Improvisation
Jazz improvisation can be an uplifting experience. I have earned a very good living playing all kinds of music, and I have enjoyed most of it. (Check out the "MyMusic" page.) But when it comes to sheer, unadulterated fulfilment, jazz improv takes the cake!
Like most, improvisation used to be a mystery to me. And the questions are universal. What is it? What are they playing? And, possibly the more pertinent: Where is it coming from? This latter question is the most important one, and the hardest to answer.
Way back in my formative years I saw an interview with the late Charlie Parker, who was asked that very question. His answer puzzled me for a long time. Short and to-the-point, he said, "The answer is in your front room!"
I didn't get it. Not then.
I know now that he meant that you have to listen to it to be able to play it.
A silly example...
QUESTION: "Where can I buy a plattenarbor?"
ANSWER: "You'd better tell me what a plattenarbor is first!"
But don't dwell on it.
You can learn to improvise, and very easily - dependent, of course, upon the level you wish to achieve. I can tell you that the better you become, the better you will want to be.
In short, Improvision is your own version, made up on the spot, of someone else's melody. That is a generalisation, but it's accurate.
On the other hand, you don't even need the original melody. Just pick up your instrument and blow something, anything. You are improvising. The only question might be, does anyone else want to hear the sounds you are making? That question leads on to a whole host of other questions that, for the moment, are best left unasked.
So, dip your toes into the lake of improvisation and see where it leads you. You'll be out there up to your armpits before you realise it!
