INFINITE SONGBOOK
Will prove to you that you are a great Musician
Here is what the Infinite Songbook looks like.
All the images were hand drawn and/or painted by Circ D’ Narts and are densely configured with esoteric musical information. They were then digitized, sucked down cold metal wires, turned into wavelengths of information that entered a low earth orbit, traveled across the globe, then were un-digitized as they were printed by professionals onto cards that can be conveniently shipped to you, who will then use the Infinite Songbook to generate infinitely changing chord sequences which will, over time, help to sculpt your ignorance into mastery.
The 1st style is called “Acolyte Mode”
In this mode, players draw only ONE card and learn to play that chord.
Each instrument has a unique symbol, in Acolyte Mode players will discover how to play all 12 chords with minor variations (pun intended) on any of the 5 instruments included in the Infinite Songbook. Below is an example of a C Major Chord card from the SPIRALS suit displaying the Ionian Mode. One can find a full description of how to read all 48 of these Chord cards on the instructions sheet, included with the Infinite Songbook.
C Major-IonianMode-“Spirals”
The 2nd style is called “Oracle Mode”
In this mode, players draw a sequence of different Chord cards from the deck until a PLAY card is drawn. This progression is then looped with any tempo of your choice, at first giving each card equal beats, then once grokked, beat weights can be redistributed as you see fit. The idea is that it is your FATE to hear these chords and the intervals between them… and that nothing else about it can be changed.
Yet.
Some progressions will be short and simple, others may be longer and more complex.
Play these to discover “new” chords and to hear the interesting intervals between chords.
The 3rd style is called “Sorcerer Mode”
In this mode, the game reaches its full potential as it is used to help you hone your musical sensibilities by generating chord progressions that can be edited, manipulated, and creatively joined with other progressions. Variations on these progressions can be made by adding single cards, re-arranging sequences, simplifying,...etc. Here is an example:
Draw until a play cad is hit. Just two. Let’s initiate another round.
Not bad. What happens if we merge them?
That sounds pretty good without having to do much. Check out the Am card, because it is the first thing your mind hears, it sets the key of this phrase. A suggested mode on the noodle crutch image in the upper left of the Am card- in this case Dorian, will confirm why these cards sound nice together…And we can see that the E, which is the “5th” of A (the Tonic-5th harmony is loved by all) is missing, so we could add that in somewhere…
But let’s see what happens if we initiate another round.
Woops. These A#/Bb cards don’t fit with the Dorian Mode on the Am card that is functioning as the “key” or “tonic”…it is now more of a Bebop Dorian Mode… I guess we could use these new cards as a part of a chorus, or I maybe they fit nicely as lead back to the Am to loop the Verse.
If only there was no G…for some unidentifiable reason I don’t like that G, even though it is the 7th Tone from the Tonic.
After we pull the G chord out of there, and we are left with only the two A#/Bb cards back to the Am… and then we have ourselves something approaching a suitable Verse.
How we arrange, shift, and organize the cards is all up to us…with the understanding that less change is MORE .
We could begin another round until a PLAY card is reached, or just draw a single card and use that along with some of the other chords that are already in you Verse to make a Chorus for your composition. Let’s do that. Ok, C- which as you can see on the Am Card noodle crutch, is the 3rd tone one the Dorian Mode in the key of A. Now we can just stay with the C as a Chorus, or mix it with certain elements from the verse. It may be a good idea to begin to write some of these progressions down, to allow you to hear and explore other intervals by shifting the cards around…without forgetting the various chord configurations that you wish to retain. In this way and many others, the Infinite Songbook can be used as a powerful song writing tool.
The 4th style is called “Shaman Mode”
In this mode, the Infinite Songbook is used as a way to shake up the habitual patterns of players and to provide a neutral starting point for an improvised group Jam. The progression is allowed to evolve and drift away from where it began and into the sweet unknown. Shaman Mode allows room for the unscripted, so mistakes will accidentally turn into gold, once the instruments come to life and begin playing the people.
If a PLAY card is drawn 1st in Shaman mode, everyone must find the beat, feel the tempo, and dance a rhythm out on a drum or an object in their surroundings that can function as a drum, being careful not to disrespect anybody/thing. Remember that the empty spaces can be the most interesting part of the rhythm, just like a windows and doors can be the most interesting parts of a wall. And for Gosh sakes don’t break anything. Praise Gosh.
Only those experienced at the Infinite Songbook should attempt to use Shaman mode. There will be other people looming and criticizing at first, interested and appalled…
…so stay focused and remember the aim here is to create a simple starting point for a group Jam.
A quick play through and I sense it might be better to put the G#/Ab in front and give it the most weight, then after couple few measures, play through F for a measure, the F#7/Gb7 for a measure, and loop back to G#/Ab for another couple few measures…
Draw 1 more card to make a Chorus. Let’s see, an A. In playing around and mixing it with the other chords, I hear something I like about the interval between the A to F. Maybe I will do that back and fourth for a Chorus, then head back to the Verse.
A percussive rhythm emerges and becomes the musical graph paper for the room.
Remember that DANCING is an essential but silent percussive type of instrument and should be enjoyed by everyone present…if they feel like it.
Others can use the noodle crutch and quickly SEE that the Locrian Mode of A relates to the Mixolydian Mode of F, and the Aeolian Mode of A relates to the Lydian Mode of F, and the Phygrian Mode of A relates to the Ionian Mode (major scale) of F…so that is all there to play with…
Or others can just FEEL out a melody, by playing around on their instruments, hearing sour notes and using them as guides (like the banks of a river), and using a visual geometric understanding of music, find a little looping pattern of the notes that weave into the total tapestry.
Do this until it the room catches on after a couple loops, allow the song to move beyond the cards and to begin writing itself, remembering that the Infinite Songbook is only to used as a raft to gently lead the group beyond the stifling rivers of self-consciousness and musical hesitation. Once these small barriers are crossed, you will be amazed by the innate musical capabilities that lie hidden within yourself and others.
PLAY the Infinite Songbook and SEE.
