Improvisation In Music

Instantaneous Composition

A group of improvisers (John Zorn, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Fred Frith and several others..) from different countries decided to meet for several days to think about what is involved in improvisation, what is at stake, where improvisation was at the time and where it could/should go.

After one afternoon, they only agreed on one fact : Improvisation is only instantaneous  composition. Having said that, they felt like there was nothing more to say and they all went back home.

At the beginning

Derek Bailey, a musician interested in improvisation in all of its forms, explains in his book Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice, that the very first forms of music were obviously improvised since there was no pre-existing system of notation. Until the XVIIIth - XIXth centuries, improvisation has kept an important role in music. Even Chopin did improvised recitals in his time.

But slowly, the composer's role became more and more important, and the musician became only an instrument to play the composer's music. When Bach wrote music, he did not always specify which instrument should play. As time passed, the composer began to write every movement the musician should make. In contemporary music, the movement are sometimes timed ! In European music, what we value is the music that is written, that is complete and that one cannot change any more. 

Most conservatories of music teach this way of making music. But some composers of the XXth and XXIst centuries try to take advantage of improvisation.


Giascinto Scelsi wrote most of his music by improvising on a piano and transcribing it.

John Cage wrote a lot of work where the musician has to improvise.

Pauline Oliveros did a lot of improvisation too.

Alongside with that, musicians like Joelle Léandre refuse to accept this "all-mightiness" of the composers and play mostly improvised pieces 

What about Jazz ? 
The XXth Century saw the birth of Jazz Music, whichis based mainly on improvisation.
It is a common thing to say that in one century jazz followed the evolution of western classical music since the XVIth century. 
Here is a summary of what happened this past century : 

At the very begining, there was ragtime : 

 Then, there was Jelly Roll Morton (considered one of the main "inventors" of Jazz by a lot of critics) who used the syncopated rhythm of ragtime and opened the way to improvisation.

It led to the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and all the big bands : 

 

One interesting anecdote : it is well known that the 30's and 40's were really hard for African-American people, because of racism. But Louis Armstrong was such a good musician and his music was so revolutionary, that white people considered him a white man. He was invited to mundane cocktails and was friends with a lot of powerful people. I think this really shows the power of jazz, if it can overcome racism.

Two saxophonists that played in big bands were very famous : Lester Young and Lester Young.

Then came Charlie Parker, who used to listen to Lester Young and try to play what he did on his saxophone. With others (Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie...) he created Bebop :  a virtuoso style of jazz, very fast with complex improvisations that can last for a very long time.

After that, a lot of different styles came. Some try to play slower : 

 

Others went even faster, complexifying the harmonies at the same time : 

And in the 60's, a lot a musicians wanted to go back to their roots in African Music. They were angry because of racism. This created Free Jazz and the musicians decided to destroy the structures inherited from "white" classical music.

  Beyond Jazz ?

During the explosions of Free Jazz in the U.S.A., several European musicians did their own free form improvisation experiments (Barre Phillips, Maarten Altena, Michel Portal, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, and the list continues...). 
What came out of this is what Derek Bailey called Non Idiomatic Free Improvisation (NIFI), meaning it is not related to any style, but becomes a style in itself.
NIFI has had a great influence on jazz too and a lot of the musicians that did (and still do) NIFI also played jazz (Evan Parker, John Zorn, Maarten Altena, Barre Philips...).

What about other countries ? 

In most cultures (except our occidental culture), music is still improvised. 
Indian classical music consists mostly of improvised materials. The Musicians (highly trained, that can play the Tabla (percusive instrument) and other instruments of their choice) plays a Raga , which gives the form of the improvisation, and improvise, sometimes for hours without interruption.