![\"InkBops-4\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/InkBops-4.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWe all know what musical notation looks like, right? Even if we can\u2019t read it, we at least recognize it, know what it is. But, if confronted with this:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
most of us would probably deny it was music. Most of us would just see squiggles on paper.<\/p>\n
To flutist Ellen Burr, however, these cards, called Ink Bops, are just as much musical notation as the more familiar form. She created the cards to aid musicians in improvisation. Instead of representing specific notes, they portray the pattern the musician is supposed to perform. They say, \u201cPlay something which sounds like this looks.\u201d They are designed to give the musician some structure, while leaving them free to play what they want. \u201cWithin structure you find freedom,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Burr has been performing and teaching flute for over thirty-five years. She has soloed in several orchestras, including Pasadena\u2019s Friends of Orchestra and Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra, as well as numerous smaller ensembles. She heads L.A. Collective, a multi-disciplinary troupe, which includes dancers, actors, and poets in addition to other musicians.<\/p>\n
Ellen Burr\u2019s Q, her quartet, will be at Gatsby Books on Saturday, May 4, at 5PM. They will be performing a number of improvised pieces, including ones based on the Ink Bops, as well as other improvisational games. In addition to Burr, the quartet consists of Oz, on Chapman Stick, Breeze Smith, percussion, and Jeff Schwartz, on double bass.<\/p>\n
This performance will be part of Be Here Now<\/em>, Gatsby\u2019s experimental music series. Curated by guitarist Scott Heustis, it takes place on the first Saturday of the month. This will be the third presentation.<\/p>\n