Questionnaire: Christian Weber (2007)

1. Have you got any formal musical training, and what do you draw from it now?

Yes, I did and yes, a lot. It gives you a point to start from. If you’re out you can start questioning it or take completely different directions. Generally every kind of training helps. If you can see a master prepairing breakfest you can draw a lot from it as well.

2. What kind of equipment/instrument do you use, and what is you relationship towards it? What do you think lies behind your choice of the equipment/instrument?

Acoustic bass. Love/friedship/dedication/passion. I like the physical aspect of the bass. I like string instruments anyway. They offer a good structure to get really deep into sound.

3. What is it that attracts you towards musical experimentation?

A great way to communicate.

4. Why are you involved in improvisation, and how do you perceive it?

Improvisation has the same structure as life does. Working on the music means working on myself and vice versa.

5. How do you perceive the relation between planning and spontaneity in improvisation?

There’s no planning in improvisation. There are strategies of communication. It’s only the momentum that counts.

6. Do you “practise” for an improvisation, and what are your general thoughts on the idea of “practising” for improvisation?
When you improvise, do you use sounds that you’ve already “tried out”, and how much room is there for actual sound experimentation?

I’d never practised for anything. I just practise for pure joy, for discovery, for meditation. Practising is a kind of calibration for me. Very simple, basic stuff. I never think about what is going to happen on stage. Things are always different. Some things I practised appear during a show, some in variations and some unheard stuff appears as well. But it’s not so much about the material, it’s more about the connection and relation of things (notes/sounds).

7. How do you evaluate an improvisation? What is it, according to you, that makes one improvisation better than another?

The quality. Simple parameters of quality.

8. When you are recording for a release, does the awareness of being recorded influence your playing, and in what way?

I can’t deny a psychological influence. That’s mostly unfortunate (expectations). I prefer live recordings. There’s only one chance, everything has to stand for itself as it is.