Timothy Tikker

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tim-tikkerWebsite:
http://ttikker.com/

Originally from San Francisco, California, Timothy Tikker studied organ and improvisation with Guy Bovet. Through a Ruth Lorraine Close Award from the University of Oregon, he was able to travel to France and study with Jean Langlais. He recently completed his doctoral degree from the University of Michigan under Marilyn Mason. He won First Prize in the National Improvisation Competition in the San Anselmo Organ Festival in 1987 (USA), the Holtkamp-AGO Award in Organ Composition in 1993, and First Prize in the UNESP Organ Composition Competition (Brazil) in 1997.

He is a member of the Concert Artist Cooperative.

Book:

Mystic Modern: The Music, Thought, and Legacy of Charles Tournemire
Includes an essay “Performance Practice for the Organ Music of Charles Tournemire” by Timothy Tikker.

Video:

The King of Kings (The Criterion Collection)
Timothy Tikker provides organ accompaniment for the 1931 version of the film included in this DVD.

Materna

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Materna

Samuel A. Ward originally composed this melody for the hymn “O Mother dear, Jerusalem” in 1882. It was first published in 1892. Katharine Lee Bates wrote the poem “Pikes Peak”, first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. The melody and words we know today as “America the Beautiful” were first published together in 1910. It soon became a well known and popular American patriotic song.

Find a list of other hymn and chorale themes here.
Find a list of other traditional song themes here.

Videos:
Gereon Krahforst – Improvisation on America the Beautiful and The Star Spangled Banner – St. Louis Cathedral Basilica

Thriving through Severe Limitations

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The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one’s self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution. -Igor Stravinsky

I have always felt that one of the biggest obstacles for the beginning improviser is the fear of the unknown. When there are no longer notes on the page giving instructions to the fingers and feet, how do we choose what to play? Will we start with a bang or quietly? Do we use our feet from the beginning or let the hands start first? How about a pedal solo to begin? Are we in major, minor, or some other mode? What form shall we try to follow? What meter will we use? Are we going to play fast or slow? Will the rhythm be simple quarter notes or will we use syncopation. triplets, or other more complicated rhythms?

Even if we make it past the fear of creating music on the spot, we may be overwhelmed by the choices.

Decisions

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Lao-Tsu

By making a first decision about any aspect of the improvisation, we have begun the journey. Even something as generic as choosing an emotion we wish to convey through the improvisation can guide our selection of key, tempo and dynamics. Each decision after the first becomes easier and comes quicker. If we wish to create a happy piece, perhaps we choose a major key and play faster than if we are sad. By making a decision about one aspect of the piece, we have narrowed our field of choice and further reduced the stress of getting started. As improvisers, we can remain open to the possibilities we might discover while creating a piece that might send us down new paths, but in order to start the journey, we must make at least one decision. How much do you decide before you begin to improvise?

Restrictions

When I began my composition studies, my first assignment was to write a piece for clarinet using only the intervals of a minor second, major second, perfect fourth or tritone. My memory may be slightly faulty on the exact list of intervals, but there were certainly no more than four options, and I’m sure that no third was included, major or minor. Can you improvise a melody using only those intervals as you move from note to note?

By being assigned to write for a specific instrument, a first decision was made for us. While an advanced clarinetist might be able to create multiphonics, the instrument basically produces one note at a time, so any sense of pitch center or key would have to be established by the melody without any harmonic support. By restricting us to only moving by certain intervals, our tonal language was restricted, even if it wasn’t restricted in the same way as identifying a key would have limited us. Even as constraining as these requirements might seem, they still left tempo, dynamics and rhythm all completely open ended. The variety that the class brought back and developed as we continue to work on this project was amazing.

Thriving

When we complained about how difficult this first assignment seemed, I remember by teacher telling a story about Igor Stravinsky. At some point, someone asked the great composer if he would write a piece of music for them. Stravinsky responded with the seemingly absurd answer that he didn’t know how to write a piece of music, but then explained that if you asked him to write a piece for X,Y, and Z (insert the strangest combination of three instruments you can imagine, such as accordion, tuba, and xylophone), he would happily accept the request. While the story may be apocryphal, I believe the quote at the top of this newsletter supports that idea that Stravinsky thrived under restrictions.

Try your hand at improvising a single melody following the rules for the clarinet assignment above. How many different moods can you convey with those same restrictions? Can you create an ABA form lasting more than two minutes with the same limitation?

If you are having difficulty improvising, try making it more difficult to improvise. Create more restrictions for yourself before you start. Describe your improvisation as completely as you can before playing the first note. While it may actually be more difficult to improvise under these restrictions, you will also know exactly how you did not meet them, and that will make it easier to learn from your mistake(s). Being clear in your intentions will enable you to be precise in your execution.

Hoping constraints lead you to creativity,
Glenn

 
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Newsletter Issue 28 – 2014 11 10
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Jan Hage

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janhageWebsite:
http://www.janhage.nl/

Jan Hage began organ studies with Kees van Eersel and then entered the Utrechts Conservatorium where his teacher was Jan Welmers. He continued studies in France with André Isoir where he earned his Prémier Prix ‘à l’unanimité du jury’ at the Conservatoire National de Région te Boulogne-Billancourt. He won first prizes in competitions in Leiden, Bolsward, Schaffhausen and Poitiers. In 1995, he was named organist at the Kloosterkerk in Den Haag. He became organist at the Cathedral in Utrecht in 2011. He has recorded several CDs of contemporary organ music.

Videos:
Jan Hage and Tatiana Koleva – Improvised excerpt of the film ‘Jeanne d’Arc’ – Joriskerk
Jan Hage – Concert Improvisation – Den Haag Kloosterkerk

Gerben Mourik

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Gerben_Mourik_300Website:
http://www.gerbenmourik.nl

Gerben Mourik began organ studies with Albert van der Hoeven and Jolanda Zwoferink, and continued studying with Ben van Oosten. At the Brabant Conservatory, he earned his degrees as Performing Musician (levels 1 & 2) while studying with Bram Beekman and Henco de Berg He also studied improvisation privately with Ansgar Wallenhorst and Naji Hakim. Presently he serves as organist of St Michael’s church in Oudewater.

Gerben Mourik won first prize at the National Organ Improvisation Contest in Zwolle in 2003. In the next year, he was a finalist in the International Organ Contest in Haarlem and won first prize in the international organ improvisation contest at St Albans, UK. He was awarded first prize at the International Improvisation Contest in Haarlem in 2008.

Videos:
Gerben Mourik – Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme – Brouwershaven
Gerben Mourik – O come, o come, Emmanuel – Brouwershaven
Gerben Mourik – Free Improvisation – Apeldoorn

Modulations with Motive

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Whether you are looking to fill a little time, transitioning from the choir anthem to the doxology, or creating a larger form, one of the hallmarks of a good improvisation is the virtually constant presence of thematic material. By using recognizable material, your improvisation becomes more coherent, more competent and more convincing, thus improving your skills in three of the four C’s of improvisation.

Cadences

One of the patterns I practiced when learning piano were standard I-IV-I-V-I cadential patterns. (If you need an explanation of Roman Numerals for music, there is a lesson available at www.8notes.com.) I learned to play these in every major and minor key in multiple inversions. These cadences are basic building blocks to have in your ears and fingers, especially if you are looking to establish a new key center. I had to play them for the key of every piano piece I learned. If you need to practice them, you could play them for the key of every hymn or piece you plan to play this Sunday.

Thanksgiving

At the end of November here in the United States, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. While the story of the Pilgrims and Indians sharing food together is likely more fiction than fact, the idea of giving thanks for all that we have is something we should probably practice more than once a year. One of the hymns closely associated with the holiday, Nun danket alle Gott, also happens to open with a harmonic progression that requires only I, IV, and V chords of the cadential patterns mentioned above.
NunDanketPhrase

Thematic material can be melodic, but it can also be harmonic. Try playing the first phrase of Nun danket followed by a similar I-V-I-IV-IV-I pattern in a closely related key (D minor, C major, Bb major, or G minor)? Congratulations! You just made a modulation with motive!

As this phrase ends with a plagal cadence, you’ll probably wish to continue playing in your new key or keep moving to another closely related key if you haven’t arrived at your destination yet.

Reharmonization

Another way to modulate while using ideas from a theme is to reharmonize the melody. Here’s the same opening phrase in A minor:

NunDanketAMinor

or C Major:
NunDanketCMajor

Same melody. New chords. And while C major might make it a little easier to get to G major, the reharmonization in A minor opens up the option of E major for us which would normally be considered a very distant key from our start in F major. How many other harmonizations can you find for this melody? Where will they free you to go?

Q and A

Often musical phrases are described as antecedent and consequent or question and answer. When making transitions, it is helpful to be able to answer the same question in many different ways. If the first four measures of Nun danket alle Gott is the question, can you find answers that get you to any other key at the end of four more measures? Which of the thematic material is most helpful when modulating to different keys? Can you keep the first three notes and chords the same before modulating? How does this exercise change when you use a different hymn tune as your theme?

I want thank those of you who have responded to my sign-up survey. It is helpful for me to know about my audience, and I was also alerted through the comments to two other improvisers that I’ll be adding to the website soon! Because the survey is anonymous, if you would like a response from me, please leave your contact info in the final response box or simply email me directly. If you are not yet a subscriber and would like to take the survey, please uses the boxes to the right to get your free lesson and a link for the survey.

Hoping your improvisations inspire people to thank you for your music!
Glenn

 
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Mode Three

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In his book The Technique of My Musical Language, Olivier Messiaen identifies seven modes of limited transposition. Within the chromatic system of twelve sounds, Messiaen has identified groups of pitches which after a certain number of transpositions are no longer transposable. These modes may be used both melodically and harmonically and give the impression of several tonalities without polytonality. The first of these modes is the whole tone scale. The second mode is probably the best known of the modes Messiaen identifies as it is also known as the octatonic scale.

The third mode is transposable four times just like an augmented triad. The mode is constructed in tetrachords (groups of four notes) following the interval pattern whole step-half step-half step. The four transpositions are shown below.
Mode3
With nine pitches in Messiaen’s mode three, the possibilities for harmonic complexity advance dramatically.

For the ecclesiastical mode three, see the Phrygian mode.

John Vandertuin

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JohnVandertuin2Blind from birth, John Vandertuin began studies in music at the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario. He continued studying with Jean Langlais in Paris and later with Piet Kee at Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatorium. Other organ teachers have included John McIntosh, Larry Cortner, and Robert Glasgow. Active as a composer and recitalist, he has won several competitions as well, including first prize in the Improvisation category of the National Healey Willan Organ Competition (1980) and second prize in the San Anselmo (California) Improvisation Competition (1987, 89). He was invited twice to compete in the International Improvisation Competition in Haarlem, the Netherlands, one of only two Canadians ever to receive this invitation.


Audio:
John Vandertuin – Entry in the 33rd Haarlem Improvisation Competition

Toplady

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Toplady
The hymn tune Toplady was written by Thomas Hastings. It was written for the text “Rock of Ages” by Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady. While Thomas Hastings wrote over 50 hymn tunes, this remains his most popular today by far.

Rev. Toplady is believed to have written the hymn after taking shelter in a gorge during a thunderstorm in the Mendip Hills in England. The fissure that is believed to have sheltered Rev. Toplady is now marked as the “Rock of Ages”, both on the rock and on some maps.

Other hymn and chorale themes may be found here.

Moving to a new center

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Did you have any time to fill this week? Did you fill it with song? Did you kill time or follow a form?

The key to filling larger blocks of time or creating large scale forms is the ability to move to different key centers. While staying in the same key is acceptable for certain styles and forms, even a simple ABA form can benefit from modulation to a different key.

Ready? Go!

The quickest way to change keys is to simply change keys! No preparation or transition necessary. This works well in tonal schemes when moving to a closely related key: tonic to dominant, major to relative minor, major to parallel minor, or vice versa. From C major, that enables us to simply move to G major, F major, A minor and C minor. If you are using a richer tonal palette (like Messiaen’s Mode 2), movements by thirds can work as well. This would add Eb major, F# major, A major, E major, and Ab major as possible direct jumps.

One Chord Transitions

A very common practice in some traditions is to modulate up for the final verse of a hymn. Often the easiest and quickest way to do this is with a deceptive cadence at the end of the verse, concluding on major chord on the flatted sixth degree of the scale. This makes the old tonic the leading tone for the new key one half-step higher and enables everyone to jump back in to the next verse with no further segue needed.

A dominant seventh chord can actually serve as a pivot point for a transition to any other key. While you might need a little more time to lock in the new key after the shift, I’ve made a handout available here showing the resolution from a G7 chord to all 24 major and minor keys.

In his Cours Complet d’Improvisation à l’Orgue, Marcel Dupré suggests using symmetrical chords for modulation. The diminished seventh chord built of minor thirds functions very much like the dominant seventh chord above, so I won’t elaborate further on it. The other symmetrical chord Dupré uses for modulation is the augmented triad. Built of major thirds, this is an unstable sound because it lacks a perfect fifth. The lack of stability helps create the motion to a new key, and once again this chord can get you to any other key that you would like. (See the handout here.)

Smooth Transitions

Of course, if you are not looking to shock your listeners, you may wish to take a little more time and venture through several keys before arriving at your final destination. Exactly how much time you can take will depend upon the form you are aiming to follow and the expected duration of your improvisation. Composer Max Reger offers a guide on how to modulate from one key to another, even providing different progressions for enharmonic key relations! In his book Modulation, he offers 46 potential progressions from a major key and 54 progressions from a minor key. If you don’t know how to get from one key to another, this is the place to look. If your time is short, you can employ his progressions as they are. If you have more time, you can create a phrase in the key for each of the chords of his suggested progressions. The key to smooth transitions will be to use melodic thematic material whenever possible. Referencing familiar musical material will make it easier for the listener to accept and process the harmonic changes. By playing thematic material in different keys, you will also be practicing skills necessary for larger forms such as sonata allegro or fugue!

May your move from one place to another pass smoothly!

Glenn

 
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Newsletter Issue 26 – 2014 10 27
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