Frame No. 1 is a piece that I have performed with friends many times. Here I performed it with Devin Romines as part of a Graduate Student Ensemble at UC Davis concert. I loved working with Romines. Although his focus at UC Davis was not music, he quickly found our ensemble and would say yes to nearly every opportunity to play.
I developed this piece as an improvisation and study focusing on how to change the roles of melody and harmony and to listen to them in new ways. As we played along, Romines and I attempted mostly to match one another’s energy and to build off of each other to generate momentum throughout the piece. What results is almost an inverse of my initial hope: the ear quickly becomes drawn to the changing piano part as opposed to the “melody” part on the bass clarinet resulting in an increased focus on the harmony of the piece. Other performers might be able to create a more interesting melodic line with the given instructions to keep the audience’s attention, but whether you focus on the harmonic or melodic parts, I hope you enjoy Frame No. 1.