Rhythm and Language: Explorations in Conversation
Files
Abstract
My project is an exploration of how getting to know people on a conversational level can influence my music and my understanding of the world around me. I interviewed four drummers who grew up in life circumstances that varied greatly from my own. I then used those conversations as inspiration to write a duo piece to play with each drummer. These compositions drew on various aspects of the conversations: shared inspirations, specific musical ideas, and the rhythmic quality of speech itself. I then used some of the duo compositions as a basis to produce two works for quartet, adding melody and harmony to the rhythms I wrote. This process was transformative: it helped me to address and work through my introverted and privileged identity, and it reaffirmed music's importance as a transcultural, borderless space where we can work through differences to produce something meaningful with one another.
Publication Date
7-1-2018
Campus
Boston Campus
Recommended Citation
Kuesel, Chase, "Rhythm and Language: Explorations in Conversation" (2018). Global Jazz. 43.
https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-global-jazz/43
Comments
Project Components: paper (.pdf), presentation (.pdf), scores (ZIP file containing 6 .pdf documents), video (.mp4).