(Anecdotal) This article is not based on an actual research project, just years of group observation and 1:1 coaching of students learning improvisation.
Have you tried to teach improvisation before? Like actually teaching the skill besides just presenting the opportunity to do so? Is it part of your job description (aka. Jazz ensemble)? Did you know that every music teacher is supposed to include it in their curriculum, as per the NAfME music standards?
So if you have tried to teach improvisation, how did it go? Let me take a guess. You had some students that were all about trying it. Some of their volunteer efforts went naturally well and some crashed and burned. There were some students that tried to look invisible, maybe students that tried to volunteer their friends, perhaps even a student that was defiant and said no.
Psychology and Improvisation Exposes Extreme Polarities in Student Personalities
Improvisation isn’t like trying the food at a buffet; it’s like trying a food someone else said was gross. Everyone feels tentative about the idea at first. Why? It’s exposure and the risk is high for making a mistake and sounding bad.
But why do some students do well and others literally can’t do anything? It has to do with their mindset towards trying something new. It also has to do with their self-confidence, and their lack of fear towards making mistakes, especially in front of peers. Ever notice that some people get in front of the class, make a mistake, barely bat an eye while saying “My bad,” and just move on? Those are the musicians that are good at improvising or at least are good at attempting it, which begins their ability to practice the skill and hone it. The students that can’t muster the courage to try are the ones that can’t even begin to develop the skill, and those students are the ones that miss out on the intrinsic skills that improvisation teaches- the likely reason why it is included in the content standards.
There are indeed extreme polarities between students and their psychology toward improvisation. Iif the polarity is allowed to exist in your classroom or rehearsal space, the rift between skills (both obvious and soft) will continue to increase. Allowing students to pass and opt out is easier, but it is doing them a disservice.
So what is the solution?
The solution is threefold.
It must be something that addresses the fear of sharing their music as a soloist and the fear of improvising something that sounds bad. The first solution is to create a culture in your classroom where solo sharing is expected, routine and encouraging, like a team that celebrates the weakest players’ improvement in a consistent way, and where the most skilled players are kind role models to everyone else.
The second solution is to develop a way to teach a system to all of your students. It should be based in theory, so that it explains what the “most correct answers” are for good-sounding notes and performing results. Students these days are conditioned to have right and wrong answers for everyone (another result of over-testing), so they would appreciate knowing what to play and safe ways to be creative within that. Knowing a few basic theory rules to melody creation would go a long way to provide this to them.
The third solution is routine. Since improvisation is often excluded or bushed off in most musical spaces in lieu of normal rehearsal material, there’s no space for a routine, but having just a few minutes per rehearsal dedicated to improvisation turns it into part of the routine. Expecting it to be included takes the edge off the unexpected surprise improvising opportunity. Occasional opportunities, say, once a week or two weeks, gives more opportunities to practice the skill, and worries slowly begin to go away.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that students need to know that improvising is safe and that there is a method to it, that it isn’t impossible to get the right answer. You, as the teacher, are the provider of this the fearless leader yourself. You owe it to them. Picture a roomful of musicians, all anxious to take their turn and rock the room with an improv solo. It can be done, and it just takes a little planning.
And remember, if this is new to them, be prepared to be met with some resistance. Some of those personality types aren’t going to like this at first, but be patient, and tell them to be patient with themselves. It gets easier.
This article was written by Music Room/Uplevel U: Music's owner and creator, Karen (Kay) Janiszewski.
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