Eliminating Fear and Unleashing Creativity: Incorporating Improvisation into Performance Practice and Education

This research project was written simultaneously with a composition for double

bass and piano that centers around improvisational concepts. The composition is intended for intermediate to advanced musicians to have an opportunity to practice improvisational performance and, hopefully, further their understanding and improve their ability to make convincing and creative musical decisions.

Improvisation, an aspect of music that has a deep tradition in Western Classical music, is often feared by classical musicians. The lack of improvisation in classical music, the idea that it is a specialized skill, and the lack of encouragement from studio teachers contributes greatly to this fear. In addition, teachers themselves often fear teaching and utilizing improvisation in performance for these same reasons. The introduction of improvisation into both the student’s and the teacher’s studies and daily practice can be beneficial in the development of meaningful performance and understanding music theory concepts.

This paper will introduce improvisation into daily practice that will educate both the student and the teacher and cement the understanding of theoretical concepts and standard repertoire. Various improvisation games (creating new material and improvising from traditional classical music) will be introduced. This study will begin with a brief survey of the tradition of improvisation in Western classical music from the Middle Ages to the present.