What does education and research say about improvisation?
In this series, I will present parts of my dissertation, ‘What strategies, activities and methods would help develop the teaching of music improvisation in UK secondary school education?’. I aim to give you insight into my improvisation research by informally presenting my findings, opinions and thoughts. It may start a discussion into the justifications, merits and advocations for music improvisation or completely put you off and double down on why improvisation should be left out of music education. Either way, I believe its a meaningful conversation to have.
‘the nature of music education should reflect the very nature of music itself.’
Philpott & Spruce 2012, 60
Music improvisation can play a significant part in the methods musicians use to create music, and in some cases help define characteristics for professional careers and allow musicians to express themselves as a creative voice in their field. According to Bailey, music improvisation is ‘the most widely practiced of musical activities and the least acknowledged and understood’ (Bailey 1993, ix). As someone who has engaged and taught improvisation, there is an element of truth. I can explain the tools used to improvise in a given context, but it will only partially demonstrate how that improvisation came to be. We must identify and explore why Philpott/Spruce and Bailey’s maxims have any weight before considering improvisation at the heart of secondary school education (Elliot, Silverman, McPherson 2019).
Is improvisation in UK secondary schools deemed unnatural and misunderstood? Given musician’s awareness of improvisatory music both in performance and conception, it seems remiss to not consider improvisation’s qualities as ‘practical, fluid, conversational, dynamic, subjective and persuasive’ (Palmer 2023, 39), a natural representation of knowledge and creativity over a ‘formal objectification of the composed score’ (ibid). The conflict secondary school education has with improvisation and its relationship with the ‘composed score’ or Western notation could be due to the relatively easy-to-measure success and progression that notation affords. Traditionally, students learn a piece by practising how accurately they can replicate it. The teacher helps in the practice process, and then at some point, they or the examiner grades a performance based on the piece’s accuracy (it’s a rather simplistic take on it, I know!). How does improvisation fit into this process? We could start by incorporating improvisatory methods in the learning process by eliminating improvisation’s battle to get noticed as a valid form of music making (Heble and Laver 2016).
Secondary school improvisation’s place at the dinner table should not come at the expense of other learning. However, improvisation academics such as Ed Sarath believe improvisation expands students’ ‘spectrum of skills and understanding’ but to the detriment of existing curriculum content (Sarath 2018, 5). This thinking would drive improvisation further away from secondary education, creating barriers to its inclusion.
A less dogmatic approach could come from allowing student ownership of music making, expressing themselves by finding moments to improvise in the music, thus demonstrating musicianship skills (Healy, Lansinger Ankney 2020). The teacher can allow students’ ‘musical improvisation experiences’ (Healy & Lansinger Ankney 2020, 6) as a by-product of their confidence in improvisation pedagogy and support the current curriculum/exam board’s needs.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? To win over the sceptical, those not entirely convinced of improvisation merits will take much work. This is where teachers and educators well versed in improvisation can help by sharing best practices and how to plan improvisation in their teaching. This will take time to embed, and further convincing to ask teachers to devote some teaching time to improv. For any strategy, activity and method to work, improvisation at the secondary school level must be embraced, with arguments for it going beyond experiential benefits. I’m also aware that placing responsibility onto students to produce music through improvisation opens criticism on the quality of improvised performances; ergo, improvisation pedagogy must be at the same standard as other subjects in secondary music and education in general (Wigram 2004).
Improvisation must exist based on the merits it brings to secondary music education. But what if those merits justify it as a ‘soft’ musical skill, something ‘happy-clappy’, an afterthought or something not to take too seriously as opposed to a ‘hard’ academic, studious skill? One perception of improvisation is that it promotes holistic qualities which are at odds with academic rigour and the measurement-based model of attainment in secondary (Philpott, Spruce 2012), therefore not trusted enough to ‘hold’ objective knowledge’ (ibid, 58), which is easily quantifiable and less subjective when it comes to assessment. Music improvisation would gain kudos from secondary teachers and educators if the same rigorous assessment standards were used. It also helps teachers and educators feel comfortable knowing the grade boundaries of student improvisational quality, particularly when giving feedback to students, parents and heads of departments/senior leadership. Perhaps the notion of music which is conceived ‘on the spot’ may have ‘soft’ connotations, but if modelled well and promoted as a challenging skill that can be objectively proven to demonstrate musical knowledge and creativity, more so than reciting notated music, then improvisation may have a chance of being worthy of its place in secondary school teaching.
The Model Music Curriculum’s (MMC) description cites improvisation as ‘Creating and inventing music in real-time, i.e. ‘on the spot’. (DoE 2021, 57). Improvisation’s role in a composition is summarised to ‘Explore melodic line and simple structural ideas’. (Ibid, 47)
The problem I have with the MMC’s description, in comparison to how they describe the teaching of music history, performance and composition, is there are few references to strategies, activities and methods to help us teach improvisation, save for improvisations should be accompanied by a groove or chord progression. (DoE 2021) or students should ‘experiment with the use of sound and silence as well as anticipated and unexpected musical moments.’ (Ibid, 51). The latter is true but regarding its suggestions, not all teachers will know how to play a groove or suitable chord progression for student improvisations. The description also restricts improvisation to groove-based harmonic music. What about other genres and musical cultures which use improvisation without this? (more on genre later in the following chapters).
Another issue with the MMC’s description is its vagueness and a presumption that improvisation is inherent, as is having musicianship skills (Heble and Laver 2016). Not all secondary students will have a ‘strong awareness of key’ (DoE 2021, 54). The MMC also negates the practice students must do to develop improvising skills and does not consider the impact of the learning environment or other factors affecting the development of the improviser, such as ‘motivation, self-efficacy and constancy in exercising’. (Biasutti 2017, 3). For students to know how to ‘Take the listener on an original musical journey.’ (DoE 2021, 54) with improvisation. We are talking about an innate skill here, but improvisation is carefully planned and prepared (Biasutti 2015, 2).
The BBC’s Bitesize definition, ‘Improvisation – with instruments,’ shares a similar definition of the MMC but elaborates that genre/style is a factor and the importance of musicians responding to each other when improvising. Bitesize also explains that improvisation occurs through melodic embellishment and re-harmonising chord progressions. (BBC Bitesize 2023). Though, a more accurate description of music improvisation is an expression of ‘creative behaviour’ (Biasutti 2017, 1), where interactivity and real-time changes occur based on the musical situation one finds themselves in. Like human interaction, the improviser needs ‘real-time answers to situational events’. (Biasutti 2017, 2). Biasutti’s description illustrates the creative challenge, thought process and human connection to an impromptu performance. If the Department of Education were to consider the complete picture of music improvisation, they might deem their description a little light and add to describe improvisation in secondary education.
Reading list:
Bailey, Derek. 1993. Improvisation: Its Nature And Practice In Music. Da Capo Press.
Biasutti, Michele. 2017. “Teaching Improvisation through Processes. Applications in Music Education and Implications for General Education.” Frontiers in Psychology.
Department for Education. “Model Music Curriculum: Key Stages 1 to 2 : Non-Statutory Guidance for the National Curriculum in England.” https://www.Gov.Uk/Government/Publications/TeachingMusic-in-Schools.
Elliott, David J., Marissa Silverman, and Gary McPherson. 2019. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education. [Electronic Resource. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press.
Healy, Daniel J., and Kimberly Lansinger Ankney. 2020. Music Discovery : Improvisation for the Large Ensemble and Music Classroom. New York: Oxford University Press.
Laver, Mark, and Ajay Heble. 2016. Improvisation and Music Education. [Electronic Resource] :
Beyond the Classroom. Routledge Studies in Music Education: 3. Routledge.
Philpott, Chris, and Gary Spruce. 2012. Debates in Music Teaching. [Electronic Resource]. Debates in Subject Teaching Series. Routledge.
(Palmer) Philpott, Chris, and Carolyn Cooke. 2023. A Practical Guide to Teaching Music in the Secondary School. [Electronic Resource]. Second edition. Routledge Teaching Guides. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Sarath, Ed. 2018. Black Music Matters : Jazz and the Transformation of Music Studies. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Wigram, Tony. 2004. Improvisation. [Electronic Resource] : Methods and Techniques for Music
Therapy Clinicians, Educators, and Students. J. Kingsley Publishers
Mike Wright Music Education 