How Music Works: Music Improvisation Micro-Lessons

Frank’s personal collection of short and sweet insights into what Music Improvisation is and isn’t…

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You cannot improvise by knowledge alone. You need SKILL…the skill to automatically and instantaneously translate your musical ideas into physical execution at the keyboard. ~fjp

The secret to success is that there is no secret to success. The ability to improvise with confidence and conviction is the inevitable reward for studying and practicing the right musical things the right way. ~fjp

Learning how to improvise is the process of learning how music works and then translating that knowledge into the practical skill to express yourself with your instrument. ~fjp

CREATIVITY isn’t just for “creative” people. “Creative“ people do things that “non-creative” people don’t do… or refuse to do. ~fjp

There’s a lot less making stuff up when you improvise than most people think. Just like speaking English, you typically don’t invent new words or phrases when you speak. What you ARE doing is spontaneously expressing yourself in your own manner of speaking… in a way that is appropriate to a particular situation. Improvising music works the same way. ~fjp

The ability to express ourselves in words is so commonplace, and we are so good at it, that we take it all for granted. In fact, I am doing it right now. But it’s easy to forget that the words that flow so easily now are the fruit of a lifetime of effort and experience: listening, speaking, reading, and writing… in a variety of real-life situations. We learn how to “speak” music the very same way. ~fjp

Just like learning any language, the more grammar you understand… and the more words you know… the more things you will have to say… and the more ways you will have to say them… in a variety of real-world contexts. Learning to improvise music is no different. ~fjp

Music is a LANGUAGE… a unique language that’s both universal and un-translatable… with its own wordless grammar and vocabulary. And so, learning how to improvise is about learning how to speak the LANGUAGE of music. ~fjp

Fluent improvisation is a very learnable skill. Learning how to improvise is no more difficult than, but requires no less effort than, learning how to speak a second language. ~fjp

One reason people “can’t” improvise… or are afraid to improvise… or don’t do it well… is that they intellectually get the music theory, but they don’t know what to do with it. And so, learning how to improvise is largely the process of closing that gap between theory and practice. ~fjp

The mastery of the basic elements of music… scales, chords, chord voicings, chord progressions, tonality, form, meter, and rhythm… allows you to [quote] “forget” them when improvising… just like you “forget” your ABCs, phonics, and grammatical rules when you speak English in everyday life. ~fjp

It is not enough to merely know what the elements of music–scales, chords, chord voicings, chord progressions, form, meter, and rhythm–ARE. You need to understand what these things DO. In other words, you need to understand these musical patterns not as NOUNS, but as VERBS. THIS is the bridge that closes the gap between theory and practice! ~fjp

You cannot COMMAND yourself to improvise; you can only PREPARE yourself to improvise… by internalizing lots of musically-useful patterns in your musical mind beforehand. ~fjp

The gift of musical intuition is the inevitable reward for internalizing lots of musically-useful patterns… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle. ~fjp

When you study and practice the right things the right right way, you are doing more than just memorizing stuff. You are building a rich, multi-dimensional model of how music works… an intuitive, practical, personal theory of music that enables you to express yourself spontaneously… just like you do when you speak English. ~fjp

You cannot improvise fluently one-note-at-a-time any more than you can speak English fluently one-syl-la-ble-at-a-time. Trying to think “one-note-at-a-time” is not only cognitively overwhelming, but playing “one-note-at-a-time” is not how music works. ~fjp

Every musical pattern that you internalize has the potential to magically appear in your improvisations as needed… just as English words and phrases magically appear in your everyday conversations… without even thinking about it. ~fjp

A real musician does not think of scales, chords, chord progressions, form, and meter as NOUNS, but as VERBS! ~fjp

You can only fluently play music that is already inside of you. In other words, No MUSIC IN, no MUSIC OUT! So, if you want to get more music out, you need to put more music in! ~fjp

When you STUDY, it’s OK to let your “LEFT-BRAIN” lead, but when you PERFORM, let your “RIGHT-BRAIN” lead. ~fjp

Improvisation, at its best, is a collaboration between structure & freedom… a personal expression within a collective tradition. ~fjp

Improvisation, at its best, is not a clever calculation, but an honest EXPRESSION of who you really are. ~fjp

Improvisation, at its best, is not about imposing yours will, but about being RECEPTIVE to what is happening in the moment. ~fjp

Don’t get distracted by each and every note; PLAY the IDEA! ~fjp

“Don’t be thorough… BE MEMORABLE.” — Michael Callahan

Don’t try to be unique. Just BE YOURSELF! ~fjp

If your music is fun to make, it will be fun to listen to! ~fjp

Flashy playing might impress some people, but AUTHENTICITY will move people. ~fjp

Improvisation, at its best, is a celebration of connection… with the vast universe of music, with your deepest self, and with others… the kinds of things that happiness is made of. ~fjp

The biggest obstacle to becoming a fluent improviser is not lack of talent, but self-doubt. As Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.”

Please let Frank know if you’d like to get these micro-lessons as a PDF or set of MP3s.

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learn more… A Case Study in Music Composition