Just Wing It For Once!

By Willie Dawkins, Lessonface Summer Intern

Music is one of those great studies that is simultaneously an art form of human expression and a technical field of expertise. Music has been part of my life since 7th grade, when I started playing the flute in concert band. I went on to become a self-identified band geek through high school. These were truly transformative years in my life. Now I’m at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY where I’m studying Engineering and Management, but I can never forget the music that has been a part of my life since then.

We all have favorite songs we like to play. My question for you is: Why don’t more people just improvise?

Improv Doesn’t Mean Jazz

This idea is something I have wondered about for a long time. I’m a saxophone player who’s been playing for 7 years and enjoy jazz music, so naturally I have been exposed to improvisation. However, improvisation, or “improv”, does not appear strictly in jazz music. So anyone can take an interest in this form of musical performance.

Improvisation and composition seem like two extreme sides of music, but really they are fluid with one another, both containing fundamental attributes of creativity and expression. Sometimes we think of improvisation as the barrier between jazz and most other forms of music, but why is that?

Improv is about creating music “in the moment,” doing whatever we feel is going through us and expressing it at the time. Whenever we play songs written by others we don’t think about it all the time but we are expressing ideas and emotions the way the composer chose. Yet we feel so in tune with what we’re playing because we’ve accepted the ideas that the composer is conveying, whether it be a Beethoven Sonata or your favorite Beatles song.

It feels unique to us because of the personal musicality we incorporate through subtle phrasing and dynamics of how we play or sing. Now if we instead use our musicality to create the whole song itself then we could improvise for any type of music genre, not just jazz.

Composers

When music is composed, the composer has a reason for recording his song in a specific way that can be attributed to a number of things. Sharing his vision with others, garnering respect for his musical accomplishment, or recreating what is thought to be a pleasurable performance are some of these different reasons.

For whatever reason it is, however, it is acknowledged that a composer is able to work the music in the way that he wants and be able to have retrospect on it while he is forming it into a final product. So in turn, when we play their music, we’re more restricted in what we are expressing in the direction that the composer or songwriter created in the end.

It’s A Different Way to Enjoy Music

I am personally a fan of improvisation. As a saxophone player I was introduced to it in middle school and have loved it ever since. Past the first couple of times, it has made music even more fun for me just jamming with some friends and getting into the moment of playing whatever we want. It is similar to dancing in that there are determined forms and then there are times you just let your body do its own thing.

I remember a time in middle school, during my first year on the saxophone, after I switched from the flute. To switch to saxophone you have to be in the jazz band. It was then that my teacher introduced this concept to us called “improvisation.” This was a completely radical idea because up until that point my music was very structured playing the flute; the notes were there and I’d be able to follow what was on the page. In my head improvisation was “just make up notes and play as many as you can” time, so teacher had us play through a simple blues song for everyone to try it out. Most of us can relate to the nervousness of having to perform for a crowd whether it be musically, athletically, verbally, etc.

Well, the pressure of performing in front of people and purposely not knowing what I’m going to do was even more nerve racking than usual. Fortunately I got to hear someone improvise before it was my turn, one chorus of monotonous whole notes that was as flat as the Great Plains. Now of course this didn’t impress me a whole lot, but once it was my turn I started playing those same long, monotonous notes and yet it felt like I was trying to perform a Mozart symphony within a single chorus.

So if you first start out and you aren’t coming up with the most extravagant ideas, just give it some time. It is a great thing to include in your studies as any sort of musician as it lets you express yourself at the purest of moments.

Wanting more pointers on how to improvise? Check out these improv masters - maybe one can show you some tips.

Illustration by Alex Oka