https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/ Elements of Randomness and Surprise in Teaching Improvisation Maastricht Academy of Music, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme: Master of Music Advanced Teaching Skills Research Coach: Jo Didderen Master Research Coach: Matthias Akeo Nowak, John Goldsby 2022 Laurent Peckels Studieblad met tekenvoorbeelden: ogen, koppen en dieren, Michael Snijders, after Adriaen Collaert, 1610 - 1672 - Rijksmuseum - CC0 1.0 Hugo en-us Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/10introats/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/10introats/ Practice Time No app, software, or method alone will make someone a seasoned improviser. Opening the next pages with such a bold statement might seem unscientific—which it is—but there is consensus1 among jazz players and teachers that there is no way around lifelong experiences of interacting with fellow musicians. There is also agreement on the value of, in jazz lingo, woodshedding or shedding—i.e., time spent secluded and focused on improving and developing new improvisation skills. Methods and tools are created to help make these sessions more interesting, stimulating, and “productive”.2 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/15visiononteaching/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/15visiononteaching/ “Why did I want to become a music teacher and what is important in my relationship with students?” I’ll answer this question from the perspective of someone who has been teaching for 12 years now after a career change. I divide my time between teaching, performing, and studying. First, two closely related factors have driven me to start making music and to explore it. The first motivation could be considered somewhat selfish, but it is counterbalanced by my second driver. I only started playing and practicing late in my teens. Until then, I had always viewed music from the listener’s perspective, and although I felt very passionate about it, I thought its practice aspects were too similar to sports, for which I didn’t have a particular passion. I was completely wrong, of course; music and sports couldn’t be more different. https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/20researchquestion/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/20researchquestion/ Random elements in the context of teaching improvisation 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 or randomness, and by extension the surprise it creates, be an interesting and productive factor in teaching improvisation? https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/30method/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/30method/ Sources The title of this research refers to randomness and surprise. My MA research opens by referencing an article1 on the essence of musical surprises. Musical surprises take on many forms: rhythmic, harmonic, melodic, timbral, and so on. Musical surprises are generally considered to fall under the category of perceptual surprises, characterized2 as frustrating prior expectations. In the field of cognitive and behavioral science, research has been undertaken into the potential of surprise to stimulate learning: https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/40research/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/40research/ Research https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/50conclusion/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/50conclusion/ The preceding pages offer only a glimpse into the potential of using random elements in teaching improvisation and bridging the gap between human interaction and playing with a machine. Each of the topics (rhythm, harmony, etc.) could be investigated separately and would require focus groups and extensive testing. The rhythm exercises, with random elements very similar to those found in video games (which use random events at the core of gameplay), seem the most promising with regard to recent research.1 Other studies point to the potential of using games for rhythmic training.2 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/60biblography/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:20:29 +0100 https://serendip.peckels.com/zats/60biblography/ Aronin, S. and Haynes-Smith, H. (2013), Increasing Science Vocabulary Using PowerPoint Flash Cards, Science scope (Washington, D.C.) 37(3), 33–36. Bégel, V., Loreto, I. D., Seilles, A. and Bella, S. D. (2017), Music Games: Potential Application and Considerations for Rhythmic Training, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 11. Beirach, R. (2021), Richie Beirach on developing a better sense of time. Berliner, P. F. (1994), Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation, Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology.