Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians
500+ Non-jazz Games for Performers, Educators,
and Everyone Else
Jeffrey Agrell
Jeffrey Agrell’s book, Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians, provides simple and powerful activities which can open up whole new worlds to musicians of any level of experience. He really hits the right notes as it were, in giving students something, but not too much, to hang on to as they explore the world of improvising. It’s a fantastic compendium of ideas, a set of procedures which are fun to do and which lead to profound results. Bravo!
| – Stephen Nachmanovitch, author of Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art |
Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians by Jeffrey Agrell is an amazing contribution to
both the education and enjoyment of all who are interested in musical performances of any
kind. The design, the content, and especially the manner in which Jeffrey has presented his
wildly creative materials is brilliant. Add to that the fact that what this book addresses is the
most neglected and, perhaps the most important aspect of classical musical growth. With
this book teachers and performers alike have a wide open door to years of exploration and
learning in how to express themselves through their music and free themselves from a total
dependance on the printed page and the deeply ingrained traditions of the classical music
traditions.
The book is a joy to read, and I can only imagine the impact it will have on students, teachers,and professional musicians who take the time to step outside the rigid confines of their limited training.
| – | Douglas Hill Professor of Music- University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Why don’t classical musicians improvise? Why do jazz players get to have all the fun? And how do they develop such fabulous technique and aural skills?
With these words, Jeffrey Agrell opens the door to improvisation for all non-jazz musicians who thought it was beyond their ability to play extemporaneously. Gently, step-by-step, Agrell leads through a series of games, rather than exercises. The game format takes the pressure off of classically trained musicians, steering them away from their fixation on mistake-free performance and introducing the basic concepts of playing with music itself instead of obsessing over a perfect rendition of a written score.
Agrell draws a startling analogy with sports that illustrates the absurdity of the traditional approach to classically-oriented music performance:
Imagine if basketball were played the way we perform music today.
The greatest games would be recorded and aspiring players would be required to learn a pro’s every move by reading a description of each move from a written chart.
Nothing unplanned or unknown would be allowed to happen. No invention in the moment. No individual expression of ideas. No risking a series of less-than-perfect moves for the sake of imaginative play.
Starting with simple scale fragments, Agrell shows the way to break this artificial way of thinking about music making with an innovative approach to the business of creating melody, harmony, and rhythm, while working in tandem with others. This extensive collection of 566 games is for anyone and everyone who wants to learn to improvise, but has been afraid to try.
Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians can be used by solo individuals, groups from two to sixteen or more, and in classroom settings.
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