Abstract

To listen to the other: This phrase raises an incalculable number of issues. One of the central topics in teaching improvisation is learning how to listen to those with whom one plays, but in my experience the most difficult task is listening to the self. The point of listening to the other in performance is obviously not to completely give up the self, nor is it to become the other, but to attune to, or find resonance with, the other. It is in the interaction between two or more musicians that open and unbound improvisation unfolds, in the space between adjusting to the other and listening to the self. In this paper, I will use my artistic practice in the Swedish-Vietnamese group The Six Tones as a context for approaching some of these questions concerning self and other by means of three concepts, each of which have a profound influence on the self: freedom, habit, and individuality. Though these concepts are very broad and deep, they will be tackled in a relatively limited and practical context