Ed Williams

Which musician has influenced you the most? 
Mara Winter, because she is a teacher, performer and composer who succeeds in bringing together rigorous pedagogical, analytical, performance and composition skills in both historical and experimental music.

What can you teach me about your instruments different than any other teacher? 
I encourage you to foster a respect for rigorous study while learning how to allow yourself to break the rules.

How did you learn to play your instrument? 
I started learning classical guitar by mistake. At school, I had wanted to start drums, and my brother wanted to start guitar. However because of teacher timetables, it ended up being the other way around! What’s more, I also started playing left-handed, because I’m left-handed, but the guitar teacher didn’t know how to teach me “backwards” and so I had to learn right-handed!

How do you go about writing a song or composing a piece yourself? 
Always through improvising. Songs come out after hours of jamming either by myself or with colleagues, and the words will be a mixture of instantaneous images and things I’ve written down in my journal. Compositions are different: I take a piece of pre-existing music, usually from the baroque period, and start extracting improvisations from the notes on the score.

On what equipment do you play today?
Harpsichord: an Italian model made by Martin Skowroneck. I love the brilliance of the brass strings. Guitar: my Amalio Burguet that I’ve had since I was 14. This instrument has accompanied me throughout all my guitar experiences, from classical music exams in England to free noise improvisation all over Europe. Clavichord + Guitar Sound Systems amp: I bought this instrument a few years ago and love the delicate texture it produces. I’m able to access the strings directly and distort the sound through amplification, further developing my vocabulary of extended techniques.

What personal trait has helped you when you practice the most? 
Rigour and letting-loose. On the one hand, rigour ensures that I respect myself as well as the music by fulfilling the requirements of the exercises or piece at hand, and on the other, letting-loose reminds me that the beauty can only come through when I’m not fixated on “perfection”.

What does your instrument have that others don't?
My harpsichord is a unique model, and has an extravagant turquoise marble finish. My guitar has a warm sound and very flexible range, like the soul of a well-seasoned traveler. 

What you pay special attention to when you teach? 
I give a lot of attention to posture, relaxedness, concentration, ability to listen to details such as articulation, and the extent to which the student wants to infuse their own voice into what they’re studying. As a classically trained musician with a background in experimental music, nothing is more important to me than an attention to detail that remains open to surprises, and doesn’t judge these as mistakes. While I want to pass on my passion and respect for the methods I’ve learned, I also don’t want students to have the traumatic experiences so many of us have with a classical music upbringing.

How do you build up your music lessons?
We will always start with a body and hands warm-up (stretching, breathing, self-massage) and a minute of silent listening. Then instrumental warm-up: scales and arpeggios. For students interested more in improvising and experimentation, we also look at tuning and preparation options. For students interested in working on a piece of classical repertory, we also look at tuning (for guitar and harpsichord). For “experimental” students, now they show one extended technique they’ve found/have been working on since the last lesson. For “classical” or beginner students, we go straight into looking at a piece or section of a piece we have been working on. For “experimental” students, we’ll try exercises from a large range, playing with various parameters such as rhythm, pitch, timbre, coordination, etc. After this we will either work on improvising as a duo or as a solo player. If we have time, we end with a game involving ear training (e.g. naming intervals), and plan what to work on for next time.

What do you do with children? 
Since children are usually learning with an exam goal in mind, we focus on developing dexterity through exercises (especially scales and putting LH and RH together) and pieces that are part of the required repertory.

What was until now your greatest experience as a musician?
Improvising with colleagues that I haven’t seen in a long time, and the music coming together all by itself. Recently, I’ve started playing again with my long-time colleague, Anouck Genthon (violin). After several years of hiatus, I invited her to work on an improvisation with me based on a piece for harpsichord and violin by JS Bach. Immediately, we both knew what to do, which techniques to focus on, and the sound we wanted. We performed this for my Masterrezital, and I’ve never been so convinced of our duo as then.

What was the largest stage that you've performed on? 
La salle Desjardins-Telus, Rimouski (Canada)

Which musician would you like to play with? 
Okkyung Lee. She has a ferocious, noisy and refined technique on her cello, and also writes very fine, contemplative compositions.

Which record would you bring to a desert island? 
Bach’s Matthäus-Passion (led by Gustav Leonhardt). I know this music very well and will always have a deep love for it.

On which stage do you prefer to perform? 
Le Havre cathedral.

After music, what is important in your life?
Reading, studying, drawing, thinking, cinema, talking with friends.