Creativity through improvisation for strings

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of teaching improvisation to string musicians. This paper will discuss the history of improvisation, the importance of improvisation, the importance of creativity in the classroom. The results include lesson plans designed to teach improvisation to string players in grades seven and eight. Improvisation is the spontaneous act of creating music that is an important aspect of many types of music. A student uses knowledge of style, time period, technique and skill to create music spontaneously. The art of improvisation is a study that can help a musician to better understand a certain genre of music as well as to help creatively express ideas. The National Standards for Music Education, a document created in 1994 as a curriculum guide, states that students should be able to improvise melodies, variations, and accompaniments. To create music using improvisation is a valuable experience that develops in quality with study and practice for all musicians.