This is a little meditation that's surely been written in variations hundreds of times, but it just occurred to me from direct experience.
I've finally finished learning Book 1 of Bartok's wonderful Mikrokosmos piano teaching pieces, and as I dive into Book 2, I stop to think: I could go on like this, happily learning these written pieces for a long time, even forgetting that I really want to learn to play by ear, compose, and improvise.
My first instrument was the clarinet, started when I was 9 or so. I remember the rebellious joy I found when, bored with my practice, I started playing around on a scale one day. Years later, I was surprised when talking to a serious music student that he couldn't begin to improvise. I thought his education must be incomplete.
We carry this kind of balance through life, choosing when to play the written score, when to carefully compose (to the extent of our abilities), when to improvise within the chord changes, and when to just blow wildly. I need to remember that as a parent too -- improvisation is freedom, but it can be taught.
September 24, 2002 08:55 AM