Free Improv

When there is no framework -- no head, chord progression, groove, lyric, or time constraint -- how does one decide what to play?

I believe the improviser must derive his inspiration from somewhere. A groove and chord progression is an easy, obvious inspiration. Minus those things, the inspiration can come from visual surroundings, from other sounds such as the audience coughing or sirens outside, from silence, or from a fragrance in the air. Just because the inspiration is not aural does not make it any less strong.

As I said in our first class, I sometimes ask the audience for a topic, and then I will improvise on that topic. At one point I had some of my husband's paintings on stage with me, and someone called out that I should improvise based on one of the paintings. It was a dusky blue mountain scene with dark pines and a misty peak. I decided to play as if I were in the scene, climbing the mountain. So, the music had to project certain qualities: determination, refusing to stop or give up, gradual rising, the feeling of walking and moving, a variety of terrain, and finally the point of light.

There is a difference between playing based on something, and playing the thing itself. It depends on how you view the object as related to your music. If I am told to "play like the color green," or to "play the color green," would I play differently? I think so. To "play the color green" is to recognize the sameness between the sight and the sound. There is an intangible substance of art that that they both share. But to "play like the color green" assumes an inherent disconnect. It tells the improviser that she should never quite reach the inspiration, but she should try to get as close as she can. Either one of these instructions could yield a magnificent piece of improvisation.

My husband, a visual artist, likes to give students the following task: Paint the color red without using red. It makes them think of how they feel about red, what red means. It makes them think in layers like a diorama. One could do the same exercise with a jazz standard: Play 'A Train' without playing 'A Train'. There are many possible inroads to the intangible art substance of the song: the lyrics, the juxtaposition of whole notes and eighth notes, the "clash" between Cmaj7 and D7b5, the fact that you heard it in Paris while falling in love. Of course it will not be recognizable by ear to the audience, but the point is to perform it as it feels to you, and I believe this will resonate with the audience if you are able to successfully communicate it.

Health and happiness to everyone!