Improvisation: Flexibility in Communication
/Juiching Wang
Introduction
Improvisation
as defined in the Grove Music Dictionary “ the creation of a musical work, or
the final form of a musical work, as it is being performed” is associated with
the process of creativity in music making. Some regard it as part of inspired
compositional technique while others believe that the simultaneous performance
practice of improvisation is so unique that it may become a genre itself.
Although,
comparing to the composed works that base on strict musical theories,
improvisation has a “less-structured” nature, composers admit that the
activity of improvisation is more or less involved in the process of their
composition. It is usually a higher degree of flexibility, or more freedom, in a
musical structure that distinguishes improvisation from composition.
The degree of flexibility in a musical structure, however, differs from
culture to culture. It is also this flexibility that decides the way the
musicians and the audience communicate with each other since the process of
music making has been considered an art of conveying emotions and messages.
With
the privileges of studying music cultures other than the Western classical
tradition, a more comprehensive view on the difference between composition and
improvisation can be obtained from examining the way the musicians communicate
through their music. Discussions on the Western classical music, Indian music,
Arab music, and Javanese music traditions will show the different degrees of
flexibility in the structure of music, the interaction among the musicians, the
interaction between the musicians and the audience, and the religious
significance. These examples will demonstrate the characteristics of the unique
ways of improvisation from various cultures and support the idea that it is the
flexibility in the communication through music making that makes improvisation
distinct from composition.
Composition
is a human- centered art in the western classical tradition.
From then on, the expectation of being rationale and intellectual led
people to view works with delicate arrangement and instruction as better or more
valuable than works mainly done through inspiration.
In this context, composers’ emotion and audience’s expectation are
seldom mentioned so that Kant’s ideal aesthetic value may be obtained without
any distraction from the outside world.
Arab
music, on the contrary,
is a tradition full of flexibility.
It is said that the most valuable or desirable music in the Arab
tradition is improvised. Musicians perform their taqsim, the instrumental
improvisation, which is based on the choice of maqams, the modes or keys.
While the western classical tradition emphasizes the intellectual element of the works, the
Arab tradition considers their music an emotional event. The components of most Arab music, such as the choices of
maqams, are associated with this emotional concern.
The
audience, usually without being informed what composition the performer(s) will
play, has a great imaginative space in which to interact with the performers. This
emotional concern results in the flexible structure in the music tradition. As the audience enters the room, the performers
observe the emotions of the audience and the atmosphere of the room. Based on
this observation, they then choose the proper maqams for their taqsim. By
being aware of audience's emotions, the musicians also
expect to obtain support from the audience and to change their modes according to the
mood changes they observe or sense during the performance. The improvisation that occurs in this kind of collective
setting, with an active interaction between the musicians and the audience, demonstrates how it is
essential to have a more flexible structure in music making.
Javanese
Gamelan Music- Garapan
Compared
with Arab music, Javanese gamelan music is less flexible in structure. Different
parts of instruments serve various functions at the same time to make up one
complete piece. One inner melody, Balungan, is the main point of reference that
constrains these different parts to play at a performance. Closely adhering to
the Balungan, the parts with their own functions, such as punctuation,
elaboration, or paraphrasing, have to find an appropriate way to fit themselves
in the music. For western ears, the process of fitting in may sound like
improvisatory; however, to the Javanese, this process, the garapan
(interpretation or treatment) implies a busy activity or a work, which may have
something suggested but not fully formed beforehand. For most Javanese
musicians, the ability of garapan is somehow a self-conscious activity; yet,
spontaneous playing in a live performance seems not to be allowed in most cases.
Hence, with such a well-designed structure, it seems to be too arbitrary
to say that Javanese gamelan music is one of improvisation. However, in terms of
flexibility, the flexible level in music structure of this tradition, compared
with the western classical composition, seems to allow more possibilities of
creativity in the process of music making.
Improvisation,
as well as composition, is a complex process of musical creativity.
Its components, such as musical vocabulary, performer’s thoughts, and
audience expectations are all closely associated with psychology, sociology,
political concern, and overall impacts of cultural heritage.
However, the Europeans, with a dominant political power in the world,
tend to apply their rationale to explain the unique phenomenon existing in the
music cultures other than the western classical tradition.
Their using “improvisation,” a term defined for western music theory,
to describe and to study the music cultures of various contexts demonstrates
their failure to respect others.
Hence,
whether improvising or not, the difference still lies on the level of
flexibility within a music structure. It is the flexibility that not only
provides the Arab listeners with the opportunities to actively participate and
contribute in a music performance, but also allows Arab musicians to have their
unique modal improvisatory format and to interpret any existing music. It is
also the flexibility that makes Javanese musicians enjoy the happiness to follow
an inner melody while they garapan their chengkog.
Blum, Stephen
1998
Recognizing Improvisation, in Bruno Nettle (Ed.), In the Courses of Performance:
Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation. pp.27-45. Chicago, The University
of Chicago Press. ML430.7.I471998
Jairazbhoy,
Nazir A.
1980
Improvisation - Asian Art Music, in
Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol.9:
31-56. London: Marxist Press.
ML
100.N48MUSICREF.
Sutton,
R.Anderson
1998
Do Javanese Gamelan Musicians Really
Improvise, in Bruno Nettle (Ed.), In the Courses of Performance: Studies in the
World of Musical Improvisation. pp.69-92. Chicago, The University of Chicago
Press. ML430.7.I471998.