RADIAT MN performing the noise of mind

Performance instructions for a woodwind instrument

Improvise with your instrument,

placing your awareness on all levels of mental activity which might occur. Notice whatever appears without judging. Do not fabricate. Be as accurate and precise as possible in your observation of mind’s activity, such as: memories, emotions, observations of your body’s inner and outer movements, sense perceptions, dreams, plans, awareness of the space around you, an internal monologue, mind watching itself, all kinds of mental activities. Touch in with the thoughts arising, but do not force awareness into a direction. Follow the natural flow. Whatever appears is part of the performance.

If your awareness is directed towards

1) the innermost level, the internal monologue:

Verbalize what you perceive as your thinking activity with your mouth closed,
articulating as precisely as possible, repeat ad libitum.
The general flow here should be like natural speech, ‘casually observing’.
Always push the PTT button while reciting and release it at end.
Choose a performance mode:

pitch: ranging from high to low
tempo: ranging from slow to quickly
dynamics: ranging from ppppp to fffff

Choose the performance mode spontaneously, according to the emotional content of the commentary.

2) your emotions:

Touch into the emotion,
catch the content of the emotion, verbalize the content,
using unvoiced vocal production and improvising the words as you investigate as precisely as possible:

whispering
percussive sounds
mouthing

Use different intensity ranging from ppppp to fffff , and tempo from very slow to very fast.

3) rhythmic impulses:

Reproduce rhythmic structures in regular or irregular appearance.
These may be perceived as: unrest, shivering, erratic finger movements, repetitions of thought patterns, playfulness, a ‘rhythmic itch’, a dancing mood, anger, violence or others. For reproduction use:
any percussive sounds produced with fingers or hands on the surface of the instrument,

applying different tempo and intensity, as suggested by the impulse.

4) performing with the instrument:

Play the instrument ad libitum, in any way you choose to, if the wish to do so surfaces.

5) voiced vocal production:

Voice can be used ad libitum, using spoken or sung sound, if some words appear in your mind, and you wish to sing or speak.

Productions as in 1 and 2 are triggered by the performer’s thinking activity considered as ‘noise of mind’. Productions as in 4 and 5 – such as performing with the recorder and focused vocal production – are considered as regular ‘signals’ emitted by a performer. 3 has an intermediate role; in this setup, percussive action can be governed by noisy mental activity and by performative ‘signals’ from the improviser as well.