Expanding Comfort Zones: An Improvisation Curriculum for Applied Studios

Abstract

Regarding improvisation, there appear to be two general types of people: those who improvise and those who don't. Of the people who don't improvise, there also appear to be two sub-types: those who pursue any means necessary to avoid it and those who are planning to get around to it. Performers can choose the type of improviser or non-improviser they want to be, but how do their attitudes and choices effect their teaching and, consequently, their students' experiences? For applied teachers, especially at universities with an emphasis on teacher education, can improvisation be a part of their teaching, regardless of the type of (non-)improviser they choose to be, for the benefit of their students? Inspired by the 2014 College Music Society Task Force on the Undergraduate Music Major, this article is directed at teachers, especially those who do not (yet) improvise. It provides an example of how improvisation can be integrated into applied study in a broad sense by providing a sequential, progressive curriculum that encourages students and teachers to walk together on a path to wider personal expression and freedom to just play.