Soundpainting
Encyclopedia
Soundpainting is the live composing sign language created in 1974 by New York composer
Walter Thompson
for musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and visual artists. At present the Soundpainting language comprises more than 1200 gestures that are signed by the composer/director, known as the Soundpainter, indicating the type of material desired of the performers. Direction of the composition is gained through the parameters of each set of signed gestures.
, Walter Thompson moved to his family's summer house in Woodstock, New York
. There he received a grant from the National Endowment on the Arts to study composition and woodwinds with Anthony Braxton
. During this period, he also studied dance improvisation with Ruth Ingalls in Woodstock.
Woodstock in the 1970s was an important time in the growth of creative music. The Creative Music School (CMS), founded by Karl Berger, Don Cherry
, and Ornette Coleman
, invited composers and performers such as John Cage
, Ed Blackwell
, Carlos Santana
, Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, and Carla Bley
to give 2-week workshop/performances with the students. The CMS was closed during the summers, but many of the students remained in Woodstock. Thompson organized jam sessions with these students. Out of these sessions Thompson formed his first orchestra and produced a series of concerts at the Woodstock Kleinert Gallery. The focus of the orchestra was on large-group, jazz-based improvisation. It was during these early days that Thompson began experimenting with signing. He created very basic gestures, asking for a long tone or improvisation in a pointillist style, for example.
Thompson moved to New York City in 1980 and formed The Walter Thompson Orchestra (then called The Walter Thompson Big Band) in 1984. During the first year with his orchestra, while conducting a performance in Brooklyn, New York, Thompson needed to communicate with the orchestra in the middle of one of his compositions. They were performing a section of improvisation where trumpet 2 was soloing. During the solo Thompson wanted to have one of the other trumpet players create a background. Not wanting to emulate bandleaders who would yell or speak out loud to their orchestra, Thompson decided to use some of the signs he had experimented with during his Woodstock days. In the moment he made up these signs: Trumpet 1, Background, With, 2-Measure, Feel; Watch Me, 4 Beats. He tried it but the group did not respond. At the next rehearsal, members of his orchestra asked what the signing was about – and he told them. With support of the Orchestra, Thompson continued to develop the language further. During the next 10 years, Thompson developed Soundpainting into a comprehensive sign language for creating live composition. He continued to develop new gestures and in the early 1990s Thompson expanded the Soundpainting language to include actors, dancers, poets, and visual artists.
In the late 1990s Mr. Thompson was invited by Dave Liebman and Ed Sareth to give a Soundpainting workshop at the IASJ Conference in Santiago de Compostella, Spain. This was the first time Mr. Thompson had shown Soundpainting to a European audience. Following the conference, there were many invitations to perform and teach Soundpainting. Most notable being an invitation from Francois Jeanneau to conduct a week-long workshop at the Conservatoire de Paris
. Soundpainting is now being used in the professional and education arenas in many countries around the world.
The Soundpainting syntax Who, What, How, When and the two basic categories Sculpting Gestures and Function Signals are further broken down into six subcategories: Identifiers, Content, Modifiers, Go gestures, Modes, and Palettes.
1 – Identifiers are in the Function category and are Who gestures such as Whole Group, Woodwinds, Brass, Actor, Dancer, Group 1, Rest of the Group, etc.
2 – Content gestures are in the Sculpting category and identify What type of material is to be performed such as Pointillism, Minimalism, Long Tone, Play Can’t Play etc.
3 – Modifiers are in the Sculpting category and are How gestures such as Volume Fader and Tempo Fader.
4 – Go gestures are in the Function category and indicate When to enter or exit the composition and in some cases when to exit Content such as Snapshot or Launch Mode.
5 – Modes are in the Sculpting category and are Content gestures embodying specific performance parameters. Scanning, Point to Point, and Launch Mode are several examples of Modes.
6 – Palettes are in the Sculpting category and are primarily Content gestures identifying composed and/or rehearsed material (see Palettes in the Introduction section and the Glossary of Gestures for a more in-depth description).
Note: In creating the Soundpainting language I use the English language for naming the gestures. The gesture titles often have little or no relation to the English word they are named after. For example: The gesture Play is never used as a Content gesture. Play is a Go gesture. In other words it is an improper use of the Play gesture to sign: Whole Group, Play. An experienced Soundpainting group would remain silent because there wasn't a Content gesture given such as Pointillism – Whole Group, Pointillism, Play. Without a content gesture there isn’t any indication of what to play.
Soundpainting has grown to become an international live composing sign language used in many countries around the world both in the professional and educational arenas.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Walter Thompson
Walter Thompson (composer)
Walter Thompson is a live composer, saxophonist, percussionist, and educator. He is best known for his creation of the multidisciplinary live composing sign language, Soundpainting.-Soundpainting:...
for musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and visual artists. At present the Soundpainting language comprises more than 1200 gestures that are signed by the composer/director, known as the Soundpainter, indicating the type of material desired of the performers. Direction of the composition is gained through the parameters of each set of signed gestures.
History of Soundpainting
In 1974, after attending a few years at Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, Walter Thompson moved to his family's summer house in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
. There he received a grant from the National Endowment on the Arts to study composition and woodwinds with Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
. During this period, he also studied dance improvisation with Ruth Ingalls in Woodstock.
Woodstock in the 1970s was an important time in the growth of creative music. The Creative Music School (CMS), founded by Karl Berger, Don Cherry
Don Cherry
Don Cherry may refer to:* Don Cherry hockey player, coach, and commentator* Don Cherry , trumpeter* Don Cherry...
, and Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, invited composers and performers such as John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Ed Blackwell
Ed Blackwell
Ed Blackwell was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive work with Ornette Coleman....
, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, and Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
to give 2-week workshop/performances with the students. The CMS was closed during the summers, but many of the students remained in Woodstock. Thompson organized jam sessions with these students. Out of these sessions Thompson formed his first orchestra and produced a series of concerts at the Woodstock Kleinert Gallery. The focus of the orchestra was on large-group, jazz-based improvisation. It was during these early days that Thompson began experimenting with signing. He created very basic gestures, asking for a long tone or improvisation in a pointillist style, for example.
Thompson moved to New York City in 1980 and formed The Walter Thompson Orchestra (then called The Walter Thompson Big Band) in 1984. During the first year with his orchestra, while conducting a performance in Brooklyn, New York, Thompson needed to communicate with the orchestra in the middle of one of his compositions. They were performing a section of improvisation where trumpet 2 was soloing. During the solo Thompson wanted to have one of the other trumpet players create a background. Not wanting to emulate bandleaders who would yell or speak out loud to their orchestra, Thompson decided to use some of the signs he had experimented with during his Woodstock days. In the moment he made up these signs: Trumpet 1, Background, With, 2-Measure, Feel; Watch Me, 4 Beats. He tried it but the group did not respond. At the next rehearsal, members of his orchestra asked what the signing was about – and he told them. With support of the Orchestra, Thompson continued to develop the language further. During the next 10 years, Thompson developed Soundpainting into a comprehensive sign language for creating live composition. He continued to develop new gestures and in the early 1990s Thompson expanded the Soundpainting language to include actors, dancers, poets, and visual artists.
In the late 1990s Mr. Thompson was invited by Dave Liebman and Ed Sareth to give a Soundpainting workshop at the IASJ Conference in Santiago de Compostella, Spain. This was the first time Mr. Thompson had shown Soundpainting to a European audience. Following the conference, there were many invitations to perform and teach Soundpainting. Most notable being an invitation from Francois Jeanneau to conduct a week-long workshop at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. Soundpainting is now being used in the professional and education arenas in many countries around the world.
The Structure of Soundpainting
The Soundpainting gestures are grouped in two basic categories: Sculpting gestures and Function signals. Sculpting gestures indicate What type of material and How it is to be performed and Function signals indicate Who performs and When to begin performing. Who, What, How, and When comprise the Soundpainting syntax.The Soundpainting syntax Who, What, How, When and the two basic categories Sculpting Gestures and Function Signals are further broken down into six subcategories: Identifiers, Content, Modifiers, Go gestures, Modes, and Palettes.
1 – Identifiers are in the Function category and are Who gestures such as Whole Group, Woodwinds, Brass, Actor, Dancer, Group 1, Rest of the Group, etc.
2 – Content gestures are in the Sculpting category and identify What type of material is to be performed such as Pointillism, Minimalism, Long Tone, Play Can’t Play etc.
3 – Modifiers are in the Sculpting category and are How gestures such as Volume Fader and Tempo Fader.
4 – Go gestures are in the Function category and indicate When to enter or exit the composition and in some cases when to exit Content such as Snapshot or Launch Mode.
5 – Modes are in the Sculpting category and are Content gestures embodying specific performance parameters. Scanning, Point to Point, and Launch Mode are several examples of Modes.
6 – Palettes are in the Sculpting category and are primarily Content gestures identifying composed and/or rehearsed material (see Palettes in the Introduction section and the Glossary of Gestures for a more in-depth description).
Note: In creating the Soundpainting language I use the English language for naming the gestures. The gesture titles often have little or no relation to the English word they are named after. For example: The gesture Play is never used as a Content gesture. Play is a Go gesture. In other words it is an improper use of the Play gesture to sign: Whole Group, Play. An experienced Soundpainting group would remain silent because there wasn't a Content gesture given such as Pointillism – Whole Group, Pointillism, Play. Without a content gesture there isn’t any indication of what to play.
A Living Language
The Soundpainting language is a living and growing language. Spoken languages are changing and growing all the time. Whether by necessity or passage of time of generations, humans inherently create new concepts and modify older ones to fit contemporary times - new words are created, older words become passé, shortcuts and slang are developed etc. The Soundpainting language shares this same growth pattern. In order to address the needs of growth and to keep the language from spreading out into hundreds of separate dialects or patois, each year experienced Soundpainters come together to further develop the language in what are known as Soundpainting Think Tanks. Each Think Tank is an annual conference where Walter Thompson invites Soundpainters from around the world to come together to share ideas and help further develop the language in all the disciplines. As of 2011, there have been 16 Think Tanks.Soundpainting has grown to become an international live composing sign language used in many countries around the world both in the professional and educational arenas.
External links
- soundpainting.com
- http://www.collectif-alka.com/Jazzbank_english/musicians/Klangfarben_english.html KLANGFARBEN Orchestra, François COTINAUD (soundpainter, composer)
- Soundpainting Italian Orchestra (SPIO)