Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Piano Improvisation Tip - Enjoy the Process!

"I'm having problems staying with the music," wrote one student. "I can't seem to get it. I get stuck or blocked only after a few seconds of improvising. What can I do?"

The above complaint is a very common problem among newbies at improvisation. They don't understand how to keep an improvisation going. Why? Because they have it backwards! You're not supposed to keep an improvisation going. No. That's the wrong approach. The right approach is to let go of your need to control the outcome. Then and only then will your intuition come to your aid.

To enjoy the act of making music, we must let up on ourselves and adopt an attitude of exploration. We must allow for mistakes and listen for where the music itself wants to go. This idea may be strange to some of you. I can understand that but once you really let go of trying to control the outcome, wonderful things begin to happen!

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