composition & improvisation
classmates, or to the whole family around the dinner table becomes a natural exten- sion of their musical being. Making space daily for student creations, small or big, a few minutes or the whole class time, builds a practice of using musical languages creatively so that it becomes a natural part of student musicality. Practice builds comfort, fluency, flexibility, confidence, adaptability and familiarity. In the case of practicing creativity, particularly collab- orative creativity, it builds deep and gen- erous listening, compassion, respect, the ability to recognize beauty and strength in others, the ability to riff on another’s ideas, and a sense of bonding into a supportive and empathetic community of individuals who are comfortable sharing themselves.
I wish my violin teachers had asked me once what I had to say about my musical development. I don’t blame them! It was out of the realm of classical violin peda- gogy! We were too busy making sure all
the tone production, intonation, articula- tions, and bow control was in progress. But even something like, “Let’s take your open A and your new note, B, and make up our own tunes with them!” Even a teacher who is a beginner improvisor can impactfully release the creator in their student. What fun to have this relationship and conversation with your student, with an A and a B, both of you developing as creative musicians together! And, frankly, all the other parts of musicianship develop even more meaningfully when the student feels free to use the techniques in personal expression with their instrument.
I’d like to share a reflection on one of my fourth, fifth and sixth grade perfor- mances of their collaboratively created, “STOMP!” polyrhythmic vignettes: “Last night the performers were listening deeply and engaging one another playfully. They used their eyes, ears, and body movement to cue, encourage, and respond to each
other and to the sonic conversation taking place in the transformed, multi-dimen- sional space we all occupied. They smiled at one another, listened to each other’s solos with their eyes closed and gave space, literal and musical, for personal expression and new ideas to flow. They supported one another in individual and group contribution, riffing off the other, and allowing for combinations and layers of tone, texture, and groove. They were so deeply engaged that it allowed for soulful music to dance its way out of their bodies and into ours, and all of us, together, were held in a magnificent, other-worldly place outside the space-time continuum.”
Oh, did you read the above thinking I had written it about the pros? I’ll leave this here and let you ponder.
Leila Ramagopal Pertl teaches music education at Lawrence University.
Email:
leilaramagopal@gmail.com
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Wisconsin School Musician
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