Improvisation in Elementary General Music: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Reviews of Literature Improvisation is an area of interest to both music education researchers and music educators alike. This is evident from the inclusion of improvisation standards in Grades 3 to 5 of the "Creating" anchor in the National Core Arts Standards (National Association for Music Education, 2014) and in Grades 1 through 5 of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (Texas Education Agency, 2013). Improvisation instruction is also a prominent component of pedagogical approaches such as Orff Schulwerk (Beegle, 2001), the Kodály Method (Whitcomb, 2007), Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Anderson, 2012), and Gordon's Music Learning Theory (Azzara, 1993) and is a fundamental goal in most music curricula (Coulson & Burke, 2013). Researchers and teachers have asserted that the ability to improvise indicates one's musical independence (Beegle, 2010), that it fosters creativity while developing musical skills (Coulson & Burke, 2013), and that it is the musical equivalent of improvised speech through language (Azzara, 1993, 1999). Practitioners have written extensively about improvisation and its importance in music education. According to Kratus (1995), improvisation is "the result of purposeful, non-random movements to create musical sounds over time" (p. 27) and that these sounds, once made, may not be revised or changed as is possible during composition. Kratus added that improvising allows a performer to choose the rhythms and pitches that will constitute the improvisation 763002U PDXXX10.

Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research

“…This has been the result of an extensive content analysis and the descriptive statistics it yielded. In this sense, this study complements review studies such as those of Running (2008), Henry (1996), Rohwer (1997), and more recently Chandler (2018), who have focused on creativity, composition, creativity assessment, and improvisation in elementary general music respectively. Secondly, and on a more interpretative level, we aim at understanding how the notion of improvisation, its role and value for musical practice, and its educative potential have been construed through these studies.…”

Effectiveness of the Orff and Kodaly methods for the development of musical ability in preschool children compared to a standard curriculum (La eficacia de los métodos Orff y Kodaly para el desarrollo de las habilidades musicales en los niños preescolares en comparación con el currículum estándar)

“…This result suggests that teaching music based on the Orff and Kodaly methods contributes to the development of children’s musical abilities. A number of scientists note that teaching music based on the traditional approach limits children and their passion for improvisation in contrast to the ideas of Orff and Kodaly, who believed that improvisation and playing simple musical instruments are the key activities (Chandler, 2018; Thompson & Schellenberg, 2006). It was also determined that in the experimental group, the percentage of children with the high level of musical ability increased by 5.1% after the introduction of the Orff and Kodaly methods in the learning process.…”

The effects of a multimodal music program on young children’s facial expressions during controlled singing tasks

“…According to the National Standards for Music Education, children in music programs from preschool to the 12th grade are required to create music by imagining, planning and making music, evaluating, refining, and presenting musical ideas (NAfME, 2014). Improvisation in the music classroom, if included in the program at all in the United States, is usually instrumental or movement-based (Chandler, 2018). Yet few studies have examined the impact of music training on children's perceptions of vocal imitation and improvisation tasks.…”