Five Important Myths About Improvisation

By David Alan Reed

There are seven billion people in the world, and almost all of us like listening to music. And the vast majority of us spend our entire lives listening to very simple music made from just seven notes and seven chords. So if our favorite art form is based on such a simple set of raw materials, then why aren't we all creating music ourselves? Why do so many people believe that musical improvisation is something difficult and complicated, reserved only for the most advanced musicians? In this article I want to explore five common myths that prevent many people from discovering the joy and fun of improvising.



MYTH #1: You need to know a lot of music theory to improvise.



Some people (myself included) have a great fondness for music theory, and I hope I do not offend these people with what I am about to say. But the unfortunate reality of our society is that for most people, their first exposure to "music theory" can be a confusing and depressing experience. Most music theory courses are a poor environment for a sensitive young music lover. The beautiful sounds and pleasant sensations that drew us to music in the first place are suddenly replaced by mathematical rules, formulas and definitions. For some, the sheer volume of abstract concepts can be enough to convince them that they will never understand music.



Now I would argue that the problem is not with music theory itself but rather with the unfortunate way that it is sometimes taught. But no matter what you believe, the good news for anyone who dreams of becoming an improviser is that music theory actually has very little to do with improvising.



This surprises most people, but I can prove it to you in two sentences:



1) Most music teachers can't improvise.



2) Most improvisers aren't thinking about theory when they play.



As a person who has dedicated much of his life to studying both music and music theory, I want to make it clear that I am in no way "against" music theory. But my point is simply that it's not music theory itself that enables improvisers to create music.



What enables musicians to improvise is their ability to visualize the sounds of our musical system on their instrument. Music theory is merely the system that guided their studies while they were developing these visualization skills.



And traditional music theory courses are not the only way to develop these visualization skills. In fact, almost none of the greatest improvisers in history learned to improvise by studying theories and formulas. They may have studied some theory later on in life, but almost all of them learned to improvise through direct, personal experience with the sounds of our musical system.



This is the same experience that all beginning improvisers need to have for themselves. They don't need rules and formulas to tell them what notes to play. What they need is direct, personal experience making music with the sounds of our musical system. A teacher's job is to organize these experiences for the student in a way that is fun, exciting and creatively stimulating. And a good improvisation teacher will do just that, so that the student can be enjoying the art of musical improvisation right from the very first class.



MYTH #2: Improvisation cannot be "taught."



Truly improvised music comes directly from the imagination. So in a sense this myth is rooted in a partial truth. Nobody needs to "teach" you what to play because every human being already has the natural ability to imagine and create beautiful music.



But most people have no idea how to connect with this ability. We might have been born with an immense capacity for creativity and self-expression, but we weren't born with the knowledge of how to play the sounds we imagine on any particular instrument.



In fact, many people reading this article will doubt whether they even have the ability to imagine music at all. Since most people have never experienced playing music directly from their imagination, they have no idea that it's even possible. And the truth is that almost everybody needs a little bit of help connecting with this ability. You can't just stand up in the middle of a jam session and start playing a solo over some jazz standard if you haven't learned how to orient yourself in much simpler music first.



So it's true that nobody needs to "teach" you things that you already have inside you like creativity, playfulness, sensitivity and musical taste. But almost everybody needs help in the beginning with the two different parts of the creative process:



1)learning how to "hear" the notes of any key in your mind, and move comfortably between them



2)learning how to "see" where these notes are actually located on your instrument in any key



Learning to improvise is about developing these two abilities. And helping people to develop these abilities is what it really means to "teach" them to improvise. So while the actual music that you express is something uniquely your own, your ability to imagine and express this music can most definitely be taught.



MYTH #3: Chords and harmony are very complicated.



Our first experiences with harmony can be both captivating and mysterious. If you've ever learned to strum a few chords on a guitar, you know how enjoyable it is to play a beautiful sequence of chords over and over again, and just listen to the sounds.



But you also know the frustration of not being able to see the "big picture." Why those chords, and not some other ones? And why does the melody fit so perfectly with the harmony? How could I ever write a song of my own?



I want you to understand that there is nothing complicated about chords and harmony. Just like a painter mixes different paints to produce very specific colors, musicians combine notes together to produce very specific sensations that we call chords.



The only reason why harmony seems complicated to most people is because they have never had the chance to experience it in an organized way. Playing a song on the guitar only shows you one possibility. It's like looking at a finished painting. But that's not going to teach you how to mix colors. The only way you're going to learn how to mix colors by mixing colors!



And that's exactly what you need to do with chords and harmony. You don't need a million rules and theories about how chords are "supposed" to be used. But you're not going to master harmony just by playing songs either.



What you need is for someone to sit you down and show you the raw materials of our music. You need to get in there and work with these materials yourself, and really get to know them. You need to see for yourself how we combine notes to make the different chords, and you need to improvise and compose your own original music with all of these sounds.



Exploring the world of harmony can be fun, fascinating and beautiful. The trick is to know how to enter and explore that world for yourself, and that's really what a good improvisation teacher should be able to show you.



MYTH #4: I guess I just can't "go with the flow."



One of the saddest consequences of not knowing how to improvise is that it causes so many people to believe that they have some kind of personal defect that prevents them from being creative. Sometimes friends or other musicians will try to encourage us to just "go with the flow" and play "whatever comes out." But this is a very unfair situation for somebody who has never improvised before.



What are you supposed to play? You feel as though there are a million notes on your instrument and they all sound bad! But you're not alone, and the problem has nothing to do with your qualities as a person. No amount of "going with the flow" is going to help you to see something you can't see. How are you supposed to enjoy playing with the sounds of our musical system if you can't even see where they are?



All human beings have the natural ability to imagine and create beautiful music. You just need a little help visualizing the materials of your art so that you can begin to enjoy working with them. Once you get that help you'll be on your way, enjoying the thrill of improvising and composing your own original music.



More importantly, you'll discover a side of yourself that you didn't even realize you had. And you'll discover that you too can "go with the flow" just like the best of them!



MYTH #5: To improvise you need to learn licks, patterns and techniques.



Today many people teach improvisation as a kind of technical skill with rules and formulas. Essentially, they teach you techniques that you can use directly in your solos in order to play something that sounds good.



But even though these techniques can indeed help a person to sound very competent and professional, personally I think that this approach to improvisation kind of misses the point. To me, the whole point of learning to improvise is so that we can explore and express our own imagination.



That might sound kind of "far out," so please bear with me for a minute. I want you to try to remember back to your childhood, all the way back to your first dream of being a musician. What was that original dream about? Was it about learning techniques and formulas so that your solos would sound "correct?" Or did you want to improvise because you imagined how great it must feel to express yourself creatively through music?



I think that there is something much more valuable at stake here than just learning a few tricks to impress the neighbors. For many of us, learning to improvise may be our only chance in our whole lives to really discover our own creativity, and to express the unique music that lies inside of us.



So my advice is, don't be in a rush to learn all the licks and tricks just so you can sound exactly like everybody else. It's much more rewarding to learn to improvise for real and to enjoy the beautiful discovery process of finding your own voice through music.



What are your myths?



I hope that you have found this article to be helpful, challenging and thought-provoking. I encourage you to examine your own beliefs and attitudes with respect to these ideas. You don't have to accept my beliefs, but just start to think about these questions for yourself. Notice if you have any "myths" of your own that have prevented you from exploring your own creative side.



It's never too late to discover the thrill of improvising your own original music. If you would like to know more, please visit me online at http://www.ImproviseForReal.com. At my website I offer a complete, step-by-step method that allows anyone to understand music and enjoy creating it.



About the Author: David Reed is the author of "Improvise for Real," a step-by-step method that allows anyone to understand music and to enjoy creating it. For more information, please visit us online at www.ImproviseForReal.com.



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