Improvisation

I have developed a knack for musical improvisation. Plenty of musicians are skilled at improv, some prefer creating lead parts on the fly. That's not the kind of improvisation I'm talking about. Instead of injecting unrehearsed musical passages into a tune, I like to make up entire songs---both music and lyrics (the hard part) that way. At times, the results have been extremely gratifying with my sole regret being that the moment was not recorded. That's one thing about my improv numbers---they are all complete one-offs. I can't repeat them if I try.

My typical improv numbers tend to sneak up on the audience. I might start by playing a few familiar tunes, then throw in some of my original material. Somewhere along the way, I'll pound out a chord sequence that sounds familiar to the audience but they can't quite trace it to a particular song. Then I'll start singing a melody using lyrics that involve details of the place we're in or events that have transpired over the course of our evening.

A good improv number accomplishes a number of universally desirable things. First, there is usually a humorous component, so the audience often will start laughing. But more than that, audience members suddenly feel more connected to each other, so the song serves as a unifying event. Occasionally I'll manage to create a chorus that captures the vibe of the evening so well that before long, everyone is singing.

I don't know many musicians willing to attempt full improv numbers in live performances. I was afraid to do it for the longest time and would only attempt improv songs in the company of friends. Before long though, I gained enough confidence in my ability to create spontaneous songs which pass for finished pieces that I started to include an improv or two in public performances. It's a bit of a high wire act---one never knows when the mind might fail to deliver lyrics that sound coherent enough to pass for a real song. When that happens, the performer faces a dilemma. Your choices: stop the song or keep going with really lame lyrics or a break in the lyrical delivery. Either way, you have suffered failure. Luckily, at least in my experience to date, this fate has pretty much eluded me.

In a recent trip, I was performing short sets almost every night. As an aside, have you noticed that the word "emboldened" came into frequent usage during the recent Bush administration. Bush and Cheney never lost an opportunity to instill fear in the American people by telling them that every Democratic proposal would serve to embolden the terrorists. Well, I became emboldened to increase my usage of improvisational songs during my trip. And the results were overwhelmingly positive.

During one performance, I only had access to a piano rather than my customary guitar, and although I'm a pretty mediocre pianist, I managed to play four improv tunes in a row with excellent results. No doubt about it, I was thoroughly emboldened.

I'm thinking of doing an experiment in which I make up songs all day and into the night for a week and recording the results. When I'm writing a song, sometimes the process of trying to find just the right word or phrase is laborious and unrewarding. Many top songwriters say that their best songs have come in a flash. Maybe it is possible to create better songs without the angst. Like the modern art pieces which involve the dubious technique of throwing paint on the canvas, perhaps meaningful songs can be created in a similar manner. I need to give this a try.