Spending an entire class on Comp & Improv
Found in: Composition & Improvisation
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
Comp & Improv idea: Have you considered spending an entire class just exploring improvisation? This could play out in many different ways. I think it’s beneficial, especially for those students who are afraid of C&I and stop trying as soon as something doesn’t sound ‘good’.
Let’s share ideas for how we might approach a lesson like this. I’ll start by recalling something Neil Moore did at a conference a few years ago.
Step 1 – Neil played a simple repeated rhythm in the low register as a foundation.
Step 2 – He invited a teacher to come up and find 1 or 2 notes that they thought sounded good with what he was playing, and to add their own repeated rhythm using those notes.
Step 3 – Repeated Step 2 until we couldn’t cram any more people around the piano.
It was a ton of fun. You could also have one student improv instead of playing a repeated rhythm.
Anna J., Canada
Can you say a little more about this, Laurie? It sounds fun! What sort of rhythm did he start out with? Are we talking a blues sort of thing?
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
Anna, anything goes, any style, just keep it simple and keep repeating the same thing. It could be as simple as two notes, one after the other, in any rhythm. I suppose you could use a Jackson Blues LH, but I like to keep everything fresh and new so their brains don’t automatically go to another song. “Just try stuff” is my motto!