Improvisation

[brightcindy]

As a piano student trained in classical music, is there an easy way to learn improvisation? Whenever I was asked to improvise something in, for example, my Church, I just want to cry. Any books or DVDs or websites which can help?

[quasimodo]

For what my opinion is worth, I don't believe one really learn to improvise. It's more about overcoming a mental block: it's like diving. You don't have a score to tell you what's next so if you're not confident enough on your instant creativity, you're going to suck.
Obviously, in each specific case of improvisation, you're supposed to have acquired particular knowledge and skills, like for example in the church case you mention, being familiar with counterpoint, harmony and stuff. However these are not skills specific to improv.

[brightcindy]

Thanks but isn't there a way to do things like Jazz piano? 

I believe there is a skill to be learnt there...

[quantum]

The biggest hurdle when tacklening improvisiation is the inherent freedom it provides.  When I first started learning it, there was so much freedom that I started looking for rules to follow (as we have been brought up in our classical training).  But in reality there is no wrong or right in improv.  In fact much of my improvisation centre around how creative I can be when I make a mistake, and how I can develop a sudden inadvertent idea into a convinding and coherent body. 

The best thing to do for you at this point, is to get your feet wet.  You can't learn to swim if you don't get in the water first.  Start moving your fingers, using keyboard topography to inspire new ideas, play with themes.  Just play something, even if it sounds dead wrong keep playing. 

[franz_]

Thanks but isn't there a way to do things like Jazz piano? 

I believe there is a skill to be learnt there...

I'm a classical pianist but experimentate with jazz. The most basic en easy scale is C Eb F F# G Bb C

If you play these notes with chords like C7 F7 en G7 it will always sound good. In jazz also very important is teh II-V-I.
In Jazz I can improvise a bit, but in classical music it is always harder. Anyone has good ways to change the grades? I mostly go to the IVth grade. But after a while it sounds boring of course.

[ted]

I agree with quantum in that, when first learning improvisation, it is preferable to start from freedom and work towards order. This is because the habit of flow cannot easily be acquired the other way around. If complete freedom inhibits you - it can with some people - then use some very loose arbitrary rule, for example "Play anything in single notes in both hands within the scale of C minor (or any other scale)". This has the property that whatever you do will sound all right in the conventional sense whatever notes you play, while allowing scope for invention. It is also so simple physically that you won't need to think about technique.  Once you can establish a fertile flow of ideas with something simple like this you gradually expand keyboard vocabulary in whichever musical directions interest you.

The point is that inhibitions must be eliminated first and free flow established before starting to think at the conscious level about complexities of harmony, form and so on.

[quasimodo]

Here's a link that seems to be covering a large scope about jazz piano.

https://www.learnjazzpiano.com/

Anyway remember that 90% of jazz improvisations consist in playing accompaniment chords at LH and a melodic line, mostly based on scale patterns, at the RH. Therefore, getting acquainted with jazz harmony, chords substitutions ("voicings"), rhythm variations and chord/scales superpositions patterns is the big deal.
However, listening to a whole bunch of jazz recordings, not only piano, is paramount. Therefore, you will try to figure out by ear what is going on, and reproduce it on the keyboard.
As someone said, theory is mainly about giving a name to something that works.

[Derek]

I enthusiastically support Quantum's and Ted's suggestion as well. When you're just starting out improvising, it is like you are a baby again learning language. You have to work your "mouth" a lot with "gahs" and "goos" before you can begin to speak words and sentences.  It may sound wrong or awkward at the very start,  but simply making YOUR OWN musical sounds is very satisfying.  There are no rules in improvisation, but Ted's suggestion of at least sticking in one scale when you start is a perfect rule to use if you're someone who likes conventional sounds. That's precisely how I started, all my early improvs were within a single minor scale...just random noodlings in them.  Sometimes you'll find a random noodling produces an interesting phrase.

My last bit of advice is, even if you're a rank beginner at improv RECORD YOURSELF. and then listen to yourself---when you're a beginner it is hard to remember what you just played. If a random noodling had an interesting phrase in it, and you recorded it,  this may help your playing to evolve!

Anyway, good luck in all your improv endeavors.

[liszt-essence]

My best advice would be:

Find a teacher in this field.

Ask him or her to improvise on a simple theme or sing something.

Then if you like the way it sounds, go for it

[tinkertanker]

Have a look at the books from this guy. I have the book on blues but he has also recently released a couple in the same style for jazz. I can tell you that the blues book is absolutely superb. There are numerous examples, not only showing the music of the the recorded tracks but also diagrams as to when and where you should use particular scales/arpeggios over which chords. Try to find his books in a store to have a quick look at first but they are great.

https://www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk/

[ramseytheii]

Bernhard has written extensively about this subject, and here you can find a few resources mentioned:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,5306.msg50454.html#msg50454
Both books and DVDs.
I recommend you to "Advanced Search" "improvisation" by user "bernhard."

Walter Ramsey

[ambient]

well i'll tell you what i did... chose to do the same or not (i'm not classicaly trained btw, but i've been playing for a 13ish years)

anyway when i started.... all i did was picked songs i liked and played around with them. i'd take the chord progression and play the notes in them randomly and make up my own rhythms.  playing around with them i quickly learned to improvise around the pentatonics... i guess a good way to describe it was... i picked random notes, but i was careful because i knew which ones were "safe"... meaning i know what it's going to sound like before i press the keys... and that that specific note would sound pleasant combined with the other notes in the chord

eventually the more you play the more you know what every single key will sound like the instant before you lay down your hand.. the more options you have to place your fingers on random keys...

given enough mistakes... you don't really make mistakes much more... only because you always have somewhere to resolve to