Chapter 7 reflection

When learning an instrument the goal is to play specific techniques flawlessly and without anything that isn’t written on the page. This is important in fundamental music so that students really grasp the literacy of music and accurately mimic the finger patterns used to make certain sounds. To ask a student who has been taking formal lessons on an instrument to improvise is asking them to break all the rules they’ve lived by for the sake of creative thought. Technology involving identifying creative sounds can have a stronger affect on promoting creativity than using a midi keyboard because a piano student might be working too hard to play the piano well to find creative sounds using it. I don’t believe a student needs to have any experience to improvise. The idea behind improvising is listening and reacting to something that sounds good which is in most ways subjective. Students can improvise by assigning a sound to a keyboard and letting them create things by changing the order of what gets played or playing certain sounds at certain times.

I think the process of fooling around with sound and moving to formalized composition is first introducing a pattern approach. Using a loop can add a foundation to the formal sound and then introducing ABA forms to keep students within a structure that keeps them using things that you know will work. Things like arpeggios can keep students in a type of structure that teaches them basic rules without overwhelming them with the tendency of each chord members resolution.

Improvising with a partner can give students the confidence to make a mistake or take risks. A lot of times students are more secure when a friend is there to make comments on different sounds with them. The act of listening to random sounds turns into a discussion of which sound is the best or most useful. This is good for students to get past the fear of creating and gives them the confidence to explore things further.