Abstract
This paper presents a model for the implementation of educational activities involving musical improvisation that is based on a review of the literature on the psychology of music. Psychology of music is a complex field of research in which quantitative and qualitative methods have been employed involving participants ranging from novices to expert performers. The cognitive research has been analyzed to propose a pedagogical approach to the development of processes rather than products that focus on an expert’s use of improvisation. The intention is to delineate a reflective approach that goes beyond the mere instruction of some current practices of teaching improvisation in jazz pedagogy. The review highlights that improvisation is a complex, multidimensional act that involves creative and performance behaviors in real-time in addition to processes such as sensory and perceptual encoding, motor control, performance monitoring, and memory storage and recall. Educational applications for the following processes are outlined: anticipation, use of repertoire, emotive communication, feedback, and flow. These characteristics are discussed in relation to the design of a pedagogical approach to musical improvisation based on reflection and metacognition development.
Highlights
The study of musical improvisation has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years
Improvisation research has developed in many directions and has employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches involving participants ranging from novice to expert performers
Improvisation has been analyzed from different perspectives in relation to fields such as ethnomusicology, musicology, psychology, and education
Summary
The study of musical improvisation has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. Several empirical studies have been carried out, and various theoretical models have been proposed (Pressing, 1988; Johnson-Laird, 2002; Kenny and Gellrich, 2002). These studies have developed appreciably since the 1980s based on increased interest in the understanding of jazz improvisation. The cognitive processes involved in musical improvisation and the interactions and communication dynamics between performers are studied (Pressing, 1988; Johnson-Laird, 2002; Kenny and Gellrich, 2002; Sawyer, 2011). The conditions for skills development are analyzed by highlighting the best methods for teaching and learning improvisation (Beegle, 2010)
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