Category Archives: improvisation

Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5c in the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 1 February 2010

This is a continuation of the series on the topic: incorporating improvisation into private piano teaching.  I had originally planned to post all 4 steps into one post, but the post would be too lengthy.  So the topic “Incorporating Improvisation” is being divided into 4 separate posts: Develop Related Skills Create an atmosphere conducive to [...]

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Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5b in the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 29 January 2010

This is a continuation of the series on the topic: incorporating improvisation into private piano teaching.  I had originally planned to post all 4 steps into one post, but the post would be too lengthy.  So the topic “Incorporating Improvisation” is being divided into 4 separate posts: Develop Related Skills Create an atmosphere conducive to [...]

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Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5a of the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 25 January 2010

Now to the heart of the discussion!  We’ve already covered some common obstacles encountered when trying to incorporate improvisation, and we’ve briefly discussed the history and the value of improvisation.  Now let’s discuss a practical way to incorporate improvisation (non-jazz improvisation, in particular) into the piano lesson. There are 4 steps in the method I [...]

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The Value of Improvisation | Part 4 of the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 22 January 2010

As we saw in Part 3, improvisation has a rich history in Western classical music, but has virtually disappeared from modern piano pedagogy.  Today, we are going to discuss the value of improvisation: Improvisation fosters creativity and individuality. Improvisation appeals to both the performer and the audience. Strengthens the connection between theory and practice in [...]

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A Brief History of Improvisation | Part 3 of the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 15 January 2010

Before we can discuss a practical way to incorporate improvisation, let’s first trace the history of improvisation in Western classical music: Early and Renaissance Music: Improvisation has its roots in early music traditions, before the invention of musical notation — when music was shared and passed on to the next generation by rote. Baroque Period: [...]

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Upcoming Poster Session @ Mich. Music Conference

By joy (admin) | Published: 14 January 2010

Remember that improvisation paper for school that I’m been mentioning here and there?  Well, I’ve been accepted to present my research findings at the poster session on January 22 as part of the 2009 Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan!  I don’t know if any of you Michiganders out there are planning on attending [...]

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Top 3 Obstacles when Teaching Improvisation | Part 2 of the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 16 December 2009

Okay, so I’ve been promising to talk about the findings from my research paper about improvisation.  While I don’t plan to post the entire 20+ pages as is, I do plan to post the information over a few posts, bit by bit, so it’s easier to read.  The first bit here (below) establishes the problem [...]

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Easy Improv Activity @ Music Matters Blog

By joy (admin) | Published: 2 December 2009

I apologize for the lack of posts recently — this week is the last week of classes at college, and next week is final exams.  It’s a busy time of the semester!  I will try to get back on track soon.  I wanted to send you over for a look at Natalie’s description of an [...]

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Creativity in the Piano Lesson | Part 1 of the series

By joy (admin) | Published: 26 October 2009

I’ve been reading a lot about improvisation (non-jazz, particularly) and creativity in the piano lesson lately, as I’ve been working on a paper for my Into to Music Research class for college.  It’s interesting to me how today there seems to be a trend for exact, literal performances of composers’ works.  It was not always [...]

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Book Review: Soprano on Her Head

By joy (admin) | Published: 11 September 2009

Amazon.com Widgets I just finished reading a marvelous book, called Soprano on Her Head: Right-Side-Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances, by Eloise Ristad.  My piano professor recommended I read this book during a lesson when we were discussing performance anxiety (which I experience frequently, I must admit). In this easy-to-read, humorous book, Ristad shares her [...]

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Gabriela Montero: pianist/improviser

By joy (admin) | Published: 1 September 2009

Have you seen the some of the incredible improvised performances by Gabriela Montero on YouTube?  Not only is she an accomplished classical pianist, but she’s an incredible improviser as well.  In this video, she took a request from the audience to improvise upon the theme from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations: According to her website, she [...]

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Making Time for Improvisation

By joy (admin) | Published: 24 March 2009

In piano lessions today, improvisation is often a subject that often “goes out the window” because it is deemed to be less important or secondary to other skills. It had not always been this way; improvisation used to be a expected skill for any accomplished keyboardist during the Baroque through Romantic eras. Interestingly enough, it [...]

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