Teaching Improvisation

I feel that it is important to integrate improvisation into instrumental methods classes. I feel that improvisation is often neglected in these classes. In my own experience as a middle and high scholer, the only time I had ever experienced musical improvisation was in a practice room, on my own, where nobody could possibly hear or see me. The first time I ever improvised in a group was as a junior in college, and it was not as part of an instrumental ensemble at all. It was a part of a music history class on the performance practices of the Baroque era. Part of this class focused on improvisation as a dynamic skill, and included an opportunity to improvise as part of an active learning experience. The experience of improvising in the moment with a group of people, especially as a part of a music history class, was a challenge. It was also a joy, and I was surprised to be exhilarated as a result of the active process of improvisation. This class put the Baroque period of music in a fresh, new light for me, and opened my ears and eyes to new ways of experiencing music.

Now, I really appreciate and enjoy Baroque music in a way that I never anticipated. I think that this is the result of the combination of excellent teaching and my willingness to open myself to new experiences. One of the things that made this teacher stand out to me was the fact that he allowed failure in the context of a musical performance experience. As a music performance major, this was a daunting, but revolutionary idea. I believe that the music learning process was partially exposed to me as a result of this music history class. This, in some way, has contributed to my desire to become an excellent music teacher.

I want to give these experiences to my students as a part of an instrumental music class in a K-12 setting. In order to make the experience fun and meaningful, it will be important to give the students certain parameters, especially at first, so they begin to feel comfortable with the process. Beginning with a pentatonic scale, they can improvise on any note and never sound "wrong." Teaching about good musical questions and answers is also be a way for me to integrate improvisation into my instrumental classroom at a slightly higher level. If the students know that a good answer to a musical question has some elements of the question in it (rhythm, pitches, etc.), they will have an idea where they can start improvising, leading to greater enjoyment and appreciation of music as an art form. I think that, above all, students will intuitively know what they like and what they don't if they are given an opportunity to just "do" improvisation. Giving a group of students an assignment to just jam together in a practice room and then perform for the class when they refine what they want to do would be a good way to integrate improvisation in an instrumental ensemble.