Improvising: A Musician's Necessity

Improvisation is a necessity for all musicians whether one is classically trained, a jazz musician, or just a weekend warrior. It is true that jazz is the music most accredited for using improvisation, but it is also necessary to use those skills in all other genres of music. We are human and are liable to make mistakes from time to time. We sometimes get lost in a piece or forget our place so it is good to lay a groundwork and learn the chords to a piece before hand so to keep the integrity of the music (i.e. a textural reduction for Bach's prelude in C). Sometimes we improvise because maybe the rhythm section plays the wrong sets of chords so out of necessity we improvise to make the best of the situation. Improvisation is also a breeding ground for the creative process which is a necessary aspect to composing. Musicians need to learn the art form of improvisation no matter what music they play either for creative purposes or for musical security.

The art of improvisation is partly a learned skill and partly intuition or taste. Improvisation is learned through hours, days, months, and years of practice. Improvisers create habits through practice until it becomes second-nature. It has been a misconception that improvising is something made up instantaneously as if some kind of supernatural phenomenon when, in actuality, is time spent persevering an art form.

The more educated a musician is the better chance that they have being an improviser, but only if their education is practiced and put into routine. The art of improvisation can be broken into parts. A musician's understanding of theory lays the groundwork for improvising over tunes or compositions. A musician should have awareness and a personal knowledge of their instrument. And, a musician should be able to hear everything so to be applied through their knowledge of theory and their respective instrument. Improvisation is more than a fleeting whim of inspiration. The art of improvisation can be honed through years of education and practice with specific concentration on music theory, ear training, and one's musical instrument or voice. Confucius once said, "By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart." The art of improvisation can be thought of the same way and it is by applied knowledge and much practice that we, musicians, can becomegreat improvisers.

For more information about the author, David Putnam, visithttp://www.NewOrleansMusicLessons.com