Meditations:
Exercising Perspective
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Music in
Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)
Supervisor: Victor Mendoza

Christopher Black

Valencia Campus, Spain
June 2018

Table of Contents

Abstract

iii

Acknowledgements

iv

1. Introduction

1

2. Project

3

3. Objectives

5

4. Methodology

7

4.1. Plan of Action

8

4.2. Resources

8

4.3. Process

9

5. Results

10

6. Justification

11

7. Professional Plan

12

8. Conclusion

13

9. Resources

14

ii

Abstract

Meditations is an attempt to reconcile myself with all that I’ve learned over
the course of this year into a cohesive, expressive project that will continue to
grow well-beyond the confines of my time spent at Berklee and propel me
towards realizing my lifelong dreams. Meditations is a music methodology that
repurposes world rhythms played on indigenous drums for arrangement on a
scaled instrument. The arrangements themselves are minimalistic, but hold
immense potential for further development; various applications of this
methodology are investigated throughout this project in the form of multiple
objectives, and in doing so I have developed skills that will aid me throughout the
duration of my career in music.

Keywords: World Rhythm, Methodology, Potential, Application

iii

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Victor Mendoza, Casey Driessen, and Mariano
Steimberg for not only mentoring me in the classroom and in advising sessions,
but also for the immense support and encouragement they have offered me
throughout what has proven to be an arduous year abroad. Without your
guidance I would not be on the path I am today, and for that I will remain forever
grateful. ¡Saludos, maestros!
I would also like to thank my friends here at Berklee and at home, and of
course my family, for believing in me especially at times I didn’t believe in myself.
This has been a team effort, to be sure…my love and very best to you all

iv

1. Introduction

I grew up knowing that I wanted something more from music, but never
having the courage to give myself over to pursuing it completely; I’ve always
been an anxious dreamer. My uncle, a drummer himself and a public defender,
set the example that I followed for a long time: as a working, “real world” adult,
music was a consummate outlet, a means by which to decompress after a long
day at school or the office. Along these same lines, my close friends have
always loved music, but in a way that felt a number of degrees removed from the
way in which I loved it, or sought to love it as an active participant and creator.
This being the case, my musicianship comes from a very DIY background—90%
of my learning, playing, producing, etc., was done on my own, performing to
imaginary audiences of screaming fans.
Stylistically, my listening pallet is a large one. My personal musical journey
began at age 12 listening to 1960’s-1980’s US and UK punk-rock, progressed
into contemporary thrash/progressive/doom metal and 90’s era rap as pubescent
angst began to set in, expanded itself to let in grooves and traditional sounds
from across the world (the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, etc.), and has continued to
grow as I’ve been exposed to the likes of funk, jazz, fusion, folk, classical,
electronica, etc. over more recent years of my life. Through listening to such a
vast array of genres and being inspired by so many different sounds, my ears

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have opened themselves to endless avenues of experimentation in my own
playing. All that said, I remained a fearful, nervous musician, all the while
questioning whether I had what it takes to realize the dreams of being a
professional musician that I’d had since I was a child.
It is through the encouragement of friends, family, and the amazing faculty
here on campus that I feel ready to face the fear of owning up to my identity as a
musician. My undergraduate background is in creative writing; while I often feel
behind my Berklee colleagues in terms of their technical abilities and experience,
on the flip side of the coin I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to bring my
unique sensibilities and approach to story-telling, song-craft and performance to
life in a formal musical education setting. In this way, my informal musical
upbringing has proven to be a mixed blessing; while it may take me longer to
comprehend and make use of certain conventions, it is through the
unconventionality of this journey that I am able to apply these hard-learned
lessons and ideas into the development of a distinct sonic signature. In applying
to and going through with this Master’s program, I now feel it is high-time to set
my own example for how I want to define my career: as a creative and a
musician.
I’ve always had a fascination with polyrhythmic drumming and traditional
rhythms from the world over, but until this year had invested little time in studying
and understanding these unique grooves. Quite fortunately, I’ve had the
opportunity to interact with many new rhythms through the electives and

2

ensembles I’ve taken over the course of the year. This experience has changed
the ways in which I relate to rhythm and pulse immensely, and has only served to
deepen my fascination with polyrhythmic interplay.
The question left to answer, then, is how to incorporate these rhythms into
the creative and musical life I seek to create for myself? The answer(s) to that
question lie in the project I have chosen to undertake.

2. Project

The project consists of three distinct parts that make up an exploratory
whole. Throughout, the various world rhythms have been arranged not on their
native instruments, but on a scaled steel-pan drum.
The first of these is a series of demo-recordings (self-produced and
recorded) which reimagine the format of an audiobook. I fell in love with
audiobooks over a year ago, but have often wondered if, and how, they could be
improved to be more expressive and interactive. The solution I’ve arrived at is to
add what could be considered a “soundtrack” to compliment the readings; in the
same way that movie scenes are given a mood by carefully crafted soundtracks,
a given reading is hereby catapulted to new heights of drama with which a
listener can interact on a deeper level. The readings I’ve chosen are most akin to
an autobiography or collection of letters, as they are curated from my personal
journal and various correspondences I’ve had over the year. They have been

3

paired with arrangements that suit the disposition of each reading, creating a
sonic backdrop for the stories to unfold.
Next is an examination of how these rhythms have come to inform my
musicianship as a drummer. This cannot be understated; my understanding of
the relationship of rhythm to pulse has expanded massively, as has my ear for
the re-contextualization of given rhythms. This has manifested itself in two ways:
the focal point of my studies has been narrowed to focus on polyrhythmic
investigation and development, and the rhythms themselves have massively
influenced the way I hear music. This is demonstrated in my practice routines
and a live performance showcasing Latin grooves applied to hip-hop songs
respectively.
Finally, I have worked alongside fellow students here on campus to exhibit
the enormous compositional potential afforded by utilizing these rhythms in the
form of a collaborative recording. This is an exemplification of what I have
dubbed “maximalism through minimalism”, the idea being that multiple patterns
can be applied to note value(s) and set as individual loops for continuous
playback; the number of loops playing concurrently drastically alters the rhythmic,
harmonic, and melodic possibilities and implications that I and other musicians
are able to explore, both live and in-studio.

4

3. Objectives

The objectives of this project are threefold: laying foundational groundwork
for the development of my identity as an artist and producer, the furthering of my
rhythmic studies and deepening of my relationship to my primary instrument
(drum set), and the development of a collaborative framework and network.
These objectives have an integral relationship, as each objective is directly
advanced by the work done towards the ends of the others. Before expounding
on this, it is important to first define what in the title is meant by the words
meditation (the act of focused reflection or contemplation, eliciting presence of
mind) and perspective (a frame for interpreting and understanding the world,
informing how we interface with it). This primary objective of this project, then, is
to incorporate the study of traditional world rhythms into a personalized music
methodology, and is exercised in three parts that comprise a whole. Meditations
serves as vehicle for the following: a means to my own artistic expression in the
form of a series of recordings, the paving of fresh rhythmic pathways and
refinement of my focus as I continue to learn and grow as a musician, and an
open-source format for the creation of new music via collaboration.
The artistic goal to which I have employed world rhythm(s) is in the first
place to produce a series of recordings which reimagine the format of the
standard audiobook. The sub-objective of applying interlocking patterns derived
from world rhythms to a scaled instrument (a steel hand-pan drum) is to create

5

sonic landscapes that are both evocative and, ideally, trance-inducing; combining
this with autobiographical readings from my personal journal and intimate letters
aims to provide an effective route by which listeners can enter a meditative state
and interact with my perspective and thus also provides an example of what the
reimagining of the audiobook format makes possible.
A second goal of the study of world rhythms that corresponds to the
second part of this project is the development of my musicianship. By meditating
on these patterns through my own practice time, the sub-objective has been to
incorporate the grammar and syntax of world rhythm into my musical thinking,
playing, and plans for ongoing study. In exposing myself to different cultures’
traditional rhythms, I have aimed to significantly broaden my perspective as a
drummer.
Finally, Meditations is intended to serve as a collaborative creative tool.
These traditional rhythmic phrases can be parsed out and applied to any number
of notes, thereby offering a near endless sea of contextual harmonic and melodic
possibilities when used in performance and compositional settings. The subobjective of this third part is to allow for unbridled and endless collaborative
efforts, as each musician will relate to the grooves differently. Joint-meditation on
the rhythms with other players allows for perspectives to be shared by players
and listeners alike.

6

4. Methodology

This project employs a mixed methodology to achieve its various
objectives and sub-objectives. While the theoretical framework of the project is
primarily qualitative, the methodology combines several approaches that
correspond, roughly speaking, to the three parts of the project: auto-ethnography,
action-research, and a performative approach. The first part of the project, the
creation of demo recordings for a re-imagined audio-book relies largely on an
auto/self-ethnography approach that combines self-reflection, analysis, and
creation. The auto-ethnographic methodology was especially useful for the lyrical
component that forms the narrative part of the meditation. The second part of the
project, which is tied to the development of my musicianship, employs an actionresearch methodology. Insofar as action-research is intended to assist the
subject performing the action to improve and refine his or her actions, it is a fitting
methodology for the self-improvement and development of musicianship that the
second part of Meditations seeks to accomplish. Finally, the third-part of the
project, the creation of a collaborative, creative tool draws on a performativebased methodology. A final caveat here: it’s important to note that these
methodologies sometimes overlap in the project, especially as the overarching
goal of incorporating world-rhythms into artistic creation and formation that
informs the three separate parts of the project, draws, in different ways, on all
three methodologies.

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4.1 Plan of Action

The first step was to take courses that allow me to study and ingest as
much material related to world rhythms as possible, which included various
ensembles, (Latin and Brazilian), electives (Cross-Cultural Rhythms), and private
instruction on my primary instrument of drum set (focused on refining the rhythms
learned in the courses above, as well as polyrhythmic development). Next step
was distilling the key elements of various cultural rhythmic styles onto the scaled
steel hand-pan drum to be recorded, and produced as loops for arrangement.
This required implementing the information learned in Production Concepts, both
in using the studio hardware and recording software (Pro Tools). Finally came
the step of employing these arrangements to fulfill the various objectives outlined
in the sections above; recording voice-overs for the audiobook portion,
disseminating the arrangements to fellow musicians for compositional and
practical use, and exploring how they have developed my fluency with the
rhythms on my primary instrument of drum set.

4.2. Resources

The resources required consisted of the personnel teaching and the
information disseminated in the courses mentioned above. Additionally, I
required practice time and space, instruments (drum set with cymbals, steel

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hand-pan), studio time, space, and recording hardware (microphones, cables,
stands, computer, recording interfaces, etc.), recording / editing software (Pro
Tools), and fellow musicians willing to explore the project. Last but not least, I
required my project supervisor to oversee this project and make sure it
maintained direction as it runs its course.

4.3. Process

First step involved gathering source information (world rhythms,
production know-how) through my classes here at Berklee. After ingesting said
information, it was also necessary to digest it; this entailed a process of
familiarization with the rhythms—practicing them, attentive listening of musical
examples within a given style, etc.—and production materials—becoming
comfortable in Pro Tools and in running a studio session—through applied
studies. Next came arranging rhythmic sets of chosen styles (Middle Eastern,
Cuban, Brazilian, and Uruguayan) onto the hand-pan drum; for compositional
ease, I used MIDI renderings of the instrument in Logic Pro to orchestrate the
patterns onto notes that fit the steel drum’s C Harmonic Minor tuning. In each of
the arrangements, I limited the notes used to allow for maximum potential usage
by other musicians to interpret and interact with the material as they heard it. I
also tried to pick patterns that were both complimentary and contrasting; this
involved trial and error, as a given pattern might sound better (and relate to the

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other patterns better) if played on a different note or set of notes. Transferring
these arrangements to the instrument itself came next, along with studiorecording and editing the patterns into useable loops. The readings heard in the
audiobook recordings were chosen from various texts, emails, journal entries,
etc. that I have engaged in over the course of this year, and were chosen based
on their ability to capture a given moment or mood experienced over the course
of the year. Finally, I studio-recorded all overdubs (voice, drums, and other
instruments) and mixed them in Pro Tools to be examined and presented.

5. Results

The results of this project were mixed, however the outcome overall was
an immensely positive. A large obstacle presented itself over the course of
Meditations execution that inhibited it from reaching the heights I believe it has
the potential for; during much of the second semester of this year, I had servere
injuries that prevented me from playing (or any instrument) entirely…needless to
say, this slowed me down drastically. Originally I had intended for this project to
be based in developing a live-loop show and to feature world rhythms being
played on the drum set. Obviously this changed took on a primarily recording
based-direction to make use of the time left over after having healed from my
injuries. I wish I could have had more time to practice and play with the rhythms,

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but am also glad that a methodology has emerged in the place of a live-act,
which can still be developed in the future.
To frame this discussion, it is important to understand the three main
objectives of the project as explorations of a newfound concept, rather than
standalone works. I believe to this point the applications of the Meditations
methodology I have exhibited to be successes; I have produced 3 audiobook
pieces that demonstrate personal artistry, have 2 collaborative recordings and 2
solo recordings using these arrangements that myself and other musicians have
played on demonstrating the open-source applicability, 4 open-source templates
in different world music stylings, and have vastly improved my understanding of
rhythm. While these can all certainly be improved upon in the future (better
mixing, cleaner playing, etc.), what is important to me is that the different ends to
which I explored the application of world rhythms all held up as extremely viable
options for further investigation; the true takeaway is that the first iteration of this
methodology works.

6. Justification

This work contributes to the profession in a number of ways. The creative
process and outcome of original material are in and of themselves contributions,
but the project also goes beyond that; with further exploration, Meditations can
be used as a platform for me to interact with creatives across the globe to use

11

these rhythms to create new and exciting soundscapes, both in-studio and onstage. Its originality stems from this: it is both a hugely personal journey in its
undertaking, as well as the beginnings of a creative community. Additionally, the
investigation of various cultural rhythms to use in new musical contexts allows
the professional community to interact with and potentially fall in love with these
rhythms in a similar manner to how I did, thereby promoting them as cultural
fixtures to be preserved and explored, as well as broadening their appeal to use
in the contemporary music scene.

7. Professional Plan

This project is in many ways a preparation for utilizing the methodology to
formulate a live act to perform in front of live audiences--as such, rehearsing the
material to play gigs will be the first step in initiating the growth of a fanbase. In
order to gig with this material, I plan to set up a multimedia website must be
created where people (venue representatives, potential collaborators, and wouldbe concert-goers) can interact with the content and myself, the artist. In addition
to an artist website, an Instagram account will be set up and updated bi-weekly to
peak and maintain interest. The plan is to promote open-source shows; not “jam
nights”, but participatory concerts wherein local musicians can add to the song
templates however they wish. In this way, every show will ultimately be different.
This will again expand the network of collaborators as well as the fan base, who

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will grow to expect the unexpected. Ideally, this will lead to the formation of a
large collective around the project so that it may be taken to different cities
across the world.

8. Conclusion

This CE has been for me has been exactly that—a culminating experience
of my year at Berklee. I took information from the numerous classes I was
involved in and put it to use in putting together this project. In reflecting on it and
the year in its entirety, I’ve learned a lot more than I thought I did over the course
of this program. While there were certainly rough patches and hiccups along the
way, ultimately I am very glad with the results of this project, and excited about
the potential it holds for continued exploration in the future. For this I am
extremely grateful, as it makes the more difficult times a testament to the virtue of
perseverance.

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Resources

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Candombe En El Parque Batlle. Performed by Daniel "Tatita" Marquez, Enrique
"Papo" Guzman, and Leo Giovannini. YouTube.
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Christopher Black. Berklee Global Summit Concert - October 26th, 2017. In Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/berkleevalencia/26510840929/in/album72157689073695754/.
Combinación Mosalas - Baladi. Performed by Mario Kirlis. YouTube.
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https://www.ethnicmusical.com/shop/professional-riq-riqq-model-4/.
Steimberg, Mariano. Samba De Enredo. PDF.

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Steimberg, Mariano. Claves in South America. PDF.
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