I am a product of a musical education which didn't involve any form of improvisation and very little decision making other than fingering and bowing decisions. And I didn't really feel that confident about making those decisions.
After starting University I started to encounter musicians and situations where people were 'having a jam'. Improvising for fun! I felt totally bewildered by how I might be able to join in in this kind of situation and would dread one of these happening if there was a piano or violin around because there was an assumption that because I played an instrument I could join in.
I started to make steps towards improvising through playing with bands and working out things by ear and writing them down or memorising them. It was probably only about a year ago that I started improvising in public. It has been a challenging but hugely rewarding journey (which I haven't finished yet!)
I have begun encorporating very basic improvisation ideas in my teaching (mostly without calling it improvisation at first). The response has been incredible. I've found ways to introduce ideas very gradually and easily so even the most sceptial student finds themself succeeding instantly. Students have been really engaged and have enjoyed creating something which is their own voice. It is also a wonderful tool for teaching a practical understanding of how music works (scales, arpeggios, dominiant 7ths). I am also using it to develop notation reading skills as the player must choose when to follow the music and when do something different.
Decision making is also fundamental to any practice session away from a teacher so that problems can be solved independantly. It is not just about learning to improvise for performance but all the other skills that brings with it!
After starting University I started to encounter musicians and situations where people were 'having a jam'. Improvising for fun! I felt totally bewildered by how I might be able to join in in this kind of situation and would dread one of these happening if there was a piano or violin around because there was an assumption that because I played an instrument I could join in.
I started to make steps towards improvising through playing with bands and working out things by ear and writing them down or memorising them. It was probably only about a year ago that I started improvising in public. It has been a challenging but hugely rewarding journey (which I haven't finished yet!)
I have begun encorporating very basic improvisation ideas in my teaching (mostly without calling it improvisation at first). The response has been incredible. I've found ways to introduce ideas very gradually and easily so even the most sceptial student finds themself succeeding instantly. Students have been really engaged and have enjoyed creating something which is their own voice. It is also a wonderful tool for teaching a practical understanding of how music works (scales, arpeggios, dominiant 7ths). I am also using it to develop notation reading skills as the player must choose when to follow the music and when do something different.
Decision making is also fundamental to any practice session away from a teacher so that problems can be solved independantly. It is not just about learning to improvise for performance but all the other skills that brings with it!
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