answers by
Spike : Barney : Andrew : Josh

1: Can you play any instrument you want? you sure can. if you've got any instruments, bring them. in the first four years of free for all we have played:
pianos (sometimes three at a time), guitars of every sort (including the electricity guitar, specially invented for ffa), lots of drums (we usually have a kit), hammond organ, theremin, trumpet, shepherd's flute, three types of saxophone, clarinet, double bass, many common and exotic percussion instruments, our bodies, voices, and furniture, ringtones, bazouki, various electronic keyboards, the bass chair, Mostly Yes, if you ask the owner nicely and dont endanger the instruments safety! All the instruments that are provided are free for anyone to play at free for all. Well not quite any instrument you want... I mean you cant play an electric banana... or you might want to play a harp, and if there is not one there all the wishing in the world wont make it so. But if its in the room and the owner says its ok... then go for your life.

2: But I'm not a musician / I don't know how to play an instrument. some people who come to free for all have never played an instrument before. some are professional musicians who want to forget their training and remember the joy of just making a noise you like. we need both sorts of people (and some of the ones in between) to keep it interesting. Yes you are. yes you can.

I think If you can hum, you are a musician. The Hum is a often forgotten instrument.

Working out how to Play an instrument is what free for is about. I lot of the fun for me is picking up an instrument and trying to work out how to make sound, and then listening to that sound as part of a original piece of music, which is what the audience does at free for all. We turn sound into music, turn people into musicians just by listening and believing.

Music is a state of mind. If you listen to anything and think of it as music, it is music, regardless of what it may be or who may be making it, you or someone else. Its like musical alchemy, turning ordinary things into gold....... Most musicians dont even know how to play an instrument - what I mean is - all of us are learning, we're all at different levels, anyone can get a sound out of a piano or drum. Just try, experiement, have fun.

3: I can't improvise. sometimes i think of freeforall as "musicians anonymous" - a two-step program for people who have found that they are locked into traditional ways of playing music. you've just got to play one note at a time. take each song as it comes.
on a practical level, it's much easier to improvise on an instrument you don't know how to play. as you find yourself getting better at something you might find your playing becomes predictable... time to try a new instrument. Yes you can.
If you can speak a language you are already ahead in the game of improvising and interactive art. Anyone can improvise. I'll prove it to you... clap yor hands, now clap them again, now clap them whenever you want to, you decide when to clap, how to clap, fast, slow, loud, soft, even with the back of your hands... that's improvisating. The beauty of free improvisation is that every offering is valid.

4: How do you know what key to play in? there are no keys. no method. no tempo. don't worry about it. the music will find it's own key. Its a bit like asking how do you know what vocabulary to use. Do you you even think about that?

Knowing what key to play in is not a prerequisite for playing at free for all, in fact its probably true to say that it sounds better when you dont know what key to play in. Its more magical that way. You have to really engage with the music like a conversation. You may not understand everything, but it can be fun trying to. Or everything will click together..... everytime is different. Listening to whatever may happen is a better starting place than thinking what key, because the key doesnt really matter ultimately.You dont even have to think of a key to make music. The aim is to play things in a totally fresh way, spontaneously. To find the deeper human things in common, to find a way to express them. Free improvisation uses all the keys at once. Every note fits - there are no wrong notes.

5: How do you know when to stop playing? this is always the most incredible thing to me - somehow, you just do. everyone wonders, the first time they come, how do you know when to stop. and everyone discovers that when you listen to the music and the other musicians, you just know. The most common ways
The music will sound finished, and the audience will clap! Its hard to explain - you get a feeling - you'll just know.

6: What sort of people go? all sorts. although i don't think we've ever had anyone under about 15. can someone bring their kids please? Imagine riding on a bus and seeing some people on the bus that you dont know... they might go. Now imagine looking out the window and seeing people walking down the street, or driving their cars, or buying a piece of cheese in a delicatessen, any of those people might go.

7: Does everyone have to play? What if i change my mind? the chalice never lies. if the chalice chooses you, it would be unwise to refuse the invitation.
however, you may wish to sleep in the spirit of performance, or your contribution to the piece may be to remain silent. and if you have gone home, and the chalice calls for you, the others will allow your spirit to influence their performance. You can play if you want to. You can listen if you want to. You can change your mind if you want to. You can leave if you want to.

8: Can you really just play anything you want? you can't play a tune you've played before,
sing a song you've sung before,
beat a rhythm you've beat before.

you can dance if you want to. Refer to the answer for question 1.

9: Doesn't it sound terrible? it can sound like anything.
but be warned, after immersing yourself in freeforall most other music just sounds predictable.

[andrew 030706] In my opinion the sounds created at FREE FOR ALL are the most beautiful, honest and fragile sounds I have ever heard. YES !!!!!