Musical Improvisation: Art, Education, and Society - Softcover

Solis, Gabriel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0252076540 ISBN 13: 9780252076541

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2009

Synopsis

A musical practice used for centuries the world over, improvisation too often has been neglected by scholars who dismiss it as either technically undissectible or inexplicably mysterious. At different times and in different cultures, performing music that is not "precomposed" has constituted an artful expression of the performer's individuality (the Baroque); a wild, unthinking form of expression (jazz antagonists); and the best method to train inexperienced musicians to use their instruments (the Middle East). This wide-ranging collection of essays considers musical improvisation from a variety of approaches, including ethnomusicology, education, performance, historical musicology, and music theory. Laying the groundwork for even further research into improvisation, the contributors of this volume delve into topics as diverse as the creative minds of Mozart and Beethoven, the place of improvised musics in Western and non-Western societies, and the development of jazz as a musical and cultural phenomenon.

About this title

About the Author

Gabriel Solis is an associate professor of music and African American studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author of Monk's Music: Thelonious Monk and Jazz History in the Making.Bruno Nettl is a professor emeritus of music and anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author of The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-one Issues and Concepts and other works.

Review

"Valuable not only to researchers but also to performers, who will find their minds opened to how music different from their own can help them improvise better in their chosen genre. . . . Recommended."--Choice

"A goldmine of information ... that is relevant to the amateur and scholar alike."--Ethnomusicology

"An impressive and often sophisticated collection of essays. . . . it certainly constitutes a welcome addition to the field."--The World of Music

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0252076540
• ISBN 13: 9780252076541
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376
• Editor: Nettl Bruno