Simpedia

Mark M., New York

In each volume of Tune Toolkit, only projects #11 and #22 are explicit composition projects, all other projects being explicitly for improvisation. At the same time, the program discusses how it’s very natural for improvisations to turn into compositions.

When students come back the week after an improv assignment, I have them improvise — I don’t think there’s a better way to make sure they’ve tried the project and know what they’re doing! Once in a while, they will say they “came up with something,” and that usually means they composed. If so, great, I have them share it, and I also make sure they’re clear that they didn’t have to compose and that I want them to be able to improvise with the given tool.

Revisiting the following Volume 1 program materials should provide a fairly comprehensive foundation in dealing with these questions of improv vs. comp and handling situations in which a student does something different from the main point of a given assignment:

TTM audio track 03 Approach
SHM video chapters 1.11.1-1.11.2 under Project 11 – Composition: Melody Lines
TTM audio track 19 Project 11 – Composition: Melody Lines
SHM video chapter 1.12.7 under Project 12 – Q&A
TTM audio track 20 Project 12 – Q&A
TTM audio track 39 Precocious Students
TTM audio track 40 Enhancing Assignments

I left out the Project 7 stuff on Improv vs. Comp from the above list because that material simply defines the difference between them. When I said above that the materials I listed should provide a fairly comprehensive foundation in dealing with among other things improv vs. comp, I meant it from the standpoint of what you were asking about, not the biggest possible picture. But obviously feel free to review SHM video chapter 1.7.1 under Project 7 – Add Skip 2 and the related TTM audio track 14 if along with the above stuff you want that more general gloss about what improv & comp are.