This is the principle behind the Theme and Variations, but also behind many Fantasies and similar works. For ages, the art of “diminution” grounded itself precisely on this principle: the notes of a tune were understood as markers of a musical space, and the space delimited by them could be “filled” in a variety of ways according to the performer/improviser’s skill and taste. ![]() Only those who are perfectly skilled in all of the trade secrets of instrumental technique, of harmony and counterpoint, may be really free to improvise without risking catastrophes.īoth performers and listeners, however, will feel on safer ground if there is a clear and known starting point, which may be – as said before – a known tune or harmonic scheme. Only those who master the finest nuances of a language can venture to create extemporaneous poetry in that language, and the same applies to music. Not only it demonstrated the performer’s creative artistry it also showed his or her technical accomplishment and knowledge of the structures of the musical language. A performer who simply played “the notes” received from tradition could be dismissed as unimaginative and arid one who went too far from the established model could produce a music felt as unintelligible and nonsensical by his or her contemporaries.įantasy was prized as an appreciated value by listeners, as happens today with jazz improvisation and in many non-classical traditions. It was not just admissible, but rather necessary to intervene on that heritage with a carefully balanced mix of respect and innovation. For centuries, musicians in many “cultivated” and “popular” traditions around the world have intended the transmitted “music” (be it a tune, a harmonic or rhythmic scheme, or even a composed piece) as a creative stimulus rather than as a set of instructions. Still, they are much clearer today than they were even in the recent past. Thus, even in today’s very organized musical world, the boundaries between these three distinct figures are not as neat as one might imagine. No composer, actually, writes down all details of a piece no performer simply executes the instructions without a creative component no improviser starts from scratch with no pre-established structure or reference. ![]() ![]() However, this misleadingly simple scheme is highly deceptive. Improvisers share some features with composers and some with performers: they play their own music, but, generally speaking, this music is not written down beforehand, at least not with all details. On the one hand, there is the “creator” of music, who writes down a score with instructions for performance on the other, there is the player who realizes these instructions and actualizes the music. Western Classical music has established an increasingly pronounced hiatus between “composition”, “performance” and “improvisation”.
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