Understanding Underscoring
© 2001 David Schmoll
I'm a keyboardist who also dabbles a bit in guitar, so naturally the slant of this article will be towards playing keyboard-based instruments. If you are using a non-keyboard instrument as your main axe to play improv shows, please contact me. I would love to hear your perspective
ìHow do you make up music off the top of your head?î People ask me this question all the time. Usually, my reply sounds something like, ìI really donít know. I just lay my hands down on the keyboard and the music comes out.î It's kind of a joke, but I'm only partially kidding.I donít like to over-analyze what I do as an improv musician, especially during a show. I discovered early on that if I think too much about what Iím doing, I risk distracting myself into irrelevance. My job is to serve the artform by serving the scene. I canít do that if Iím wasting a lot of mental energy contemplating whether I should be playing in G minor or E-flat major.
The trick is to get your brain to stop chattering at you so your heart and your hands can take over. How do you do this? How do you move beyond the thinking, and get into that intuitive space that is all about the doing? Well, a good place to start is to commit to doing all of your thinking at home, or in the car, or anywhere except on stage.
Let Go
The music is already out there. It already exists. All you have to do is find it and play it.
Think about that (go ahead, indulge your chattering brain ñ after all, youíre not playing a show right now, are you??). The human ear can distinguish most of the sounds and tones that fall within the range of 20 to 20,000hz. Considering this relatively limited range of audible sounds, and the fact that people have been tinkering around with rhythm and music since the beginning of recorded history, itís not unreasonable to assume that most every audible musical note or timbre has already been heard somewhere, by somebody, at some point in time.
If we operate under this assumption that the music already exists, having already been played by those who came before us, we begin to understand music as an intangible, yet very powerful, force that can be channeled through the improv musician during a show. Notice the choice of words here; the goal of the improv musician is to be the vessel through which the music passes on its way to the audience.
Musicians spend a lot of time learning how to control their instruments, their bodies, and their environment in order to produce musically pleasing results. The more training a musician has, the more likely s/he is to embrace this idea of control. However, control and improv are two diametrically opposed concepts. This is perhaps the hardest part of learning to be an effective musical improviser ñ understanding that you are working in an art form that requires that you let go of, among other things, the need for control, the need for approval, and the need to serve a preconceived notion about what you should be playing.
Just Listen
OK, so youíve got the mindset down; now what? Listen, listen, listen! Every song you hear on the radio, every commercial you see on TV, every movie you go to, every store you shop inÖ no matter where you are or what you are doing, you have the opportunity to observe how music functions in our society. This is a gift ñ honor it by listening and learning!
Watch a movie youíve already seen, and this time do it from the perspective of examining how the soundtrack propels the story forward. Listen for themes and how they work with the characters. One of the greatest examples of this is the original Star Wars soundtrack, composed by John Williams. There are themes for each of the major characters in the story. These themes increase the viewerís understanding of the character and the story by providing subtle, but revealing, musical cues about personality, temperament, and motivation.
Spend a Saturday morning watching old Looney Tunes cartoons and marvel at the comedic genius of the people who were responsible for that incredible underscoring. This is a valuable lesson in how to be funny musically, and it's free - just watch it on TV! Allow those odd-ball tonalities to inspire some outside playing of your own. And donít switch channels or get up to raid the fridge when the show goes to commercial; instead study these ads and how underscoring is used within them. What style of music is playing underneath that car commercial, and what would you play if it were your job to sell that car?
Keep your ears open next time you go shopping. There are people who spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out what type of music is most beneficial to certain types of retail establishments. Scientific studies are done to determine what kind of songs will keep you in the store for the longest period of time. Explore this while you shop. What kind of music do you hear at the grocery store? Or a discount store? Or an upscale clothing store? Do they play the same kind of stuff at 11:00am as they do at 7:30 in the evening?
Think of all the situations youíve ever been in where music is being used to set a mood. For instance, the music you hear at a backyard cookout for a group of raucous twenty-somethings is quite different from what you would hear when enjoying an intimate dinner for two at a fancy Italian restaurant. Remember what you hear, and when you hear it; this is your research. The more acutely aware you are of how music is used in everyday life, the better equipped you are to understand how music functions in an improv scene. Never take any situation where music is being played for granted ñ always listen and be open to learning from what you hear.
Building Empathy
Once you get the hang of tuning your ear to music in every day life, youíll start to see how different sounds and different notes combine to evoke certain feelings and emotions. Compare a single sustained note from a bowed double bass to a clarinet playing a simple, medium-tempo melody in a major key. The former gives you a feeling of uneasy anticipation, while the latter is likely to remind you of a scene from a Woody Allen movie.
Take this and run with it. Set up your instrument in the same room with your TV, and choose a program that has lots of underscoring. Notice when the music enters the scene, and when it leaves again. When you hear something that catches your ear, play along with it ñ try to pick out a few of the notes, or maybe just capture the overall sound. It doesnít matter whether you are watching a comedy, a drama, or a documentary ñ as long as thereís underscoring in the show and youíve made the conscious choice to be open to learning, your time will be well spent.
Once youíve done this a few times, turn the sound off and allow the images on the screen to direct you. Note the mental connections that are starting to form between the images you see and the music you play. Allow yourself to be inspired by the characters (facial expressions, movements, etc.) and their environment (garden vs. a bank). Watch the characters as they move through their environment and try to figure out what each of them wants. Now try to interpret that ìwantî with your music. Look for opportunities to assign a theme to one a character that you can ìcall backî whenever that character is featured on the screen.
You donít have to wait for those times when you, your instrument, and your TV are all in the same place to sharpen your underscoring skills. In fact, you can ìpracticeî without physically playing at all because what youíre working on here is the development of the idea, as opposed to its implementation. (The fact that you are also maintaining your physical technique through regular playing is understood; the following exercise is not intended as a substitute for playing your instrument!)
Next time youíre at a crowded shopping mall, take a few minutes and hang out at a table in the food court. Notice all the random conversations that are going on around you. Pick one and focus in on it. Based on what you hear, come up with a scenario about who those people might be and what life might be like for them. Picture yourself at your instrument, capturing this scenario musically as the conversation plays out. What style would fit best? What key would you play in? What tempo? What type of sound would you want?
The next time you play your instrument, recall these moments and explore the connections between music and emotion. Allow yourself to feel deeply, and then allow yourself to express those feelings through music.
Establishing Communion
In any improv show, there is always at least a little physical distance between the musician and the actors. This is a logistical problem that arises because the actors are free to move about the stage area, while the musician is generally stationary and somewhere off to the side. There is also a psychological distance that occurs as a result of a difference in the means of expression; the actors use dialog and movement, and the musician uses notes and sound.
When properly utilized, these differences are highly complementary and can take the scene to a much higher level. However, if youíre not on the same page with the actors, the end result will be the appearance of ìactors acting over here, musician playing over there.î This is improv death ñ donít let it happen to you!
Look for ways to transcend these physical and psychological distances between you and your fellow players. The actors and the musician must be of one mind, working toward one goal ñ driving the scene forward towards its natural, logical conclusion. Just as the actors establish communion with one another before starting a scene, the musician must also establish and reaffirm communion with the actors on a continual basis throughout the show.
A good way to start is by learning everything you can about the artform. If you havenít already done so, take a couple beginning improv classes for actors. The more you know about the art form from the actorís perspective, the better able you are to serve the art form as a musician. Learn all you can about the terminology, concepts and basic skills needed by the actor to who wants to improvise. Buy a copy of ìImprovisation for the Theaterî by Viola Spolin and refer to it often. The payoff you're working toward is a much higher understanding of the medium, not to mention a huge increase in your ability to discuss the art form with the actors on their level. Ultimately, what you're really doing is contributing to an environment that promotes communion.
If possible, warm up with the actors before the show. The exercises wonít necessarily benefit you musically, but thatís not the point (your musical warm-up should take place separately, before going in to warm up with the actors). The point is that the warm-up is where the group mind is established, and you need to be part of that process. Your participation establishes communion with the actors even before you get out on stage ñ here again, you are communicating your desire to understand and support them.
During the show, listen as deeply and empathically as you possibly can ñ not just with your ears, but also with your eyes, your mind, and your heart. Once a scene begins, allow yourself to be swept away by it. React to it the way youíd react to the most gripping part of your favorite movie. Block everything else out and make that improv scene your reality. Know the characters, know the environment; see what they see, feel what they feel. Find the mood of the scene and express it musically, and be ready for that mood to shift at any given moment.
Listen for the rhythm of the scene. Just like every song has a groove, every scene has a rhythm. You'll find it in the pacing of the dialog, and the degree and intensity of movement. Let this guide you in your choice of tempo and key. Find a theme early on, and remember it after you move on to something else so you can bring it back later ñ say, if a character makes a call-back to something that happened earlier in the scene.
Look for opportunities to use music to ìpunchî a line or a movement. Stay on top of the mood; find it in the dialog and facial expressions. Look for emotional shifts and follow them. If someone starts building up to some sort of punch line, follow that person with your music, but stop just before the crucial line is delivered. This cues the audience that something is about to happen, and gives the actor more space in which to deliver the line.
As soon as the line is out there, punch it however you think you should. Experiment with different approaches (sound effect vs. a single chord vs. a return to an earlier theme, vs. a key change, etc.). By trying lots of different approaches, you will gradually develop a highly intuitive sense of what will work best in any given situation.
Remember to actively choose to serve the scene and the art form at all times. Youíll find that when everyoneís on the same page during a scene, the actors will start feeding you lines and movement to play with. Honor these gifts by being open to receiving and using them.
Your Instrument
Generally, I prefer to use a synthesizer for improv because I like the idea of having the widest possible selection of sounds at my disposal. However, Iíve also done plenty of ìold-schoolî improv with just a piano. This breaks everything down to the barest of elements ñ the notes I play and how I place them in the sonic environment of the scene. This is, after all, the essence of musical improv. Look for opportunities to alternate between acoustic and electric improvising; discover the strengths and weaknesses of each.
When youíre using a synth, make sure you know as much as you can about how to edit, save, and back-up your sounds. Don't settle for a factory patch that's not cutting it; roll up your sleeves and tweak that sound into submission! Listen to all of your sounds and pick the best piano, the best strings, the best horns, the best guitars, the best woodwinds, the best drums, and so on. Memorize their locations so you can get to them quickly ñ or better yet, write them down on a small piece of paper and tape it to the front panel of your synth. That way, you donít have to trust your memory in the heat of the moment. (Just be careful not to get so caught up in finding the sound that you forget about finding the notes!)
Whether youíre using synth, piano, guitar, or slide trombone, remember that your most important instrument of all is the one between your ears. Challenge yourself ñ if youíre using a synth, choose a sound at random while the actors are setting up the next scene and then find ways to make it work once the scene begins.
Remember to change keys often. When youíre flying by the seat of your pants, itís common to fall into the trap of sticking with the key youíre most comfortable with. In the heat of the moment, you may not realize that youíve been playing in C major for 25 minutes, but the ìsamenessî of the sound youíre producing will undermine the impact of your music and reduce your level of effectiveness in the show. Toward that end, pick a key you find difficult and force yourself to do two scenes per show entirely in that key (this is how I got over my fear of playing in D-flat!).
Keep Learning
Be wary of feeling too comfortable with your instrument, or your ideas. Don't be afraid to deliberately place yourself in unfamiliar territory. As long as you do this while actively choosing to learn, you will experience many happy accidents that will ultimately contribute greatly to your artistic growth.
Fill the well. Go out and play in situations that have nothing to do with improv, and bring those experiences back with you. This is the beauty of synchronicity: Your improv training will make you sharper and more aware in any musical situation, and whatever styles youíre using at your other gigs will give you new ideas to explore when you play your next improv show.
Finally, remember that if you are working in service to the art form, everything else will fall into place. If you listen hard enough, the scene will always tell you what to do.
