I Can't And I Won't Improvise!!! Activities that develop and encourage Melodic Improvisation with our pupils (and maybe ourselves). Music is a language. Like any language, it requires a vocabulary in order to communicate. Our musical vocabulary informs our ability to express ourselves in a musical way. The broader and deeper our vocabulary, the more enriched our music making will be. 1

There are three areas of musical vocabulary that Melodic Improvisation can enhance and develop. LISTENING (Communicating) IMITATING (Communicating) CREATING (Communicating) 2

LISTENING: Ear awareness and aural perception are integral to all musical learning. Through Improvisation we can improve a student’s aural perception in a direct and (hopefully) enjoyable way. IMITATING: Imitation is a hugely important aspect of musical language and vocabulary. It's how we learned to speak in our early years. In musical terms it establishes our vocabulary and stylistic awareness. CREATING: This is where we bring together all our skills and trust in the moment! We and our pupils can respond to the 'conversation' of musical creativity. 3

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Gabriela Montero 5

Miles Davis 6

LISTENING (Part 1) Getting started - A draft lesson or two... Resources: A piano or music/video player. AIM: " Today we are going to explore improvisation. Do you know what we mean by improvisation?" A conversation should develop - It's good to find out what your pupils think and sometimes the answers are worth hearing! It is important to get across the point that most improvisation does take place within a musical framework and is not usually completely random. It should also strive to be connected with the ensemble that might surround it. 7

IMITATING (Part 1) Resources: A piano and/or music player. AIM: To develop vocabulary and determine the level our student can work at. Proficiency on their instrument will be considered but you will hopefully have some idea of that before you started on the topic. Ask your student to repeat back simple clapped phrases, after hearing them once. Start with 4 beat phrases, not too fast - If your student is quick to catch on you might then extend this to an 8 beat phrase. Following a good rhythm work-out, introduce the concept of a note bank. Use the Root, 2nd, 3rd and 5th notes of a major scale (you may add the 6th too if appropriate). Use a key suitable to the ability level of your student. Reassure them whatever they play later none of the notes will sound 'wrong' in a bad way! 8

Now explore notes from the note bank. Follow the same process as we did previously with the clapping work. Allow the 'Call' phrases to gradually develop in complexity but paced at a level suitable for the pupil. Take turns being the 'Caller'! With the clapping and melodic imitating you could also introduce Latin or swing rhythms and some syncopation and anticipation. 9

LISTENING (Part 2) Resources: A piano and/or a music player. AIM: To assess and develop the students feel for phrasing - Working on an 8 beat (2 bar) cycle, initially identifying beats 1 and 8 Using a backing track or any piece of music in a steady 4/4 time with clear four or eight bar sections Instruct your pupil to clap on beats one and eight. When improvising it’s important to develop a ‘feel’ for the phrasing behind your melodic improvisation. You could both count aloud initially, then move on to a 'thinking' voice to encourage internalisation. Phrasing can also be experienced in movement, as in step patterns through the feet. Other time signatures could also be chosen. 10

CREATING (Part 1) Resources: A piano and/or a music player. AIM: Melodic Improvisation and performance – with accompaniment. We could use either the piano and our singing voice or, alternatively, a backing track and your own instrument. If you want an app that you can write backing tracks on then I recommend. ireal pro. This app costs around ￡ It has android and apple platforms. Although primarily a resource that jazz musicians use it also has the flexibility to provide a 'ready made' band that can enhance the experience of improvisation in practice. 11

Using the note degrees 1, 2, 3 and 5 (6) from an appropriate key. (C D E G (A) for example) Try simple Call and Copy phrases (Imitating) with your student – now with accompanying chords or a backing track. Set four beat phrases at a very steady tempo. You can extend it to eight beats later. Build up their confidence in melodic memory repetition skills. Move onto Question and Answer (Creating) when you and they seem ready. Using a simple chord structure, as in the following grid (alternatively, use a backing track) sing or play Call phrases for your pupil to play back. 12

Bar1234 Chord definition'C''D min7''C''G' Right Hand ECGECG FCAFCA ECGECG DBGDBG Left Hand CDCG Bar5678 Chord definition'C''D min7''G''C' Right Hand ECGECG FCAFCA DBGDBG ECGECG Left Hand CDGC 13

(Creating, cont.. ) Remind your student to think and play in 8 beat phrases. Help them to achieve this initially by setting 'Call' and 'Copy' tasks. If the call and copy has gone well, now could be the right moment to suggest your student play independently. Do set them the initial boundary of playing over 8 beats and then resting for 8 beats. It is important to understand from the very beginning that the space between notes is as important as the note itself. It also gives them time to think about their next phrase. If this is going well you might wish to play yourself too, exchanging melodic improvisation ideas in alternate 8 beat phrases. Or you could just let the student play through all 8 bars. At this stage it is important to say that the musical line should contain some repetition (melodic, rhythmic or both). 14

Some students might initially think that Improvisation is quite random. Melodic Improvisation clearly demonstrates that most of the time it isn't. A listener responds to musical lines which demonstrate how the performer is in charge of the material. Thematic development, with a degree of repetition, quickly establishes that the composer/performer is in control of the musical narrative. REMEMBER! As long as they and you stick to the guidelines (the note bank and a suitable chord sequence), none of their notes will sound 'wrong' in a way that many students fear when faced with making musical decisions about what to play and when to play it. 15

LISTENING (C) Resources: A piano and/or a music player. AIM: Exploring tension and relaxation in melodic lines, related to chord progressions. Melody (music) acquires it's momentum through the effect of tension and release. Melodic Improvisation also presents an opportunity to explore the relationship between a single musical line and the accompanying chords and chord sequence. In the demonstration above we might of picked out the dominant chord in the penultimate bar and the return to the tonic chord in the following bar. It should be explained how this provides a neat ‘ending’ to the eight bar sequence. The 5th degree of the scale (or the 4 th note of a pentatonic scale) could be emphasised in that penultimate bar by the performer, moving to a tonic in the final bar. 16