Musical Conversation

Last week our improv group worked on an activity called "Musical Conversation."  This game is an exercise in responding to ensemble members, and actively listening to ensemble members while improvising.

The ensemble was broken up into pairs, who each sat at a xylophone, each student holding one mallet.  I asked students to have a conversation with each other, not my using words, but by creating little melodies and motifs, playing with dynamics and phrasing and interacting musically with each other.  I then gave the ensemble about five minutes to hold their conversations.  We then had a class discussion where the pairs described what was happening in their "musical conversations."

I was amazed at how well the students listened to each other, both musically and at how they were attempting to find the flow of the conversation or the emotion behind it. Musically, I could see/hear students figuring out their melodies and phrasing to either compliment or contrast their partner's creation.  I could also hear them experimenting with their note choices, using some repeated notes, or making a point to not just play glissandos which is always very tempting on a xylophone.  What was an interesting addition to the positive musical experimentation was how much the students were critically thinking about their conversation and even using it as an acting exercise.  Students were developing scenes in their own minds and were expressing how they were feeling towards what their partner was "saying," (remember students were not allowed to verbalize any ideas, so one person's scene or interpretation could be different from their partner's).  At times, I even caught students making faces at each other or physically presenting the emotion they were portraying in their music.

It was hysterical when we all discussed our conversations as a group, especially when students were realizing they had a completely different idea in their head than their partner! It was amazing how they made it work, made it sound musically interesting and listened before reacting even though they could not read each others' minds!