improv (whose line style)

[rjarsenault1101]

so. at my school there's an improv group. and I've been asked to do some piano improv for them, like laura hall does on whose line is it anyways. but I have no idea how to do that. can anyone help at all?

be the voice,
R.J.

[slobone]

She plays in a lot of different styles, not sure which one you mean. Can you post a link to a video of what you'd like to do?

[ajspiano]

I suspect OP means there is a theater sports type group and they want an extremely versatile improviser than can immediately create appropriate musical backing for a variety of different contexts...or that will help dictate the flow of their improv.

If that is the case, then you're probably not going to find an answer that solves your problems here...  other than practice.

Just try to make up a song right on the spot. No stopping, rhythm is paramount. Use simple, predictable chord progressions.. then do the same thing again, in a completely different style... as in rock vs reggae vs jazz vs pop etc.

Also try doing musical sound effects for your TV (turn the volume off) ..

If this is too difficult for you you may be well out of your depth in that situation. Not sure how old you are.. In my experience there wouldn't be many (if any at all) pianists at highschool age who were ready to do this kind of thing..  and that people on the theater side of things have pretty much NO IDEA what they are asking in terms of the musical competency required.


However, you could certainly learn how to do a few different things for them to work with.. so you are not so much improvising, but they are..

[rjarsenault1101]

well I'm not really looking for a wide variety. as of right now just the basics like rock, jazz, disco, and pop. I can't really find a video with all those in there...

[ajspiano]

well I'm not really looking for a wide variety. as of right now just the basics like rock, jazz, disco, and pop. I can't really find a video with all those in there...

Just grab 2-3 actual songs from each genre. Copy the RHYTHM, essentially from the drum part, not the piano part. So you have a basic rock riff for example, and a basic disco riff...  that can be put through a few different chord progressions/keys. So you can accommodate a few genres, different singing registers and major vs minor feels.