Scott Henderson Discussion

[Matt]

Hi Scott

I was wondering how you develop compositions from their starting point. Listening to really complex stuff like 'Nomad' and 'Root Food', did they start with a rhythmic concept or a melodic motif or both? And what processes do you go through to expand on those first ideas to 'build' a tune? I wondered, for example, if you'd ever use the Joe Zawinul 'transcribed improvisation' method when working on tunes like that.

Thanks for the inspiration,

Matt

[Scott Henderson]

I'm just going to paste a paragraph from my interview with Robert Renman - I think this answers your question.

Do you have a certain process you follow when you write tunes?

Actually, no. I don’t think I want to have a repeating process, because I’m afraid the songs might sound too similar. The only process that seems consistent is that I seem to be writing more in real time, rather than sitting there trying to come up with ideas. I’ll write a drum groove, loop it and then just improvise over it. A lot of my best melodies come from just jamming, or even singing into a microphone. Singing rhythms and shapes, or playing my guitar in time with the drum groove. If you listen to music in real time, it sort of makes sense to try and compose in real time. Then when it eventually gets down to “is it going to be this chord or that chord”, I have to slow the process down, because I don’t have instant access to all the harmony in my head. I hear stuff, but that doesn’t mean I can instantly play what I hear all the time. It’s sort of like reading - I can read, but I can’t sight read. I have to go into the other process of writing, which is the process of elimination. You know, you try this and you try that and you go “no, I don’t like that”. I always have to throw a lot of stuff away, but I'm just patient with myself because I know that sooner or later something good will happen. I’m just persistent enough to wait for it.