in this world not only widens the stylistic perspectives, but also deepens the musical experiences a student will be involved in.
The "particle" approach of these studies speaks directly to the expressive qualities of interpretation, improvisation, composition, and the "impressive" qualities of listening, opening doors to creative insights, new ways of looking at the musical materials and situations at hand. Here we address:
- habitual tendencies and patterns, by introducing new points of view, a new sense of detail.
- issues of timing, through the practice of "beat-for-beat attention" in group exercises (the GaMaLaTaki system), that deal not only with periodic rhythmic training, but also with the relativity of time experiences.
These practices also address the processes of
- focusing and re-focusing in performance. Simple practices help us to be alert and relaxed in the processes of interpretation and improvisation
- listening. We learn about the playing mode vs. the listening modes, the three directions of listening.
So the learning process here is three-fold:
• we widen our world-musical perspectives as we develop new harmonic and rhythmic/dynamic sensibilities,
• we deepen our experience of musical expression as we develop new attention to detail and fresh points of view,
• we train our musical minds in new rhythmic/dynamic details and in the processes of focusing and re-focusing.
What we do:
The workshops include comparative world-musical demonstrations, theory, vocalizations, instrumental practices and may
involve students on various levels of technical accomplishment. While it is good to gain these perspectives early on, this approach also offers new perspectives to advanced students and teachers
2. Ensemble/Orchestra Workshops
Introducing modular compositions and improvisations, utilizing world-musical sources (f.e. African, Indian, Turkish ), world jazz, traditional ( f.e. Monk, Rollins ), contemporary "harmolodic" ( f.e. Cherry, O. Coleman ), + original works. Utilizing principles also offered in Workshop 1 ( see descriptions above )
3. "GaMaLaTaKi" Rhythmic/Dynamic Training
(as part of a workshop or as a stand-alone training course)
A unique and world-renowned practice of rhythmic cycles, utilizing syllables and vocalizing, training:
elemental rhythmic/dynamic attention and timing, phrasing, melodic expression; deepening the experience of
pulse and language articulation, cyclical motion, additive rhythms, odd meters, mutiple meters, sense of space.
4. "Breath - Voice - Sounds - Rhythms"
with vocalist Ingrid Sertso; focusing on the use of voice and movement. Includes introduction to GaMaLaTaKi5. "Music Mind"
Seminars (open to anyone)
The states of mind of the player/listener
The listening modes
The Power of Music and Sound: Healing, Inspiring, Unifying, Liberating.
Connecting ancient wisdom with contemporary concepts + technologies.
Music and Spirituality