Trading Sounds

One to Five

Two players choose a number from one to five. The number represents the number of sounds (not beats) to each turn. (A sound is a single acoustic event, produced on one key or on as many keys as the two forearms can depress.) Player B must wait until Player A has produced the given number of sounds. After the last one, B begins a series of sounds as immediately or with as much delay as desired. (A’s last sound may continue into B’s turn or not, depending on who is controlling the pedal.) The spacing of the sounds, in time and on the keyboard, is free; the piece can be pulsed and/or metered, or not…The problem for players is to find principles of consistency and unity as they build phrases out of their short, interlocking turns.

Even when it’s not a model of clarity and coherence, it’s fun and funny because it’s “hot”—the players must make split-second responses and decisions.

Anne Farber, in Improvisation in the Private Piano Lesson

I adapted this exercise to work with my daughter, who is in Book 2 of Suzuki Violin. We used the idea of this activity to help her practice her newest scale. Because we were improvising on two separate instruments, some of the nuance of the proposed activity was left out to help her create a satisfying musical experience.