Shagging Sheep - Improvisation with eraser
Improvised composition
Improvised music (e.g. jazz) usually implies that parts of the music (solos, melody lines, etc.) are being created during performance, typically within some kind of framework made in advance. In contrast to this, composed music is usually completed in detail before performance, and only the interpretation of nuances is left to the musician.
Shagging Sheep represents a third approach, namely improvised composition. In this case the composition and arranging is being improvised, but this is nevertheless carried out before performance. Hence, the music typically emerges through brainstorming, within a few hours. During these sessions we try out different chords, themes, sounds, etc. This method gives us an obvious advantage over the jazz musicians: we can «cheat». If we make an error, we can correct it. If a theme or a chord doesn't fit well, we'll try something else. However, we try to avoid major changes afterwards. The point is to trust the ideas coming up during these sessions (se our «rules» on the info page).
A further development of these principles may be outlined as follows:
- Improvise while recording.
- Choose from the recordings the parts that work best, and work further on this material until it works as a basis for a song.
- Improvise melody and solos on top of this basis.
- Make final changes and corrections.
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