Improvisation in Collegiate Class Piano - UR Research

Improvisation in Collegiate Class Piano

by

Jungeyun Grace Choi

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts

Supervised by

Professor Christopher D. Azzara

and

Professor Alden H. Snell II

Department of Music Teaching and Learning

Eastman School of Music

University of Rochester

Rochester, New York

2017

ii

To my family,

Rev. Sung-Dae Choi

Hyeh-Ja Eyun

Eyunbeom Daniel Choi:

For your unconditional love and prayers.

iii

Table of Contents

Biographical Sketch v

Acknowledgements vi

Abstract vii

Contributors and Funding Sources ix

List of Tables x

List of Figures xi

Chapter 1 Purpose of the Study 1

Chapter 2 Related Literature 5

Chapter 3 Method of Study 15

Chapter 4 Quantitative Results and Interpretations 22 Chapter 5 Qualitative Results and Interpretations 30

Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusions 42

References 53

Appendix A Advanced Measures of Music Audiation Answer Sheet 58

Appendix B Course Syllabus for PCL 102 59

Appendix C Documentation of CITI Learner ID Number 61

Appendix D RSRB Letter of Exemption 62

Appendix E Information Letter 63

Appendix F Survey and Interview Questions 65

iv

Appendix G Seven Skills for Improvisation from 66 Developing Musicianship through Improvisation Appendix H Judging Rating Scales 67

Appendix I Sample Transcriptions of Participants’ Improvisations 84

Appendix J Survey Transcripts 88

Appendix K Group Interview Transcripts 91

Appendix L Individual Interview Transcripts 98

v

Biographical Sketch

Jungeyun Grace Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea and spent her pre-collegiate years

in Arlington, Texas. She completed her secondary education in South Korea and entered

Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. Ms. Choi earned bachelor’s

degrees in Piano Performance and English Language and Literature with teaching

certifications in music and English in 2005. Graduating summa cum laude, she received

the College of Music Dean’s Award.

Ms. Choi obtained a Master of Music in Music Education with the Catherine Filene

Shouse Arts Leadership Certificate at the Eastman School of Music in 2007. She pursued

a second Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at Southern Methodist

University in Dallas, TX in 2009 where she was also inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda.

Ms. Choi maintained an active performing and teaching career in Dallas for four years

before starting the Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education at the Eastman School of

Music in 2013.

Ms. Choi is the first pianist to be accepted to the Doctor of Musical Arts program in the

Department of Music Teaching and Learning at Eastman, and received the prestigious

Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching. During her doctoral years, she

served as a teaching assistant and part-time graduate instructor in various departments at

Eastman.

vi

Acknowledgements

I express my deepest appreciation and respect to Christopher D. Azzara for his

commitment and support for this dissertation. Dr. Azzara, I am who I am thanks to your

constant pursuit of excellence as a performer, teacher, and researcher. I feel fortunate that

this dissertation was also under the guidance of Alden H. Snell II. Dr. Snell, your brilliant

way of thinking and meticulous research skills have inspired me. This degree would have

been impossible without Vincent Lenti. Mr. Lenti, you are forever my mentor and friend.

I leave a piece of my heart on the Mezzanine with the Department of Music Teaching and

Learning family. Richard F. Grunow, Kathy Liperote, Donna Brink Fox, Philip Silvey,

Elizabeth Bucura, and John Fetter have all encouraged me to finish this journey well.

I am grateful for incredible friends that have allowed my dissertation to come to fruition.

I thank Matthew Doiron, Adam Foley, and Naomi Foley for their expertise and time as

rating scale judges. I thank Erik Piazza for his advice and help with quantitative analysis.

I thank Rochester families that adopted me and celebrated milestones with me during

various seasons of doctoral years. Royce and Jackie Rogers, I will always be your special

Korean daughter. Elise and Jan Van der Jagt, I am indebted to your generosity and love.

vii

Abstract

With intent to improve pedagogy in collegiate class piano, the purpose of this research

was to investigate an aural approach to improvisation in beginning class piano. Research

questions were: (a) What is the improvisation achievement of beginning collegiate class

piano students? (b) What is the relationship between beginning collegiate class piano

students’ music aptitude and music achievement? and (c) What are students’ perceptions

of improvisation in class piano pedagogy?

Participants in this study were undergraduate class piano students enrolled in their

first year of class piano. Prior to the study, students’ stabilized music aptitude was

measured with the Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; Gordon, 1989).

Each student participated in two classes each week for a period of 14 weeks. I taught

classes using instructional materials based on Keyboard Musicianship: Piano for Adults

(Lyke, Caramia, Alexander, Haydon, & Chioldi, 2014) and Developing Musicianship

through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). This study was

integrated into the pre-existing, school-wide, semester-long curriculum. Each student

completed a: (a) pre-study survey, (b) mid-study group interview, and (c) post-study

individual interview. I video-recorded all performances and interviews.

At the end of 14 weeks of instruction, each student: (a) sang the melody of

“Happy Birthday,” (b) improvised to “Happy Birthday” vocally, (c) played the melody of

“Happy Birthday” in the right hand with appropriate accompaniment in the left hand, and

(d) improvised to “Happy Birthday” in the right hand with appropriate accompaniment in

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the left hand. Students then repeated this procedure with an unfamiliar researcher-

composed tune. Three independent judges, professional musicians with experience

improvising, rated recordings of student performances using rating scales designed to

measure tonal, rhythm, expressive, and improvisation skills.

Quantitative results affirmed that an aural approach to improvisation in beginning

collegiate class piano may have led to improved music achievement. Qualitative results

revealed that an aural approach to improvisation in beginning collegiate class piano

enhanced participants’ perspectives of undergraduate music curricula.

ix

Contributors and Funding Sources

This work was supported by a dissertation committee consisting of Professor Christopher

D. Azzara and Professor Alden H. Snell II of the Department of Music Teaching and

Learning, and Professor Vincent Lenti of the Piano Department at the Eastman School of

Music. The dissertation was completed independently by the student.

x

List of Tables

Table Title

Page

Table 1 Comparison of Sample and National Scores for AMMA

22

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for AMMA

23

Table 3 Split-Halves Reliability Coefficients for AMMA

23

Table 4 Interjudge Reliability Coefficients for “Happy Birthday” (T1) and Researcher-Composed Tune (T2)

24

Table 5 Descriptive Statistics for “Happy Birthday” Improvisation

24

Table 6 Descriptive Statistics for Researcher-Composed Tune Improvisation

24

Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for “Happy Birthday” (T1) and Researcher-Composed Tune (T2)

25

Table 8 Correlation Coefficients for “Happy Birthday” and Researcher-Composed Tune

25

xi

List of Figures

Figure Title

Page

Figure 1 Researcher-Composed Tune

19

1

CHAPTER ONE

Purpose of the Study

Music education researchers suggest that an aural approach to music instruction

improves student achievement (Azzara, 2002a; Bluestine, 2000; Campbell, 2005;

Curwen, 1901; Kataoka, 1985). Developing aural comprehension of music through

improvisation enriches a student’s sense of tonality, meter, and style, and provides

context for instrumental performance achievement. Without this context, students may

focus on individual notes that result in a lack of musicianship skills. With an awareness

of music aptitude—potential for music comprehension—teachers can understand

students’ individual differences when teaching and learning music (Azzara, 2002a;

Bennett, 2005; Liperote, 2004; Swanwick, 1999; Thurmond, 1982).

Aural approaches incorporating improvisation have received increased attention

in recent years, but are not prevalent in collegiate class piano. Most adult class piano

curricula focus on technical advancement in lieu of creative music making and aural

skills development. Perhaps due to the nature of the instrument, piano students may

simply press keys on the keyboard without comprehending what they are playing.

Classical musicians such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt

were not only accomplished keyboard players, but also highly skilled improvisers

(Badura-Skoda, 2003; Gould & Keaton, 2000; Komlós, 2003; Levin, 2003). For most

keyboardists in the 16-18th century, improvisation was an essential part of being a

musician. Ruiter-Feenstra (2011) wrote that, particularly for organists, improvisation was

expected at most auditions and was practiced as regularly as repertoire (p. 2). Beginning

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in the middle of the 19th century, classical improvisation became less prominent in

performance and teaching, resulting in an increased emphasis on technique and

performing from notation. Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837), Haydn’s successor at

Esterhazy, wrote:

I close by recommending free improvisation in general and in every respectable form for all those for whom [music] is not merely a matter of entertainment and practical ability, but rather principally one of inspiration and meaning in their art. This recommendation, to be sure, has never been so urgent now, because the number of people whose interest belongs to the former category and not to the latter has never been so great. Even if a person plays with inspiration, but always from a written score, he or she will be much less nourished, broadened and educated than through the frequent offering of all of his or her powers in a free fantasy practiced in the full awareness of certain guidelines and directions, even if this improvisation is only moderately successful. (Hummel, 1828/1829, p.468; Goertzen, 1996, p. 305)

Need for the Study

While various music education researchers have emphasized the importance of

improvisation in music curriculum (Alexander, 2015; Azzara, 1992, 2002, 2008;

Filsinger, 2012; Gordon, 2012; Grunow, 2005; D. Hart, 2011; L. Hart, 2011; Marx, 2010;

Snell, 2006; Snell & Azzara, 2015; Stringham, 2010), considerably fewer studies exist

that investigate improvisation in collegiate class piano settings. To my knowledge, there

are few studies that examine and describe beginning collegiate class piano settings in

relation to music aptitude and an aural approach to improvisation.

Research Purpose and Questions

With intent to improve pedagogy in collegiate class piano, the purpose of this

research was to investigate an aural approach to improvisation in beginning class piano.

Research questions were: (a) What is the improvisation achievement of beginning

3

collegiate class piano students? (b) What is the relationship between beginning collegiate

class piano students’ music aptitude and music achievement? and (c) What are students’

perceptions of improvisation in class piano pedagogy?

Definition of Terms

Audiation: The ability to assimilate and comprehend music in one’s mind that may or

may not be physically present. Audiation is to music what thought is to language

(Gordon, 2012).

Improvisation: The ability to internalize a musical vocabulary in order to express ideas

spontaneously, in the moment of performance (Azzara, 2002a).

Music achievement: The student’s vocal and piano performances of improvisation.

Music achievement was measured using rating scales with tonal, rhythm,

expressive, and improvisation criteria. Rating scales were adapted and modified

from Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara &

Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b).

Music aptitude: Students’ potential to achieve in music (Gordon, 2012). Participants’

stabilized music aptitude was measured with the Advanced Measures of Music

Audiation (AMMA; Gordon, 1989). AMMA was designed for undergraduate and

graduate students, and takes approximately 20 minutes to administer both Tonal

and Rhythm subtests (Gordon, 1989; p. 7).

Rating scale: The criteria for measuring vocal and piano music achievement. Both

continuous and additive ratings scales were used for this study. In continuous

dimensions (tonal and rhythm), each successive criterion presumes achievement

4

at the previous level(s); criteria are interdependent. In additive dimensions

(expressive and improvisation), criteria are independent.

5

CHAPTER TWO

Related Literature

In this review of literature, I examined research relevant to learning by ear and

improvisation in piano instruction. I organized the literature into three sections: (a)

audiation and aural approach, (b) improvisation, and (c) collegiate group instruction.

Audiation and Aural Approach

Gordon (2012) defined audiation as “the process of assimilating and

comprehending music momentarily heard performed or heard sometime in the past” (p.

3). Audiation is the basis for both developmental and stabilized music aptitude as well as

for music achievement (Gordon, 1989; p. 15). Researchers have described the positive

effect of an aural approach to beginning instrumental instruction, and describe the

process for beginning music instruction as analogous to instruction of language (Azzara,

2002b; Bluestine, 2000; Gordon, 2012; Kataoka, 1985; Mills, 1973). Bluestine (2000)

stated children should learn musical skills in the same order as they learn language skills:

to hear and perform before they read and write. Based on this language analogy, Mills

(1973) and Kataoka (1985) expressed the firm belief that an aural approach is the most

important factor in music instruction. Just as babies grow through listening to

conversations in language, children should have opportunities to listen to musical

interactions prior to and during instrumental instruction.

Curwen (1901) emphasized that music education has primarily to do with sounds,

and symbols for music are written for convenience of reading and reproduction. Based on

Curwen’s belief, written notes only suggest sounds; the ear and voice come first. An aural

6

approach is especially crucial in piano instruction. When playing the piano with notation,

students may replicate what is on the page without comprehension (Kataoka, 1985).

Azzara (2002) suggested that improving musicianship and maximizing the development

of aural skills should be central to each lesson to provide context for performing from

notation. With proper instruction, students learn to anticipate and predict sound before

performing that sound on their instrument. Liperote (2004) studied audiation-based

instruction, music aptitude, and music achievement of 50 fourth-grade elementary wind

and percussion students. She found that students who received both general music

instruction and audiation-based instruction playing the recorder in third grade achieved

higher in overall singing, playing, and singing and playing performances than students

who received only general music instruction in third grade.

Learning repertoire by ear provides inspiration for creativity and improvisation. A

rich repertoire lays a foundation for grouping pitches into meaningful patterns and

phrases (Azzara, 2002b; Bennett, 2005; Swanwick, 1999; Thurmond, 1982). When notes

are emphasized without a musical context, students’ understanding of music is limited.

Audiation—comprehension of music—occurs when students group notes into patterns,

patterns into phrases, and phrases into the context of the overall tonal and rhythmic form

of the music (Gordon, 2012; p. 14). Campbell (2005) illustrated that teaching students to

listen with comprehension has always been and will continue to be the core of the

musical experience. An aural approach is a direct route to the full form of artistic

expression.

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Improvisation

The importance of improvisation in music education curricula has been

recognized in the National Standards (Consortium of National Arts Education

Associations, 1994) and the more recent National Core Arts Standards (State Education

Agency Directors of Arts Education, 2014). The National Core Arts Standards included

creativity as one of the artistic learning processes (create, perform, respond, connect) for

all students. At the collegiate level, the College Music Society’s (CMS) Report of the

Task Force on the Undergraduate Music Major (2014) identified creativity, diversity, and

integration as three key pillars in undergraduate music curriculum. CMS stated that

improvisation and composition provide a strong basis for educating today’s musicians in

order to obtain these three key pillars (p. 2).

Although the importance of improvisation has been emphasized for several

decades, limited number of studies exist in collegiate class piano instruction. According

to Azzara and Grunow (2006), key elements of improvisation encompass personalization,

spontaneity, anticipation, prediction, interaction, and being in the moment. Students

should be provided with opportunities to make music spontaneously in a meaningful way

through improvisation. Azzara (2002) wrote:

Improvisation is the spontaneous expression of personal musical ideas within certain understood guidelines. Improvising music is analogous to interactions that occur during stimulating conversation. Improvisers are able to predict music that might be made with others in the moment of performance—without the aid of notation. (p.18) Beginning collegiate class piano students are typically developing a sense of tonality and

meter, crafting an artistic expression and musicality, and mastering necessary executive

8

skills. Through improvisation, students: (a) express themselves individually, (b) develop

higher order thinking skill, and (c) develop a more comprehensive and intimate

relationship with music—with and without notation (Azzara, 2002a).

Azzara (1993) examined the effect of audiation-based improvisation on 66

elementary instrumental students’ music achievement. This research involved two

schools with two different teachers, each having experimental and control groups.

Students in the experimental group were engaged in improvisation for 10-15 minutes per

week during 27 weeks of instruction. At the end of instruction, all students performed

three etudes for assessment. Azzara found that the mean scores for the experimental

group were greater than the control group in all cases. Based on these results, Azzara

concluded that challenging students to improvise music in order to acquire higher-order

music thinking skills may have two beneficial results: (a) meaningful creative

performance; and (b) the performance of music from notation with greater recognition

and understanding of music structure, as demonstrated through musical performance.

Investigating the role of audiation-based improvisation in seventh- and eighth-

grade instrumental music instruction, Snell (2006) described: (a) music achievement as a

result of improvisation curriculum, (b) relationship between aptitude and music

achievement, and (c) student perceptions of improvisation curriculum. Students (N = 45)

learned two tunes during eight weeks of small group instruction, and these tunes were

reinforced in a full ensemble that met every other day. All students were administered the

Musical Aptitude Profile (MAP; Gordon, 1995) and received instruction based on

Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006). At

9

the end of instruction, students performed two tunes and an improvisation based on each

tune. Four judges rated performances, using rating scales designed to measure tonal,

rhythm, expressive, and improvisation criteria. Six students participated in individual

interviews regarding their experiences in the study. Snell found that audiation-based

improvisation may serve as an important part of instrumental music curriculum.

Specific to high school, Stringham (2010) examined the music achievement and

personal perspectives of 66 students learning to improvise and compose in a non-

auditioned woodwind, brass, and percussion ensemble. Students met daily for 40 minutes

with additional 40-minute group lesson every six school days. During eight weeks of

instruction, students improvised and composed based on the model in Developing

Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). At

the end of instruction, all students improvised and composed, and eight students

participated in a focus group. Stringham concluded that improvisation and composition

are not merely enrichment tasks reserved for advanced students, but can serve as

meaningful elements of a comprehensive music education.

In addition to promoting learning with a greater understanding, Grunow (2005)

posited that improvisation can assist teachers in effectively measuring and evaluating

student achievement. Just as teachers discover a student’s level of language

comprehension through conversation, improvisation may serve a similar function in

music instruction. Because students are expressing their musical comprehension when

improvising, improvisation can be an important tool for music teachers (Grunow, 2005).

Filsinger (2012) described experiences of six novice music teachers in an eight-

10

week Improvisation Professional Development Workshop (IPDW). Participants learned

to improvise vocally and instrumentally following the model provided in Developing

Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b).

Filsinger’s participants agreed that improvisation is essential for learning music

comprehensively and an experience that should be provided for all students. Filsinger

concluded, “Learning to improvise will ultimately result in well-rounded, complete

musicians” (p. 151).

Collegiate Group Instruction

Pace (1967) articulated that group learning is advantageous for any music student,

regardless of age. Marx (2010) and L. Hart (2011) incorporated improvisation using

Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006,

2010a, 2010b) in classical repertoire for collegiate applied studios. They aimed to

improve instruction by designing curriculum and examining the relationship between

improvisation and music achievement. Marx (2010) conducted an eight-week study for

collegiate trumpet studio. Six students attended two group meetings and one private

lesson per week. During the study, students developed improvisation skills from DMTI

and performed the exposition from Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. They also improvised a

cadenza for the first movement, transcribed cadenzas, and composed original cadenzas

within guidelines. Based on performances and interviews at the end of instruction, Marx

stated that students were able to develop tone, embouchure function, appropriate air flow,

and increase ease in playing. Students reported improvisation exercises as “singing

through the horn” (p. 63). All students expressed enthusiasm about learning to improvise.

11

L. Hart (2011) examined music teaching and learning through improvisation

during an eight-week study for seven students in a collegiate horn studio. In this research,

group instruction occurred on alternate weeks. Students studied four orchestral excerpts

by singing and playing: (a) the bass line of a harmonic progression, and (b) the orchestral

parts accompanying the horn solo. Students also learned to sing and play common-

tendency tones (voice-leading), and improvised rhythm, tonal, and melodic patterns to

harmonic progressions. As a result of instruction incorporating improvisation, L. Hart

reported students’ improvement in enjoyment and comprehension of orchestral excerpts.

Several researchers have investigated the effect of improvisation in collegiate

group classes (Alexander, 2015; D. Hart, 2011; Montano, 1983; Snell & Azzara, 2015).

Montano (1983) studied the effect of improvisation on rhythmic accuracy in sight reading

achievement for 32 collegiate elementary group piano students. Both experimental and

control groups received sight reading instruction once a week for six weeks. The

experimental group participated in additional rhythm improvisation exercises. These

rhythm exercises included various combinations of given meter, rhythm notation, texture,

and pitch delineation. Montano concluded that the experimental group who had

improvised showed significantly greater achievement in rhythmic sight reading than the

control group.

D. Hart (2011) described improvisation achievement and personal perspectives of

eight collegiate non-jazz majors enrolled in a 14-week jazz improvisation class.

Throughout the course, all participants performed and improvised, both vocally and

instrumentally, repertoire from Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI;

12

Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). Additional tunes were learned during classroom

instruction. During Week 7 and Week 14, participants performed five different tunes with

six tasks: singing and playing the melody, singing and playing Skill 5, and singing and

playing Skill 7. At the end of instruction, interviews were administered to explore

students’ perception of achievement, practice habits, and anxiety. D. Hart found that

improvisation instruction had a positive overall effect on musicianship and music

achievement, and that collegiate non-jazz majors were capable of engaging in meaningful

improvisations.

Alexander (2015) examined intrinsic motivation in collegiate trumpet classes by

inviting 16 participants to perform, improvise, compose, and teach. Participants in two

classes met once a week for 50 minutes during a 14-week semester. Instructional

materials were based on Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (JRI; Grunow, Gordon,

& Azzara, 2003), and Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara &

Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). To research participants’ (a) motivation and perspectives,

(b) music achievement, and (c) teaching skills, all participants were invited to participate

in either a focus group interview or a summary interview/questionnaire. Alexander noted

a “positive relationship between results of quantitative measures of intrinsic motivation

and qualitative data related to motivation and self-determination” (p. 133). As a result of

instruction, participants reported experiencing high satisfaction and achievement in both

performance and teaching skills.

Snell and Azzara (2015) documented experiences of four collegiate musicians

learning to improvise in a seven-week improvisation course. Participants were collegiate

13

students with limited improvisation experience. Throughout the course, all students

learned repertoire by ear, improvised, listened to and performed solo transcriptions by

ear, composed melodies based on familiar tunes, created an arrangement, and engaged in

seven skills for learning to improvise from DMTI. Participants (a) completed a survey,

(b) participated in two 30-minute interviews, and (c) submitted two improvisation

assignments. Snell and Azzara concluded that beyond intrinsic pedagogical merits of

improvisation instruction, participants reported positive effect on personal musicianship

and creativity.

Summary

This review of literature examined research related to: (a) audiation and aural

approach, (b) improvisation, and (c) collegiate group instruction. Researchers emphasize

the benefits of an aural approach to instrumental pedagogy similar to the process of

learning a language (Azzara, 2002b; Bluestine, 2000; Gordon, 2012; Kataoka, 1985;

Mills, 1973). Azzara (2002) suggested that an aural approach should be at the center of

music instruction, with the piano and music notation placed in proper perspective. An

aural approach to improvisation fosters creativity, which is a valuable component of The

National Core Arts Standards (State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education,

2014). Numerous studies in pre-collegiate settings have reported that an aural approach to

music curriculum can help both students and music teachers (Azzara, 1993; Filsinger,

2012; Liperote, 2004; Snell, 2006; Stringham, 2010).

Beginning collegiate class piano students benefit from curriculum that includes

opportunities for them to: (a) develop a sense of tonality, meter, and style; (b) develop

14

artistic expression and musicality; and (c) master necessary executive skills. Through

improvisation, students are encouraged to perform with solid musicianship—with and

without an instrument (Azzara, 2002b). Research conducted in collegiate group settings

have recorded positive effects of improvisation in participants’ musicianship and music

achievement (Alexander, 2015; D. Hart, 2011; L. Hart 2011; Marx, 2010; Montano,

1983, Snell & Azzara, 2015).

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CHAPTER THREE

Method of Study







Research Setting and Subjects

The setting for this study was a freshmen class piano course at a collegiate music

school in the Northeastern United States. The school population of approximately 900

students includes approximately 500 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. Students

represent nearly every state; approximately 25% are international students. Each year,

about 280 undergraduate and graduate students enroll from a pool of 2,100 applicants.

All incoming freshmen are required to take four semesters of class piano, unless they

pass proficiency tests administered prior to matriculation of the first semester.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) teach all class piano courses at this

institution. TAs audition incoming freshmen for class placements, and are responsible for

writing course syllabi and grading student work. A faculty member coordinates the class

piano program and supervises all TAs. Freshmen students enrolled in this course had no

or limited previous formal piano instruction. Classes met twice per week for 50 minutes

in a 14-week semester. Participants for this study were 15 freshmen music students

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enrolled in one section of a semester-long class piano course.

Design

In this descriptive study, all students attended two group piano classes per week

for a total of 14 weeks during the semester. All students’ stabilized music aptitude was

measured prior to the study by administering Advanced Measures of Music Audiation

(AMMA; Gordon, 1989; see Appendix A). Instructional materials for the course were

based on Keyboard Musicianship: Piano for Adults (Lyke et al., 2014) and Developing

Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). I

served as both course instructor and principal investigator.

At the beginning of the semester, I distributed the course syllabus, which included

class objectives and grading policy (see Appendix B). All students experienced the same

repertoire and instruction during the semester, regardless of their participation in this

study. Students obtained skills in technique, sight-reading, harmonization, composition,

transposition, repertoire, and improvisation. In addition to playing the piano, students

were required to play their primary instruments for all improvisation instruction. Only

performances and interview data of consenting participants (N = 15) were used for this

study. All students were graded according to criteria presented in the course syllabus.

Participants were identifiable to the researcher, but the researcher did not analyze or code

performances and interviews until after semester grades were posted. While participants

were identifiable on the videos, the three professional judges who rated performances did

not know the participants.

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Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB)

Prior to beginning this study, I completed the certification program to conduct

minimal risk research with human subjects at the University of Rochester. Upon

completion, I received a three-year CITI Learner ID number on July 20, 2015 (see

Appendix C). I submitted study protocol to the Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB)

of the University of Rochester, and exemption approval was granted on October 7, 2015

(see Appendix D). This protocol included an information letter for potential study

participants (see Appendix E). To obtain consent and minimize coercion, the faculty

advisor presented study details to potential study participants at the beginning of the

Spring 2016 semester. The faculty advisor for this research had no academic or

supervisory role with potential participants and provided introduction to the research by

reading and distributing the information letter. Students were not required to participate

in the study, and their participation did not influence their grades in any way. Students

who were interested in participating informed me directly. Information and data for only

students that consented were included in the final analysis. Of 19 freshmen students

enrolled in the course, 15 students, all older than 18, consented to participating in

instruction, performances, and interviews.

Procedures

Participants in this study (N = 15) engaged in semester-long instruction with

several improvisation assessments that were not used for course grading purposes. All

incoming freshmen take Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; Gordon,

1989; see Appendix A), a stabilized music aptitude test. A survey and two interviews

18

were conducted throughout beginning, middle, and end of instruction (see Appendix F).

Singing and piano performing assessments of two tunes and improvisations took place in

Week 14.

During the semester, students learned repertoire by ear from Keyboard

Musicianship: Piano for Adults (Lyke et al., 2014) and Developing Musicianship through

Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b). Azzara and Grunow

offer a procedure for learning repertoire by ear similar to the process for learning a

language. DMTI is a resource for internalization of melodies, inner voices, and bass lines

according to appropriate harmonic function. Each unit presents six parts to teaching and

learning: (a) repertoire by ear, (b) rhythm patterns and harmonic progressions, (c)

improvising melodic phrases, (d) seven skills for improvisation (see Appendix G), (e)

reading and writing, and (f) learning example solos. In addition to DMTI repertoire, I

supplemented the course with folk and holiday tunes, and encouraged students to learn

and perform repertoire on their primary instrument or voice. Students were taught to sing

first, improvise on their primary instrument or voice, and then transfer their skills to the

piano. This aural approach to improvisation was prioritized for one quarter of the

semester-long curriculum.

At the end of instruction, all students: (a) sang the melody of “Happy Birthday,”

(b) improvised to “Happy Birthday” vocally, (c) played the melody of “Happy Birthday”

in the right hand with appropriate chordal accompaniment in the left hand, and (d)

improvised to “Happy Birthday” in the right hand with appropriate chordal

accompaniment in the left hand. Students then repeated this procedure with an unfamiliar

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researcher-composed tune (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Researcher-Composed Tune

Students were not given notation for “Happy Birthday,” as it was expected that they learn

this tune as a part of course content. Students were given ample time to practice the

unfamiliar researcher-composed tune until they felt comfortable singing and playing it. I

video-recorded all performances.

Participants answered open-ended questions in a pre-study survey, a mid-study

group interview, and a post-study individual interview. The pre-study survey questions

were: (a) Describe your prior improvisation experience, (b) Describe your thoughts on

learning to improvise, and (c) Describe your comfort level when improvising. The mid-

study group interview questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on learning to

improvise, (b) Share your thoughts on an effective process for practicing improvisation,

and (c) Describe changes you have experienced as a musician. The post-study individual

interview questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on the process of learning to

improvise, (b) Describe your comfort level when improvising prior to and after

instruction, and (c) Describe or express any additional thoughts about your experience.

Three independent judges rated video-recorded student performances using rating

scales designed to measure tonal, rhythm, expressive, and improvisation skills (see

Appendix H). The rating scales have been found reliable and valid in previous research

(Azzara, 1992; Filsinger, 2012; D. Hart, 2011; L. Hart, 2011; Marx, 2010; Snell, 2006;

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Stringham, 2010). Only the three selected judges assessed student performances. To

maintain anonymity, students were identified by random numbers only.

Judges’ Meeting

Prior to judging, I scheduled a judges’ meeting to provide instructions for using

the rating scales. Each judge reviewed four students’ sample performance videos and

discussed the criteria pertaining to the rating scales. To eliminate bias in judging final

performances for this study, the sample video recordings were only of non-consenting

study participants. Judges were allowed an immediate second listening, but the rating

process was done in one sitting. During the meeting, the judges and I discussed how to

rate each student and went over discrepancies in ratings. Immediately after the meeting,

modifications to the rating scales were made for additional clarity.

Survey and Interviews

I administered a survey and two interviews during this study. After the first class

of the semester, each student completed a survey consisting of three questions. Next at

mid-semester, I interviewed all students in two groups. Students were divided into two

groups as a result of class schedules. Finally during last week of the semester, I

interviewed students individually for feedback regarding the study.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics and split-halves reliability coefficients were calculated for

Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; Gordon, 1989), a stabilized music

aptitude test. For vocal and piano performance music achievement of two tunes, I

calculated: (a) interjudge reliability coefficients from three independent judges, (b)

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descriptive statistics for each dimension and composite score, and (c) correlation

coefficients for two tunes. I calculated correlation coefficients for: (a) familiar tune and

unfamiliar tune achievement, (b) vocal performance and piano performance achievement,

and (c) music aptitude and music achievement. I transcribed video recordings for selected

student performances (see Appendix I).

I conducted a survey prior to the study, a group interview in the middle of the

semester, and individual interviews at the end of semester. Predetermined, open-ended

questions were used to examine students’ perceptions of improvisation in class piano

pedagogy. I transcribed all interviews using line-by-line coding (Charmaz, 2014),

extracted key responses based on each question, and organized coded data based on three

themes: benefits, challenges, and experiences (see Appendices J-L). All names used in

this study are pseudonyms.

Data Storage and Confidentiality

I collected and stored all performance and interview recordings, performance and

interview transcriptions, and quantitative and qualitative data on a password-protected

computer in a locked office with restricted access. All information I received, including

participants’ names and other identifying information, was kept strictly confidential. I de-

identified participants and will share only summary findings in future presentations or

publications about this research. I have sole access to all files.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Quantitative Results and Interpretations

Results

In this chapter, I present quantitative data to answer the following research

questions: (a) What is the improvisation achievement of beginning collegiate class piano

students? and (b) What is the relationship between beginning collegiate class piano

students’ music aptitude and music achievement?

Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA)

Upon matriculation, all freshmen students at this institution were administered the

Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; Gordon 1989), a measure of stabilized

music aptitude. For this study, I received permission to access study participants’ AMMA

scores. In Table 1, I present means and standard deviations for study participants and the

national norms reported in the Manual for the Advanced Measures of Music Audiation

(Gordon, 1989).

Table 1 Comparison of Sample and National Scores for AMMA Mean Standard Deviation

*Sample **National *Sample **National Tonal 29.0 28.3 3.95 4.12

Rhythm 31.5 30.8 3.16 3.52 Composite 60.5 59.1 6.79 7.41

Note. *Sample N = 15. **National N = 3,206. National sample includes undergraduate and graduate music majors. In Table 2, I present AMMA descriptive statistics of minimum scores, maximum

scores, means, and standard deviations for tonal, rhythm, and composite dimensions.

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Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for AMMA

Min Max Mean Standard Deviation

Tonal 22 35 29.0 3.95 Rhythm 26 36 31.5 3.16

Composite 49 69 60.5 6.79 Note. N = 15. In Table 3, I present split-halves reliability coefficients for tonal, rhythm, and

composite dimensions of AMMA, corrected for length using the Spearman-Brown

prophecy formula. Composite score reliability was .71.

Table 3 Split-Halves Reliability Coefficients for AMMA

*Sample **National Tonal .55 .84

Rhythm .36 .85 Composite .71 .88

Note. *Sample N = 15. **National N = 3,206. Sample reliability corrected for length using Spearman-Brown prophecy formula. Musical Tasks

At conclusion of the study, I recorded participants’ vocal and piano

improvisations to two tunes: “Happy Birthday” and an unfamiliar tune that I composed

(see Figure 1). I video-recorded all performances, transferred them to a MacBook

computer, edited the videos to remove extraneous noise, and compiled them into one

video. To maintain anonymity, I randomized the performance order. Three judges

independently rated the recorded performances using ratings scales designed to measure

tonal, rhythm, expressive, and improvisation skills. The judges used six-point continuous

tonal and rhythm rating scales, and six-point additive expressive and improvisation rating

scales (see Appendix H).

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In Table 4, I present interjudge reliability (alpha coefficient) of the three judges

for the two tunes. Using alpha factor analysis (Cronbach’s alpha), overall interjudge

reliability coefficients were at or above .90 with exception of one coefficient of .889.

Table 4 Interjudge Reliability Coefficients for “Happy Birthday” (T1) and Researcher-Composed Tune (T2)

Tonal Rhythm Expressive Improvisation Composite T1 .930 .955 .952 .908 .969 T2 .889 .962 .900 .951 .974

T1 + T2 .938 .975 .963 .964 .983 Note. N = 15. For improvisations of each tune, I present descriptive statistics of composite

scores in Tables 5 and 6.

Table 5 Descriptive Statistics for “Happy Birthday” Improvisation


Judge 1 13 37 25.7 7.15 Judge 2 11 40 30.1 8.10 Judge 3 13 40 31.5 8.28

Note. N = 15. Table 6 Descriptive Statistics for Researcher-Composed Tune Improvisation


Judge 1 12 38 26.7 6.48 Judge 2 15 40 30.9 7.29 Judge 3 18 40 30.5 7.69

Note. N = 15. I calculated descriptive statistics of the three judges’ individual ratings and of

combined judges’ ratings on all of the tunes. In Table 7, I present descriptive statistics for

Tonal Composite (TC), Rhythm Composite (RC), Expressive Composite (EC),

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Improvisation Composite (IC), Tune 1 Composite (T1C), Tune 2 Composite (T2C),

Vocal Composite (VC), Piano Composite (PC), and Grand Total Composite (GTC).

Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for “Happy Birthday” (T1) and Researcher-Composed Tune (T2)


TC 35 60 50.1 8.3 RC 25 60 44.9 11.2 EC 24 58 41.5 11.2 IC 19 57 38.9 12.1

T1C 37 117 87.3 22.9 T2C 45 118 88.0 21.0 VC 50 119 89.9 24.1 PC 37 116 85.5 21.8

GTC 106 235 175.3 41.2 Note. N = 15. In Table 8, I present correlation coefficients for tonal, rhythm, expressive,

improvisation, and composite scores of “Happy Birthday” and the researcher-composed

tune.

Table 8 Correlation Coefficients for “Happy Birthday” and Researcher-Composed Tune

Tonal Rhythm Expressive Improvisation Composite Tonal .917 .836 .790 .909

Rhythm .949 .943 .991 Expressive .938 .974

Improvisation .964 Note. N = 15. Familiar Tune – Unfamiliar Tune Achievement Relationship

To describe the quantitative relationship between improvisation achievement of

the familiar tune and the unfamiliar tune, I calculated the correlation coefficient for

“Happy Birthday” (familiar) and the researcher-composed tune (unfamiliar) for each

student. The correlation coefficient for familiar and unfamiliar tune improvisation

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achievement was .765, significant at the 0.01 level.

Vocal Performance – Piano Performance Achievement Relationship

To describe the quantitative relationship between improvisation achievement of

vocal performance and piano performance, I calculated the correlation coefficient for

vocal improvisation achievement and piano improvisation achievement for each student.

The correlation coefficient for vocal and piano performance improvisation achievement

was .604, significant at the 0.05 level.

Music Aptitude – Music Achievement Relationship

To describe the quantitative relationship between music aptitude and music

achievement, I calculated the correlation coefficient for music aptitude and improvisation

achievement for each student. The correlation coefficient for music aptitude and music

achievement was .332, with no significance.

Interpretation of Quantitative Data

Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA)

Study participants’ music aptitude was measured prior to the study using AMMA

(Gordon, 1989). Because AMMA is a measure of one’s potential to achieve in music,

high AMMA scores indicate that high achievement is possible when a student receives

appropriate instruction. Participants’ mean scores were higher than the national norms,

and standard deviations were smaller than the national norms. Overall reliability was

lower than the national norms, likely due to the homogeneity of participants, smaller

sample size, and smaller range of scores.

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Musical Tasks

To examine the improvisation achievement of beginning collegiate class piano

students, all participants improvised to two tunes, vocally and instrumentally. Interjudge

reliability coefficients of the three judges were at or above .90 with exception of the

researcher-composed tune—tonal dimension (.889). Such high coefficients demonstrate

that three judges’ ratings were consistent. “Happy Birthday” showed a wider spread of

scores compared to the researcher-composed tune. Considering the fact that the final

assessment began with “Happy Birthday,” students may have been nervous about being

assessed and video-recorded.

Descriptive statistics of the tonal dimension contained the highest mean and the

smallest standard deviation, but displayed the most varied ratings between the three

judges for the researcher-composed tune. This may be a result of judges’ interpretation of

improvisation. For example, did they consider simple embellishment as tonal

improvisation? Judges discussed such discrepancies prior to and during the judges

meeting, yet reported they still had questions during some portions of actual judging.

Descriptive statistics of combined judges’ ratings exhibit the highest mean in the

tonal dimension (50.1) and the lowest mean in the improvisation dimension (38.9).

Standard deviations were smallest for the tonal dimension (8.3) and largest for the

improvisation dimension (12.1). This may be from heavy emphasis of tonal pattern

improvisations taught throughout the course, whereas developing and synthesizing all

elements of improvisation performances were only prioritized for one quarter of the

semester.

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The difference between minimum scores of Tune 1 Composite (37) and Tune 2

Composite (45) is interesting as lower achieving students scored higher on the researcher-

composed tune. In addition to the possibility of students feeling more comfortable after

improvising “Happy Birthday” vocally and instrumentally, higher achievement for the

researcher-composed tune may be due to students’ taking ownership of their learning of

an unfamiliar tune, leading to improved improvisation performances.

The vocal performance minimum score (50) was higher than piano performance

minimum score (37). Participants’ limited executive skills on piano likely affected their

piano improvisation achievement. Vocal performance standard deviation (24.1) was

larger than piano performance standard deviation (21.8), which may be a result of limited

vocal experience many instrumentalists had prior to the study.

Correlation coefficients of tonal, rhythm, expressive, improvisation, and

composite scores of music achievement exceeded .90 with two exceptions: Tonal-

Expressive (.836) and Tonal-Improvisation (.79). This may be due to beginning piano

students’ focus on tonal improvisation: perhaps they were not able to give extra attention

to expressive and improvisation details. Consistent with previous research in collegiate

settings (Alexander, 2015; D. Hart, 2011; L. Hart, 2011; Marx, 2010; Snell & Azzara,

2015), high correlation coefficients calculated in this study affirm that an aural approach

to improvisation in collegiate class piano may lead to improved music achievement.

Familiar Tune – Unfamiliar Tune Achievement Relationship

Results revealed a higher mean and a smaller standard deviation for the

researcher-composed tune. This was different from my pre-conceived expectation that

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students would achieve higher on “Happy Birthday,” a familiar tune. Regardless, the

correlation coefficient for “Happy Birthday” (familiar) and the researcher-composed tune

(unfamiliar) was .765, significant at the 0.01 level. Students’ improvisation achievement

and judges’ ratings were consistent between both tunes, despite the familiarity of tunes

for each student.

Vocal Performance – Piano Performance Achievement Relationship

To better understand the relationship between singing and playing, I correlated

improvisation achievement results of all students’ vocal with piano performances. The

correlation coefficient for vocal performance and piano performance was .604, significant

at the 0.05 level. This moderate and statistically significant correlation suggests that

whether students were voice majors or not, their singing and performing improvisation

achievement remained moderately consistent.

Music Aptitude – Music Achievement Relationship

The second research question of this study was to examine the relationship

between beginning piano students’ music aptitude and music achievement. The

correlation coefficient for music aptitude and music achievement was .332, with no

significance. This low coefficient is explainable considering the small sample size and

limited amount of instruction during the 14-week semester. Consistent with previous

research (Azzara, 1992; Snell, 2006; Stringham, 2010), the positive relationship between

music aptitude and music achievement suggests that an aural approach to improvisation

in collegiate class piano may improve instruction for individual needs of students, and

provide evidence for inclusion of improvisation in music curriculum.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Qualitative Results and Interpretations

Results

In this chapter, I present qualitative data to answer the research question: What

are students’ perceptions of improvisation in class piano pedagogy? I present findings

drawn from pre-study surveys, mid-study group interviews, and post-study individual

interviews. Survey responses are presented in Appendix J, group interview responses are

presented in Appendix K, and individual interview responses are presented in Appendix

L. All names used in this chapter are pseudonyms.

Surveys

The pre-study survey questions were: (a) Describe your prior improvisation

experience, (b) Describe your thoughts on learning to improvise, and (c) Describe your

comfort level when improvising. All 15 participants completed the survey.

Prior improvisation experience. Three most frequent descriptors that represent

participants’ prior improvisation experience were: “jazz,” “little,” and “not in a serious

manner.” Four participants reported they had prior jazz improvisation experience.

Michael wrote, “The first improv I did was in high school Jazz Band (on trombone) from

grades 10-12.” Participants who experienced improvisation outside of jazz indicated they

had little experience, and the remainder of participants had no prior improvisation

experience. Nash recorded, “I tried a little improv with my guitar teacher about two years

ago.” In addition to descriptions of “little experience,” participants described

improvisation outside of jazz as “fun” or “not in a serious manner.” Nate expressed, “Not

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much. I’ve played in big band but never in the solo chair, at least not in a serious manner

where I studied the chord progressions or anything like that.”

Thoughts on learning to improvise. Three prevalent descriptors that represent

participants’ thoughts on learning to improvise were: “open,” “fun,” and “helpful.”

Participants communicated various degrees of the response “open,” ranging from “very

open” to “not too interested but am open.” Newman noted, “I am not too interested but

am open to learning.” Despite some hesitations in learning to improvise, other

enthusiastic responses considered learning to improvise as “fun.” Ava asserted, “I think it

would be fun! I’d enjoy knowing how to approach it.” Further, students valued

improvisation skills in their overall musical understanding and considered improvisation

helpful. Wiley claimed, “Learning to improvise gives further insight to musical analysis

and greatly helps understanding.”

Comfort level when improvising. Three predominant descriptors that represent

participants’ comfort level when improvising were: “not very comfortable,” “want to be,”

and “more experience.” Majority of responses to this question can be summarized by

Evan’s direct response, “Not very comfortable.” Although they were uncomfortable with

improvisation, participants showed the desire to improve through learning over the

semester. Gabby pointed out, “I am not comfortable with it yet, but I want to be.”

Participants felt that more experience through practice could be a way to increase comfort

level when improvising. Evelyn suggested, “I think I’d feel more comfortable once I have

more experience.”

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Group Interviews

The mid-study group interviews questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on

learning to improvise, (b) Share your thoughts on an effective process for practicing

improvisation, and (c) Describe changes you have experienced as a musician. All 15

participants completed the group interview with the researcher.

Thoughts on learning to improvise. I started both mid-semester group

interviews by asking participants about their experiences learning to improvise.

Participants used words such as: “open,” “fun,” and “helpful” in the pre-study survey.

Group interview responses were more in-depth, and participants’ thoughts about

improvisation can be summarized as “helpful” and “creative.” Neal reflected in detail that

improvisation helped with overall musicianship, especially aural skills:

I think since we’ve been doing it in class, it’s made me think more. Before, I would, especially with melodies, I would think more like linearly. Like just think about the melody line. I find that now, I tend to like audiate and think like more horizontally. To hear chord changes more, melodies… I think that’s been helpful for me. Many participants mentioned their primary instruments or voice in relation to the

importance of developing aural skills. For example, Nate stated:

I think as a brass player, it’s really important to hear the note before you play it so you don’t crack it. Because if you put a bow on the string, it makes the noise that you wanted to make, it makes the right note at least… But if you blow into a brass instrument, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You have to really hear it, so I think having a good inner ear, like improvisation, if you kind of hear it before you play it, it trains your inner ear more and so it just helps overall aural skills. Several students brought up the importance of creativity and how improvisation

instruction in this course fostered it. Gabby remarked:

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I think also because people tell us that classical music is a dying industry, we need to kind of get creative and think about how to make music, like new pieces and new styles of music and stuff like that. And I think this will really help us expand our mind, sort of. Ava voiced that such creativity through improvisation allowed for more comprehensive

music education:

Up until this class, I haven’t really worked with improv because as a vocalist, not being able to see your instrument, it’s really tough. Like you have to trust yourself a lot, and I feel like improv works that. I feel like I get a better sense of where I am in that key and like I don’t know, it’s interesting and it’s very different than what I usually do, so it’s working like your creativity and it broadens horizons for the potential for what the piece can be. Effective process for practicing improvisation. Building upon how helpful

improvisation had been so far, I asked students about their thoughts on an effective

process for practicing improvisation. Most common responses were: “singing first” and

“starting without notation.” “Singing first” was considered as an important start for

effectively practicing improvisation. Noah told the group:

Well for me, at least. I think improvisation or music in general at least in my eyes, is very vocal. Especially jazz, we always talk about trying to solo like a vocalist. So I think it’s important to sing things first so you hear the harmony, instead of just playing patterns or lines over certain chords you know to actually hear linear phrase. It helps to sing things and play it back. Lamar regarded singing as an effective start to provide context for limited executive

skills at the piano: “I think singing it first, because for me, it’s easier.”

Michael spoke on the importance of “starting without notation” in music learning,

which was the emphasis of this course over the semester:

I think improv is helpful in understanding the relationship between notes on any instrument. And like when I learned bassoon earlier in music ed, we did a lot of improv and we didn’t actually start reading music until Week 5. Like that really

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helped, it’s not like we were looking at the page and playing what was there, so it really helped to understand what to do and I think that helps with almost all instruments. And recently I’ve been trying to pick any theme or any little song and try to improvise on it for like 5 minutes in a practice session just to help build that. Changes experienced as a musician. Group interviews ended with participants

describing changes they experienced as a musician through this course. Frequent

responses were: “getting out of a bubble” and “transferrable to primary instrument or

voice.” Experiencing discomfort from improvisation was regarded as a positive change.

Evan stated:

I was going to say that like, I like to practice making myself uncomfortable as much as I can because that helps with nerves in general, not just when you’re playing. So I was never comfortable improvising, and I’m still not, but every time I do it, I feel more and more comfortable. It’s just like getting out of that bubble is really good to practice, for nerves more than anything really. Many participants believed that improvement of piano skills through

improvisation instruction transferred over to improvement of their primary instrument or

voice. Evelyn emphasized:

Well, I had no improv experience coming here, ever, none. Like any ornaments I ever had to do were laid out for me, like, I had really no theory, no improv, no idea what I was doing. So the improv in class makes me think of like the harmonic structure and where I have to go from that. And like, it’s still really hard for me, but it’s getting a little better. Because now I know what I’m supposed to be doing, kind of? So, I don’t know, it kind of helps with like my lessons, too. Because when I have to ornament, now I kind of know what I’m doing instead of just doing random notes. Nash reiterated both descriptors “getting out of a bubble” and “transferability to

primary instrument”:

Yeah, I agree with that, about nerves. So what Evan said about nerves. I definitely have gotten out of my comfort zone, you know, once you do that a little bit and

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you do it enough, like the improv becomes kind of fun. And building on that and creativity, I try to use improv in my practicing, so when there’s like a hard spot that I can’t get, I’ll come up with a melody that has same like technical issues or musical issues, and then I’ll like work it the same way, that way I’ll do in other things. So you can use it as a practice tool, I guess […] Piano has been helpful for diagnosing some problems that actually occur on the cello. So I’ve noticed that I have similar problems that like, for example, like the thing you’ve told me about today. A lot of times, I work harder than I need to, so like, when I do the shift, I’ll like move the whole arm or I’ll just like go pretty crazy on it or something and I don’t need to move that much. And the same thing with piano, I mean, I didn’t have to move my whole arm, just like two fingers and like, you know, a lot of that is transferrable. Individual Interviews

The post-study individual interview questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on

the process of learning to improvise, (b) Describe your comfort level when improvising

prior to and after instruction, and (c) Describe or express any additional thoughts about

your experience. All 15 participants completed the individual interview with the

researcher during Week 14.

Thoughts on the process of learning to improvise. Responses to this question

from group interviews revealed that improvisation was helpful for aural skills and

primary instrument or voice performance. Reoccurring descriptors to this question during

individual interviews were: “helpful,” “sequential progression,” and “other people.” Noah

gave a detailed report of how learning to improvise has helped with developing aural

skills and overall musicianship:

OK. Well, I think it’s really good to be listening to things before you play it, and like, as you play it as well. Um, yeah, I think it’s also good also to recognize the harmony that we’ve been doing, because you have us like arpeggiate the chord tones of the chord, um, which is also important. And actually, probably the most important thing besides you know, listening is the rhythmic aspect, because you have us improvise like the bass line rhythm, because the hardest thing with

36

improvisation that I’ve found was creating rhythmic interest, instead of just playing like quarter notes, you know… So I think that the important things I’ve gotten out of it is singing before you do things, and you know, managing the rhythmic aspect more, because I mean, harmony’s important, but you know, it’s not gonna be interesting I feel like, if it’s all just quarter notes. Conversations on how improvisation helped with primary instrument or voice

performance continued in individual interviews. Rachel commented:

Umh… My thoughts on the process… Umh, I thought it’s been challenging, but interesting and good skill to have, and I think that doing it in this class has made me have to it more outside of class, which has been helpful to my learning of it, and I think I have a pretty firm grasp on, you know, tonic, dominant, predominant harmonies at this point, at least in my own private practice, so… That’s been good, but it’s been difficult especially to do it so quickly, especially to improvise, like really truly do it in class, that’s been interesting and challenging experience. Regarding the process of learning to improvise, a majority of students appreciated

having a “sequential progression” throughout the semester. Neal stated:

Umh… I liked, often we would do it kind of like sequentially, like we would do it in different steps from just like the bass note, and then like moving to chord tones, and rhythmic variations on that, and such… I like that sequential progression to moving on to more involved improvisations instead of just being like, here you go, so… A great number of students were able to outline exact steps taught during the course.

Georgia’s quote represented this well:

Singing first and then playing. I think that’s, singing is like, you just remember it more, because singing is like, I don’t know, it’s like in you, and you say and you play it. Um, you remember it more, and like it’s better. And I do it for my violin, too, because my teacher wants me to understand about breathing, because sometimes you can’t bow too long, you need to breathe… I think singing and think about the melody, and then sing out loud with accompaniment on the left hand, and then playing with left hand, right hand really helped. The setting of group class made students more at ease in learning to improvise.

Newman commented on the effect of “other people”:

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Hmh, I guess just listening to other people do it, especially if they already kind of had experience with it, so just seeing what other people did and what they came up with was really helpful. Umh, this sounds really weird, but I think playing pre- written cadenzas from concertos I’ve been doing kind of gave me ideas, umh… Just like taking a theme and kind of adapting it, I think that was helpful. In addition to listening, participants relied on “other people” to improve their own skills.

Lamar stated:

Um, I think doing improv with other, like when everybody else was doing just like the bass line, and I would improvising over bass line, while other people would like one person would do the melody, especially when people were improving the bass line… It’s like, oh, this is how you get a feel for that, and when you do the melody, that helped to get a feel for developing the style of pieces. Comfort level when improvising prior to and after instruction. Pre-study

surveys informed that participants started with little or no prior improvisation experience.

Survey responses were “not very comfortable,” “want to be,” and “more experience” in

describing the comfort level when improvising. After a 14-week semester of instruction,

general descriptors during individual interviews were: “more comfortable” and “I’ll give

it a shot.” All participants expressed they were “more comfortable” in varying degrees

after instruction. Lisa expressed, “Well, I guess I feel more comfortable in this setting. I

feel like improvisation is supposed to be fun, it’s not like people judge you, so…”

Participants that were uncomfortable with improvisation prior to the study now

felt they can “give it a shot” when asked to improvise. Lamar summarized:

I definitely feel a little bit more comfortable with it. Umh, it’s still, if somebody were to say, oh, can you do improv, I think I’d be like say, I’m not super experienced but, I wouldn’t say, no, I can’t do it, you know? So this can be like, oh, sure, I’ll give it a shot, you know? Additional thoughts about your experience. While not all participants

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responded to this question, responses highlighted students’ perception of improvisation in

class piano pedagogy. Participants requested that an aural approach to improvisation

happen “more often” as it was only a portion of the semester-long curriculum. Wiley

suggested:

Um, let’s see… If anything, I think doing it more often would’ve helped. Because we only did it like every couple of weeks, and it would be like, oh, improv. But if we were doing it consistently, like once a day, like the way we do sight-reading, once a day have a little just play one of the tunes that’s available for improv, that might’ve helped. I asked five high-achieving participants if they would be interested in taking an

all-improvisation class. All of them showed interest, and a few asked that this

hypothetical class be a multiple-instrument group. Gabby said:

Umh, if it was just improv, I would like it to be more than just piano, like multiple instruments, so that I can… I don’t know, I guess like if you’re just working on… I don’t know, I guess. Yeah, even learning other instruments, too… Noah’s response encapsulated the level of enthusiasm and positive responses regarding

an all-improvisation class: “Yeah, I would take that in a heartbeat.”

Interpretation of Qualitative Data

Three themes emerged from my analysis of qualitative data: benefits, challenges,

and experiences.

Benefits

Participants indicated in pre-study surveys that learning to improvise would be

beneficial to understanding music. Improvisation as a “helpful” skill appeared most

frequently in all surveys and interviews throughout the study. Extensive discussions

39

developed during group interviews on how improvisation aided participants musically.

For example, participants believed that learning to improvise improved their aural skills,

provided a fundamental understanding of harmonic structure, assisted in faster sight-

reading, and allowed for a deeper focus in performance. Creativity and transferability

emerged from this topic of benefits of improvisation. Participants found creativity a

necessary element in the changing classical world, and valued improvisation in fostering

such creativity. Building upon creativity, participants voiced that improvisation served as

a practice tool for primary instrument or voice performance. Participants said that

diagnosing and improving skills became easier after learning to improvise. They

expressed feeling positive changes in their individual practice.

Individual interviews allowed participants to provide thorough details about how

learning to improvise supported undergraduate music studies. Participants described how

aural skills, composition, confidence, creativity, practice strategies, teaching, theory, and

comprehensive musicianship were all enhanced from learning to improvise. Through the

process of learning to improvise, participants appreciated having ownership over the

content. Instead of feeling like they were on their own to figure things out, participants

felt that improvisation instruction assisted in guiding their general practice.

Challenges

Some participants expressed hesitation about improvising prior to the study, due

to their limited improvisation experience. Others stated that their previous improvisation

experience was in a jazz context. Many participants described their previous

improvisation experience as “fun” or “not serious.” As most of the participants were

40

classical performance majors, they had a challenging time learning tunes without

notation. For example, several participants expressed frustration when they forgot the

chord progression and sensed they were lost.

Participants enrolled in this course were beginners at playing the piano. Although

singing first when learning tunes by ear helped, participants found it challenging to

transfer their musical ideas to the piano. The unfamiliar learning experience of playing by

ear combined with limited executive skills at the piano made some participants

uncomfortable throughout the semester. Regardless of ongoing enthusiasm and interest in

learning from most participants, some perceived improvisation as challenging.

Experiences

Most participants in this study had little or no prior improvisation experience.

Despite such limited experience, surveys revealed that students were open to improving

and even thought it might be fun. Participants’ enthusiasm for learning to improvise

allowed for this study to continue throughout the semester without losing the pacing for

course content. Practice and experience were considered necessary to gain improvisation

skills, and participants actively followed through in and outside of the classroom.

Participants enjoyed singing first and learning tunes without notation as a part of

improvisation curriculum. A majority of students were classical performance majors and

only a selected few had experience with an aural approach before this course. Post-study

individual interviews revealed that the sequential progression of an aural approach to

improvisation used in this study deeply affected participants. As the instructor and

researcher for this study, it was exciting for me to witness participants describe the

41

procedure we used for learning to improvise. The group dynamic was positive as

participants learned from each other’s musical ideas and made the environment non-

threatening during performances. Participants developed relationships as they performed

and practiced together during the semester.

Participants ended the semester feeling more comfortable in varying degrees with

improvisation. Even participants who admitted they had a strong discomfort improvising

prior to the study were now willing to improvise. Looking forward, participants requested

more improvisation instruction in their music education and considered an all-

improvisation class an attractive option for an undergraduate music curriculum.

42

CHAPTER SIX

Summary and Conclusions

Summary

Research Purpose and Questions







Design and Procedures

Participants in this study (N = 15) attended two group piano classes per week

during a 14-week semester of instruction. All participants’ stabilized music aptitude

scores were obtained from administration of Advanced Measures of Music Audiation

(AMMA; Gordon, 1989; see Appendix A) when they matriculated. Instructional

materials for the course were based on Keyboard Musicianship: Piano for Adults (Lyke

et al., 2014) and Developing Musicianship through Improvisation (DMTI; Azzara &

Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b; see Appendix B). I served as both course instructor and

principal investigator (see Appendices B-E).

At the beginning of the semester, I distributed the course syllabus, which included

class objectives and grading policy (see Appendix B). All students in the course,

regardless of participation in the study, experienced the same repertoire and instruction

43

throughout the semester. Students learned skills in technique, sight-reading,

harmonization, composition, transposition, repertoire, and improvisation. I supplemented

the course with folk and holiday tunes, and encouraged students to learn and perform

repertoire on their primary instrument or voice. Students were taught to sing first,

improvise on their primary instrument or voice, and then transfer these skills to the piano

for all improvisations. Participants were identifiable to the researcher, but the researcher

did not analyze or code performances and interviews until after semester grades were

posted. While participants were identifiable on the judging videos, the three professional

judges did not know the participants.

To measure (a) improvisation achievement and (b) the relationship between

students’ music aptitude and music achievement, all participants completed a final

performance assessment in Week 14. Participants: (a) sang the melody of “Happy

Birthday,” (b) improvised to “Happy Birthday” vocally, (c) played the melody of “Happy

Birthday” in the right hand with appropriate chordal accompaniment in the left hand, and

(d) improvised to “Happy Birthday” in the right hand with appropriate chordal

accompaniment in the left hand. Students then repeated this procedure with an unfamiliar

researcher-composed tune. Three independent judges rated recorded student

performances using rating scales designed to measure tonal, rhythm, expressive, and

improvisation skills (see Appendices H-I).

To examine students’ perceptions of improvisation in class piano pedagogy,

participants answered open-ended questions in a (a) pre-study survey, (b) mid-study

group interview, and (c) post-study individual interview. The pre-study survey questions

44

were: (a) Describe your prior improvisation experience, (b) Describe your thoughts on

learning to improvise, and (c) Describe your comfort level when improvising. The mid-

study group interview questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on learning to

improvise, (b) Share your thoughts on an effective process for practicing improvisation,

and (c) Describe changes you have experienced as a musician. The post-study individual

interview questions were: (a) Describe your thoughts on the process of learning to

improvise, (b) Describe your comfort level when improvising prior to and after

instruction, and (c) Describe or express any additional thoughts about your experience.

Data Analysis

I calculated descriptive statistics and split-halves reliability coefficients for

Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; Gordon, 1989), a stabilized music

aptitude test. For vocal and piano performance music achievement of “Happy Birthday”

and the researcher-composed tune, I calculated: (a) interjudge reliability coefficients from

three independent judges, (b) descriptive statistics for each dimension and composite

score, and (c) correlation coefficients for two tunes. I calculated correlations coefficients

for: (a) familiar tune and unfamiliar tune achievement, (b) vocal performance and piano

performance achievement, and (c) music aptitude and music achievement. I transcribed

video recordings for selected student performances (see Appendix I). I reported

quantitative results and interpretations in Chapter 4.

I conducted a pre-study survey, a mid-study group interview, and a post-study

individual interview for all participants. Predetermined, open-ended questions were used

to examine students’ perceptions of improvisation in class piano pedagogy. I transcribed

45

all interviews using line-by-line coding (Charmaz, 2014), extracted key responses

according to each question, and organized coded data based on three themes: benefits,

challenges, experiences (see Appendices J-L). I reported qualitative results and

interpretations in Chapter 5.

Results and Interpretations

Quantitative. Participants’ (N = 15) AMMA mean scores were higher than the

national norms and their standard deviations were smaller than the national norms. Split-

halves reliability coefficients for tonal and rhythm dimensions were lower than the

national norms, but composite dimension reliability was acceptable (.71). Homogeneity

of participants at a selective collegiate music school, small range of scores, and small

sample size are possible explanations for AMMA results.

Interjudge reliability coefficients of the three judges were at or above .90 with

exception of the researcher-composed tune—tonal dimension (.889). These high

interjudge reliability coefficients demonstrated that the three judges’ ratings were

consistent. The researcher-composed tune—tonal dimension received the highest mean

score and the smallest standard deviation, yet displayed the most variability between the

three judges. This may be from judges’ discrepancies in interpreting improvisation,

which was discussed at the judges meeting yet still remained questionable during actual

judging.

All participants improvised to two tunes, vocally and instrumentally. Combined

judges’ ratings calculated the tonal dimension with the highest mean (50.1) and smallest

standard deviation (8.3), and the improvisation dimension with the lowest mean (38.9)

46

and largest standard deviation (12.1). Each dimension (tonal, rhythm, expressive,

improvisation) of this study’s ratings scales demonstrated to be important for an accurate

and comprehensive assessment of improvisation.

The researcher-composed tune received higher means and smaller standard

deviations than “Happy Birthday.” The minimum composite scores of “Happy Birthday”

and the researcher-composed tune also revealed that lower achieving students scored

higher on the researcher-composed tune. These results may be from participants feeling

more at ease after improvising “Happy Birthday,” and from participants claiming

ownership of learning an unfamiliar researcher-composed tune. Judges’ ratings were

consistent between “Happy Birthday” (familiar tune) and the researcher-composed tune

(unfamiliar tune); the composite correlation coefficient was .765, significant at the 0.01

level.

The minimum scores of vocal and piano performance were noteworthy as

participants’ limited piano skills likely affected their piano performance achievement.

The correlation coefficient for vocal performance and piano performance achievement

was .604, significant at the 0.05 level. Although not as significant as the familiar and

unfamiliar tune coefficient, vocal and piano performance correlation coefficient informed

that participants’ singing and performing remained moderately consistent. The correlation

coefficient for music aptitude and music achievement was .332, with no significance.

This low coefficient may be a result of small sample size and limited amount of

instruction during the 14-week semester.

The correlation coefficients for “Happy Birthday” and the researcher-composed

47

tune were at or above .90 with two exceptions: Tonal-Expressive (.836) and Tonal-

Improvisation (.79). This may be due to beginning piano students’ experience with tonal

improvisation: they needed to pay extra attention to expressive and improvisation details.

Consistent with previous research (Alexander, 2015; D. Hart, 2011; L. Hart, 2011; Marx,

2010; Snell & Azzara, 2015), high correlation coefficients calculated in this study affirm

that an aural approach to improvisation in collegiate class piano may lead to improved

music achievement.

Qualitative. All participants completed a: (a) pre-study survey, (b) mid-study

group interview, and (c) post-study individual interview. In pre-study surveys,

participants’ prior improvisation experience summarized to “jazz” context, “little” or no

prior experience, and considered “not in a serious manner.” Despite lack of prior

experience, participants were “open” to learning to improvise and thought it would be

“fun” and “helpful.” Participants’ comfort level was frequently stated as: “not very

comfortable,” “want to be” comfortable, and believed it would improve with “more

experience.”

In mid-study group interviews, participants expressed learning to improvise as

“helpful” and “creative.” Participants described in detail how improvisation has helped

with overall musicianship and better performance on primary instrument or voice.

Creativity through improvisation was mentioned in providing a comprehensive music

education. Participants’ reflected that “singing first” and “starting without notation”

allowed for an effective process for improvisation. Group interviews concluded with

participants sharing changes experienced through this course. Reoccurring responses of

48

“getting out of a bubble” and “transferrable to primary instrument or voice” were given.

In post-study individual interviews, participants described learning to improvise

as “helpful,” appreciated having a “sequential progression,” and valued “other people” in

the course. Many participants were able to outline exact steps in learning to improvise

throughout the semester. The group dynamic was perceived as positive and participants

depended on other people for better learning of improvisation. After 14 weeks of

instruction, all participants were “more comfortable” with improvisation and many were

now willing to “give it a shot” when asked to improvise. Individual interviews finished

with participants requesting for more improvisation and for an option of all-improvisation

class in curriculum.

I organized qualitative data into three themes: benefits, challenges, and

experiences. Participants considered learning to improvise beneficial as it enhanced their

overall musicianship and creativity. Improvement in primary instrument and voice

performance was also a frequent response. Through the process of learning to improvise,

participants felt they had ownership over the content and appreciated having a guided

pedagogy throughout the semester. Because most participants were classical performance

majors, learning tunes without notation was a foreign approach. Despite the enthusiasm

and interest in learning to improvise, the unfamiliar learning experience of playing by ear

combined with limited executive skills at the piano left some participants to perceive

improvisation challenging.

As the instructor and researcher for this study, it was rewarding to hear from

participants that the experience of learning to improvise positively affected them as

49

musicians. Participants vividly remembered the procedure we used for learning to

improvise at the end of instruction, and they valued the group dynamic that led to new

friendships. All participants ended the semester feeling more comfortable with

improvisation, and wished that an aural approach to improvisation would happen “more

often.” Participants enthusiastically responded to the idea of starting an all-improvisation

class as a part of their undergraduate music curriculum.

Conclusions

Results and interpretations of quantitative data affirmed that an aural approach to

improvisation in beginning collegiate class piano may have led to improved music

achievement. Interjudge reliability coefficients of the three judges were at or above .90

with one exception. Combined judges’ ratings revealed that each dimension (tonal,

rhythm, expressive, improvisation) of this study’s rating scales were important for a

comprehensive assessment of improvisation. The composite correlation coefficient for

“Happy Birthday” and the researcher-composed tune was .765, significant at the 0.01

level. The correlation coefficient for vocal and piano performance achievement remained

moderately consistent at .604, significant at the 0.05 level. The correlation coefficients

for “Happy Birthday” and the researcher-composed tune were at or above .90 with two

exceptions.

The relationship between music aptitude and music achievement of participants

indicated positive yet low correlation coefficient of .332. Participants’ music aptitude

mean scores were higher than the national norms and their standard deviations were

smaller than the national norms. The split-halve reliability coefficients for tonal and

50

rhythm dimensions of AMMA were lower than the national norms, but composite

dimension was acceptable (.71). Homogeneity of participants from a selective collegiate

music school and small sample size may explain these results.

Results and interpretations of qualitative data revealed that an aural approach to

improvisation in beginning collegiate class piano enhanced undergraduate music

curriculum. Most participants had limited prior improvisation experience, yet all

participants felt more comfortable after completion of the study. Participants perceived

improvisation in class piano pedagogy as helpful and creative in benefiting overall

musicianship and improved performances. After a 14-week semester, participants

remembered the improvisation pedagogy procedures and formed meaningful

relationships from the group class. Despite hesitations from unfamiliar learning

experience of playing by ear combined with limited executive skills at the piano,

participants were positively affected by learning to improvise. The study finished with

participants requesting that an aural approach to improvisation occur more often, and that

an all-improvisation class be an option to their undergraduate music curriculum.

Suggestions for Future Research

Replication

While the purpose of this research was to investigate an aural approach to

improvisation in beginning class piano, improvisation pedagogy was only prioritized for

one quarter of the semester-long curriculum. Because of limited instructional time, some

participants were uncomfortable performing the final assessment in Week 14. Future

researchers might consider including more improvisation instruction prior to the final

51

assessment.

Another challenge was teaching both consenting and non-consenting study

participants in the same class throughout the semester. To have complete access to all

data collection and analysis, it would be ideal to teach a class with only consenting

participants.

Procedural

Prior to video recording the final assessment, participants needed more clear and

repeated directions. Future researchers may benefit from conducting practice rounds for

assessments before starting the video recorder. Securing the same room and piano for all

participants also became an issue as I had limited time and access to facilities.

Rating scale judges met for an hour prior to judging independently. Finding

appropriate sample video recordings that demonstrate different levels of ratings with a

small sample was more difficult than anticipated. This may have resulted in sample

recordings that did not best represented participants’ performances. Judges discussed

what 5, 3, 1 ratings might be, and rating scales were modified after this meeting. Because

of confusion regarding distributed video recordings, two judges sat through the actual

judging twice for more accurate ratings. For future research, one judge suggested that the

notation of “Happy Birthday” be given on the page of judges’ rating scales. Also, I

noticed that the time signature in the researcher-composed tune could have been 4/4 and

not 2/4, after reviewing participants’ final performances.

Populations

Future researchers should conduct this study with a larger sample size in different

52

collegiate settings. Participants for this study were enrolled at a selective collegiate music

school, but results and interpretations may vary in liberal arts colleges and larger state

universities. A study that follows current collegiate students after they enter into

professional settings will also be revealing in how aural approach to improvisation

impacts lifelong professional development.

Implications

The importance of improvisation in music education was recognized in the

National Standards (1994) and re-emphasized in the most recent National Core Arts

Standards (2014). For collegiate level curriculum, the College Music Society (2014)

recommended improvisation and composition for developing three key pillars of

creativity, diversity, and integration. Despite emphasis on the importance of

improvisation in music curriculum, few current studies investigate improvisation in

beginning collegiate class piano settings in relation to music aptitude and an aural

approach to improvisation.

Music educators may find implications for their teaching and learning contexts

through this study. Based on quantitative and qualitative data in this study, an aural

approach to improvisation in beginning collegiate class piano may lead to improved

music achievement and enhanced undergraduate music curricula.

53

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58

Appendix A Advanced Measures of Music Audiation Answer Sheet

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Appendix B Course Syllabus for PCL 102

Spring 2016: PCL 102 Grace Choi http://www.esm.rochester.edu/classpiano [email protected] * Textbook: Keyboard Musicianship, Book 1, 10th edition, 2014: Chapters 5-8 (Lyke, Caramia, Alexander, Haydon, and Chioldi), Stipes Publishing Co. * Objectives: A continuation of the skills acquired in PCL 101; further mastery of the keyboard through increased technical abilities. The class will focus on the following materials: 1. Technique: • All white key major/minor scales and arpeggios, hands together, 4 octaves • Selected scale preparation exercises and etudes • Exercises for articulation and more emphasis on finger strength and hand independence 2. Repertoire: • Songs and arrangements from the textbook • Pieces at the late elementary to early intermediate levels 3. Fundamental Skills: • Sight reading/Transposition • Chord Progression/Harmonization • Accompaniment • Improvisation/Composition * Assessment: Grades are based more on progress throughout the semester than final performances. • Class participation and assignments: 20% • Chapter 5 Exam (Tuesday, 1/26): 20% • Chapter 6 Exam (Tuesday, 2/23): 20% • Chapters 7-8 Exam (Tuesday, 3/29): 20% • Final Performance (Saturday, 4/30 @ 6:30-9:30pm): 20%

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* Grading Scale: A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 88-89 B 84-87 B- 80-83 C+ 78-79 C 74-77 C- 70-73 * Attendance Policy: • ONLY 1 UNEXCUSED ABSENCE IS ALLOWED. Any subsequent absence will result in two points off from your final grade. • Please plan on arriving before the class time. Tardy will be marked 10 minutes after the class begins. Two tardies will equal one absence. • Please put away cell phones in class. Unless notified before the class, any use of cell phone will be counted as an absence. * Make-Up Policy: • Make-up chapter tests are given only for documented illness or emergency, and must be completed within one week after the actual test day. • You are responsible for all class materials and assignments.

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Appendix C Documentation of CITI Learner ID Number

July 20, 2015 Jungeyun Grace Choi Eastman School of Music 26 Gibbs Street Rochester, New York 14604 Re: Certification for Minimal Risk Research Dear Ms. Choi: Congratulations! This letter is to confirm you successfully completed the certification program to conduct minimal risk research with human subjects at the University of Rochester. Please note that if you become involved in a greater than minimal risk study, you will be required to complete certification for greater than minimal risk research. You completed the MINIMAL RISK program. Your certification will expire in three years (EXPIRATION DATE: JULY 17, 2018) You have been assigned a certification number, which is your CITI Learner ID number. Your number is 4929460. Please note that all research must be submitted to the RSRB for review and approval before the research can begin. All research is reviewed through the RSRB Online Submission System (ROSS), for additional information on the web-based submission system click: ROSS. You will need to register for a ROSS account to submit a new study or to be added to a study. To register for an account, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "ROSS Account Request" and include your name, email address, the University of Rochester department name in which you are associated with, and your research role (PI, study coordinator, etc.). Your profile in the RSRB Online Submission System (ROSS) will include the certification program you took, your certification number, and expiration date. Monthly training sessions on this web-based system are offered through the RSRB. To find out when the next class is and to sign up, go to the OHSP website. If you are interested in a no-cost consultation about the informed consent process and its documentation requirements for research, contact the University’s Research Subject Advocate, Nancy Needler [email protected] or 275-1020. Sincerely,

Kelly Unsworth, MS, CCRC, CIP Director, Research Education & Training

PLEASE RETAIN A COPY OF THIS LETTER FOR YOUR FILES.

OHSP DOES NOT KEEP A COPY OF THIS LETTER

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Appendix D RSRB Letter of Exemption

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Appendix E Information Letter

Information Sheet Study Title: Improvisation in Collegiate Class Piano

Principal Investigator: Jungeyun Grace Choi Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher D. Azzara This form describes a research study that is being conducted by Jungeyun Grace Choi, principal investigator from the University of Rochester’s Department of Music Education at the Eastman School of Music. The purpose of this study is to examine an aural approach to improvisation in beginning class piano. This study involves your normal participation in PCL 102: Class Piano. If you decide to participate in this study,

• You can expect to engage in various assessment procedures that include Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA). The AMMA is not part of the PCL 102 curriculum.

• Your performances will be recorded and you will not be identifiable to raters. • You will complete three interviews that occur during the semester and will take

approximately ten minutes each. All interviews will be kept as a record. • The interview contains predetermined, open-ended questions that will investigate

issues such as prior improvisation experience and Benefits of improvisation instruction on overall music achievement.

We estimate that approximately 20 subjects will take part in this study. We do not anticipate any risks with this study. We would like you to participate fully in the assessments, recorded performances, and interviews associated with this study, but you may skip any questions that you do not feel comfortable answering or withdraw at any time. Recordings and interview responses will be kept in a confidential manner. Only the investigators will have access to your individual responses. There are no other expected risks. There are also no expected benefits.

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You will not be paid for participating in this study. The University of Rochester makes every effort to keep the information collected from you private. In order to do so, all recordings will be made using pseudonyms and stored on a password protected computer protected by University IT’s network security measures. This computer will be kept secure in a locked office with restricted access. All transcriptions of recordings will be deleted upon the dissertation committee’s approval of the final copy. Sometimes, however, researchers need to share information that may identify you with people that work for the University or the study sponsor. If this does happen we will take precautions to protect the information you have provided. Only summarized data will be presented at meetings or in any publications. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You are free not to participate or to withdraw at any time, for whatever reason. No matter what decision you make, there will be no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. Participating in this study will not affect your class standing or grades at the University of Rochester. You will not be offered or receive any special consideration if you take part in this research. For more information or questions about this research you may call Jungeyun Grace Choi at (585) 469-5275. Please contact the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board at 265 Crittenden Blvd., CU 420315, Rochester, NY 14642, Telephone (585) 276-0005 or (877) 449-4441 for the following reasons:

• You wish to talk to someone other than the research staff about your rights as a research subject;

• To voice concerns about the research; • To provide input concerning the research process; • In the event the study staff could not be reached.

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Appendix F Survey and Interview Questions

Survey

(a) Describe your prior improvisation experience.

(b) Describe your thoughts on learning to improvise.

(c) Describe your comfort level when improvising.

Group Interview

(a) Describe your thoughts on learning to improvise.

(b) Share your thoughts on an effective process for practicing improvisation.

(c) Describe changes you have experienced as a musician.

Individual Interview

(a) Describe your thoughts on the process of learning to improvise.

(b) Describe your comfort level when improvising prior to and after instruction.

(c) Describe or express any additional thoughts about your experience.

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Appendix G Seven Skills for Improvisation from Developing Musicianship through Improvisation

(Azzara & Grunow, 2006, 2010a, 2010b)

Skill Sing and Perform from Repertoire

1 Improvised rhythm patterns to the bass line.

2 Essential voice leading principles by ear.

3 Skill 2 to the harmonic progression.

4 Skill 3 with improvised rhythm patterns.

5 Improvised tonal patterns to the harmonic progression.

6 Improvised tonal and rhythm patterns to the harmonic progression.

7 Skill with decorations and embellishments.

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Appendix H Judging Rating Scales1

Instructions for Using the Rating Scales

Please Read

Please study the rating scales provided on the following page. You have been

provided with two (2) videos, which contain performances of two tunes:

1. “Happy Birthday”

2. Researcher-Composed Tune

This sheet follows the order of the video. Use the rating scale provided for each

dimension: tonal, rhythm, expressive, and improvisation. First, listen to “Happy

Birthday,” students 1-15, rate each student for the tonal dimension only. Second, listen to

“Happy Birthday,” students 1-15, rate each student for the rhythm dimension only. Third,

listen to “Happy Birthday,” students 1-15, rate each student for the expressive dimension

only. Fourth, listen to “Happy Birthday,” students 1-15, rate each student for the

improvisation dimension only. Repeat this process with the Researcher-Composed Tune

until you have rated each student on each tune for each dimension.

Listen to each example once and rate each dimension (tonal, rhythm, expressive,

and improvisation) in one sitting. Thank you very much for your time and support in this

research.

1 Rating scales adapted and modified from Azzara, C. D., & Grunow, R. F. (2006, 2010a, 2010b). Developing musicianship through improvisation, book 1, 2, 3/cds. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc.

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“Happy Birthday”: Singing

Tonal Rating Scale (continuous dimension, 0-5, Tonic/Subdominant/Dominant): The student performs

1 first and/or last note correctly. 2 most patterns in one function correctly (tonic reference). 3 most patterns in one function (tonic reference) correctly, and some patterns in another function correctly. 4 all patterns in two functions correctly. 5 all tonic, subdominant, and dominant functions correctly. Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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“Happy Birthday”: Playing



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Rhythm Rating Scale (continuous dimension, 0-5): The student performs

1 individual beats without a sense of the meter. 2 most patterns in one function correctly (macro beat reference); tempo may be inconsistent. 3 most patterns in one function correctly, and some patterns in another function correctly; tempo may be inconsistent. 4 most patterns in two functions correctly in a consistent tempo. 5 all patterns in two functions correctly in a consistent tempo; establishes a cohesive solo rhythmically. Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Expressive Rating Scale (additive dimension, 0-5): The student demonstrates

1 physical ease in flow of coordination. 1 a sense of musical interaction. 1 an understanding of dynamics. 1 an appropriate style of articulation. 1 an understanding of appropriate phrasing.

Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Improvisation Rating Scale (additive dimension, 0-5): The student demonstrates

1 a variety of related ideas and reuses material in the context of the overall form. 1 motivic development through tonal and rhythm sequences. 1 an effective use of silence. 1 an understanding of tension and release through resolution of notes in the context of the harmonic progression. 1 embellishment of notes and performs variations of themes.

Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Composed Tune: Singing



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Composed Tune: Playing



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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Student # Score 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5 _____ 6 _____ 7 _____ 8 _____ 9 _____ 10 _____ 11 _____ 12 _____ 13 _____ 14 _____ 15 _____

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Appendix I Sample Transcriptions of Participants’ Improvisations


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Appendix J Survey Transcripts

Question 1 Describe your prior improvisation experience. Participant Response 1 One semester of piano. 2 I am a jazz major at Eastman. 3 I have only improvised for fun on my own and in piano class. 4 Not much. I’ve played in big band but never in the solo chair, at least not in

a serious manner where I studied the chord progressions or anything like that.

5 I tried a little improv with my guitar teacher about two years ago. 6 If ornamentation in Handel or anything, then I have a tiny bit of experience,

but otherwise not too much. 7 Very little; did play lead alto in my high school’s jazz band, so I’ve taken

solos before. 8 I was first introduced to improvisation this fall in my MUE 110 class where

we worked on improvising tonic, dominant and predominant harmonies. 9 None. 10 The first improv I did was in high school Jazz Band (on trombone) from

grades 10-12. I started composing in 7th grade (which is very similar to improv in my opinion).

11 Only in Grace’s class, otherwise not really. 12 I’ve improvised a few runs in pieces I sang in high school, but they were

mostly riffs and I didn’t understand the theory behind it. 13 I have always improvised from a very young age, whether it is fiddling

around on a piano or playing jazz on the trumpet. I specifically started learning jazz harmony and how to improvise in that context between my sophomore and junior year of high school. Since then I have received a good amount of training in improvisation from many sources, and it has helped me grow as a musician. I enjoy all improvisation in music. Jazz is just a tool to gain performing but I ultimately want to create music at the end of the day, whether it is jazz or not.

14 Drum set and hand drum. 15 None. Question 2 Describe you thoughts on learning to improvise. Participant Response 1 It is a very cool skill to have, and would help with mastery of my

instrument’s literature.

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2 Learning to improvise gives further insight to musical analysis and greatly helps understanding.

3 I enjoy it especially on piano. 4 I’m very open to it. I agree it is a big part of music and very useful. 5 I hope I can carry the skills I learn in improv to my daily practice life. 6 I’d really like to learn because it uses your brain in a different way and

makes you a stronger musician if you can think of music on the spot, not just following music.

7 I feel that you need to learn tunes and harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic ideas to fully be comfortable when improvising.

8 I think it’s a valuable skill but I am extremely intimidated by it. 9 I am not too interested but am open to learning. 10 I agree with all of the things we learn in Eastman music ed. about the fact

that we should start out our musical journeys improvising. I like the idea of thinking of a motif, then expanding upon it.

11 I think it can make music way more fun and much easier. It seems to be a very important part of being a musician.

12 I think it would be fun! I’d enjoy knowing how to approach it. 13 Through improvisation, I can truly naturally express myself. I have never

been good with expressing my feelings to others, so I let the music do the talking. Sometimes when I freely improvise I don’t necessarily think music, I think feelings. This has helped me find my own voice. I believe that every musician should have to improvise at some point, because it can help them develop their own voice and convey feelings through music more proficiently.

14 Very interested in learning to improvise in the classical style. 15 Very excited to try improvisation. Question 3 Describe your comfort level when improvising. Participant Response 1 Not very comfortable. 2 I am very comfortable improvising on my primary instrument, and

somewhat comfortable on piano. 3 I am comfortable but inexperienced. 4 Moderately comfortable? 5 Not very high. I think I need more practice because it’s hard for me to think

of the chords and play at the same time. 6 I think I’d feel more comfortable once I have more experience. 7 Depends on tune; easier the better. 8 I’m very uncomfortable at the thought of improvising, but I really want to

improve. 9 I am very uncomfortable because I don’t ever really do it.

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10 On the instruments I am most comfortable with, I enjoy improvising and find it relaxing.

11 I am not comfortable with it yet, but I want to be. 12 I am not very comfortable with improvising as a vocalist. I haven’t been

taught how. 13 Over the years, I have become completely comfortable with improvising. I

don’t care if I mess up, I don’t care if people hate it. I am just satisfied if I get my feelings across. The beautiful thing about art is that some people are going to love it, and some are not. I have become comfortable with myself knowing that it doesn’t matter what comes out as long as it comes from the heart.

14 Not comfortable with improv. 15 I’ll try my best. I am a little bit nervous. But I am willing to go out of my

way to improvise well.

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Appendix K Group Interview Transcripts

Group 1

R: Rachel, why don’t you start? What was your experience with improv in class? Rachel: My experience with improv in class was terrifying. But was sort of better when you had time to prepare. And has very slightly gotten easier, slightly, but has nonetheless. R: So can somebody describe what it means to prepare? How do you prepare? Wiley: You kind of have to get to know the chords to sound better. So like when we do the song ahead of time, we can figure out what we can play over it and what notes sound the best. R: Can you describe what does that look like in your own practice room, not just this, but with your instrument, too? So what do you think is effective way to practice? Noah: Practice improvisation? R: Improvisation, but… Because ideally remember, the whole reason why I have you guys do this is because I want you to develop musicality. And make you think differently than just look at a note and plug away, which I think a lot of classical musicians do. I know for jazz musicians, it might be a little different. But I’ve seen plenty of jazz lessons where I was like, that’s not how you do jazz. You don’t just lay out scale degrees, you know what I mean? And so, I just want you to talk about it a little more, process? Noah: Well for me, at least. I think improvisation or music in general at least in my eyes, is very vocal. Especially jazz, we always talk about trying to solo like a vocalist. So I think it’s important to sing things first so you hear the harmony, instead of just playing patterns or lines over certain chords you know to actually hear linear phrase. It helps to sing things and play it back. R: Yeah, that’s good! I do my best to sing everything before playing, I know our time is compressed, but… Maybe someone else in the group can talk about their experience? Evelyn? Evelyn: Well, I had no improv experience coming here, ever, none. Like any ornaments I ever had to do were laid out for me, like, I had really no theory, no improv, no idea what I was doing. So the improv in class makes me think of like the harmonic structure and where I have to go from that. And like, it’s still really hard for me, but it’s getting a little better. Because now I know what I’m supposed to be doing, kind of? So, I don’t know, it

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kind of helps with like my lessons, too. Because when I have to ornament, now I kind of know what I’m doing instead of just doing random notes. R: Yeah, I hear random a lot, which is kind of sad. If professional musicians think they’re random, what do you think non-musicians think they are? I have no idea what’s going on, something sounds pretty, oh, ok… Neal? Neal: I think since we’ve been doing it in class, it’s made me think more. Before, I would, especially with melodies, I would think more like linearly. Like just think about the melody line. I find that now, I tend to like audiate and think like more horizontally. To hear chord changes more, melodies… I think that’s been helpful for me. (Informal Talk) R: Georgia and Newman? Do you have any thoughts there? Georgia: Well, I’ve tried improv on violin before. But like, just like on the piano, you made the comment that I sound really Baroque-ish. Last time I tried improv, it was like jazz background music. But the teacher said I wasn’t jazzy at all. So I’m wondering what’s the difference between improv in jazz and classical? R: You know, I took jazz, too, and it’s so hard, it’s so like… For me, the biggest different was the accent of rhythm. For jazz, it goes 1 2 3 4, but a lot of classical things, I was taught 1 2 3 4. So even that change was really hard, and with inflection of melodies. But I’m not ashamed to say yes, classical music is my native language, and jazz… I want to be a jazz pianist, too, but you just have to spend that much more time on it. I hope I didn’t offend you by saying you sounded baroque. Georgia: No, it’s so interesting. It’s so baroque-y. R: Yeah, but it’s like language. How long have you done jazz? Probably less than a year? And you’ve done classical how many years? Yeah, so you’re learning another language. Don’t feel bad when somebody says… Ask them, what other language can you speak? Newman? Newman: I haven’t done improv before coming here, and I took piano for a year. (Informal Talk) R: OK. So one last question. When I have you guys bring your instrument and improv, does the comfort level, what sounds good, does it get much better? Or do you think it’s still a little bit…

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Georgia: It’s much better. R: It’s much better for Georgia. Neal was like, no… Neal: No, I just don’t like playing saxophone. It just goes south. At least when I’m playing the piano and I sound bad, I have an excuse… But I go to school here for saxophone and I sound bad… R: That’s interesting, I never thought about that. You guys still like bringing your instruments better? Wiley: I still have to play the piano. R: I know, I feel so bad for drummers… So sequence is you sing, play on your instrument, and you play the piano. But sometimes I have you do just piano right away, when I think you’re ready. Do you think you should always sing it first? Rachel: I like singing. Wiley: I think there are certain things, the reason we sing is to become aware of the notes. R: Kind of what Rachel said. Because I am a piano player, everything comes intuitively, I think a lot of times… And I told you guys from very first class is that it’s one of few instruments where you can hear harmony. If you don’t master it now, when will you have time to spend the time. 5-10 minutes a day, make it a ritual, and I promise it will help with everything else.

Group 2 R: How has your experience with improvisation been in the class? Jordan, why don’t you go first? Gabby: I think it’s helpful, because in aural skills, we have to sing improvisation sometimes, and it makes the sight-reading easier. And also, it makes me more creative. R: Someone else? Lamar: You know when you’re wrong. It makes me know how to fix better. R: Why is aural skills important? Nate: I think as a brass player, it’s really important to hear the note before you play it so

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you don’t crack it. Because if you put a bow on the string, it makes the noise that you wanted to make, it makes the right note at least… But if you blow into a brass instrument, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You have to really hear it, so I think having a good inner ear, like improvisation, if you kind of hear it before you play it, it trains your inner ear more and so it just helps overall aural skills. R: Has anybody experienced a difference in your practice? (Informal Talk) Gabby: I think also because people tell us that classical music is a dying industry, we need to kind of get creative and think about how to make music, like new pieces and new styles of music and stuff like that. And I think this will really help us expand our mind, sort of. R: Anybody else want to chime in about classical music dying thing? Evan: I was going to say that like I like to practice making myself uncomfortable as much as I can because that helps with nerves in general, not just when you’re playing. So I was never comfortable improving, and I’m still not, but every time I do it, I feel more and more comfortable. It’s just like getting out of that bubble is really good to practice, for nerves more than anything really. Nash: Yeah, I agree with that, about nerves. So what Evan said about nerves. I definitely have gotten out of my comfort zone, you know, once you do that a little bit and you do it enough, like the improv becomes kind of fun. And building on that and creativity, I try to use improv in my practicing, so when there’s like a hard spot that I can’t get, I’ll come up with a melody that has same like technical issues or musical issues, and then I’ll like work it the same way, that way I’ll do in other things. So you can use it as a practice tool, I guess. (Informal Talk) R: Michael, did you want to say something? Michael: Yes, sure. I think improv is helpful in understanding the relationship between notes on any instrument. And like when I learned bassoon earlier in music ed, we did a lot of improv and we didn’t actually start reading music until Week 5. Like that really helped, it’s not like we were looking at the page and playing what was there, so it really helped to understand what to do and I think that helps with almost all instruments. And recently I’ve been trying to pick any theme or any little song and try to improvise on it for like 5 minutes in a practice session just to help build that.

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R: Yeah, back in the day, they say that Mozart improvised before performances just to try out the instrument. So it wasn’t even about, it was very functional purpose as well. Pianists improvised until 1930s, it’s just that people stopped doing it for some reason. It’s coming back, you’ll hear more about it, performance practice, people are a lot open to it than before. Ava: Up until this class, I haven’t really worked with improv because as a vocalist, not being able to see your instrument, it’s really tough. Like you have to trust yourself a lot, and I feel like improv works that. I feel like I get a better sense of where I am in that key and like I don’t know, it’s interesting and it’s very different than what I usually do, so it’s working like your creativity and it broadens horizons for the potential for what the piece can be. R: Lisa, I haven’t heard from you, so I’m asking you now. Lisa: I like improvising, I’m just really bad at it, especially when I can’t think of it ahead of time. I guess I think it’s fun, and helps me get to know my instrument better, like someone said. R: Other things you want to tell the class or you want me to know about, or maybe you can think of ways we can incorporate in class? (Informal Talk) R: Do you think we should do call and response by singing first, play on your instrument, and then piano, or do you want to do it all? What should be the sequence? Lamar: I think singing it first, because for me, it’s easier. (Informal Talk) R: So after taking a year or less of piano, how has that helped you, what changes have you experienced as a musician? Michael: I feel like I’m more aware of just harmonies in general because I’m always used to just playing single line instruments. But when you do both at once, you become more aware of listening to that music. Lamar: It’s definitely helped because with percussion, we also have to read off of two staves, that’s definitely helped with my reading a lot. Because a lot of percussion stuff is doing like muscle memory all the time, but piano it’s kind of like, it’s the same but it’s more notes, I guess. And a lot of time, it’s helped with my ear a lot as with reading.

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Evan: I think like mentally, I’ve started to think more of like, am I ready to be here or do I need to change position. And that also transferred over to cello, because we can’t really search for notes on the piano, it is what it is. And if you have a certain hand frame, I don’t know, just thinking more about, not having to do know where I am.. And also, yeah, I was going to say something else, but I forgot. (Informal Talk) Gabby: I think also, we all came with our instruments pretty well known. But I feel like we grow with those instruments at a slower pace, because we have to do a lot harder things to make it better. But for this class, we grow at a faster pace, and it’s kind of nice, you finally feel like you’re doing something well instead of going to the practice room and having the same problem with your cello or whatever. Ava: It also gives me a mental picture of an instrument so when I’m doing theory or aural skills, I have something to think about like chord building, intervals. R: Good, this is all good. Yeah, keep talking, we have couple of more minutes. Also, think about, and this is for theory, too, but you learn a lot about your instrument when you learn about other instruments. No composer was ever a master of just one instrument, composers learn about everything, like orchestrally. Even with a lot of piano music, I’m constantly like, this sounds like a string quartet, this sounds like a brass quartet… So think about that after we hear Nash, sorry, Nash. Nash: OK, I have like two things. Like one, piano has been helpful for diagnosing some problems that actually occur on the cello. So I’ve noticed that I have similar problems that like, for example, like the thing you’ve told me about today. A lot of times, I work harder than I need to, so like, when I do the shift, I’ll like move the whole arm or I’ll just like go pretty crazy on it or something and I don’t need to move that much. And the same thing with piano, I mean, I didn’t have to move my whole arm, just like two fingers and like, you know, a lot of that is transferrable. And umh, I had one more thing that I have forgotten, and so… That’s it. (Informal Talk) Gabby: Kind of going on with the orchestral stuff since I played the Elgar Cello Concerto’s piano part, it gave me a little bit, I appreciated accompanists a lot more, which I think is important. And then I heard more things in the harmonies of the piano part, and whenever I play the cello on concertos, I feel like I’m mostly focusing on the technique and what I’m playing, but really the most important parts are usually the relationship between piano and the cello, or the orchestra and the cello. Nate: Since trombone is doing one thing at a time, I really suck at doing two things at a

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same time. So piano has really been helpful, like the sing and play in aural skills, because usually you focus on reading one line of music, and then when you have to read two and using multiple fingers at a same time on both hands, it just like screws your brain, and I’m just like, wow, ok, and then… It’s been good, I guess for that. R: So ultimately, you’ll have one more year of piano, right? I would love it if you, I mean, everyone’s going to have to teach, whether it’s masterclass or studio… I would love it if you can play your instrument’s accompaniment part, at least where the soloist is not playing. So that your students, whoever it is, is not at the mercy of their accompanist until you see them the day before the actual performance kind of deal, which I’m sure you all experienced. It’s still very different listening to live accompaniment than a CD, so set the bar high, not in a destructive kind of way, but don’t just settle with your education. Don’t just do the bare minimum to pass the class, set the bar high, and if you don’t meet it, that’s fine. No one’s going to whip you, but I think you’ll get so much more out of your education if you have some kind of standard than barely getting by everyday. Just be aware of that.

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Appendix L Individual Interview Transcripts

Evan

R: All right, if you can describe your thoughts on improvisation? E: Just in general or in this class? R: In this class? E: Well, it’s kind of helped a lot in terms of, not only figuring out how to play with chord changes, but just building confidence in playing, too. I feel like it makes me a lot more confident to play in general because when I play something I don’t know and I make it up as I go and I can do it. So when I practice something I do well, I can also do it and do it well, you know? And I also have realized it’s been helping a lot in aural skills and stuff, because rather than thinking melodically, it’s helped to start thinking harmonically, too. And then like, I’ll definitely hear larger phrase structures and things when I’m listening to music now. R: What were some of activities that were helpful in learning to improvise? E: When we would just play the harmony with left hand and sing, I think that helped a lot because it kind of takes away the visible aspect of the technicality of playing. And like, I feel like, innately we all have ideas and like, pretty much how to create a melody and how to embellish a melody vocally, it comes easily, so I fee like that helped a lot. And then also, when we were going around in circle and not stop, that kind of forced to do it, and we got kind of confident by just doing it. R: Was there anything that was not helpful? E: Nope, not necessarily, no. R: Compared to prior to now, it’s been two semesters for you, what is your comfort level of improvisation on the piano? E: On the piano? Like, on the scale of 1 to 10? R: Well, more like, can you describe about it? E: Uh, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it outside of classroom setting yet. But, I definitely am a lot more comfortable trying than I was before.

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R: Good, is there anything else you want to say or describe about your experience? E: Thanks, Grace!

Wiley R: OK, if you can describe your thoughts on learning to improvise in this class over the semester? W: OK, um, it was interesting for me because I never got to bring my own instrument. I always had to play on the piano, and I was happy to do that, because I thought this was going to help my piano skills, and it definitely did. Because when I was improvising I would think like, oh, wow, that’s why this note sounds that way and things like that. It would sort of just connect a few dots that hadn’t been connected yet from sight-reading and every other thing. R: Hmh, ok. What were some of things that were helpful to improvise? W: Um, let’s see. Thinking about, like, having the chords written, and being able to think about them that way, that helped. Because then if I didn’t have any idea coming out of my head, I would just play the note that was a triad that was given. And then once I did that, I usually can find things in my head and follow along with it. R: What were some things, if were any, that were not helpful? W: I can’t really think of anything. R: OK. Your comfort level in improvising from beginning of semester to now? W: Definitely a little better, having to do it in front of people, on piano, an instrument I’m not extremely comfortable yet, I’m getting there, yeah… R: OK. Is there something you want me to know or you want to express about this whole process? W: Um, let’s see… If anything, I think doing it more often would’ve helped. Because we only did it like every couple of weeks, and it would be like, oh, improv. But if we were doing it consistently, like once a day, like the way we do sight-reading, once a day have a little just play one of the tunes that’s available for improv, that might’ve helped. R: If there was an improvisation class, fully devoted to singing, bringing your instrument, playing at the piano kind of deal? Would you be interested in taking it?

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W: Yeah, I would. Especially as a jazz major, I think that would help. R: That’s true. And if so, how often do you think would be optimal in terms of class time? W: Um, class time, I’m not sure. I think when learning to improvise, it’s important to practice it everyday. I mean, I use to take guitar lessons and I didn’t practice it everyday, so it’d be like once a week I’d go in there and forget everything I had learned the past week. Um, so I think have class more than once a week, so it’s built into the brain from that. But definitely encourage students to practice once a day, even if it’s just like 5-10 minutes on it. R: Right, that’s true. So you’re interesting, because you’re a drummer. W: Right. R: How have you found, because I stick in rhythmic variations with improv as well, has that made you think differently or have you mainly been focusing on tonal stuff? W: I’ve been pretty focused on tonal stuff, because rhythm comes naturally like even before you say something, I might accidentally do something. But rhythm is very important, like within the jazz program one of the hardest things for the tonal instruments is that playing rhythmically interesting, keeping it fresh rather than straight lines the whole time or straight rhythms. Not that they’re playing straight rhythms, rhythms that are more interesting, keep the energy flowing. R: Yeah, if you think about it, thinking tonally and rhythmically together, it’s a lot. W: Yeah, it is. R: So to be able to separately, yeah… And as a music ed major, I think it’s important because sometimes people teach too much and kids can’t do it. W: Yeah, absolutely. R: Well, thank you so much!

Lisa R: Can you describe your thoughts on the process of learning to improvise over this semester? L: Um, I think it definitely taught me to be more creative and it’s a good way to build

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confidence, I guess. So… R: Can you talk about that more? L: Um, like just you can’t really stop when you’re improvising, you have to just keep going, so… A little discipline for yourself, I guess. R: Starting from, because you were with me for two semesters, very beginning until now, how would you describe your comfort level? L: Improvising? Yeah, I mean, it’s gotten a little better. I think it’s almost easier to improvise on the piano sometimes, because I can play chords and stuff whereas on the violin it’s like one note. R: You find it more fun? L: Yeah, kind of. I don’t know, when I was younger, when I composed and things, I would always do it on piano. R: Yeah, probably also because you have more skills on the piano. L: Yeah, it’s easier. R: What were some things we did in class that were helpful? L: I guess maybe sight-reading because I knew where the notes were better. Yeah, when people would play bass notes and we had to stay within that chord… R: So it was helpful to hear somebody play the chords for you while you improv on top? L: Yeah, so… R: What were some things that were not helpful, if you remember any? L: I don’t know if there was anything else… I mean I guess we can do it more often, that would be more helpful. R: Anything else you want me to know about or say? L: I don’t think so. R: Last semester, you were pretty reluctant.

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L: I was? R: Yeah, because last semester when I asked people who wants to participate, you were like, I don’t want to participate. L: Yeah, I guess confidence. R: So your confidence level has gone up? L: Well, I guess I feel more comfortable in this setting. I feel like improvisation is supposed to be fun, it’s not like people judge you, so… R: Um-hmh. And has it helped that a lot of your friends stayed in the same class? L: Yeah, so… R: Well, thank you!

Nate R: Please describe your thoughts on learning to improvise. N: Uh… It’s been good. I mean, at first, it was kind of tough because, like, I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. But I think I’m now more comfortable, on my instrument more so than piano, but I feel like I’m getting more comfortable at piano. Um, I think it’s fun. I mean, I started learning alto trombone this year, which is usually played in a baroque setting. So, like, I’ve been applying it to that because there’s a lot of improvisation in baroque music and stuff. And also like, we had composition project in theory… So it’s good, it’s helpful. R: What were some things we did in class that were helpful, like activity wise? N: I think in the beginning, just like, I think one of the original ones there were like chords and then… I guess it was just easier to have like a tune that we knew already that we can change and embellish and stuff. And I think learning the chords and not having too complex chord progression was definitely good, I guess it’s good to start easy. R: Were there things that were not helpful? N: I mean, it was all pretty much the same. Pretty much geared towards the same thing, I didn’t think there was anything that I had any problem with. R: Before and after instruction, what is your comfort level with improvising?

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N: Um, I guess if there’s like a scale from 1-10, I’d be at like a 7 and 1/2, or something like that. R: OK, that’s pretty good. N: Yeah. R: Anything else you want me to know about or you want to say? N: No, I don’t know, I mean, my improvisation isn’t anything special. But I guess, it could be or something. R: Well, you can do more 17-18c stuff, that’s definitely, I’ve been working on that a lot so I’m glad that you’re exploring that and find it helpful. N: Yeah. R: Um, with piano, on the minuet project, are you guys playing that on the piano? N: No, it’s for string quartet. R: Oh, so you play the harmony? N: Yeah. R: Hmh, I’m not sure how they’re teaching it, but… N: Yeah, I mean, it’s umh… Like I’ve been doing it in kind of like keyboard style, writing out the parts separately. So just like a 4-voice thing. But like the trio movement that I’ve been working on is like mostly just Violin I melody with blocked chords. So it’s kind of like the same thing. R: Wait, Violin I with blocked chords, played by… N: Oh, with the melody. And then everybody else is doing like block chords. R: Well, I’m glad they’re doing that. That’s new this year, I’ve never heard that before. All, right. Thanks, Nate!

Nash R: Can you describe your thoughts on learning to improvise?

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N: Um, well, I wasn’t very good at it, at first. Um, but it definitely fun to see all the possibilities you can have with just couple of chords. Yeah, that helped me out a lot, we’re doing that minuet project in theory, and uh… My TA who’s helping me out was just like, just go to the piano and just like improvise between consonance, so I did that… And I came up with pretty OK stuff and some bad stuff, but like I just wrote it down. But anyway… I like improv, I think it’s pretty cool. And uh, it helped me out with some practice strategies. It helps me be a little creative in practice room, not like just at piano, but like when I’m playing cello, I can improvise melodies that have the same rhythmic pattern to the thing I need to fix so I can focus on technique that way. R: Can you describe what was helpful to learn to improvise in class? N: Um, let’s see… I think when we did it together, that helped. Umh… I think you pretty much gave us the tools that we need to just do it on our own. And like, that was good, so umh… R: Was there anything not helpful? N: Well, no, it’s just that there were a lot of things that I didn’t like, sometimes I would forget what chord I’m on. It’s nothing that anyone did or didn’t do that like didn’t help me, it was me messing up. So I mean, maybe like, helping to establish like the chords we’re actually playing, and the key, if I can get that really solid. Because there would be times when I would definitely forget what we were actually doing, because I’d just be thinking about what melody I wanted and um, that could kind of like, the actual chords would suffer. So maybe more, to establish the harmonies more, maybe work on more harmonies that are more common in improv, maybe the more we can do that… I don’t know. R: OK, is there anything else you want to let me know or express about the process? N: Nope, it was good. R: OK, if there was, and this is hypothetical, it’s not a reality at all. If there was a course on improvisation, would you be interested in taking it? N: Yeah, I would R: And what would that look like? What would you want to get out of the class? N: Umh… I want to learn how to improv with someone. Not just like, I would want it to be umh… Will it be like jazz improv or like… I mean, because I would want to learn how to… Be able to just sit down and play with someone. That would be really cool for me, because you know, thinking about all these composers, they were great improvisers

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so I mean, that could help me a lot. Umh, yeah, I just think, or like, intensive group work with a couple of people coming up with something, like a chamber music setting? That would be kind of cool, so like, a weird bluegrass or jazz combo or something like that. I don’t know, yeah, I’ve been getting really into this bluegrass cellist lately, and so a lot of things he does, that would be really cool for me to learn, but… Yeah, I guess, that’s what it would look like for me. R: And if that were to happen, what would be the optimal meeting time, how often? N: Like, once or twice a week. Yeah, that’d be cool. R: All right, thanks, Nash!

Evelyn R: If you can describe your thoughts on learning to improvise over the semester? E: Umh, well, it started with just figuring out how to do the bass line and then what fits in with the bass line, and then maybe adding some passing tones and other stuff. But that’s… It took me a long time to figure out how to do the bass line, but then after that, it was pretty easy to think of a melody off of the basic melody… Like, what I like to think about is, if I was singing this, what would I want to do, so it wasn’t as like, not boring, but playing… R: What were some things that were helpful in learning to improvise? E: It was helpful when we would sing it first, like really helpful. And then, umh, it was helpful to play the bass line and then sing the top. And then that’s how I would do it. I would play the bass line, sing the top, and kind of transcribe what I had just done. R: Was there anything that was not helpful? E: Nope. R: Your comfort level beginning of semester to now? E: I was so uncomfortable beginning of the semester. Like, incredibly uncomfortable. And I’m still not, super, like, yeah, I’m gonna improvise for you guys and you’re just gonna all listen, I’m still not like that. So… But I’m now more like, yeah, I can play in front of Grace… Maybe Rachel. R: Safe circle.

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E: Safe circle. But it’s getting better. R: Good. Is there anything that you want to express or let me know about this whole process? E: No, it was cool to not just be stuck in the book all the time, to get to do other stuff. R: Great, all right!

Neal R: If you describe your experience on learning to improvise? N: How I learned to improvise? Or… R: How you felt as you learned to improvise? N: Umh… Well, uh, I think at the very beginning, I knew what I had to do, but I felt like because I’m not so familiar with the piano, there was a bit of disconnect from what I wanted to do in mind to my fingers. So, that was, if I was more comfortable, if piano was my primary instrument, it would be easier for me to learn to improvise on the piano, so… R: Do you think you would enjoy it more if you were more proficient? N: I mean I don’t think it’d be less satisfying, but I think… There would be more like instant gratification, I guess, because it would be faster… I would require less thinking, I guess, so… R: What were some things we did in class that were helpful? N: Umh… I liked, often we would do it kind of like sequentially, like we would do it in different steps from just like the bass note, and then like moving to chord tones, and rhythmic variations on that, and such… I like that sequential progression to moving on to more involved improvisations instead of just being like, here you go, so… R: And you like this because you know what to expect? N: Well, yeah, I know what to expect, and it’s like logical and methodical, which is almost kind of ironic in a way, because it’s supposed to be a creative thing, improvising, and it’s very like step-by-step, check in the box, follow the, you know, to do something that’s supposed to be more free form, but, yeah… But it’s nice because it adds that structure, makes it easier to, or at least for me, I find it easier if there’s like a structure to like work with than if there’s no structure and then figuring it out.

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R: And that’s actually a point that I want you to remember, because I know some people say that creativity doesn’t have structure, but that’s not true. Actually, the more structure you have, you might find yourself more creative because you’re limited, and you have to think outside the box. (Informal Talk) R: Your comfort level prior to and now improvising at the piano? N: More comfortable now, I mean because before, I wasn’t doing very much at all and now we do it more now in class, so obviously I’m more comfortable with it now, yeah… R: How have you found it helpful to your saxophone stuff, if any? N: Well, I kind of, just that process I think is useful, just thinking more like vertically and more harmonically, because of like that step process we do requires you to like think, like more vertically so that, I think has helped me in my overall musicianship, so it’s applied to saxophone playing and piano, and other things. R: Great! Is there anything else you want me to know about or you want to express? N: Not that I think of, I guess… R: Thanks, Neal!

Rachel R: If you can describe your thoughts on the process of learning to improvise over this semester? Rachel: Umh… My thoughts on the process… Umh, I thought it’s been challenging, but interesting and good skill to have, and I think that doing it in this class has made me have to it more outside of class, which has been helpful to my learning of it, and I think I have a pretty firm grasp on, you know, tonic, dominant, predominant harmonies at this point, at least in my own private practice, so… That’s been good, but it’s been difficult especially to do it so quickly, especially to improvise, like really truly do it in class, that’s been interesting and challenging experience. R: Can you describe anything that was helpful? Rachel: I’ve found what was helpful for me, I thought that singing it before was really helpful, I thought that having you play chords under it for a first couple of run-throughs were really good, and I found myself just literally going through I-IV-V and just making

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stuff up with no particular like song structure in order was helpful for me to just get the tonality my head before actually trying to take bits and pieces from the actual tune or something. R: Hmh, what were some of things that were not helpful? Rachel: Some of things that I thought weren’t always helpful is having to do it on the piano, not just because, it was almost harder because I was also looking to exactly where I needed to go, like at some level it was nice because it was like visual tactile, ok, these notes are in the chords, but also if I had something in my head, sometimes I can’t get it from there to the keys as quickly as I wanted to, and I think it slowed me up a little bit sometimes. R: OK, and… Comfort level compared to beginning of semester to now? Rachel: I mean, a lot more, I mean still not comfortable, but it’s more comfortable, so… Whatever that means. R: Because especially you’re a music ed major, I’m really interested how you might incorporate this into your future teaching? Rachel: I mean, I think this is great. I was never even sort of on my radar before I got here, but if I’ve been introduced to this like at elementary level, which is what I think I want to teach anyway, I think it would be great. I mean there are so many opportunities to introduce it with little kids, whether through just like tunes you’re singing together or tunes you’re playing, I think that any of it would be great. R: Ah, that’d be great. It’s so magical when little kids can do it. Rachel: I know! I mean, I’ve observed one of the early music classes like back in the fall, and they did something with the drum and like they were all doing a basic pattern, except for one kid, he just went off, it was so great, I loved it, it was awesome. It was great. R: Yeah, you gotta start them young. You’ll be great. All right, Rachel, thanks so much!

Newman R: If you can describe your thoughts on the process of learning to improvise in this class? N: Well, you know, I feel like half the time, I just experiment with chord tones, and I kind of like put some passing tones in between, maybe some neighboring tones, I don’t know, I kind of just wing it, I don’t know…

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R: Yeah, and describe… When you said, “wing it,” why do you think you’re winging it? N: Umh, I don’t really have a whole lot experience with improvisation, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to sound like, or what I’m supposed to do, so I kind of just, I don’t know, just try things out to see if it works, kind of like trial and error I guess. R: Yup, and that’s where it’s different from your classical violin stuff. N: Yeah. R: What were some things that were helpful in learning to improvise? N: Hmh, I guess just listening to other people do it, especially if they already kind of had experience with it, so just seeing what other people did and what they came up with was really helpful. Umh, this sounds really weird, but I think playing pre-written cadenzas from concertos I’ve been doing kind of gave me ideas, umh… Just like taking a theme and kind of adapting it, I think that was helpful. R: That’s exactly how they learned it back in the day. Just copying, and then making your own, so you’re doing the right things. I don’t want you to think you’re off track. Umh, what were some things that we did in class that were not helpful, if there’s any? N: I don’t really know if there was anything not helpful, just because I don’t know what isn’t helpful at this point, because I just don’t have any experience with it, so… R: OK. Your comfort level beginning of semester and now? N: Umh, I think I’m slightly more comfortable with it, I still don’t really, really enjoy it, but I’m definitely more comfortable than I was before. R: Is there anything else you want me to know or you want to express? N: I don’t think so. R: Thanks, Newman!

Michael R: Can you can describe your thoughts on learning improvise over this… Almost a full year now for you? M: Umh, well, I think it’s helped a lot, especially learning it both like this class and music ed, and just all the methods classes like putting those all together has really helped. Umh, and I’ve been trying to do it more often just like in all of my instruments and it

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really helps me understand like the chordal structure and the relationship between notes on instruments, so I think it really helps develop that sense faster than not improvising. R: OK. Umh… What were some things that were helpful to learn to improvise in this class? M: Umh, it’s kind of helpful on the piano, understanding the chord shapes and how those notes all go together, and like being able to transition between those easily without thinking about it too much. R: Some of the activities we did in class that were helpful? M: Well, like when we play a tune and sing through it, and then we kind of like figure out chords and we kind of like improvise on top of that, I think those were helpful. R: So singing it first, and then playing? OK, was there anything that was not helpful? M: Umh, not necessarily I can think of. R: So, you were pretty comfortable to begin with, but can you describe your comfort level from beginning to now? M: More specifically on piano, I’d say I was comfortable with improv in general, but like in piano, it’s become easier with activities we’ve done, and I got better at improvising like kind of both parts at once as opposed to only being able to do single line stuff, because that was before. R: Yeah, well, that’s cool! Is there anything you want me to know more about or you want to express? M: Umh, I just think you should keep doing improv stuff, it’s really helpful, so... R: If there was a course that’s offered just on improv, where you like sing, play, play on the piano? Would you be interested in taking it, and this is hypothetical, this is not set at all. M: Yeah, definitely. R: And if that were to happen, how often do you think it’s optimal to meet? M: Maybe kind of like, around this amount of time, maybe once or twice a week? R: And have people practice on their own?

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M: Yeah. (Informal Talk) R: All right, Michael, thank you!

Gabby R: If you can describe your thoughts on learning improvise in this class? G: I think it’s great. I think it helps a lot with knowing where the notes are on the piano, which I didn’t know before. Thinking in chords rather than just notes by themselves. Umh, I guess it also helps if I want to create a cadenza for like a Haydn Concerto or something, I can make that up. It also helps if I wanna just jam out with my friends, and just play music for fun, which is cool. R: Can you talk about specific activities we did that were helpful? G: I like when we do songs that we already know, like Go Tell It on the Mountain or something or whatever. Umh, so I had like the chords just like in my mind already, and then I can kind of make up a melody that’s like similar, but not exactly the same, that’s easier for me rather than not totally knowing the chords and just like throwing something together, I feel like I couldn’t do it. But it’d be nice to get to there. R: What were some of things that were not helpful? G: I don’t think anything was not helpful. Well, I mean, if we’re playing the piano at all, it’s gonna be helpful for us anyway, because we’re learning more piano. R: Compared to beginning when you first came two semesters ago to now, can you describe your comfort level of improvisation? G: Definitely a lot higher. Well, also because I was a little bit nervous at first, because everybody here was new and I didn’t like want to like make a fool out of myself, but now that I know everybody, I’m more comfortable kind of doing weird things I guess, and then also since I know the notes better on the piano now, I feel like I can figure it out faster. R: Do you think also because a lot of you have been together for two semesters, has that helped? G: Being in the same class?

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R: Uh-huh. G: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it’s fun. It’s fun that way. We can go like practice together in practice rooms, it’s nice. R: That’s true. Is there anything else you want me to know about or you want to express? G: I don’t think so. R: OK, then one last question. If, and this is hypothetical, if there was a class just on improvisation, kind of same thing, you learn a tune, a rep, sing it, play it on your instrument, and do it on the piano, would you be interested in taking that kind of class? G: Umh, if it was just improv, I would like it to be more than just piano, like multiple instruments, so that I can… I don’t know, I guess like if you’re just working on… I don’t know, I guess. Yeah, even learning other instruments, too… R: Are you music ed major? G: No, but I think that’d be interesting. I should’ve thought of that, that would be a fun major. (Informal Talk) R: All right, well, thank you!

Ava R: Would you please describe your thoughts on learning improvise? A: Yes, I think it’s really helpful. It’s been really enjoyable, also because it’s not something I’ve ever done before. And it’s nice to know there’s an approach to it, and not just random. Because I think originally I thought it was going to be like, oh, whatever you feel like doing in that moment, but there’s kind of like a thought process to help you like, guide what you’re trying to do. R: Mm-hmh. What were some things that we did in class that were helpful? A: Umh, probably when we first sight-read the melody, then we played it on the piano, and then… With the bass line, improvised a melody on top of that, and to hear what the melody was before and improv it off of that original melody, was really helpful. Because then it wasn’t just, like I said, it’s not random, it’s very much like a guided activity, more so than just like throwing us in the deep end without help.

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R: Right, was there anything you think that wasn’t helpful? A: Umh, I don’t think so. R: OK. Compared to prior to and now, it’s been almost two semesters now of this. Can you describe your comfort level? A: Yes, well, it’s definitely way more comfortable than it was in the beginning. Because in the beginning, I kind of felt like, I didn’t even know… I remember one thing we did was using just notes in the triad in the beginning? And that was like, that was really hard for me to hear just going between like tonic and dominant, like the chords. And now, with doing theory, aural skills, and this all at the same time, it’s so much easier to hear that and to be able to improv using those skills. R: Yeah, I heard about that minuet project in theory. A: Mm-hmh. R: OK. Anything else you want me to know about or you want to express? A: I don’t think so. R: All right, good, thanks, Ava!

Noah R: If you can just describe your thoughts on process of learning improvise in this class? N: Umh… We always kind of began with singing things, umh, and also playing along with that, which I think is really important. Umh, I don’t really know how to describe it. R: You can talk about it however you want, I’m not really looking for specific answers, either. N: OK. Well, I think it’s really good to be listening to things before you play it, and like, as you play it as well. Um, yeah, I think it’s also good also to recognize the harmony that we’ve been doing, because you have us like arpeggiate the chord tones of the chord, um, which is also important. And actually, probably the most important thing besides you know, listening is the rhythmic aspect, because you have us improvise like the bass line rhythm, because the hardest thing with improvisation that I’ve found was creating rhythmic interest, instead of just playing like quarter notes, you know… So I think that the important things I’ve gotten out of it is singing before you do things, and you know, managing the rhythmic aspect more, because I mean, harmony’s important, but you

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know, it’s not gonna be interesting I feel like, if it’s all just quarter notes. R: Hmh, that’s true. For like the final improv, you mean. N: Yeah. R: Yeah, that’s a good point, good point, What were some things that were not helpful? N: For like, in the class? Umh… I don’t think… I think it was all Beneficial… You mean, just improvisation wise? I mean, I guess it was all helpful. R: OK. Umh, your comfort level prior to and now over the semester of improvisation on the piano? How would you describe that? N: Um, comfort, comfort level? Umh… I mean, to be honest, not that much, because I’m already… Whether or not, I mean, my skills have definitely improved, I mean there’s no doubt in that. I think I made some growth, and there’s growth to be made, but like just talking about like comfort level with it, I’ve always been kind of just like comfortable, because I’m like ok with like messing up I think… I mean like, I wasn’t always like it, you know, I kind of trained myself to not like it, if I play something I don’t like, I’m like, just like whatever, you know? It’s not the end of the world, so I’m usually comfortable with just general improvisation. R: Yeah, OK. Is there anything you want me to know or you want to express? N: Umh, I don’t know, if more than anything, I would spend more time improvising in the class. Because obviously the importance has been stressed, which is good, but I feel like we need a little more application. I think if there’s anything I’d have to say about it, it’d be more of it. R: OK. If there was a class that was offered just on improv, would you be interested in taking it? N: Yeah! Of course. Like for piano only? Or just like general improvisation? R: It will be general improvisation. So it will be basically, you bring your instrument and we’d be singing, playing, playing the piano. N: Yeah, I would take that in a heartbeat. R: And if that was offered, what do you think is the optimal time for us to meet? N: That’s tough. I don’t know, for me personally, I have a busy schedule, I think once a

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week, no more than twice a week. It’d be more stress-free to meet once a week for one day or something, I don’t know… R: If it’s like the elective course, would you rather have it on the weekday or weekend? N: Weekday for sure. R: All right, thanks, Noah!

Lamar R: Can you please describe your thoughts on learning improvise over the two semesters for you? L: On learning to do it? I think, I’ve enjoyed it, but not like, I’ve liked it because it’s been so difficult, if that makes sense. Like, I’m not comfortable with improv, and it’s made me, like when you’re uncomfortable, it’s really helped with that. So it’s been, I really enjoyed that. It’s really helped with aural skills as well. R: OK. What were some of the things that were helpful? L: Um, I think doing improv with other, like when everybody else was doing just like the bass line, and I would improvising over bass line, while other people would like one person would do the melody, especially when people were improving the bass line… It’s like, oh, this is how you get a feel for that, and when you do the melody, that helped to get a feel for developing the style of pieces. R: OK, was there anything that wasn’t helpful? L: Um, I don’t really think any of it was not helpful really. R: OK, that’s fine. Starting from beginning to now, can you describe your comfort level with improvisation? L: I definitely feel a little bit more comfortable with it. Umh, it’s still, if somebody were to say, oh, can you do improv, I think I’d be like say, I’m not super experienced but, I wouldn’t say, no, I can’t do it, you know? So this can be like, oh, sure, I’ll give it a shot, you know? R: OK, good! Is there anything else you want me to say or you want to express about your experience? L: Thank you! It’s been really great!

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R: OK, great, all right, that’s it! Thanks, Lamar!

Georgia R: If you can describe your thoughts on learning improvise over this semester? G: I thought it was cool, and um, I think I didn’t quite improvise well, because I didn’t quite know this area so much yet, we kind of learned how to improvise in aural skills… But I think it was really cool, just the concepts of like making your own music with bass, melody… Yeah, I think creating music was really cool. R: Mm-hmh. OK. What were some things that were helpful as you learned to improvise? G: Singing first and then playing. I think that’s, singing is like, you just remember it more, because singing is like, I don’t know, it’s like in you, and you say and you play it. Um, you remember it more, and like it’s better. And I do it for my violin, too, because my teacher wants me to understand about breathing, because sometimes you can’t bow too long, you need to breathe… I think singing and think about the melody, and then sing out loud with accompaniment on the left hand, and then playing with left hand, right hand really helped. R: OK. What were some things that were not helpful? You can be honest. G: Honestly, I don’t quite know, I think it’s just improvising is very new to me, so I haven’t… I don’t know exactly, but I think, yeah, I really don’t know what to say about that. This is rather a new topic, and just I don’t know how to evaluate it yet. R: OK. Your comfort level before and after now? How would you describe that? G: Well, I think before it’s like, I don’t think is something I thought I’d be doing at Eastman because I came here for classical, not for jazz or like improvise… Even though I knew that in classical, they used to improvise on cadenzas in concertos and stuff, and before Bach, all the pieces were written the way you just have to read it and kind of improvise on it… But um, before it was like, I just didn’t think about it, but now, it’s like, yeah, I would like to learn more about it. Yeah, I would explore more on my own, or maybe I’ll play classical piece on it. (Informal Talk) R: Well, thank you so much, Georgia!

Improvisation in Collegiate Class Piano - UR Research

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