sandeep bhagwati jaali

serial comprovisation for flute, tuba, violin, cello, prepared piano, percussion and optional screen ensemble

commissioned by Musik der Jahrhunderte Stuttgart 2010












jaali instructions page 2
on jaalis and comprovisation

"A jaali is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen used in Islamic
architecture as well as in Indian architecture, usually with an ornamental
pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry. Early work
was performed by carving into stone, while the Mughals employed the
technique of inlay, using marble and semi-precious stones".
Wikipedia


During my childhood travels through Gujarat and Rajasthan with my
parents in the 1970s and early 1980s, I always marveled at these unlikely
screens ephemeral transparency set in stone - that were such a
prominent feature of the cities, palaces, the royal and holy tombs we
visited. I was particularly impressed by one aspect of their creation, again
and again stressed by the guides that showed them to us: that they did
not permit the masons any mistakes. For each jaali had to be hewn and
chiseled and whittled away from a block of marble into an intricate
spiderweb of fragile stone filaments and if in this process the mason's
hand would slip even once and damage one of these brittle connections,
the mughals would reject the result - and demand a new, a flawless jaali.
This intolerance for mistakes to me also is the true conceit of
improvisation- even if improvised music only rarely does turn out to be
flawless. Indeed, a surfeit of lackadaisical, careless and incompetent
efforts at improvisation has accustomed listeners to being aesthetically
embarrassed time and again by the kind of uninspired mayhem that so
many musicians try to pass off as improvisation - to the extent that, to
too many minds, improvisation has become tantamount to poor craft,
poor thinking, and poor execution.
But this is not why improvisation exists - and why so many of the best
musicians continue to cherish this creative practice. In particular, there is
no hierarchy where Composition would inhabit a higher plane of music
invention and Improvisation be but a lowly basement dweller to me,
the salient difference in their approach, the difference that explains all
their other differences, is that improvisation permits no mistakes and
that the process of writing down a composition is essentially about
backtracing and correcting the many errors and bad ideas that tend to
creep in. When you are improvising, there is no redoing a failed attempt,
no eraser and no knife: if it does not work right here and now, you must
start the whole thing over again - and overcome the chink, the slip, the
moment of distraction that dashed your previous bid for a strong and
moving work of music.






To rightly improvise thus means to be as terrified as any jaali mason must
have been. But much as courage does not occur in the absence of fear,
music would not have the energy to elevate us without this clear and
ever-present danger of the great fuck-up. The joy of improvisation is that
this inherent fear does not freeze us, but on the contrary can liberate the
best in us. Just as making a jaali, improvising music is not for the faint at
heart.
A person without fear cannot be called truly courageous, for it is the
very act of surpassing your fears that defines courage. Likewise, a
performance can truly said to be improvised only if it relies on and refers
to rules or standards that would make a mistake audible, and thus
heighten the risk of failure. All music traditions that make sophisticated
use of improvisation have developed such rules. In the South Indian
pallavi niraval the musicians' reputations are made or broken with
flawless and inspired improvisations on very complicated rhythmical
models, models that include the superposition of time shifting, pulse
shifting and phrase grouping techniques on a relentless but inaudible
cyclic base. In North Indian art music, the raags provide both mood and
axioms for melodic formations that cannot be ignored if the music is to
remain meaningful.
The present score for jaali is such a set of rules, a mode of creation that I
call comprovisation or, encapsulated tradition. It must be learned as a
new language is learned, slowly and incrementally. The rules must
become a part of your musical being before you can hope to play this
work adequately. Only if you do not need to think of the rules any
longer you will be able to concentrate fully on your improvisation, on the
meaning your music in the context of the other musicians' contributions
to the latticework that is this comprovisation - a jaali of sounds, with
solid geometry, calligraphy and ornamentation an edifice made to let
the air of musical imagination flow freely, an architecture of and for the
wind.
Pointe Claire, Qubec, July 10, 2010

jaali instructions page 3
THE TWO SCORES
J AALI has two scores: one called "screen" and one called "figures". Both
are complementary and combine to create the set of instructions
bringing forth the music of J AALI .
HOW TO READ THE SCORES TOGETHER
J AALI consists of two distinct musical layers: like with the screens of the
moghul courts, we perceive a screen and, at the same time, the reality
behind (or in front of) it. The "J AALI SCREEN" is a complex interwoven
ground with rigid rules and a fairly fixed structure. But in the foreground
(or the background) "J AALI FIGURES" weaves in and out of the screen,
penetrates and dissolves the rigid order of the screen music in many
different ways.
The two scores can be layered in two possible playing modes:
CHAMBER MODE f or si x exper t musi ci ans onl y
Each of the six musicians alternatingly plays both scores: when "figures"
asks them to play (!solo bar, ! chorus bar) they play "figures". When
they have a !tacet bar in "figures" they switch to playing "screen".
ANTIPHONE MODE f or si x exper t musi ci ans pl us a " scr een" ensembl e or
choi r [amat eur or exper t musi ci ans]
Here the expert musicians play "figures" and the others play "screen". As
in Chamber Mode, expert musicians may join in the playing of "screen".
jaali screen
consists of rhythmic-melodic !cycles of six
6
/
4
-measures, arranged in the
score in structural, non-linear fashion. These cycles must be strictly
adhered to and executed in tempo without any kind of rubato.
However, their basic tempo can change stepwise at the end of a cycle if
such a !tempo trajectory has been decided beforehand.
Usually, all players play in the !theka mode. Only gifted soloists within
the group should at all attempt the other modes, and only occasionally.
"screen" should never draw attention away from "figures".
The normal tempo of "screen" is 72. This pulse tempo is the basis for all
the individual tempo variations given in "figures". (For more detailed
instructions see the " JAALI SCREEN" score page).
jaali figures
can be read like a normal score for sextet, albeit with some unusual
symbols (see explanations below). It consists of 6 pages of 6 bars each.
These bars, however, ARE NOT NORMAL
6
/
4
- MEASURES rather, they are
a shorthand for one full !cycle of six
6
/
4
-measures. An encircled number
over the center of each bar (e.g. 3) indicates the number of cycl es that
this "bar" is active. That means that a "bar" with 3 actually is active for 18
6
/
4
-measures !

"figures" bars come in three varieties:
!tacet bar [one line staff] indicates that the player does not play in
"figures". The player can thus either be silent or play "screen".
!solo bar [normal 5 line staff] indicates that the player leads the
ensemble and improvises on the given melodic material.
!chorus bar [box with graphic symbols] indicates that the player
echoes the soloist of that bar according to the rules described by the
symbols.

In "figures" the barline between each bar and the next in reality is a
pause: and the players can decide on two different ways of
approaching the duration of each bar. This decision must be made
before the performance, during rehearsals.
!screen mode Here the number of cycles within the ! J AALI SCREEN
score determines the length of each bar. This mode needs a conductor
who keeps track of the number of cycles played and who indicates to
the current soloist to wind down and who gives the entry to the next
soloist. This mode is best for interaction with amateur musicians in
"screen", as they can accurately rehearse the exact number of cycles.
Expert musicians also have a certain advantage in being able to plan their
interventions dramaturgically but having to follow a conductor may
also uncomfortably limit their improvisatory freedom.
!solo mode Here each soloist, during her/his tenure, determines the
length of the bar. S/he plays as many cycles of six
6
/
4
-measures as
demanded, in the required tempo but s/he can pause at the end of
each of his/her cycles, wait for the end of the current "screen"cycle, to
begin the next of her improv cycles on the first beat of a new "screen"-
cycle. Thus a bar that mentions 5 cycles in "figures" may actually be either
9 cycles or 3 cycles long in "screen". This mode needs no conductor, as
no one except the soloist must count. Each soloist becomes the leader
of the ensemble, indicating stops and handovers to the next player. The
only rule is: once you stop you must wait for the beginning of the next
"screen"-cycle to continue.
how to read the jaali-figures score
solo bar [standard 5-line stave]




chorus bar [box with graphic symbols] indicates



TEMPO
IMPROV
MODE

DURATION

TRANSITORY
PITCH

TARGET
PITCH

TONIC
PITCH

HEXACHORD
DURATION PLAY IN
THIS
TIMBRAL
MODE
LISTEN TO
THIS SOLO
INSTRUMENT
REACT
IN THIS
WAY
TO THIS ASPECT OF
THE SOLO INSTRUMENT'S
IMPROVISATION
AND
IN THIS
MELOS
MODE
jaali instructions page 4

glossary of terms and symbols
TEMPO
is prescribed in two distinct ways: absol ute tempo, e.g. [q=144-192]
and r el ati ve tempo e.g. e=q The defining mode during performance is
the relative tempo ! The right side of the equation refers to a note-value
in jaali screen, the left side always means the players basic q.
So, in this example, if jaali screen is maintained at q=72, the e notes
in jaali screen will be at e=144 - and this pulse will become the basic
q=144 of the soloist. If jaali screen, however, is played at another
tempo, say q=96, then the soloist's basic pulse will also change to q=192.
The absol ute tempo, e.g. [q=144-192] is notated only for rehearsal
purposes.
IMPROV MODE
This parameter describes how the soloist should approach and work
with the melodic material given in the stave. There are 6 principal ways
in which you can improvise the melodic material Loops, Fl ar es,
Cur l s, Hacks, Paths and Scr ubs. They are combined into 36 pairs (see
table below): in these pairs, you will use the 1
st
mode 3/4 of the time,
and the 2
nd
only 1/4 of the time - or fuse both into hybrid gestures.

Loops Flares Curls Hacks Paths Scrubs
Loops
Loops
Flares &
Loops
Curls &
Loops
Hacks&
Loops
Paths &
Loops
Scrubs &
Loops
Fl ares Loops &
Flares
Flares
Curls &
Flares
Hacks&
Flares
Paths &
Flares
Scrubs &
Flares
Curl s Loops &
Curls
Flares &
Curls
Curls
Hacks&
Curls
Paths &
Curls
Scrubs &
Curls
Hacks Loops &
Hacks
Flares &
Hacks
Curls &
Hacks
Hacks
Paths &
Hacks
Scrubs &
Hacks
Paths Loops &
Paths
Flares &
Paths
Curls &
Paths
Hacks &
Paths
Paths
Scrubs &
Paths
Scrubs Loops &
Scrubs
Flares &
Scrubs
Curls &
Scrubs
Hacks &
Scrubs
Paths &
Scrubs
Scrubs

LOOPS Loop through the material. Loops can begin and end only at a
tar get or toni c pi tch. You define a rhythmic form for the loop and
maintain it in all repetitions of the loop. That said, you can loop either in
a precise way (as in minimal music) or with different intensities of rubato.
In each case you must repeat any chosen loop at least 3 times before
moving on to the next loop. And, of course, your loops must fit perfectly
to the tempo.
FLARES use the pitch material to create short or long extreme
crescendi and decrescendi, playing trills or tremoli or fast repetitive
figures [up to 5 notes] with the pitches given like rocket flares these
musical flares come from nothing and end in spectacular burst of
loudness - or vice versa. They should zoom by the listenerAlways start
on a toni c pi tch and use the material to elaborate the flare.
CURLS Choose one toni c pi tch and find a dozen and more ways to
curl around it, using the melodic material given, but also simply the notes
of the hexachord that you are currently using. Curls could be short like
the baroque "gruppetto" or "turn", or they could be more elaborate: the
important point is that they move above and below a toni c pi tch, thus
confirming its importance. After 3 -7 curls around one central pitch, you
can choose a new one [or stay on the same, if you have many ideas how
to curl beautifully and engagingly].
HACKS Aggressively use the given pitches to make short, sweeping
burst of melody, always ranging over at least two octaves, upward or
downward. The hacks make extensive use of ornaments such as the
baroque "acciaccaturas" and the jazzy "falls". Their main purpose is to
generate a be-bop like atmosphere of hacked and destroyed melodic
material flying around the room.
PATHS This is the most straightforward way of using the given melodies:
just play them again and again, repeat them in parts or as a whole, with
lots of melodic emphasis, rubato and feeling and very little emphasis on
rhythmic precision, even though the melodies can be rhythmically
interesting. Create a melodic pathway that a listener might want to
follow play straight or with some ornamentation and microtonal
inflections and always with intense timbral flexibility.
SCRUBS The term comes from the sound studio its the sound you
get when you playback a tape back and forth quickly. In SCRUB you thus
play a phrase of any length from the melodic material and then
immediately play it backwards. In this mode you can also play with
"playback speed" if you scrub quickly, the pitches will be high and
squeaky, if you scrub slowly, they will be low and growling. You could
e.g. go forward fast and backwards slowly, thereby changing octaves or
transposing the material. Take care that you also try to reverse the
individual notes: a tape played backwards often has a quick individual
crescendo on each single note the effect of the room resonance
played backwards [pianist and percussion can fake this effect by playing
unexpected and irregular phrase crescendi] ! Do vary your speed and
pitch a lot in this mode !
DURATION
This number simply indicates how long you can play this particular bar.
The duration indicates the number of cycles of 6 measures in jaali
screen. A ! thus means that the duration of this bar is 5 x 6 = 30
measures of 6/4 in jaali screen. After this duration has been reached
your expert group can either take a short break or continue with the
next bar immediately.
[See also !screen mode and !solo mode on the previous page ! ]
PITCHES
The melodic material in the solo bars is printed with three different
noteheads. These correspond to the importance of the individual pitches
for the improvisation modes.
TRANSITORY PITCHES (black noteheads) These are pitches to be
used for ornaments and quick passages and repetitions. Do not linger on
thee pitches too long. They are there to give a flavour to the music.
TARGET PITCHES (white noteheads) These pitches are important
starting and stopping points for your improvisations, and you can linger
on them longer, if you want.
TONIC PITCHES (brevis noteheads) These are the most important
pitches in the melodic material you can start from them and come to
rest on them, you can play them without any of the other pitches - and
your improvisation will always turn around them, If there are more than
one, the intervals between them will also be important the sequence
of these tonic pitches defines the contour of your improvisation.

HEXACHORD
jaali uses two complementary hexachords: Together they contain all 12
notes of the chromatic scale.
HEXACHORD A HEXACHORD B

You can use either of them, but always only one at a time never both
together or mixed in any way. These HEXACHORDS are not centered on
one particular tonic as such any note in them can appear as a toni c
pi tch in the melodic material.
jaali instructions page 5

LISTEN & REACT TO ASPECTS
These three symbols form one important unit of the chorus bar.
LISTEN simply tells you which instrument plays solo at this moment. All
your listening should be concentrated on this instrument.
REACT defines the way you can react to this solo instrument. You have
three options:
= imitate as precisely as possible
! do the opposite
" embellish and ornament
It is important to understand that you do NOT imitate or oppose or
embellish EVERYTHING in the music of the soloist. You must focus on
one of the following aspect, and react to this aspect only. Everything else
in your playing is free, but this aspect is bound to the soloist.
ASPECTS

!
emotion or mood of the soloist's improv
!
rhythm and pulse of the soloist's improv
"
register or range of the soloist's improv
"
speed or tempo of the soloist's improv
"
timbre changes of the soloist's improv
#
melodies of the soloist's improv

So this sequence
! FLUTE !"
would mean:
Listen to the flute's improvisation. Focus on the way the flutist manipulates
timbre and do the opposite: for example, when s/he is limpid and clear,
play muddily and dirtily; when s/he becomes sweet, play roughly etc.

The same applies to all other 17 possible combinations.

PLAYING MODES
When you play as a chorus partner to a soloist, you play with them,
listening to one of the aspect of their improvisation - but you also should
maintain your own individual musical character. This character is manily
expressed in a combination of your timbre and your melodic behaviour.
As in real life, the challenge is to combine the reaction and reference to
the soloist with staying true to your own character.
This character is a combination of two different aspects of your playing
the Timbral and the Melos Mode.
TIMBRAL MODE
The timbral mode offers you two option: You can play
"pure" timbres: these are the instrumental timbres that are used
for expressive legato melodies in classical and romantic music
# "rich" timbres: these are extended timbres, such as frullato,
trills, multiphonics, tremolo etc. that have a rich noise component.
If the timbral mode asks you to play "pure" or "rich" this, of course, is in
no way 100% binding such an slavish interpretation would make for a
boring sound structure, indeed : it just indicates that about ! of your
playing should be "pure" or "rich", but should always intelligently shimmer
between the two.
MELOS MODE
"
POINTS each note (or very short (1-3 note) phrase) of your
melody is an isolated event, with its own dynamics and
articulation.
!
MELOS play long and expressive legato melodies, with
organically waxing and waning dynamics.

JAGS play jagged and jumpy medium short (4-8 note)
melodies that range over several octaves and that are
interrupted often and have many dynamic "surprises"
crescendi that break-off or unexpected diminuendi.


ON HOW TO PRACTISE THIS PIECE
This piece is music - and yet not quite. It does not conceive of music as
an act of communication - but rather one of observance. And of
attentive listening.
The jaali screen is a point of reference. It is a sound environment that
has a regular structure but that in itself it does not convey a message.
The musicians playing the screen do not take notice of the musicians
playing in jaali figures. They just do what they have to do, and they do it
as best as they can they execute a sound ritual, a duty, a technical
procedure. They should practise it like one: like daily meditations or
mantras meticulously until they make no mistakes any more, even if
they repeat the same cycle 30 times.
All musicians playing in jaali figures react to this jaali screen sound
environment as they would react to the natural environment as they
would react to birds, waterfalls, traffic, rain etc. They cannot influence it
and it has no meaning as such it has only a sound structure that can
offer hooks to relate to.
I actually would like to exhort the musicians to practise their solo
comprovisations in nature, by a river, on a street, in a train station,
reacting to these environments in the same way as they would react to
jaali - in order to get into the right frame of mind.
To practise the chorus improvisations is even easier: take any jazz
or free jazz or world music solo recording (such as Keith Jarrett or Bill
Dixon or Anouar Brahem and the like) and try to extract the aspects
relevant to your part - and play to them or against them or embellish
them. In this way you will learn to listen isolate the aspects of a
musician's playing and to integrate them into your own sound
production.
One final request: This is a difficult piece that demands many hours of
practice. Please do not underestimate the difficulty of the task
following complex interaction rules, listening to others analytically and
channeling your own creative energy at the same time cannot be faked
with any degree of satisfaction. It needs constant practise, alone and with
others. It may ask for a change in the way you play improvised music
please be open to it and try to avoid the old bag of tricks every
seasoned improviser has it will not only destroy the piece, but also
make playing it more like a chore than like a real adventure. Why do this
to yourself ?
Sandeep Bhagwati Montral, Sep 22, 2010