Improvisation can be an intimidating word. How can you create something from nothing?
Like anything, all it takes is some practice.
I recently read an article on The Bulletproof Musician blog entitled Why Improvisation Should Be Part of Every Young Musician’s Training. I couldn’t agree more.
The article details a scientific study where they analyzed the differences in brain activity when musicians play memorized passages compared to when they improvise.
The results found that “a region of the top front part of the brain which is thought to be involved in problem-solving and conscious monitoring of our performance (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) quiets down during improvisation. Meanwhile, a central region in the very front-most part of the brain (medial prefrontal cortex) which seems to play a key role in self-expression and making up a story or describing a memory becomes more active.”
It is imperative that developing musicians exercise as many parts of their brain as possible while practicing if they want to be well-rounded. We of course need to be able to read music, play specific pieces and passages from memory, and evaluate our performances so we can continue to improve, but possibly even more important is the ability to tap into the creative areas of our brains that allow us to experiment and express ourselves without constantly analyzing what we are doing. This also rings true for any creator who wants to improve their work-flow and output.
In any creative process it is essential that we create first and edit later, otherwise we will stifle the flow of our work and increase the likely-hood of self-doubt and/or self-censorship. Exercising our improvising muscles will help us create more efficiently without getting in the way of ourselves.
The article sums things up with an apt quote by Sister Corita Kent: “Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.”
Do you have thoughts on this subject? What strategies do you use to improve your workflow and enhance your originality? Let me know!
Happy Creating.