Download or read book An Analysis of Practical Challenges Posed by Teaching Improvisation written by Joseph Michael Pignato and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: For much of the past century, music education researchers have espoused improvisation as an important tool for developing creativity, self-expression, and aesthetic understanding. Improvisation instruction in American school music programs, however, primarily occurs in two limited areas of activity: jazz performance ensembles and the teaching of select elementary music methods. Comprehensive integration of improvisation instruction in school music curricula beyond those domains or via other idioms rich in improvisation remains relatively uncommon. Researchers in music education have documented improvisation and its applications in elementary music methodologies. A large body of extant literature addresses jazz in school music programs, jazz pedagogical methods, and jazz ensemble student experience. Studies examining improvisation in American school music contexts in regard to other genres or teaching modalities, however, are sparse. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe selected New York State music educators, school music programs, and class settings that make improvisation a central part of their curricula in ways that transcend traditional jazz ensemble or elementary methodology offerings. The author employed a case study methodology to study the classrooms of two teachers over the course of one academic year. Data collection utilized ethnographic techniques including formal oral interviews, classroom observations, and informal conversations. Data analysis employed interpretive coding guided by a constant comparative approach. Data analysis revealed challenges posed by teaching improvisation in the school music contexts studied including lack of curricular resources supporting improvisation instruction, conflicts with tradition and the expectations of colleagues, parents, students, and administrators, and standing apart from the prevailing practices of colleagues. Four themes emerged from participant narratives during the course of investigation: (a) significant epiphany experiences, (b) protracted personal transformations, (c) intentionality, and (d) concerted advocacy. Suggestions for music education include improving integration of exceptional teachers into prevailing practices in ways that foster a multiplicity of approaches to teaching music "of all periods, styles, forms, and cultures" (Choate, 1968, p. 139), minimizing extrinsic challenges to teaching improvisation in school music contexts, enhancing teacher intentionality, and encouraging advocacy efforts to foster acceptance, cooperation, and deeper understanding of the value of incorporating improvisation in school music programs.
Download or read book Improvisation and Music Education written by Ajay Heble and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers compelling new perspectives on the revolutionary potential of improvisation pedagogy. Bringing together contributions from leading musicians, scholars, and teachers from around the world, the volume articulates how improvisation can breathe new life into old curricula; how it can help teachers and students to communicate more effectively; how it can break down damaging ideological boundaries between classrooms and communities; and how it can help students become more thoughtful, engaged, and activist global citizens. In the last two decades, a growing number of music educators, music education researchers, musicologists, cultural theorists, creative practitioners, and ethnomusicologists have suggested that a greater emphasis on improvisation in music performance, history, and theory classes offers enormous potential for pedagogical enrichment. This book will help educators realize that potential by exploring improvisation along a variety of trajectories. Essays offer readers both theoretical explorations of improvisation and music education from a wide array of vantage points, and practical explanations of how the theory can be implemented in real situations in communities and classrooms. It will therefore be of interest to teachers and students in numerous modes of pedagogy and fields of study, as well as students and faculty in the academic fields of music education, jazz studies, ethnomusicology, musicology, cultural studies, and popular culture studies.
Download or read book Children s Guided Participation in Jazz Improvisation written by Guro Gravem Johansen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-29 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improbasen is a Norwegian private learning centre that offers beginner's instrumental tuition within jazz improvisation for children between the ages of 7 and 15. This book springs out of a two-year ethnographic study of the teaching and learning activity at Improbasen, highlighting features from the micro-interactions within the lessons, the organisation of Improbasen, and its international activity. Music teachers, students, and scholars within music education as well as jazz research will benefit from the perspectives presented in the book, which shows how children systematically acquire tools for improvisation and shared codes for interplay. Through a process of guided participation in jazz culture, even very young children are empowered to take part in a global, creative musical practice with improvisation as an educational core. This book critically engages in current discussions about jazz pedagogy, inclusion and gender equity, beginning instrumental tuition, creativity, and authenticity in childhood.
Download or read book Music Discovery written by Daniel J. Healy and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ""Improvisation is spontaneity in music. It can be beautiful, uplifting, and unnerving all at the same. It happens instantaneously, in a unique context, with ideas never to be performed the same way again. It can be the result of years of practice or an unexpected reaction to a collaborative musical moment. As Spolin so eloquently explains, it provides musicians with an opportunity to explore a musical situation where boundaries can be stretched and new ideas can be enacted. Out of these experiences comes a sense of freedom and agency that can inspire a young musician. We have seen the power of these experiences in our own students, and we hope to foster those same experiences for students through the teaching approaches and activities discussed in this book. Where do improvised musical moments live in the typical music curriculum? We know that it is a challenge to incorporate improvisation on a consistent basis. As new music teachers, we often incorporated improvisation as a culminating experience at the end of a unit, or we saved improvisation experiences until concerts were completed. Improvisation did not seem like something that we could address year-long when the demands of content or performance were so great. It changed our teaching when we realized that we could integrate music improvisation activities consistently into the ensemble or music classroom curriculum. Furthermore, we realized that we did not need to hit the ""pause"" button on concert preparation to work on an improvisation unit, both repertoire and improvisation could advance our students' performance abilities. A music teacher can do this in a group setting by tapping into students' diverse personalities and voices. Improvisation is often framed as an independent enterprise, but an eclectic group of students provides boundless opportunities for rich and varied musical collaboration. Moreover, the teacher can be essential in facilitating vibrant group improvisation experiences. There is something different that happens in musical development when we set up opportunities for students to make spontaneous musical choices for themselves. Students begin to listen differently, watch differently, feel differently, and perform differently if we give them the space to stretch musical boundaries and create their own musical ideas. How do we know that students change when they begin to improvise? By focusing on musical elements in improvised activities such as melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre/texture, articulation, and dynamics consistently over time-we have seen students transform. By grounding musical improvisation in these musical elements, students can begin to connect and produce music that reflects layered levels of musical understanding. Furthermore, when lessons are exploratory, interdisciplinary, or inspired by principles in various genres students will experience more fluid musical interactions, become more attuned to their neighbors, and more open and adaptive to musical ideas. This book is designed to provide an accessible approach to including musical improvisation in the large ensemble and classroom setting. It is largely based on the transformative musical experiences we have had with students when we began incorporating improvisation into our teaching. The spontaneous and unpredictable nature of musical improvisation can be challenging, but the rewards far outweigh any momentary trepidation that teachers and students might feel. The pedagogical suggestions and lesson plans presented will make the benefits of teaching and learning improvisation clear and provide an approach that is adaptable and manageable for music teachers working with large numbers of students. In doing so, teachers will learn more about students' musical thinking and will enhance musicianship skills for their entire ensembles. The 2014 National Music Standards call for music teachers to engage students in the musical process of creation and describes improvisation as an integral experience. Yet we know, many teachers, particularly in large ensembles and classroom settings, still struggle to find ways to make improvisation a reality (Bernhard, 2013; Bernhard & Stringham, 2016; Schopp, 2006). The book is framed around practical and flexible ideas for implementing improvisation activities. The lesson activities borrow broad principles from different musical styles and genres to provide a variety of improvisation settings and appeal to diverse student interests. Many activities are exploratory in nature allowing students to play and respond to each other while also focusing on core musical elements such as melody and rhythm. Interdisciplinary teaching approaches and resources are suggested throughout many of the lessons to enhance creative expression and build connections between the arts. Lessons include learning objectives, detailed procedures, assessments, benefits, recordings, and mp3 examples. ""--
Download or read book Expanding the Space for Improvisation Pedagogy in Music written by Guro Gravem Johansen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-31 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Expanding the Space for Improvisation Pedagogy in Music is a critical, research-based anthology exploring improvisation in music pedagogy. The book broadens the understanding of the potentials and possibilities for improvisation in a variety of music education contexts and stimulates the development of knowledge and reflection on improvisation. The book critically examines the challenges, cultural values, aims and methods involved in improvisation pedagogy. Written by international contributors representing a variety of musical genres and research methodologies, it takes a transdisciplinary approach and outlines a way ahead for improvisation pedagogy and research, by providing a space for the exchange of knowledge and critique. This book will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of arts education, music education, improvisation, music psychology, musicology, ethnomusicology, artistic research and community music. It will also appeal to music educators on all levels in the field of music education and music psychology.
Download or read book Teaching Improv in Your Jazz Ensemble written by Zachary B. Poulter and published by R & L Education. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Download or read book Structure and Improvisation in Creative Teaching written by R. Keith Sawyer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-27 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With an increasing emphasis on creativity and innovation in the twenty-first century, teachers need to be creative professionals just as students must learn to be creative. And yet, schools are institutions with many important structures and guidelines that teachers must follow. Effective creative teaching strikes a delicate balance between structure and improvisation. The authors draw on studies of jazz, theater improvisation and dance improvisation to demonstrate that the most creative performers work within similar structures and guidelines. By looking to these creative genres, the book provides practical advice for teachers who wish to become more creative professionals.
Download or read book Teaching Music Improvisation with Technology written by Michael Fein and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates how technology can be used to support improvisational growth and musical development in the practice room and music classroom. Hands-on technology activities guide the reader through the basic mechanics of improvising and the essential music theory elements needed to improvise and teach improvisation.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education written by Alex Ruthmann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Few aspects of daily existence are untouched by technology. Learning and teaching music are no exceptions and arguably have been impacted as much or more than other areas of life. Digital technologies have come to affect music learning and teaching in profound ways, influencing how we create, listen, share, consume, and interact with music--and conceptualize musical practices and the musical experience. For a discipline as entrenched in tradition as music education, this has brought forth myriad views on what does and should constitute music learning and teaching. To tease out and elucidate some of the salient problems, interests, and issues, The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education critically situates technology in relation to music education from a variety of perspectives--historical, philosophical, socio-cultural, pedagogical, musical, economic, policy--organized around four broad themes: Emergence and Evolution; Locations and Contexts: Social and Cultural Issues; Experiencing, Expressing, Learning and Teaching; and Competence, Credentialing, and Professional Development. Chapters from a highly diverse group of junior and senior scholars provide analyses of technology and music education through intersections of gender, theoretical perspective, geographical distribution, and relationship to the field. The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education's dedication to diversity and forward-facing discussion promotes contrasting perspectives and conversational voices rather than reinforce traditional narratives and prevailing discourses."-- $c Book jacket.
Download or read book In the Course of Performance written by Bruno Nettl and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1998-12-15 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Course of Performance is the first book in decades to illustrate and explain the practices and processes of musical improvisation. Improvisation, by its very nature, seems to resist interpretation or elucidation. This difficulty may account for the very few attempts scholars have made to provide a general guide to this elusive subject. With contributions by seventeen scholars and improvisers, In the Course of Performance offers a history of research on improvisation and an overview of the different approaches to the topic that can be used, ranging from cognitive study to detailed musical analysis. Such diverse genres as Italian lyrical singing, modal jazz, Indian classical music, Javanese gamelan, and African-American girls' singing games are examined. The most comprehensive guide to the understanding of musical improvisation available, In the Course of Performance will be indispensable to anyone attracted to this fascinating art. Contributors are Stephen Blum, Sau Y. Chan, Jody Cormack, Valerie Woodring Goertzen, Lawrence Gushee, Eve Harwood, Tullia Magrini, Peter Manuel, Ingrid Monson, Bruno Nettl, Jeff Pressing, Ali Jihad Racy, Ronald Riddle, Stephen Slawek, Chris Smith, R. Anderson Sutton, and T. Viswanathan.
Download or read book The Art of Becoming written by Raymond A. R. MacDonald and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "With a focus on music, this book outlines what improvisation is and why it is an important creative and social activity. Drawing on the emerging psychological literature in this area, as well as evidence from authors' research with musicians, this text outlines innovative ideas on what defines improvisation and the psychological, creative and social processes involved. It explores the role of specialist skills, the importance of musical identities and the nature of understanding in improvised interaction and between improvisers. It discusses how we develop as improvisers and the role of improvisation within therapeutic applications of music. Each chapter proceeds from discussion of an illustrative instance of musical improvisation. Providing fresh and provocative insights for anyone interested in playing, studying, teaching or listening to improvised music, the authors offer suggestions for approaching this practice in new ways at any level, and identify potential developments in cross-disciplinary improvising. Asserting that everyone can and should improvise, the book provides a resource for courses teaching improvisation in contemporary practice, and has strong relevance for those applying musical improvisation in community and therapeutic contexts. The book deals with such questions as: What constitutes improvisation? Do all forms of improvisation represent the same thing? Faced with myriad possibilities, how do improvisers decide what to play? How does an improviser in a group know what the others will do? How might improvisation influence our wellbeing? In response to such questions, a definition of improvisation based on its unique behavioural features is set out as an exciting context for psychological investigation"--
Download or read book Music Theory Through Improvisation written by Ed Sarath and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for Music Theory courses, Music Theory Through Improvisation presents a unique approach to basic theory and musicianship training that examines the study of traditional theory through the art of improvisation. The book follows the same general progression of diatonic to non-diatonic harmony in conventional approaches, but integrates improvisation, composition, keyboard harmony, analysis, and rhythm. Conventional approaches to basic musicianship have largely been oriented toward study of common practice harmony from the Euroclassical tradition, with a heavy emphasis in four-part chorale writing. The author’s entirely new pathway places the study of harmony within improvisation and composition in stylistically diverse format, with jazz and popular music serving as important stylistic sources. Supplemental materials include a play-along audio in the downloadable resources for improvisation and a companion website with resources for students and instructors.
Download or read book Improvisation written by Marina Santi and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-08 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Underpinning this project is the attempt to grasp the notion behind improvisation and to understand what is actually meant by “improvisation” its nature and its construct. At the same time this project aims to bestow on improvisation its legitimate role as a versatile, long-lasting creative process of knowledge and action. The word “improvisation” is used to describe a host of very different things. It can be considered a collective, creative phenomenon, an individual skilled performance, an emerging act within a rooted practice, or as a set of generative techniques, yet there are a number of issues with its concept and practice. In improvisation, shared practices, steeped in culture and history, are intertwined, yet constantly exposed to the force of spontaneity and innovation. All the studies presented in the book contend that improvisation in artistic practices could hold the key to understanding the more unstructured, at times more unconscious, forms of improvisation that pervade different fields of knowledge and professions, as well as our everyday experiences.
Download or read book Improvisational Intelligence written by Augusto Monk and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Jamming the Classroom written by Ajay Heble and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2023-10-12 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on a mix of collaborative autoethnography, secondary literature, interviews with leading improvisers, and personal anecdotal material, Jamming the Classroom discusses the pedagogy of musical improvisation as a vehicle for teaching, learning, and enacting social justice. Heble and Stewart write that to “jam the classroom” is to argue for a renewed understanding of improvisation as both a musical and a social practice; to activate the knowledge and resources associated with improvisational practices in an expression of noncompliance with dominant orders of knowledge production; and to recognize in the musical practices of aggrieved communities something far from the reaches of conventional forms of institutionalized power, yet something equally powerful, urgent, and expansive. With this definition of jamming the classroom in mind, Heble and Stewart argue that even as improvisation gains recognition within mainstream institutions (including classrooms in universities), it needs to be understood as a critique of dominant institutionalized assumptions and epistemic orders. Suggesting a closer consideration of why musical improvisation has been largely expunged from dominant models of pedagogical inquiry in both classrooms and communities, this book asks what it means to theorize the pedagogy of improvised music in relation to public programs of action, debate, and critical practice.
Download or read book Improvisation in the Music Classroom written by Edwin Gordon and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2003 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With Improvisation in the Music Classroom, author Edwin E. Gordon, one of the world's foremost experts in the fields of music aptitude, music education, and audiation, offers a compelling case for expanding today's general music curriculum to include improvisation. And with this book, Dr. Gordon provides the sequential tools general music teachers and students need to begin improvising. Beginning with rhythm, Dr. Gordon thoroughly explains improvisation and then makes practical suggestions for classroom learning. He continues with lessons in tonalities, melodic patterns, harmonic patterns, harmonic improvisation, and advanced harmonic improvisation. The book concludes with suggestions for making the transition from vocal improvisation to instrumental improvisation. Based on Dr. Gordon's own observational and experimental research, this book takes the intimidation out of improvising and provides practical and fun education exercises to help students become ready to improvise [Publisher description]
Download or read book The Pianist s Guide to Historic Improvisation written by John J. Mortensen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Keyboard artists in the time of J.S. Bach were simultaneously performers, composers, and improvisers. By the twentieth century, however, the art of improvisation was all but lost. Today, vanishingly few classically-trained musicians can improvise with fluent, stylistic integrity. Many now question the system of training that leaves players dependent upon the printed page, and would welcome a new approach to musicianship that would enable modern performers to recapture the remarkable creative freedom of a bygone era. The Pianist's Guide to Historic Improvisation opens a pathway of musical discovery as the reader learns to improvise with confidence and joy. Useful as either a college-level textbook or a guide for independent study, the book is eminently practical. Author John Mortensen explains even the most complex ideas in a lucid, conversational tone, accompanied by hundreds of musical examples. Mortensen pairs every concept with hands-on exercises for step-by-step practice of each skill. Professional-level virtuosity is not required; players of moderate skill can manage the material. Suitable for professionals, conservatory students, and avid amateurs, The Pianist's Guide leads to mastery of improvisational techniques at the Baroque keyboard.
