WRITING
Based in Toronto, Michael Davidson is an in-demand vibraphonist and composer in the improvised, jazz, and creative music
scenes. In 2017, he was one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award. He and bassist Dan
Fortin have just released their first duo album, Clock Radio. For more information, visit www.michaeldavidsonmusic.com and
www.elasticrecordings.com.
By Michael Davidson
Musical Architecture &
Recursive Systems
A
composition can be thought of as a
piece of musical architecture. I will
extend this to include improvisation,
which historically has not been award-
ed the same legitimacy.
A good composition, song, or improvisation
has a strong, inherently simple idea at its core.
Without this simplicity, nothing can be built
upon it. I do not mean that it has to be simple
in a literal or derivative way, i.e one chord, a trite
melody, or a predictable rhythm. Linking sim-
plicity directly with style can yield a less than
satisfactory end result. Instead, by simple, I mean:
• It is clearly and eloquently presented, and
• It can act as a vehicle for creative and im-
provisational growth.
The clearest way to present a compellingly simple
idea might be through one chord. It might also
be a structure that appears more complex on
the surface. It is important for a composer to be
aware of this more than their desire to write a
piece in a certain style.
• It can be limiting and potentially destructive
to link simplicity with a specific style.
One element of this concept is the notion that
a pop song is inherently simple, or the idea that
a pop song is based on a certain type of sim-
plicity that cannot be achieved in other “styles.”
Someone could consciously try and write a song
with this pretense, and end up with a nebulous
idea far from being clearly and eloquently stated.
The construct of style is a drain on energy that
otherwise could be put into clarity of thought
and flow of ideas.
Without this clarity, a song is a hollow struc-
ture with no foundation. Despite the best efforts
of interpreters, it will inevitably implode.
• Simplicity is clarity, and has nothing to do
with style.
• It is embedded in an evolutionary process.
• Without it, there is no impetus for growth.
58 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Improvisation, Composition & Accidents
When engaged in the process of writing a song, I
am conscious of that initial idea. As an improviser,
I am fascinated by the structure of a compelling
improvisation and how that can become the
basis for a composition. I look at it from multiple
perspectives, reflect on its contours, and cultivate
a space where accidents may happen frequently.
By accidents, I mean spontaneous and wholly
unplanned emergences of unforeseen materials
or shapes. These accidents are to be embraced
quickly and not discarded. They work to form the
basis of my recorded intuition.
Ideas can take many shapes and branch off
into multiple songs or improvisations. One clearly
stated idea can yield a number of compositions
as it provides an opening for growth and change.
Through the shaping, certain vehicles prove less
effective for presenting the core material, and
they fall to the background or link up with an-
other idea at the core of some other piece. This
process requires an openness and commitment
to fully explore a concept and consider it from
different perspectives.
• A position of openness is imperative. Recursion
I’m committed to this process of growth or evo-
lution, and consider it a recursive process with
mutations. We start with a clearly articulated idea
that within it has an elegant yet elusive code for
something. Our mind layers things upon it, copies
of the original idea shaped by the wake of our
thoughts and feelings. As these copies come
in contact with other thoughts and streams of
consciousness, they change ever so slightly. Over
time and through reflection, these slight changes
add up. This can happen in a moment or over
many moments.
Along the way, you may find multiple ways to
represent these ideas, some appearing almost
effortlessly while others remain more elusive. As
a composer and improviser, I am endlessly finding
flexible shapes to represent clear ideas and feel-
ings. This, along with a position of openness, is at
the core of my creative process. It is vital to not get
attached to these shapes as they are discovered.
• Don’t get attached to your ideas! What started as a tiny fragment has become
a beautifully, spontaneously crafted piece of con-
sciousness that we call a song. As the process
compounds, songs make their way into the
world should we choose to share them. These
songs are a bi-product of this recursive process.
The real joy is in the process.
Each song or improvisation has some of the
process embedded in it. When we play the song,
the imprint of this can show its face, bringing
a quality of spontaneity and life to the air that
has nothing to do with style. We are invited to
confront the intuition of the composer with our
own intuition.
A great song or improvisation has a process
built into it, offers an architecture for commu-
nication, and is an ecosystem of thoughts and
feelings.
The moment I get too attached to one idea, the
process is interrupted or ended. We should still
focus on specific interpretations of the material
but must recognize these are part of a larger
shape, a larger body of work, of energy, of clarity
and expression. Along the way, beautifully crafted
structures emerge, yet unlike those built of stone,
these structures continue to be flexible and evolve
over time without decay.
For further reading that explores these
concepts, check out:
• I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas
Hofstadter
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams
For visual art that embodies these
concepts, check out the work of:
• M.C. Escher
• Emily Carr