PODCAST · music
Improvisations
by William Bradbury
I challenge myself to create a new improvisation on a regular basis. For now, I’m limiting the improvisations to mandolin; I really want to push the instrument beyond its typical use. I’ll add other instruments later. The music will be mixed and processed with digital effects; I will edit it only if something is truly out of place. The idea is to eventually make an album of these pieces or variations of them. But for now, it’s just a fun project. -William Bradbury
Episodes
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The Next Buddha
This piece is played on the electric mandolin (a five-string Mandoblaster) with minimal effects (compression and reverb). The gentle quietude of the piece suggested something ethereal; this picture of Maitreya Buddha (the next Buddha), seemed perfect to accompany the music. The 30-foot statue of...
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Death is to fly...
I discovered this photo by Hamed Saber while looking on Flickr.com for a photo for the Quiet Day improvisation. Until now all photos have been attached to the improvisations after the fact. I thought this beautiful picture and the accompanying text were truly moving and decided to do a piece…
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Quiet Day Revisited
I played this variation of Quiet Day immediately after I recorded the original. The opening is similar to the first version... then I played at a faster tempo and improvised new material as well as developed the old melodies. Kind of fun! Again with this piece I used limited effects (same…
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Quiet Day
This piece felt like a quiet, autumn day in the Northeast (where I grew up). It is simple. Straight forward. Gentle. I used only compression, EQ, stereo imaging and reverb. The photo by Ben Pollard seemed perfect for the music. -William Bradbury Please feel free to add a comment on the...
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Music of the Spheres-Europa
This piece conjures up cold, dark images for me. It feels like the emptiness of space. Europa is one of large moons of the planet Jupiter; incredibly cold and covered in ice (the image shows huge canyon-like cracks in the ice on its surface). The process for this improvisation began with one take...
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Whole Tones REMIX
This is a remix of the Whole Tones improvisation (#5). I took the original track and made a copy of it, stretched it to make it longer and slower (but kept the pitch the same) and reversed it. Then I doubled it at the lower octave and in other ways... I mixed this vastly modified track and with…
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The Picture of Dorian Blue
This improv is in G dorian (a scale close to the minor mode). It has a blue feel to it (not a blues but a bit bluesy?). I used an electric mandolin (a Mandoblaster) and, for the first time in this series, I did an overdub of a second part. I also doubled each part at both the unison and the lower...
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Whole Tones
For this improvisation I limited myself to the whole tone scale beginning on G (the lowest string of the mandolin). A recurring motive, a few harmonics, a “cathedral” reverb setting. Kind of quiet. In the middle of the improv I did hit a couple of notes outside the scale (by mistake); see if you...
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Katsura Kan
Last night I had the incredible experience of performing with Katsura Kan, a Butoh master. He was on campus (Cal State, San Marcos) for a three-week workshop with our students; I was invited to play with our student gamelan ensemble to accompany his performance. Kan is an amazing performer...…
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Slapback
“Slapback” is an improvisation using a slapback effect (a longer delay time that feels like the sound is “slapping back” at you). I set up the effect in Pro Tools first (using the CSR Inverse plugin from IK Multimedia). After recording the improv, I duplicated the melody at the lower octave by...
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What if...
“What if...” is a simple improvisation with the initial idea of making a piece out of three notes (D, E C# with octaves). As I played through, it spontaneously developed into something a little more elaborate... I will try the three-note idea again soon. The title comes from the questioning sound...
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Lost Varèse Recording
This brief improvisation for mandolin made me think of the composer Edgard Varèse. He was one of my early influences; I was a big fan of his music when I was in undergraduate school at Hamilton College. Many wintery evenings were spent listening to scratchy records of his music in the drafty old...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
I challenge myself to create a new improvisation on a regular basis. For now, I’m limiting the improvisations to mandolin; I really want to push the instrument beyond its typical use. I’ll add other instruments later. The music will be mixed and processed with digital effects; I will edit it only if something is truly out of place. The idea is to eventually make an album of these pieces or variations of them. But for now, it’s just a fun project. -William Bradbury
HOSTED BY
William Bradbury
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Improvisations have?
Improvisations currently has 12 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Improvisations about?
I challenge myself to create a new improvisation on a regular basis. For now, I’m limiting the improvisations to mandolin; I really want to push the instrument beyond its typical use. I’ll add other instruments later. The music will be mixed and processed with digital effects; I will edit it only...
How often does Improvisations release new episodes?
Improvisations has 12 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Improvisations?
You can listen to Improvisations on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Improvisations?
Improvisations is created and hosted by William Bradbury.
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