ARCA – Day 5 | 24 July, 2025
Workshop for adults with Alfredo Costa Monteiro
Sound Improvisation: Strategies for a Here and Now
In this workshop, Alfredo Costa Monteiro guided an in-depth exploration of some of the most distinctive instrumental approaches within experimental music, examining their scope not only through aesthetic codes but also through their inner poetics and essential politics. The aim was to refine participants’ perception of sound, integrating new resources while simultaneously deconstructing those previously assimilated.
“Learning to unlearn” was the principle that underpinned the entire proposal.
Key concepts and parameters of experimental music and sound art were addressed, including listening, collectivity, sound, noise, and silence, as well as immateriality, permanence, and even non-activity.
There was also space for reflection on the aspects that deconstruct and challenge the boundaries between improvisation and composition. The work developed gave rise to structures and ways of producing sound based on listening, sharing, and decision-making, fostering both collective and individual experiences.
Of a theoretical-practical nature, the workshop welcomed not only musicians but also participants from other fields interested in sound improvisation, sound art, or simply in exploring sound in all its breadth. No prior musical knowledge was required.
