41) Laia Genc Master Of Music: Jazz / Pop Voice 2016

Conservatorium Maastricht

Hogeschool Zuyd, Jazz-Department

Laia Genc (1665421genc)

Laia Genc

Master of Music: Jazz / Pop Voice

2016-2018

Laia Genc : Thaung Htike DUO

Piano Meets Pad Waing

Myanmar Meets Europe -

How does this particular intercultural dialogue and instrumental combination shape my composing process for this setting?

Research coach: Rik Bastiaens / Sabine Kühlich

Main subject teacher: Sabine Kühlich / Susanne Schneider

1. Introduction / State Of The Art______

This artistic research is about how the special combination of the Burmese instrument Pad Waing (21 diatonically tuned, hanging drums; originally translated Pad Waing means „circle“ and „hanging“) and the piano that form a duo, influences my inspiration for a composing process for this ensemble.

Throughout times there have always been artists who involve into more than one discipline on an equally high level and that has always touched a yearning inside of me to fully develop my inner potential and make it audible to the outside world.

Though I am from my musical background more of a pianist and piano for me was definitely first, I was always fascinated by musicians who can sing and play in their concert programs and on top compose their own repertoire that they perform.

When I was about 19 years old I was taking part in a music school´s program to prepare for the auditions to enter university and my aim finally was to study jazz piano. As a teenager I was in love with Chet Baker´s singing, then Nat King Cole, then Ella Fitzgerald. Back then I was already very eager to improve my singing as well and went to the director of the school and asked for an additional possibility to also train my voice and my ability to sing. Himself trained as a classical singer back then he refused. And I went further on the street of the piano player who also loved to sing, and sometimes was confident enough to do so and then again was not. A constant back and forth feeling sometimes more connected to my voice and sometimes not at all.

I am happy that I never stopped singing, but at the same time I want to improve the relation and connection between my singing and playing. Those two aspects of my performing shall become more like different facets of one work of art.

Developing two instruments or means of expression demands more competences. Further more the combination of two disciplines requires a lot of routine in doing so and awareness of how this goal can be reached. And finally it is as well a good question, what repertoire will fit to my own artistic profile. To find out how other artists have solved this question can be a great source of inspiration.

Now and round about 20(!) years later in a conversation regarding my recent work as a jazz-pianist, composer, arranger, singer and educator, I encountered the word „alter ego“. There I listened to the opinion that I would need at least one alter ego to live all that I feel is inside of me. After I listened carefully I am even more confident about my personal goal. It is to reach a holistic vision of my artistry and equally combine the three for me essential aspects in my personal work: playing the piano, composing music and singing.

During the first year of my vocal master at the Conservatorium Maastricht I dealt with the question in a different way. I was examining some of the jazz masters who combine and combined instrumental playing and singing. I focussed on developing further skills for my second instrument, the voice. I thought that my research question would deal with this in- betweenness of disciplines and how one discipline effects the other disciplines. But I discovered that this topic is endless and will be a life long learning and evolving process for me.

As an example: Chet Baker was one of my favorite musicians since I am a teenager. I adored him for his mellow sound, his expression in interpretation in singing as well as in his trumpet playing and for his marvelous instrumental as well as sung solo lines. The combination of his skills just thrilled me. And I can still feel this thrill when I listen to his recordings. To reach a deeper understanding of the work of multi-disciplined jazz artists as him I wanted to focus on one aspect of the musical work of a jazz musician and wanted to find out which compositional techniques can be found in the instrumental solos as well as in the sung solos of four chosen jazz artists. By analyzing and then comparing I assumed I would find a common phenomenon somehow, that can explain certain inspirations for voice colors, that definitely evolve out of the sound of a special instrument. And I still believe this is the case, just given for example James Moody and his jodle like voice colors, they probably arise from imitating the saxophone. Or George Benson, who sings along with his guitar and therefor developed his characteristic style. This work will still be an ongoing source of inspiration and training. And I will always be accompanied by those masters of music when I turn my rounds and periods in practising, creating and exploring music.

And it still is a very interesting question, if Chet Baker would sing different, or play different, if he only did one of the two things. Or maybe from another point of view one could say: No matter what a character does, you will always see that special person. It could be in any field. And that is also the beauty of life: Everybody is here on earth to explore his and her personality just this one time.

Back to my original idea. Even, if I took four artists and wanted to compare just short excerpts of their work I feel it would be a difficult topic to answer it within the form of the master program.

This is to explain why I changed the topic of my master thesis.

Within the first year of the master program the question arose, which repertoire, what kind of songs I would want to sing.

I already have been working at an artistic profile at the piano. It has developed into a modern european approach. At the piano I am influenced by pianist like Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, John Taylor, Rob Madna, Paul Bley, Carla Bley, Joachim Kühn, Jutta Hipp, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal, Eroll Garner, Fred Hersch, Brad Mehldau, Esbjörn Svenson, Richie Beirach, Jasper Van´t Hoff, Rita Marcotulli and many more.

Then further more I adore artists who sing and play: Nat King Cole, Chet Baker, Louis Armstrong, Shirley Horn, Joni Mitchell, Carol King, James Taylor, Diana Krall, James Moody, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Tania Maria, Esperanza Spalding, George Benson and many more.

At this point of my career it is now crucial to develop some musical projects which can evolve my voice in a very natural and musically fitting way and thus integrate my voice into my repertoire.

I have several ideas by now how this can be done, what I still want to do.

And one stood out as an especially interesting musical project for me. This project stands in a line of what other artists have been starting and are currently working on.

Thaung Htike : Laia Genc DUO // „Myanmar Meets Europe“

History of „Myanmar Meets Europe“.

Daphne Wolf studied around 2010 as a music ethnologist in Myanmar, her plans back then were to write a thesis about burmese music. She worked for the Goethe Institut in Yangon. There she was part of the initial idea to combine European and Burmese musicians in 2010. In one of the organized projects she gets known to her now husband Thaung Htike. I mention this, because this combination of people is one of the reasons I can collaborate with Thaung Htike that easily. Daphne Wolf is communicating a lot for Thaung Htike and she is translating whenever needed. Thaung Htike has an artist name: Hein Tint.
in 2010 first encounter of Tim Isfort (former festival manager of „Traumzeit“ Duisburg, recently festival manager of the well-known „Moers Festival“,bassist, composer, arranger, curator) and Jan Klare (saxophone, composition) with Thaung Htikes Tsaing Waing Ensemble. See the interesting links of his work below.
The french drummer Anne Paceo has been the drummer of Tim Isfort´s first work periods.
Anne Paceo has by now followed her own burmese visions and created a wonderful concert project with Thaung Htikes Tasing Waing as well. See the interesting links of her works below.
I was more thrown into this context in 2014. The German Goethe Institut was suggesting a collaboration for an ensemble (Maike Goosmann Band from Berlin where I was involved). There were two tasks for the trip to Myanmar at that point: 1) A weeklong workshop teaching jazz music, basic principles and parameters and working at one set of music for a presentation concert with music students of the „Gitameit music school“. 2) A collaboration of the European Ensemble with the burmese „Tsaing Waing Ensemble“of Hein Tint.
In 2015 I was reinvited to work with Thaung Htikes Tasing Waing on my own at the piano and to join the big union of Anne Paceo and Thaung Htikes Tasing Waing. That was a wonderful experience! For this context I wrote my composition „Bells“. Which was especially created for european jazz band and Tsaing Waing ensemble after the experiences of my first trip in 2014.
in 2016 I was again invited together with the Maike Goosmann ensemble to play the soundtrack to the burmese silent movie „Mya Ga Naing“. In this context we met Thaung Htikes Tsaing Waing Ensemble plus a traditional burmese piano player and a traditional burmese violin player. Again I heard different sound aesthetics made in Burma.
In autumn 2017 I invited Thaung Htike to play some duo concerts in Germany. Together with Matthias Mainz and his „Transkulturelle Plattform für Neue Musik“ we organized three „interview concerts“. In those concerts the public had the chance to ask questions. See the interesting links below.

Burmese music.

Can be devided roughly in three different categories:

Tsaing Waing music. Tsaing Waing is the name of the big ensemble, that consist of the Pad Waing (a tuned drum circle and the leader of the ensemble), a bass drum position, a cymbal, clapper and wood-block position, the gong circle (cromatic or diatonic) and of oboe and flute instruments. This music is open-air music and is played in festival contexts, like pagoda festivals or marriages.
Burmese Chamber Music played in more intimate contexts, at the former courts, nowadays also at restaurants and also at marriages. It is inside, soft sounding, small context music. The instrumentations are for voice, harps and flutes mostly.
„Nat Pwe“ Music. Music for the Nat ceremonies. A huge percentage of the Burmese believe in their native ghosts. There are powerful nats and they need to be worshiped. For these ceremonies mostly drums and singing are used to help the mediums get into their trance to become the Nats or become their brides.

When I was first thrown into the intercultural project between Europe and Myanmar I was a bit overwhelmed. I did not know anything about Burmese music. And I decided back then to open my mind and let this country inspire me. I remember that at this point of time I couldn´t think of how to compose music that could fit this combination of cultures or the combination of instruments. And for the first round in 2014 I did not contribute compositions I remember. I worked out an arrangement of Thaung Htikes composition „Spazieren Gehen“. During my preparations I listened to the burmese music that was send to me and I remember the feeling of being completely lost. I could not really understand how this music works. How they phrase melodies. If they do it on purpose, if they were good musicians even. Everything sounded very strange to me. I had music sheets for some burmese pieces. So I sat down and listened to the music while reading it. It was very confusing for a western trained ear. As mentioned above I was more thrown into this context in 2014. The German Goethe Institut was suggesting a collaboration for an ensemble where I was involved. There were two tasks for the trip to Myanmar: 1) A weeklong workshop teaching jazz music at the „Gitameit music school“ in Yangon: basic principles and parameters and working at one set of music for a presentation concert.

2) A collaboration of the European Ensemble with the burmese „Tsaing Waing Ensemble“ for a complete concert at the „Yangon International Jazz Festival“.

Now that I know some of the pieces since about 3 years I finally come to understand the contexts these pieces come from. It feels quite similar like when I started learning more about jazz. I learn about another cultural context. Overtime you come back to certain topics, pieces etc and you realize that there is a tradition, what this tradition means, who created it, who is playing it now, what its rules are and so forth.

Knowing a little bit more about burmese music now, I feel the need and the capacity to compose material for our duo. I want to work at an equivalent combination of aspects of the different music traditions. I am curious in which ways traditional Burmese music and the collaboration with Thaung Htike itself will influence and inspire my compositional work. I finally want to present this wonderful and still exotic combination of instruments to a bigger audience in Europe and hopefully as well in Burma.

I met a lot of people engaged in and around music and art for the first time in Burma in 2014 and I learned a lot about the music of Burma during my first period there. Looking back on the several times I had the chance to travel to Myanmar and to have Thaung Htike with me and try to talk to him a lot I must say things reveal one by one. There definitely is a language border as well. Who speaks burmese gets to understand things.

I do not speak burmese. But I try to remember some little things now. And I ask a lot of questions about music, traditions and life in Myanmar whenever I have the chance.

I also learned some things about Burmese culture and character. Which is different from ours and therefor also affects basic communication.

The Burmese are very gentle people. The cultural context is set by buddhism. There is one common example for difficult communication. In burmese contexts in general you must not say „no“. It is just not an option to deny things, it is very inpolite. So they don´t deny. But this way it is very complicated to find out about things. For example, if a rehearsal can be planned for a certain time. A crucial point. It is therefor complicated to understand, if what you ask for is ok. Or if a person will possibly show up at a certain time. And maybe you will never learn that you absolutely crossed a line with some things you asked for.

So this project is also about respect for another culture. It is about the will to create something in between the musical cultures. It is about the will to go beyond the music itself to be finally able to understand this music better.

In Myanmar currently there is a discussion going on, if Burmese music can be changed and innovated. The Burmese fear for the quality of their original music. So this project is very delicate at the same time.

Thaung Htike repeatedly assured me, that in his opinion a good musician is a good musician in any context. And that he does not fear to loose or weaken his competences when he collaborates in cross-over projects. He is very open-minded and highly interested in new creative projects. He himself feels that he gets stuck in only traditional contexts. He and his wife want to move to Berlin/Germany where Daphne Wolf comes from. Their motivation first of all is their son, who shall go to a German school. Then Thaung Htike is also very happy to explore more collaborations outside from Burma in the future as he told me.

In 2015 as I mentioned above I travelled back to Burma to meet a combination of Anne Paceo and Thaung Htikes Ensemble and me at the piano. And I wanted to write one piece of music that would work well to bring the two ensembles together in a common musical context. I composed the tune „Bells“. A videotape of the concert evening exists.

And by now „Bells“ is also recorded again in a studio setting.

During that stay I discovered that especially some improvised moments only with the Pad Waing of Thaung Htike and me at the piano while soundcheck worked particularly well and were kind of magically music wise. Also Daphne Wolf was realising that and in some talks that we had we decided to try to build a duo. Piano and Pad Waing.

Now after some more concerts and consciously building on a duo repertoire I find it very interesting that there is some common sense between Thaung Htike and me that by now I cannot explain. In music we can communicate borderless in certain situations. It is very beautiful. When a musical moment is especially flowing between us I feel that I can fully understand his impetus, I can follow his ideas effortlessy and the combination of instruments is melting to a common sound.

It is interesting to know that the piano itself has a longer story in the burmese music. The specific style of the sandaya, that is how the piano is called in Burma, has been developed independently from its european tradition throughout the 20th century. During the colonial times pianos were brought to Burma and there the people adapted the instrument to their own music.

In the beginning pianos were even tuned to burmese modes. This practice is not any more the case. The piano nowadays is tuned in the European manner and then the burmese instruments tune in relation to the piano.

Soon probably intuitively taking over the very rhythmic, two-voiced phrases of the Pad Waing and the Pattela (a sort of xylophon) a unique burmese piano stile evolved: See the interesting links below.

I will add music sheets for piano that I bought in Burma.

I have a private video of Thaung Htike playing the piano.

Before a Pad Waing player plays the Pad Waing, the queen of the instruments and the center of the Tsaing Waing Ensemble, he has learned to play all the other positions, except the Ne, the wind instruments. The burmese music traditions is an oral tradition. A music student lives with his master for several years, starting as a teenager. He is an apprentice of the music master´s all day life and an apprentice of the music itself. All the melodies, lines, licks, polytonalities in the mastery of the instrument are trained by ear and heart from the very beginning. As far as I understand by now there is a special solfége system with which the burmese musicians explain and train themselves. Assembling a little bit to the Indian syllables. So a teacher would say to a student „da dang drang ga dung“(invented by me as an example) and the student would play the belonging phrase on the drums. I will ask Thaung Htike to record an example for me. He sang it to me once during one of our road trips.

Thaung Htike also practised the piano and can therefor also play Burmese piano.

Only later in this year I was interested enough and found out about researches of other people and that already a community exists in Germany dealing with the Waing music.

This is ideal for our project to build up partnerships and transport our special form of musical dialogue to a larger group of interested people.

2. Method___________________________

I started a guided composing process, that I build on the basis of the perceptions that I can gain out of my research diary. This journal is reflecting the practise based musical process which has been initiated by this special intercultural encounter between Myanmar and Europe.

A mutual pollination of two musical cultures happens in this intercultural dialogue, which I process into a personal composition process that is triggered by reason of my reflections of the artistic experiences.

How will new compositions and also free improvisation sound like, that origin from the fund of experiences of the two musicians?

Methods: Research Diary & Artistic Experimentation.

> Contains my personal artistic reflections concerning this duo project.

> Artistic questions will arise.

> Draw conclusions from the recorded concerts / moments.

> I will be able to visualize my experiences in charts.

> Example chart 1. Timeline: What has happened so far artistically? Travels, concerts, rehearsals, workshops, supporters.

> Matters of interest / brainstorm: Musical ideas, figures, moments, that I did not hear before in my work. And also the other way around in Thaung Htikes playing. To be examined for example at call & response places. Things that did not work well. On the other hand side magical moments in rehearsals or on stage.

Thaung Htike´s particular personality as an artist. He also has a research mind. He is experimenting in composing and recording his music. He is building his own home studio and is very much interested in electronics. And constantly tries to always improve, make things better, learn. What are borders that his instrument sets? Like special movements, the organization of the hanging drums, distances while playing. Different rhythmical approaches. Emotional phenomenons, what do I think while listening to the now existing examples?

2.1. Subquestion 1: Myanmar - Europe.

What is different and new, even strange to me in burmese music? In both instrumental and vocal music? What is common sense in Burmese music?

A transcription in excerpts and a summary of Daphne Wolf´s comments on burmese music.

2.1.1. Burmese piano styles will be one source of inspiration for my new compositions. I will examine the work that we already did to understand, what kind of music and compositions work best.

> New medley idea.

2.1.2. One burmese song, that I already know from our concerts, is a sung song. It is a composition of Thaung Htikes teacher Most Bo. Thaung Htike arranged the song and he sings it in the beginning. I will examine this one traditional sung song, that we already played. Can I possibly apply elements from the traditional vocal part to my compositions? I want to gather elements out of this song and see, if can apply them to one of my compositions. I want to understand, if it can or should affect my vocal work in a way.

> Hnou Sat

2.2. Subquestion 2: Myanmar guides - Europe follows

When I search for inspiration in Burmese music what happens to me as an artist, singer, pianist?

2.2.1. Harmonic aspects of burmese music.

2.2.2. Rhythmic aspects of burmese music.

2.2.3. Melodic aspects of burmese music.

2.2.3. A new composition of mine will involve newly discovered aspects of burmese music tradition. Or an abstraction of elements of burmese music tradition

2.3. Subquestion 3: Europe guides - Myanmar follows

Given his cultural and musical background how can Thaung Htike react to a european input?

2.3.1. The aesthetic of „African Lullaby“, a piece by Dave Holland, in mind I wrote a new composition for our duo. Fr. Prof. Dr. Ilse Storb named it „Take Me To Nirvana“. It is a rhythmic layer composition in an odd meter. The different parts match each other and can be combined freely. This concept requires a deeper understanding of the rhythmic levels and a will to freely decide what to contribute to the music in the ever coming next moment.

2.3.2. Applying european harmony is an interesting topic. Applying modern harmonic concepts can only be handled by the piano. The drum circle in its tuning stays more or less the same. Some adaptions can be made. Only in the context the tones of the drums have other meanings.

> Te Din Gha

2.4. Subquestion 4: A contrast composition in two parts

2.4.1. Write a contrasting composition, that has clearly two different musical parts. Each of the two worlds has its musical mirror.

> Spazieren Gehen.

2.5. Subquestion 5: Freedom Of Choice At The Moment

2.5.1. Developing expertise. What happened during concerts at moments of improvisation? And how does our knowledge that we constantly take further change our spontaneous musical results?

2.5.2. Improvise! Take space for an improvisation during the concert program.

> Another try of „On The Run“

2.5. Subquestion 5: Composition Laia Genc

2.5.1. With everything and nothing in mind. I will not apply a certain parameter in advance, but follow my intuition and the natural process, that usually leads me while composing. The rule will be, that this is the last composition of this process. I want to give all the newly gained knowledge a place in my system.

3. Results___________________________

My research results will be compositions, that I would not have written in this way without the master program and the research.

In a final concert I will present my artistic result in duo with Thaung Htike and a bunch of new compositions of mine, particularly written for our duo.

Artistic Outcome_____________________

Artistic Product: A final concert in Duo with Thaung Htike will make my product audible. I will compose and arrange a bunch of pieces for the Duo and a partly new program of 1,5 hours. In the end I want to achieve a new level of singing and playing at my concerts. In the meantime working at my research I am looking forward to find another answer to the ever pending question why you should never give up something you really want to do. Something that is calling from deep inside of yourself.

Research Documentation: Will be my blog, which is my final master thesis, my recordings and videos. In my blog „Laia´s Phantasmophon“ I collect everything I can find during my research. Everything that could be interesting and is related to my topic. I can also follow a development of my thoughts, visions and artistic developments from a more objective point of view.

Research Result: My research result are the compositions that I will now write. I assume that during my research in my personal playing there will be a change of the use of musical material, of timing as well as phrasing. At least in the context of this project. I assume that I will be able to add new aspects to my work: my voice will be more focussed, controlled and more colorful. I will probably add some new voice and also piano colors coming from the burmese tradition. I am looking forward to reveal new musical elements between Myanmar and Europe strengthening also the relation between my two instruments. Detailed questions could deal with either different categories of the music, different ways of practicing and rehearsing, new approaches in learning new material and new choices in either repertoire as well as concrete musical means.

Practical Planning_____________________

Masterclasses Piano: 11.3.2017 Richie Beirach piano, 27.5.2017 Jasper Van´t Hoff piano, Offene Jazz Haus Schule Köln

Masterclasses Singing: 4.11.2017 Fay Claasen, Offene Jazz Haus Schule Köln

Workshops Singing: Estill Beginners Workshop 10.6.2017 Vanessa Vieto Köln, New York Voices European Vocal Camp 10. - 17.7.2017, 28.10. - 1.11.2017

Estill Workshop Level 1 & 2 (not yet done)

Lessons Piano: lesson with the pianist Martin Sasse regarding the aspect of piano accompaniment for the singer after summer break 2017 (not yet done)

Lessons Singing: 10 lessons in total with Esmee Stotijn during the course of my master,

30 lessons with Susanne Schneider in total (not yet finished)

Lessons Interdisciplinary: Darmon Meader at the NYV Camp 2017

Interview and lesson singing: Darmon Meader at the NYV Camp 2017

Composing the new repertoire: beginning of January 2018 - 15.8.2018

Concert With Thaung Htike: 27.8.2018 at Klangbrücke Aachen.

I am so happy that it will be a public concert in an official venue! Since Thaung Htike is of interest for a lot of people. He is a real virtuoso on his instrument.

Unfortunately the concert is not yet displayed on the website of the Klangbrücke. I sent an email to the responsible person.

Recordings___________________________

Reference Recording: „I Fall In Love Too Easily“ (July Styne/Sammy Cahn) made 19.4.2017 (a little sickness was going on unfortunately)

Professional Recording: Thaung Htike & Laia Genc DUO. Loft 27th of Oktober 2017

Soundrecording and Video. The files have to be prepared finally. I will do this from the 15.4.2018 on.

Final Recording: Recording and videotaping of the final concert at the Klangbrücke.

Literature____________________________

Darmon Meader: „Vocal Jazz Improvisation - An Instrumental Approach / Intermediate & Advanced Studies“

Carina Prange: jazzdimensions interviews. „Esperanza Spalding - Glaub an das das, was Du tust!“

Jeroen de Valk: „Chet Baker. Sein Leben, seine Musik, seine Schallplatten“

Hal Leonard: „The Chet Baker Collection. Artist Transcription Series“

J.Gilbert: youtube. Trumpetsolotranscription „I Fall In Love Too Easily (Let´s Get Lost; Capitol/Pacific Jazz CDP7 92932 2)“

Marc-Andre Seguin: jazzguitarlessons.net „George Benson“

Noah Baermann: „The big book of jazz piano improvisation - Tools and inspiration for creative soloing“

Mahagita Myanmar Classics: Ko Shoon Myaing / Myome Amateur Music Association „Sandaya - Burmese Piano“

Links________________________________

1) http://waing.org

2) https://www.facebook.com/Plattform-für-Transkulturelle-Neue-Musik-1695933867387017/

3) http://www.info.plattform-tnm.org/ptnm_2017_laborkonzerte_Myanmar.pdf

4) https://www.essen.de/meldungen/pressemeldung_1120028.de.html

5) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55HLJCTfusU

6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bjUfY10CY8

7) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHk2FiIJgR0

8) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8N5yb8IHjQ

9) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89pPkwb7i54

10) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAdAgla3T88pgxOvtcV-B2A

11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFuynNDEbKw

12) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJAaStlwTzM

13) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSP_kw3AkJU

14) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn3SDiO2_dY

Tim Isforts work about Myanmar in videos:

Burmese Piano:

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41) Laia Genc Master Of Music: Jazz / Pop Voice 2016 - 2018

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