Paul Winter at AOSA in Spokane

For me it has turned into the Paul Winter Conference.  One of the most important principles of Orff-Schulwerk is improvisation and Mr. Winter has made a career of it.  My double session on Thursday was as beautiful a process as I've ever seen as he slowly built our confidence and technique helping us each find our own voices

"Honor the uniqueness of your own voice. There is no competition."

The session began with four participants, in chairs sitting in a square formation.  This began the warm-up.  (The warm-up actually lasted until the final activity more that 2 hours later!)  The lights were dimmed and they were invited to play a long tone on the instruments available.  We had a cello, a recorder, a clarinet and Paul on soprano saxophone.  The four tones were played and a chord was created spontaneously.  At that point and after every stage of the process Mr. Winter would stop, give us his observations and allow the participants to share theirs as well. Some examples from Mr. Winter:

"Your silence is a gift to the ensemble."

"Relax into the space."

"Don't get hung up on semantics, you are simply learning to 'noodle.'"

"Minimize the visual, focus on the aural. It's the listening that brings empowerment.  It's the darkness that brings us into a presence."

The process was thoughtful, introspective, and meditative, touching each of us in our own creative spirit. The process continued with short tones, loud tones, and quiet tones. All of us were invited to participate in this process and we all shared our four person improvisations.

As the session neared the end of the warm-up, he invited us to participate in a group improvisation.  The entire event lasted approximately 10 minutes and encompassed a wide range of human interaction. There were the loud voices, the soft voices, the impatient voices, the persistent voices, the patient voices and finally, the community voice.

Mr. Winter's final comment: "Each of you is right with how you want it to be."

Truer words were never spoken.