Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you get confused about the ways improvisation and composition differ? Would you like to be better at both? Read more to learn about improvising vs composing music.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
Improvising vs Composing Music
To start our discussion on improvising vs composing music, we’ll first define improvisation.
- Simply put, when you improvise, you’ll make the music up on the spot.
- Improvised music will change each time you play.
- That means, you won’t have musical elements that repeat from performance to performance.
For my students, I don’t teach improv out of a book.
- On piano, I usually start by playing a I vi IV V chord progression in C major.
- Also, I use a triplet feel for the classic rock n’ roll sound or do the Heart and Soul vamp.
- I’ll have the student play single notes on the white keys on the keyboard.
Then, I tell the student, “These will be your rules for improvising:
- If it sounds good, do it again.
- If it doesn’t sound good, don’t do it again, or figure out how to make it sound good.”
- The kids usually laugh when I say this, but its purpose is to get them to listen and react.
In addition, I do the same type of thing when teaching improv to students studying other instruments.
Composing vs Improvising Music
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music defines composition as, “The activity of creating a musical work…” (182).
- It then goes on to state, “The term is most often used in opposition to improvisation, implying an activity carried out prior to performance…” (182).
- However, the divide between improvising vs composing music isn’t a big one.
- In classical music, you write a piece of music and pretty much leave it in a set form. However, in earlier times musicians didn’t stick strictly to the score. For example, baroque period music had a lot of improvised elements in it.
Likewise, popular music usually walks the line between composition and improvisation with some elements being set, while other elements have been left fluid.
For tips on composing songs:
Concluding Thoughts on Improvising vs Composing Music
Some cultures fall on the improvisation side of the improvising-vs-composing-music divide while others fall on the composition side of the question.
- For most cultures, improvisation will be the norm for creating music.
- Why then did set compositions develop in Western cultures?
- The advent of music notation created a media format that encouraged composition over improvisation.
Donald J. Grout asserts:
…the invention of musical notation made it possible to write music down in a definitive form… Thus composition and performance became separate acts instead of being combined in one person as before… (98)
However, for most of the non-Western world improvisation and composition go hand in hand. As an example, the Indian guitarist Sanjay Mishra states:
I come from a tradition that has a lot of improvisation. Sometimes Western music can seem a little rigid, I had to find a middle ground. (Guitar Atlas Series: India 3)
Whether you improvise, compose, or do a hybrid of both, depends on your musical needs and preferences.
Related Posts
- Why Do Minor Keys Sound Sad to Me?
- Do I Really Have to Learn Music Theory to Learn How to Play Piano?
- What Purpose Do Accidentals Serve in Reading Sheet Music?
- What is a Parallel Mode and How Does it Work?
© 2023 Geoffrey Keith
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Glossary
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