Chapter 3: Free Improvisation
3.9. Non-Linearity in Thought (PSI-theory)
Julius Kuhl’s discourse compares a large number of psychological studies concerned with learning, human motivation and behaviour. He develops from these the Personality Systems Interaction (PSI) theory274. This offers valuable insights into the cognitive and creative processes that can be transferred to the discussion about improvisation. His theory outlines the organisation and processes involved when thinking. Most relevant is the categorisation of brain activity into four parts275: “Intention Memory” (IM) responsible to “store intentions”; “Intuitive Behaviour System” (IBS) which “enacts intentions”; the “Object Recognition System” (ORS) “perceives information that is 272 Kuhl 2001, 102-103.
273 Dell 2002, 197. 274 Kuhl 2001.
275 Although these devisions resemble in parts the more common categorisation into “left and right
discrepant with personal needs and expectations”; and the “Extension Memory” (EM) “that comprises these personal expectations and integrates respective discrepancies”276. The parallel processing ability of the brain is largely attributed to the EM and forms the basis of our creative thought. This constitutes the multitude of experiences available for the creative activities, enabling quick responses to holistic observations derived from the entire knowledge and experience. The IM, by contrast, only processes thoughts serially. The IM is attributed to facilitate conscious planning and intentions and is fundamental to problem-solving and learning. Perception and motor controls, constituted within ORS and IBS are closely networked to the IM and EM, and the entire system is regulated by what Kuhl describes as positive and negative affects.277
An up-regulated positive affect A+ and down-regulated negative affect A(–) optimises a collaboration of EM and IBS278 facilitating the holistic processing of existing experiences to enact motoric responses which feel intuitive and occur quasi-instantly.
276 Terminology adopted from Quirin 2005, 5: [The first chapter of the PhD thesis written in English was
used to decide on the English translations of the PSI terminology. It also appears the most comprehensive English outline of the PSI theory to date.]
277 from Quirin 2005, 9: This figure and annotation shows the schematic outline of the PSI theory.
278 The abbreviations are introduced here as they are used by Kuhl in the figure displayed in footnote 280
and differ slightly from the abbreviations used in the figure above (footnote 277). Up-regulated and down-regulated positive affect: A+ is the same as Pos + and A(+) equals Pos –. Same applies for up- regulated and down-regulated negative affect: A– is the same as Neg + and A(–) equals Neg –.
As stated above the EM is capable of combining previously accumulated knowledge on a largely subconscious level. This processes, utilising the parallel processing capabilities of the EM, can be attributed as a form of creativity. The creative output is the result of a synthesis from elements of our total knowledge into something new. When this result is perceived and evaluated as appropriate for the current situation, the positive affect A+ is increased further. A sequence of such activities can feel as if one is ‘being on a roll’, because suitable responses emerge effortlessly while one is at ease with oneself and the surrounding. Although this positive and creative state of mind might appear as a perfect state for a musician to be in, it has to be noted that any state of A(-)279 decreases activity of ORS and IM. As a consequence, any patterns and repetitions that might appear through this activity are less likely to be perceived and as a result the problem solving capabilities of the IM are not being employed.
An up-regulated negative affect A– and down-regulated positive affect A(+) enhances perception of objects and patterns, fundamental to the use of the serially working problem-solving capabilities of the IM. As stated above, this has been defined as a fundamental element in the learning experience and is therefore necessary to allow real progress and continuation to expand the total knowledge of the person. Although this is a suitable condition for an improvising musician, one has to consider that an exclusive focus on the problem-solving capabilities would be counter productive, as it would hinder the person to draw from previous experiences.
As a result the optimal state, the “optimal flow”, occurs when all parts are regulated efficiently and effectively by the two affect systems. Any tendency to swing the balance to either of its possible extremes results in distinct behavioural abnormalities: A person relying too much on the EM/IBS can be detected as the dreamer who has difficulties dealing with problems and realising ideas. Whereas a person ignoring external influences while being absorbed in the activity reveals an overuse of the IM/ORS. An incapability to function while remaining responsive and able to deal with distractions will be noticeable as a lack of attention to the surrounding, an absence of inter-social skills, and through their attempts to control every aspect of their environment. Kuhl has
offered a detailed, yet very comprehensive, chart280 outlining characteristics of our human behaviour. It also shows how an imbalance towards a singular state can turn positive human characteristics into symptoms of abnormalities and possibly even mental illnesses.
The PSI theory suggests the non-linearity of the creative thought and the continuously changing relationships between the different parts and their evaluation. The persistent and frequent interplay and exchange of information between these opposing types of processes is a fundamental prerequisite for improvisation, especially if performances consciously focus on aspects of interactivity with other musicians and the instrument and material. This quest for continuous “self-invention” stands in stark contrast to performance which allows itself to depend on a repertoire of previously developed and trained responses. They do not rely exclusively on a creativity that emerges from the holistic processes within defined musical idioms, but also focus on aspects of an activity 280 Kuhl 2001: The figure relates behavioural characteristics to the balance between the two affect
systems. It indicates how imbalance towards a singular state can turn the optimal flow to symptoms of mental illnesses. Everything outside the red circle becomes what is indicated in the brackets rather than the positive characteristic printed in bold. For example: self determination turning into aggressive behaviour, ambition turning into antisocial behaviour etc. Translations supplied in red by SL.
to find new aspects in the conscious and focused attention to all social, personal and instrumental aspects involved. The ability to transfer “unfinished thoughts”281 from the IM to the EM facilitates this continuous exchange between intentions and “parallel holistic processing”. Acquiring skills and developing a thorough knowledge about sounds, materials and the relations between them, reflect this described process. While research and practice predominantly involve the IM the results are (whether considered final or not) stored in the EM as experiences or “unfinished thoughts”. In a performance, the parallel processes ascribed to the EM would facilitate a creative employment of the acquired knowledge and experiences. This would also explain the existence of multiple “projected possibilities”282 from which one’s activity is emerging. While the IM might be employed to search consciously for alternatives and variations, facilitating methodological investigation of sounds and materials, including testing and scrutinising their affects on the musical proceedings. These aspects of cognitive processes appear to describe the personal experiences gained in the practice of free improvisation more accurately: The responses of improvisers are not necessarily reducible to a single possible cognitive response; actual responses can be based on several individual ideas within different time scales. At any moment several different ideas can emerge that find eventual “actualisation” through additional layers of evaluation, within conscious compound constructs, fragmented collages, and other forms of deliberate combinations. During an improvisation the cognitive processes involving intuitive and conscious levels are constantly changing, as well as the degree of self-reflection about the significance and importance of one’s responses, the attention and alertness, or even what just appears compelling or challenging of what is considered possible, are in continuous flux.
When revisiting idiomatic improvisation with these insights, a different perspective is possible. Idiomatic improvisation favours – even requires enhanced activity of – the EM and IBS which requires a high positive affect. Rather than focusing on genre specific musical idioms perhaps idiomatic improvisation is relying on a high activity of the EM, because idioms are references existing in the pool of accumulated knowledge and experience of the performer. Jazz improvisation utilises melody and harmony in studied and internalised patterns that are explored and combined in potentially novel ways. New 281 Kuhl 2001.
ideas develop by going beyond the learned, indicating holistic processing capabilities. The same can be said about performances which refer to a personal idiom developed over time, perhaps loosing aspects of searching for new aspects of one’s music, instead relying on the nuances appearing within the continuous work with settled approaches and techniques. A “feel-good factor” gives the “improvisers experience a great sense of relaxation, which increases their powers of expression and imagination. They handle their instruments with athletic finesse”283. Such instances are evident from biographic information and anecdotes about many musicians284, in particular when their music served as an escape from every-day difficulties and they admitted to a deliberate exploration of drugs to reach enhanced state of minds. The EM can also serve as an explanation of physical and mental virtuosity, as the close link to the IBS facilitates the fast responses and adjustments during performance that leave spectators astounded. Kuhl’s theory suggests that in such a situation, which is facilitated by the high positive affect, limits innovation, because the IM is inhibited by positive feeling. “The more immediate and behavioural routine is bound to its executed system, i.e. the more impulsive its relation occurs, the more hasty and less elaborated it probably is.”285 It is the negative affect that stimulates the development of new responses and solutions: the performer requires an urge to go beyond themselves and to actively question their own activity. It is here where the quoted importance of “failure”286 and “making the right mistakes”287 has its significance in improvisation: the moment in which the initial intention has not been realised the increasing negative effect will result in a more conscious creative activity. Kuhl describes the negative affect not only as the opposite of positive affect but as an independent regulatory system. It is therefore possible to maintain a conscious and deliberate scrutiny while achieving levels of positive feeling. It becomes clear that the PSI theory supports the idea of maintaining a balanced attitude within the complexities of human behaviour and motivation rather than giving concrete pathways to achieve maximum creative results.
283 Berliner 1994, 389.
284 See also Sawyer 2003, 42-45.
285 Kuhl 2001, 104: “Je unmittelbarer eine Verhaltensroutine an ausführungsbahnende Systeme
angebunden ist, d.h., je impulsiver sie ausgeführt wird, desto flüchtiger, d.h., desto weniger elaboriert dürfte sie sein.” Translation by Elke Schwarz.
286 Morton Feldman: “For art to succeed, its creator must fail.” Friedman 2000, 27.
287 Quote attributed to Thelonious Monk: "I made the wrong mistakes. Making music is all about making
the right mistakes.” Feurzeig (2011) indicates that this is “almost certainly a misquotation, though of an authentic Monk remark”. Feurzeig 2011, 54.
There is free improvisation that searches for the positive emotions to unlock the creative potential of the EM, and free improvisation that approaches “self-invention” showing a high interest in the “reflexive”288 forms emerging from performance activity. The latter is seen as fundamental for this discussion: as it is geared towards the intention memory, it develops techniques for the moment utilising previous experiences, approaches and strategies, rather than relying on previously developed constructions and outcomes. An understanding of performance goes beyond the arrangement of previously developed techniques and sound repertoire within a time structure. It can also focus more actively on the search for further musical potential of activity. The known sound, i.e. scraping a piece of rubber on the strings of the piano producing a high-pitched whistling sound, can be placed and repeated at any suitable position in time. However, it can only be seen as the starting point for an active exploration, to see what further variations can be produced, and ultimately which of these new qualities might lead to completely new sounds showing entirely different characteristics. When exploration is not restricted to the search for new sonic qualities in the practice room, to prepare for performance eventualities, but sought during the performance itself, then new approaches and meanings can be found within performance structure and ensemble interaction. The social component is important because within a free improvisation musicians are not given specific musical functions as is the case in idiomatic music genres. Within the improvisation musicians have to find and scrutinise their place within every moment of time.
The complexities of freely improvised performance reflect the complexities of human behaviour. While Kuhl’s psychological insights suggests the non-linearity of cognitive processes, Agamben’s discourse into potentiality exposes that human activity allows to think potentiality. Human thought goes always beyond the actualised – in terms of musical performance – human thought goes beyond what has been performed. Chapter 5 will form a continuation by introducing spherical abstraction of personal concerns in relation to the proposed performance practice. For this, however, conceptional and technical aspects of the developed performance system piano+ ought to be described (Chapter 4) which reflect the approach to improvisation described above.