The Art of Improvisation

I enjoyed Berlin a lot last week, made some fine recordings which will be posted the next weeks. I will start with this improvisation, that I recorded on a balcony in the afternoon sunlight. The inspiration came from the beautiful city of Berlin itself. Set the volume high, let the music flow through you….Enjoy!

The Art of Improvisation is a mysterious guiding principle, meant to bring you joy, peace of mind and energy. It is best not to give too many words to it, since it comes before words. To symbolize this, I asked  visual artist Jos Thommassen to draw this variation of the famous yin-yang symbol.

Yin and yang represent the eternal polarities that constantly complement each other (hard-soft, day-night, empty-full), within the circle of All That Is. They don’t exist without each other. The whole world is made up out of complementing forces: good doesn’t exist without bad, light can’t exist without darkness.

In the same way you can view (musical) improvisation as a constant seeking of balance between several factors:

Yang: structure, rythm, sheet music, musical knowledge, note scales, chord patterns, thinking

Yin: intuïtion, emotions, emptiness, creativeness, inspiration, the Now

The most beautiful music is created when there is a good balance between the two: musical knowledge and skills next to just letting it happen, to be open for what comes when you’re quiet in your head and follow your intuition. It might be no surprise that especially this ‘yin-side’ of improvisation is something that lacks nowadays. There are a lot of musicians that can play perfectly from sheet music, just like it ‘should’, but when asked tell you ‘I can’t improvise’.

Creating music in the Moment, out of emptiness and without too much thinking about how it must sound, is a very important part of the Art of Improvisation. It’s about the attitude, being adventurous and playful. Just let go, and go with the Flow!

It’s a beautiful irony that in this 21th century, where everybody can listen to any music at any time, the higher meaning of music seems to disappear. Music is everywhere, but most of the times it functions more as background noise…It’s time to rediscover the healing capacities of music, it’s higher meaning! The more conscious and ‘empty’ (no thinking, just receiving) you listen, the more you find.

Here are some beautiful quotes from the masters:

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.
Bob Marley

The advice I am giving always to all my students is above all to study the music profoundly… music is like the ocean, and the instruments are little or bigger islands, very beautiful for the flowers and trees.
Andres Segovia

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.
Herbie Hancock

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.
Lao Tzu

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.
Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
Plato

This weblog is dedicated to the Art of Improvisation. There will be improvisational material (lots of piano, but also other stuff), reflections on improvisation as a basic attitude in life, and any input that people like to give. Enjoy, discover, learn, and help me spread the Art of Improvisation throughout the world!