A quick note if you are just joining us. I'm writing a book on improvisation for classical musicians. I'm most comfortable writing short (or shortish) essays, especially ones based on my personal experience. So the book is, most likely, going to take the form of a collection of essays.
As this project starts out, I'm focusing on my observations regarding why it is so difficult for so many classical musicans to begin improvising. And why improvising can be such a transformative, healing experience once some of us do start. It's about reclaiming our creativity. When one starts being creative, when one starts creating, amazing things start to happen. These reflections necessarily have a very personal element.
Soon, I'll start writing about different focuses for improvisation: as part of a performance genre (like jazz), as a way of learning and exploring music, and as a mode of self-expression and healing (often used in music therapy). And describe many different improvisation activities.
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When I was in high school, a long time ago, I played trombone and participated in the jazz band. A handful of us were able to improvise over blues chord changes and for similar things. It was encouraged. 35 years later and I can remember a couple of call and answer improvisations I did with the band director on saxophone that came out particularly well. Improvisation was encouraged, though only a minority pursued it.
But the classical tradition doesn't seem to have a window of opportunity for improvisation outside of cadenzas. Now, fiddling sure does. And the cellists that fiddle with them sure do. Just listen to Natalie Haas doodle around with Alasdair Fraser!
Improvising from scratch is indeed intimidating, but a limmited window of opportunity for improvisation based on an existing melody, or chord changes (I think you long hairs call the figured bass), or call and answer, would allow for such a breath of fresh air for "Classical" music.
Hi Eric,
At 55 and retired early from the Oil Patch, I am finally answering the inner call to learn the cello that has pulled at me half of my life. Now, after barely 3 months, my passion grows with each new technique or note combination that I conquer.
At about six weeks my fingers began to find the first position somewhat automatically, and a bunch of simple songs and melodies from my childhood started pouring out of my memory into my fingers. It might start with a certain bowing rhythm while I'm playing or fooling around, or it might come to me when I occasionally awaken at night. Within a few runthroughs I'm playing these songs automatically (and at least as good as anything I can play in Suzuki 1) as if I had carefully worked through them with a score.
The less I focus on what my fingers are doing, the better they seem to work. If I start thinking about it, I start second-guessing myself, and then I miss notes, lose rhythm, and have to quit. But sometimes it's like the music has to come out...
These are simple hymns and ballads - Battle Hymn, Amazing Grace, Shenandoah, etc. (not Summertime, although I've been motivated by SSA). I guess I sang some of these in elementary school choir, but I'm sure my mother sang some of these in the Sweet Adelines. I learned to read music as a lazy 8th grade beginning clarinetist (I faked my mother's initials on the practice slips, and quit after one year). I briefly returned to the clarinet at 24, and at 30 I picked up a violin for a year until I damaged my left forefinger in a table saw accident and had to quit (I wear a rubber fingercot for now, but I am slowly developing a callus and will be able to do without.)
Once a week so, in addition to my daily 2 hour set, I pick up my cello again late in the evening and set up in the dark and just start playing without plan or direction. I let my fingers do whatever they want, and I find all sorts of bowing rhythms - the faster I bow, the more interesting it becomes. At other times, I slow w-a-a-a-y down and produce all sorts of very high harmonics with just the bow.
I know I'm not going to be a concert cellist, I just want to play reasonably well, but I also want to be able to play it MY OWN WAY.
I would not want to be classified (sorry no pun intended) as a classical musician - although I am passionate about classical music, especially the cello parts - if it meant I "shouldn't" also pay attention to what seems to have to come out of my hands and fingers when I sit there in the darkness - just me and my cello.
Sorry for this tedious comment, but I wanted to express my interest and support for your project. Keep it up.
I've been diarizing my cello learning every day since I started playing.
I look forward to reading your blook ;)
I thought I had left a comment last night but it didn't seem to take.
When I was in high school, playing trombone, improvisation was encouraged as part of jazz band. We were encouraged to learn to improvise over the 12 bar blues changes or other changes for a particular chart, or as using a melody as a startig point. I could "talk" with a plunger and do call and answer choruses with the band director on saxophone. Call and answer is an easy way to get the creative flow started.
In many forms of music improvisation has a place, the major exception being "classical." Even cadenzas, which were originally meant to be improvised must be note-for-note from so-and-so's edition and must be highly virtuostic. Where's the creativeness in that?
But there are cello role models. One can look to Natalie Haas or Rushad Eggleston. I once attended a concert by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas and Wow, they could bounce off each so creatively. Haas plays cello but can think and riff like a rock bass guitarist, to Fraser's energetic fiddling.
My point is, the environment is so important. If you're with others that improvise, you will too. If not, it will be difficult to break out.
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