Improvise with freedom in a wide range of musical structures genres, styles and traditions, drawing on internalised sounds
Ask learners to improvise with others by embellishing a melody, e.g. the pentatonic
Raga Bhupali:
Research less-familiar musics from around the world and make links with curriculum music where appropriate.
Demonstrate the effectiveness of including improvised sections within existing pieces that learners are playing.
Ask learners to improvise using the existing chord structure and keeping in time with the auto-accompaniment.
Help learners to work out suitable pentatonic and other scale patterns that take account of stylistic considerations and the underlying chord progression.
Encourage learners to embellish the melody as a starting point for improvising.
Make recordings of improvisations and discuss the outcomes with learners, including the development of ideas, use of musical elements, structure and stylistic suitability.
The best improvisations have a coherent, well-phrased, vocal quality. Singing the ideas before trying to play them provides learners with an internal template. This allows their improvisations to be head-led not finger-led and will help prevent them from getting musically ‘stuck’.
It is vital to check the policy of the school or other organisation you are working in with regards to any form of recording. Children must never be videoed without parental consent and all policies regarding use and storage of recordings must be adhered to.
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