Improvisation
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Improvisation in music is the art of playing an instrument (or singing) and making it up as you play. It is fun to practise improvising, and makes a change from always playing from written music.
In Baroque times all musicians were taught to improvise because composers often did not bother to write all the notes down. Musicians would have improvised lots of ornaments, and even whole sections.
Some great composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were famous for their improvisations.
A lot of people who play folk music improvise. Traditional folk music would not have been written down.
In traditional jazz the musicians usually improvise. It is quite tricky when a group of people are improvising together. They have to listen to one another and bounce off ideas from one another. It can be a very exciting way of making music.
