In a sea of music methods, tools, software, apps, journals, and books on how to teach and practice improvisation, this research will focus on a single element and one main question:
Can an element of chance, randomness and by extension the surprise that it creates be an interesting and productive factor in teaching improvisation?
To go beyond a purely theoretical or literature-based approach, I created a series of interactive exercises intended as proof of concept. I hope this will allow readers, students, and other teachers to explore the different concepts. Each exercise will be presented first, and specific pedagogical questions will be introduced.
The main sub-question could be phrased as:
Can typical jazz improvisation exercises benefit from elements of randomness?
As with any software project, specific technical questions, not directly relevant to research on teaching, will still need to be considered. I will list the most important ones: time necessary to create the exercises, time investment versus expected results, required technical expertise, and interactive features of a web-based app.