PATHWAYS TO THE PRACTICE OF FREE IMPROVISATION Derek Emch A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS December 2020 Committee: Kevin Schempf, Advisor Carol Heckman Graduate Faculty Representative Ryan Ebright Elizabeth Menard © 2020 Derek Emch All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Kevin Schempf, Advisor Improvisation offers unique opportunities in musical creativity and development, though incorporation of the teaching of improvisation into American higher education curricula has been uneven. While there is a growing interest in teaching improvisation, most improvisation instruction can be found in early childhood music education and in high school and college-level jazz instruction, creating an accessibility gap for individuals who wish to improvise or teach improvisation but have no experience improvising, in a jazz context or otherwise. The purpose of this document is to examine current instructional methods of teaching free improvisation in higher education, and to develop a series of musical prompts designed to develop spontaneous musical creative ability in an individual and group setting. In doing so, this document aims to reduce the accessibility gap and to help bring the culture of creative improvising further into collegiate-level musical instruction. iv To my life coaches, Kevin and Eric v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I must thank my teacher and advisor, Kevin Schempf. You have been a tireless advocate for me in my time at BGSU. I am unable to fully express just how much you have helped me. As a teacher not only have you always given me the opportunity to succeed you have been my cheerleader and ally. In life and in music, you are a role model. Thank you to my doctoral committee for the support you have shown me throughout this process. Dr. Elizabeth Menard, I found my research footing in your Psychology of Music class. I value and appreciate how you have challenged me as a committee member. Dr. Ryan Ebright, thank you for joining my committee so late in the game. Your advice and feedback have been invaluable. It has been my privilege to have had the opportunity to learn from you and work with you. Thank you to my many friends and colleagues who have been instrumental in putting me on this path towards improvisation. Drake, Eric, Tim, John, Jon, and Gunnar, much of what I learned about being a creative individual came through making music with you and learning from you. The DMA cohort here at BGSU is a profoundly creative group. Through collaborations with you I defined who I was as a musician. To my family: Kurt and Todd, Barb and Ron, thank you for your constant support and steady presence in my life. To my wife: Mickey, you are beyond wonderful. Thank you for inspiring me and for reminding me that I had the strength all along. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................. 1 Cognitive Research of Improvisation and Creativity ................................................... 2 Cultural and Critical Theory of Improvisation ............................................................. 6 Improvisation in Education ........................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS OF IMPROVISATION ............................... 13 Christopher Azzara and Richard F. Grunow, Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation ............................................................................................................. 17 John Stevens, Search and Reflect ................................................................................. 21 John Zorn, Cobra .......................................................................................................... 31 Anthony Braxton, Language Types .............................................................................. 36 Summary and Conclusions .......................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 3. TOWARD A GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING YOUR OWN PRACTICE OF IMPROVISATION ............................................................................................................ 46 Establishing a Foundation for a Personal Practice of Improvisation ............................ 53 CHAPTER 4. A GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING YOUR PRACTICE OF IMPROVISATION 56 Meditation- and Concentration-Related Prompts ......................................................... 57 Minimalism-Related Prompts ....................................................................................... 58 Graphic-Based Prompts ................................................................................................ 59 Text-Based Prompts ...................................................................................................... 60 Ruleset-Based Prompts ................................................................................................. 61 Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................. 63 vii REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 65 APPENDIX A. IMPROVISATION PROMPTS ..................................................................... 70 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Preview of basic rhythmic structures for Unit 1 of Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation by Christopher Azzara and Richard Grunow ........................................ 20 2 A visual representation of the fundamental elements of music in Search & Reflect by John Stevens.................................................................................................................. 26 3 List of 10 Language Types developed by Anthony Braxton as printed in Forces in Motion by Graham Lock ............................................................................................... 40 4 Jeff Pressing’s stages of improvisation superimposed on to Maud Hickey’s spectrum of improvisation pedagogy, from her article “Can Improvisation Be Taught?”........... 51 5 Chart visualizing the pedagogical differences of the four resources analyzed in the previous chapter. ........................................................................................................... 52 1 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE In 2014, the College Music Society released a manifesto titled “Transforming Music Study from its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors.” The product of a task force chaired by David Myers and lead authored by Ed Sarath, this manifesto asks what it means to be an educated musician in the 21st century. Between the title and this central question lies the charge that undergraduate music curricula have left students unprepared for the realities of the music profession as it currently stands. Specifically, the Task Force on the Undergraduate Music Major (TFUMM) “identifies three core deficiencies in the conventional model of music study, in response to which emerge three core pillars for an entirely new framework. The first core deficiency is subordination of the creation of new work to the interpretive performance of older work; the second is ethnocentrism; and the third is fragmentation of subjects and skills. When these tendencies are reversed, the three core pillars of a transformed model—creativity, diversity, and integration—come into view.”1 TFUMM views improvisation and composition as essential creative acts.2 While it follows that music curricula would be strengthened by the incorporation of improvisation, research suggests that many teachers may not feel adequately prepared to teach improvisation. The aim of this document is to address this issue. It is important to become familiar with the various academic discourses surrounding improvisation. Since 1950, researchers from a wide array of fields have taken note of how little understood improvised music is. Music historians and cultural theorists have sought to contextualize improvisative music styles within broader social trends. Cognitive researchers have 1 Ed Sarath, “Transforming Music Study from its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors,” College Music Society, November 2014, https://www.music.org/pdf/pubs/tfumm/TFUMM.pdf. 2 Ibid, 17. 2 increased our understanding of how the brain functions when a person is improvising. Research in creativity has also helped to clarify our understanding of improvisation. By studying these discourses, musicians and teachers can begin to lay the groundwork for developing their own pedagogy as well as broaden their understanding of the various sociocultural issues inherent in the various practices of improvisation they may encounter. Cognitive Research of Improvisation and Creativity Instead of asking what creativity is, Mikhaly Csikszentmihaly, one of the foremost creativity researchers, asks “where is creativity?” He suggests a systems model wherein creativity is located across three interrelated components: an individual person; a domain, consisting of a set of symbolic rules and procedures; and a field, which is made up of individuals who act as gatekeepers to a domain.3 Under this framework, Csikszentmihaly argues that “creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing