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- Free
- Large Ensemble
Phrases, Improvisation with Urban Maeder
Learn to perceive phrases. Play & Listen: listen to the chain of individual sounds of each player. Focus on speed, dynamics, and form.
- WarmUps/Games
- Large Ensemble
Fingerbeats on fixed pulse
Fingerbeats on fixed pulse.
METRIC Improvisation Session with Anne La Berge
On Wednesday 12 October 2022, METRIC organised the first online session about collaborative musical interpretation. The session was delivered by Anne La Berge from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.
- Large Ensemble
- Free
Thinking Silent Matter
The excercise focuses on improvisation in a large ensemble context, bringing attention to silence and reduced sound material with slowly changing parameters.
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Cantus Firmus: growing and shrinking melodies
The ensemble creates one by one a growing melody, then plays backwards until the beginning note returns
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
- Free
Frozen Notes (Exercise in 7 parts)
Deconstructing and constructing the written musical material.
- Small Ensemble
- Free
A cycle of five short pieces
A cycle of five short pieces. Each member of the ensemble will start one piece and suggest an ending for it.
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Cantus Firmus: variations
Further variations on the growing and shrinking melodies. Canons and solos.
- WarmUps/Games
- Large Ensemble
Shifting pattern
Shifting pattern with 2 layers in different metre.
- Small Ensemble
- Free
Forming the ends of improvisations
To develop the ability to conclude a piece clearly and decisively,
- Free
- Small Ensemble
The Ostinato Game
Two players improvise on the basis of interlocking ostinatos. The subject of the exercise is rhythmic communication and sharing of a pulse.
- Solo Instrument Specific
- Free
Voice Games
Exploring vocal techniques for improvisation
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
How to improvise with minimal techniques
Minimal techniques are used both to provide structure and to allow freedom, within a framework.
- Free
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
Different demands of comping and being a soloist
Exercises for comping and soloing
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
How to integrate Messiaen's techniques into an improvisation
The musicians are informed about Messiaen's use of modes, rhythms and structural aspects. All these elements are trained in a systematical way, after which they can be applied in a final improvisation.
- WarmUps/Games
- Small Ensemble
- Large Ensemble
Unison exercise
Unison playing by ear on a leader.
- Small Ensemble
- Free
- WarmUps/Games
Playing backwards
The musicians have to sit backwards. They then receive instructions to develop their reaction. Three deepening levels of development then follow.
- WarmUps/Games
- Small Ensemble
Matching exercise
Matching with a leading player.
- WarmUps/Games
- Large Ensemble
Body warming up
Group warming up by stepping arround.
- WarmUps/Games
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
Unison exercise (variation)
Unison playing by ear on a leader.
- Free
- Large Ensemble
- Small Ensemble
Improvising with accents and articulations
Exercises for the development of parametric aspects
- Large Ensemble
- Free
"Cuts" Improvisation with Christoph Baumann
Cuts are simple cues, which generate unexpected sounds in Groups, enable to learn how to make fast and clear decisions, develop sound-memory and allow also the use of tonal aspects in conducted free music.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 1 - Classical structure - periodic phrase
Improvising with Classical structures
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Improvising Canons
This exercise is for two players, one leader and one follower. The leader improvises a melody, which the follower plays in time exactly one bar later, like a canon.
- WarmUps/Games
- Large Ensemble
Shifting pattern (variation)
Shifting pattern with 2 layers in different metre with mixed groups.
- Small Ensemble
- Free
Keep the solo going
This exercise is designed to improve solo playing. The solo can then be shared between the participants.
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Series 2 - Ensemble improvisations, from baroque style to tonally free
Improvisations from Baroque style to tonally free
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Variations on the Canon exercise
This exercise is a variation on exercise 3, with multiple followers. The leader improvises a melody, which the followers play at any time-interval agreed upon, like a canon.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 1, Ex. 4 - Enhancing active listening in chamber music
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Series 1, Ex. 3 - Trio tonal improvisations in classical structure
Trio tonal improvisations in classical structure.
- Tonal/Classical
- Solo Instrument Specific
Tonal duo improvisation
Free duo improvisation (violin / piano) in a romantic idiom.
- Free
- Small Ensemble
- WarmUps/Games
Patim Patam
Each player has to play an interval that goes to the same note, one ascending and the other descending.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 1, Ex. 2 - Classical structure - periodic phrase
Blind Date: following changing harmonic progressions with melodical instrument.
- Extra Musical
- Small Ensemble
- WarmUps/Games
Imitative hands
With two persons, one has to imitate the movement of the other’s hand
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 3, Part 1 - Feeling at home within a structure
Applying an improvisational approach to chamber music repertoire performance.
- Tonal/Classical
- Solo Instrument Specific
Improvising melodies on a chord progression
Exercise in which improvising a melody on a repetitive tonal chord progression is developed step by step. The exercise needs at least one ‘soloist’ and one ‘accompanist’.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 3, Part 2 - Connecting further with the structure’s expressive power
Keeping the original structure tonally-free.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 1, Ex. 5 - Classical structure - Tonally free
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Series 2, Ex. 2 - Trio musical mind-reading
- Small Ensemble
- Tonal/Classical
Series 2 Ex. 3 - Tonally-free, Classical structures: string quartet, voice and piano
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 3, Part 1- Ex. 1.2: Feeling at home within a structure (step 2)
Applying Improvisational approach to chamber music repertoire performance (step 2).
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 3; Part 1; Exercise. 3 - Feeling at home within a structure step 3
Combining full text with reduction.
- Free
- Small Ensemble
- Cross Arts
Series 3; Part 2; Exercise. 3 - Injecting freedom and personal voice into structure step 7
Using speech-intonation based dialogue to further connect with the musical meaning.
- Free
- Small Ensemble
- Cross Arts
Series 3; Part 2; Exercise. 2 - Connecting further with the structure’s expressive power step 6
Using speech-intonation to connect with the musical meaning.
- Tonal/Classical
- Small Ensemble
Series 3; Part 1; Exercise. 4 - Feeling at home within a structure step 4
Giving-up eye-contact.
- Free
- Small Ensemble
- Cross Arts
Series 3; Part 2; Exercise 4 - Injecting freedom and personal voice into structure step 8
Vocal duo (singer & 2nd Vn) with the other three string players improvising from the instruments within structure.