For M 4/6 (comment required)

A quick summary of our start-of-class discussion on Friday:

Improvisation manifests itself in many ways in many musical cultures. In Western Euro-American culture, improvisation was a central element of what we now call "classical" music for centuries, diminishing in the second half of the nineteenth century and the twentieth century to the point that by the post-WW II era it was nearly forgotten by classical musicians, except for organists and those new-music specialists who played avant-garde music that was not fully notated. 

Improvisation was and is at the heart of jazz, and improvisation exists to varying degrees in rock, pop, and folk music. But look back, and you'll discover that especially in the music we now call "Baroque" (1600-1750), improvisation was at least equally valued as were compositions in performances.

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt we remember today for their compositions, but in their time they were renowned for their improvisational abilities. In the Baroque era, much music was not fully notated. Keyboard parts in vocal and instrumental ensemble music were rarely written out; keyboard players would have only a bass line and chord symbols and were expected to be able to fill out the parts, just as musicians in jazz, pop, and rock are expected to be able to play from chord charts today. 

Today, people improvise music for a variety of purposes:

• As a performance art (i.e., playing or singing music that is completely or partly improvised for an audience, in a setting that makes a distinction between performers and audience members).
  
• As a way of self-expression, interpersonal connection, and personal and group growth and development. We have experienced this with our self-led drum circles that use improvised rhythms and are exploring this with pitched instruments and voices.
  
• As a way of exploring and learning: improvising to work on keeping a pulse, on being aware of others making music with you, or to experiment with a musical idea or structure (such as an interval, dynamics, a particular technique, etc.).

These purposes can and do coexist, of course. Quite obviously, we can express ourselves and connect with others when performing! And we are constantly learning. 

This weekend, let's reflect on and discuss in the comments below your experience with improvisation so far, whether in class or elsewhere, especially how you have (or haven't) used improvising in performance, as a way of expressing yourself and connecting with others, and as a way of learning. (Have you every done exercises in theory or musicianship classes that had an improvised element?)

Just as importantly, how do you want to grow as a person and musician as we have our last two sessions together (both of which will focus largely on improvisation activities, in addition to more discussion of the New Yorker article).  

The writing prompt:

1. Describe improvisation experiences you have had in class or elsewhere using the this idea that there are three main focuses: performing for an audience, self-expression/connection/growth, and learning through experimentation.
   
2. Discuss how you want to grow as we have our final sessions.  

I strongly encourage you to do some improvisation on your own or with others between now and Monday's class!