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Improvising in Music

AIM: TO GIVE EVERY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT THE NECESSARY TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVISE IN A GROUP!

What did I want to do?

I wanted to provide a musical endeavor in such a way that every single student spontaneously created original live music in a group.

Following Biasutti’s proposal of teaching improvisation techniques for the enhancement of processes rather than products for developing skills such as problem solving and critical thinking, I decided to design a series of musical activities for our Middle school students.

Students are familiar with composing in groups due to our bimestral project topics. They are familiar when it comes to collaborating, sharing their ideas and working as a team. I like to give them freedom in the selection of their groups so the ‘creative momentum’ is alive at all times. Group composition represents an excellent opportunity for improvisation.

Why? Because when students compose, they follow certain boundaries / instructions, such as: ‘create an idea based on the pentatonic scale’ or ‘repeat your musical idea over the following chord progression’ or ‘change the rhythm of your musical motive’.

So how do students’ compositions help them acquire the skills needed for improvisation? A composition has a structure and a series of musical ingredients which make a unit. Once students know the structure and the chord progressions of the musical piece, they can easily decorate, replace or add new material.

About our space facilities…

We have a series of small rooms, plenty of instrumental resources and equipment so students can get in groups of 4 or 5 and work in separate rooms.

In the classroom! – Hands on!

In order to get that musical response, simultaneous activities were planned. A series of musical tools were given to students according to their level of musicianship and according to the project in place. Musical boundaries related to ‘notes to be used’, rhythmical patterns, specific chord progressions were followed by students when improvising.

In that way, performance, listening & analysis and making choices for rhythmic, melodic and/or harmonic creation took place at the same time.

I wanted students to express their feelings and ideas in a musical way where they could combine their performance, listening & analysis skills.

Musical activities

Example 1- Improvisation based on The Rhythm clock (P6)

Students compose their rhythm pieces based on the ‘rhythm clock - rhythmical patterns’,

then each student improvises while the other members of the group play the rest of the

composed parts. The improvisation part should only have crotchets and quavers!

Students used body percussion first. Then, they chose different unpitched percussion instruments.

Example 2 – Improvisation after exploring pentatonic scales, ostinatos and drone (P6)

After a variety of group proposals considering pentatonic ideas,

Ostinato patterns and the use of drone, I got the whole class

together in order to create a ‘live piece’.

[pic: Vocalise impro with xylophones & unpitched percussion]

Video of the class performance Vocalise impro P6.MOV​

I modelled live improvisation examples to my students. I shared with them not only my musical skills but my fears. This made students feel comfortable and got them motivated to try their improvisational ideas.

After students performed their compositions in front of the class, I decided to choose three different proposals: a pentatonic idea, an ostinato pattern and a drone. I also chose a ‘vocalise’ section done by two students. Then we worked towards a single performance. We discussed the structure of the piece and decided to have three rounds. The first round was for the singers who were asked to vocalise/improvise over a pentatonic scale. The second round was given to the xylophone players who improvised over fragments of the same pentatonic scale. The third round was for the metallophone players who were in charge of the ostinatos & drone. When students were not improvising, they had to play their respective music.

Videos:

What went well?

  • Students valued and praised their peers’musical ideas

  • Social skills – team work! It happened in a natural way as they were allowed to form their own groups.

  • Most skilled musicians had more tools and foundation for their improvisational attempts.

  • An ‘Over arching approach’. Students had to plan and understand the whole structure of the piece when composing and improvising.

  • Students learned to Identify a ‘nuclear idea’ and transform it.

  • The use of important musical devices: ostinato, drone, call & response

  • Creation of lyrics that made sense. The use of ‘vocalisation’ (vocal sounds over a melody).

  • Students responded very well to the use of musical terminology.

What could be better?

  • The final outcome! If there was more time for our projects. In many situations, improvisation takes place in a better way when it is done after the completion of a composition or a cover. Having more composition and performance time during lessons will provide better improvisations from students.

  • Shy students usually go to secure territory. They prefer to play just a few notes or just the notes indicated by the teacher.

  • Introductory series of activities to pair or group students according to their musical needs might be useful and will have an impact in the musical response of these students who usually lack of musical tools.

  • The storage of their musical ideas. I helped them to store their ideas (recorded them with my phone). Students used graphic scores but recordings are really helpful.

What did not go well?

That students with a considerable level of musicianship preferred to work with classroom percussion instruments rather than using their first instruments. They wanted to be part of the group and didn’t mind to sacrifice their level of musicianship. Pianists were the exception. They all went straight to the pianos/keyboards.

Conclusion: Improvisation will remain in our curriculum/programme. I used music activities which I had already used and then added the improvisational element. So; …Prepare / read, present, perform and then improvise! Could easily be considered a formula.

When it comes to ‘improvisation’, if the teacher focuses in the processes, the musical outcome occurs in a natural way as an inevitable consequence.

Improvisation should be included in most of the areas. Games represent a good example. Below, a couple of links

My next work will be about ‘mood’ when composing and improvising!

“A new study helps illuminate the ways in which a composer might intentionally impart sadness into the lines of an orchestral piece. The solo player proves to be an important element of the kind of songs that tighten our throats and leave us searching for a tissue mid-performance, found a new study”.

LINK TO OUR MUSIC BLOG – The music staff has published a series of practical examples, reflections, personaexperience together with videos and photos from students’classroom practices.http://blog.markham.edu.pe/tlmusic2018/

RESEARCH / ARTICLES / BOOKS – INTERESTING LITERATURE & COMMENTS CONNECTED TO THE TOPIC

Inspiring book!

The author argues that improvisation is a pervasive aspect of being human and that it should be at the heart of our teaching and understanding of the world.

About the author,

Simon Rose is a musician, author and researcher from London, England based in Berlin, Germany. His research interest is in creative processes.

Science behind improvisation

Dr. Charles Limb is a surgeon, neuroscientist, and musician at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) who has carried out research on the neural basis of musical creativity. In his research, he has focused on imaging the brains of jazz artists as they improvise. He has worked under the assumption that improvisation is important to creativity more generally, and creativity is vital to basic problem-solving, evolution, and survival. He also investigated the relation of emotion to creativity.

Article by PhD Michele Biasutti – July 2017 - Chair, Associate Professor of Experimental Pedagogy Padova University

Teaching Improvisation through Processes. Applications in Music Education and Implications for General Education

“Improvisation offers the possibility to link informal and formal learning and to acquire a holistic music education by merging ear training, music theory and performance in a learning environment full of stimuli” (Campbell, 2009). “…improvisation is one of the most formative musical practices stimulating pupils' melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and expressive sensibility. In addition, there is a complete involvement of the performer in the promotion of a cohesive musical piece using perceptual, compositional and performance skills. During improvisation higher-order abilities are educated.

Improvisation practice activates several cognitive and social processes (Sawyer, 2011), and learning to improvise could be particularly beneficial for students at all levels (Parncutt, 2006).

Several pieces of research highlight that introducing improvisation at the very beginning of musical education would be highly advantageous for the students. Improvisation activates several cognitive processes and enhances the coordination of complex abilities. In addition, improvisation is also used as a rehabilitation technique on executive functions in older participants (Biasutti and Mangiacotti, 2017) and in psychiatry (Degli Stefani and Biasutti, 2016).

A teaching technique for the enhancement of processes rather than products can provide inputs for developing specific skills such as problem solving and critical thinking to assist a reflective practice during improvisation (Biasutti, 2013). An initial aspect regards defining a context for improvising, providing a framework to the students and asking them to improvise within determined limits. It is a comfort zone in which students can experiment and discover the extent to which they can make music respecting these limits (Parncutt, 2006). Teachers have to reinforce the students' intrinsic motivation to music achievement which is directly connected to self-regulated learning. The teaching approach should focus on the learning process rather than on products stimulating pupils' elaboration of musical knowledge in an independent way (Biasutti, 2015).

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