Musical improvisation: Difference between revisions
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'''Bold text'''YOUR MUM IS FAT!!! :P |
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'''Musical improvisation''' is [[singing]] or playing a [[musical instrument]] extemporaneously—in an "offhand" manner. This contrasts with the more conventional approach to performing musical works, which involves playing music that is read from [[Musical notation|notation]], or that has been previously memorized. |
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[[Improvisation]] has been an integral part of [[music]] since the [[Prehistoric music|beginning of music]]. It is featured in many kinds of [[folk music|traditional musics]], including [[flamenco]] and [[pygmy music]] and other [[African music]]s; [[classical music (disambiguation)|classical music]]s such as [[European classical music|European]] and [[Indian classical music]]; [[popular music]]s including [[rap music]]; and throughout regions such as [[Arab music|Arabia]], as well as being an integral part of blues and jazz. |
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Improvisation can be structured, with certain rules constraining the improvisation (for example, "make up a [[song]] about bicycles", "use these [[chord (music)|chord]] changes", and so on), or can have no such constraints. The improvisation of [[ornament (music)|ornaments]] is found in some musical traditions. |
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==Classical musics== |
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===European classical music=== |
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Original score notations for medieval organ music commonly include instructions for improvisation and embellishments. The scales that were used were selected according to the same improvisational principles now used in jazz. When the single voice [[plainsong]] started to develop into the 2-, 3-, or 4-part [[organum]] (during the period 1000-1300 A.D.), one or more of the parts were also commonly improvised, weaving free counter-lines around the written [[melody]] line. |
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Throughout the Baroque (1600 - 1750), Classical (1750 - 1830), and Romantic (1830 - 1900) periods, improvisation was a highly valued skill. [[J.S. Bach]], [[Handel]], [[Mozart]], [[Beethoven]], [[Liszt]], and many other famous composers and musicians were known especially for their improvisational skills. Many classical scores contained sections for improvisation, such as the [[cadenza]] in the [[piano concerto]]. The [[Prelude (music)|preludes]] to some keyboard suites by Bach and Handel, for example, consisted solely of a progression of chords. The performers used these as the basis for their improvisation. |
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See also: [[Cadenza]] and [[Figured bass]]. |
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===Contemporary composition and the improviser=== |
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Since the 1950s, contemporary composers have placed fewer restrictions on the improvising performer, using techniques such as vague notation (for example, indicating only that a certain number of notes must sound within a defined period of time). Jazz ensembles formed around improvisation were founded, such as [[Lukas Foss]]' [[Improvisation Chamber Ensemble]] at the University of California, Los Angeles; [[Larry Austin]]'s [[New Music Ensemble]] at the University of California, Davis; the [[ONCE Group]] at Ann Arbor; the [[Sonic Arts Group]]; and the [[San Francisco Tape Music Center]], the latter three funding themselves through concerts, tours, and grants. Significant pieces include Foss's ''Time Cycles'' (1960) and ''Echoi'' (1963). (Von Gunden 1983, p.32) |
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Other composers working with improvisation include [[Pauline Oliveros]], [[Terry Riley]], [[Frederic Rzewski]], [[Karlheinz Essl]], and [[Christian Wolff (composer)|Christian Wolff]]. |
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==Popular music== |
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[[Blues]], [[jazz]], and [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] are well-known for using improvisation. Almost all of the improvisation heard in [[rock and roll]], blues, [[Jam band|jam]], and [[Heavy metal music|metal]] bands is in the form of [[lead guitar]] or other [[solo (music)|soloing]]. These musical improvisations are very song-oriented, usually working within the demands of the background rhythm and [[harmony]], so there is little concept of "[[free improvisation]]." Solos are often used to exhibit the musical virtuosity of the performer and many popular musicians have become famous through their intricate and technically demanding solos, such as [[Yngwie Malmsteen]], [[Eddie Van Halen]], [[Joe Satriani]] and [[Keith Emerson]]. |
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Blues and traditional rock improvisation leans heavily on the use of the [[blues]] scale (a variation of the minor [[pentatonic]] scale), which sounds good in either major or minor keys and simple enough for beginning guitarists to execute. Many rock and jam bands use these, although forms of music are very open to individual interpretation, so the possibilities for improvisation are almost limitless. |
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=== Jazz improvisation === |
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Improvisation is one of the basic tenets of jazz. Typically in a jazz piece, the "[[Head (music)|head]]" (the song's melody along with any backing harmony) is played once by the musicians and sometimes repeated. Improvisation by any of the musicians follows, and this is typically the longest section of a song as each musician improvises their own melody over the harmonic and rhythmic foundation of the head. When the end of the head is reached it is repeated and a solo's length is specified by the number of repetitions of the head necessary. After one musician has finished improvising, another will begin, and no instrument is forbidden from improvising. A repetition of the head will end a jazz piece. There are an infinite number of variations to this pattern; new sections can be added before and after the head, two musicians can alternatively improvise for short amounts of time (known as "trading"), or several musicians can improvise in a group (this is common in [[Dixieland]] jazz). |
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Many varied scales and their [[modes]] can be used in improvisation. These mainly depend on the nature of the harmonic framework. Against a C Minor seventh chord, for example, an improvisor would usually have a choice of using C Dorian, C Aeolian, C blues, and others, depending on the situation and personal taste. Chord changes are very important in jazz improvisation as well. Whole solos can be built around chord tones. The variety is achieved with the rhythmic aspects of the solo. The rhythm of jazz is constantly growing. It is a continuum |
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In the [[bebop]] era of jazz in the early [[1950s in music|1950s]] there was a common theme of urgency and technical proficiency. Performers would often construct intricate melody lines at speeds of up to 300BPM. These improvisations varied considerably from the songs main melody. The modal era of jazz, mainly started by [[Miles Davis]], moved the harmonic framework for a piece from the fast, dynamic chord progressions of bebop to more static, relaxed chords with longer durations. Performers were then instructed to improvise not over specific chords, but in a [[musical mode]] instead. [[Free jazz]] eventually led to the loss of a harmonic framework in improvisation. |
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Jazz musicians are typically judged on their improvisation skills, and some are notable from their work on a single recording (like [[Illinois Jacquet]]). [[Charlie Parker]] was particularly known for his improvisations and many have been transcribed for study, or arranged for jazz groups such as [[Supersax]] to play with a harmonic backing. An improvisation can often give rise to an entirely new head for a jazz tune. |
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Vocal jazz improvisations, known as [[scat singing]] or [[vocalese]], often include improvised lyrics or nonsense syllables. |
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==See also== |
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*[[Free improvisation]]. |
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*[[Improvisation in music therapy]]. |
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==Bibliography== |
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* Bailey, Derek. 1992. "Improvisation." Da Capo Press. Philadelphia, 146 p. |
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* Berliner, Paul. 1994. ''Thinking in Jazz: the Infinite Art of Improvisation'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) |
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* Kertz-Welzel, Alexandra. "Piano Improvisation Develops Musicianship." ''Orff-Echo'' XXXVII No. 1 (2004): 11-14. |
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* Von Gunden, Heidi (1983). ''The Music of Pauline Oliveros''. ISBN 0-8108-1600-8. |
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==Articles== |
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*[http://www.essl.at/bibliogr/improvisation-e.html Improvisation on ''Improvisation'']: Karlheinz Essl and Jack Hauser talking about musical improvisation |
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*[http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=35tp00 Losing Control: Indeterminacy and Improvisation in Music Since 1950]: by Sabine Feisst |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.apassion4jazz.net/improv.html Jazz Improvisation] Descriptions of various methods of Jazz improvising. |
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* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar:Improvising guitar:improvising] improvising for guitar in wikibooks |
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* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Harmonica/Improvising harmonica/improvising] improvising for harmonica in wikibooks |
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* [http://www.jazzfrets.com Jazz Frets Guitar Theory Lessons] This website offers a free Jazz Theory eBook written by JC Massaux (Instructor in Berklee College of Music) including various chapters about Jazz Chords, Improvisation, Notes and Music Harmony in general. |
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* [http://www.ilearnmusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=6&id=73&Itemid=50 Learn Guitar Improvisation and Music Theory] This site contains a variety of resources for those interested in improving their improvisation skills -- with a focus on guitar. |
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*[http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~keller/jazz/improvisor Impro-Visor] (Jazz Improvisation Advisor) software |
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*[http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/genresearch.pl?genre=improvisatory Art of the States: improvisatory] improvisatory works by American composers |
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[[Category:Improvisation]] |
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[[Category:Music|Improvisation]] |
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[[it:Improvvisazione#Musica]] |
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[[nl:Improvisatie (muziek)]] |
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[[ja:即興演奏]] |
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Revision as of 12:31, 17 September 2006
Bold textYOUR MUM IS FAT!!! :P