A student recently asked me; "Why is improvisation so mysterious." My response was that there is nothing mysterious about it at all. Of course, I'm saying this because I have years of experience under my belt, but truthfully, once you understand that all you need to improvise is chords, the mystery disappears and satisfaction takes it place. Most of the problems students have with improvising is their fear of trying it. They think they need to know college theory or advanced harmony first in order to begin creating in the moment. Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, extensive knowledge of harmony and theory can actually create more problems than they solve. For instance, in one of my piano lessons, Lesson 3: "Rainforest," I have two chords down in my left hand. I then use the G Major scale to improvise a melody and that's that! Nothing hard about it. No mystery here - just fun! Once you have a definite exercise to play and know what your hands will be doing, it frees you up to create. You no longer have to worry about which chords to play or how to play them. You can focus your attention on the act of improvising melody and experience the joy of improvisation! |
