Interviews - Rodrigo Constanzo
I've been extremely lucky to meet and work with some fantastic musicians and many have provided insights which have been useful to me, both in helping to understand how improvisation works and how different it is for every individual.
Over the coming months I will upload a short series of brief email interviews, these are part of a larger project which will be revealed in 2025. Watch this space!
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Rodrigo Constanzo
Q. What makes a great improviser?
Being able to full inhabit a moment, not necessarily always making for the most compelling music, but it definitely embodies the “now”-ness of performance.
Q. How did you learn to improvise?
Coming from a guitar/rock background, improvisation was always part of that language with guitar soloing, but for more free playing, I started exploring sound worlds with looping, prepared guitars, and messing around with guitar effects.
Q. What advice would you have for those new to improvising or trying to improve their existing practice?
A. 1- play more
2- play less
Q. When you are improvising, how do you know what to play?
A. A mix between trusting instincts and also being dubious of instincts. So finding the balance of “knowing” what to play, and also avoiding and negotiating with that.
Q. Have you ever struggled with confidence when improvising and if so, how have you worked through that?
A. Not really, although finding new music, performers and artists can always help spur on creativity.
Q. What do you get from improvising in a group that you don’t get when making music alone?
Ideas from outside of your own head, in a very concrete way. One can obviously explore that with random processes, but getting into conversation/dialog/relationships (musically-speaking) is something I don’t get from solo playing.
Q. Give an example of one recorded piece which uses improvisation in some way, shape or form and say in a sentence what you like or find interesting about it.
KŒNIG - MR. ATERO
I enjoy the reduced and minimal sound world explored to its fullest in an improvisatory context.
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