Improv & composition

There is an almost mystic realm in the vast expanse of music that includes improvisation and composition.  When describing it, musicians toss around terms like “just feel it,” “find the groove,” “that was nasty,” or even “let the spirit lead.”  To those in the stands (and sometimes to the musicians as well), this terms are quite meaningless.  And perhaps they are, ultimately.  So, I will here attempt to inject some semblance of meaning into such terms, and define the terms improv and composition.  

Let’s examine the differences between these closely related concepts.  A helpful principle to begin with:

All improv is composition, but not all composition is improv.

Starting with the broader idea: composition is the crafting of a largely new, unheard piece of music.  I say “largely” due to the inherently derivative nature of music.  Even the first piece of music, crafted by some unnamed genius in the annuls of ancient history, was derived from timbres and frequencies that already existed in the created world.  Since then, musical creatives have added to, built upon, and tweaked those frequencies and timbres.  So, for all intents and purposes, we will call these compositions new pieces of music.  

This begs the ethical and legal question: how original must a piece of music be to be considered a new composition?  Can they share instruments?  Can whole melodies be borrowed?  Can parts of melodies be borrowed?

Truth be told, the answer to this is not simple or even universal, and is often left up to the courts.  So, just consider for yourselves as composers: is your conscience clear?  Do your friends assume you ripped off Taylor Swift?  You’ll know if you have committed some form of plagiarism.  

What are the tools we can use for composition today?  Well, they are described in many of the previous concepts.  Scales, harmony, rhythm, etc.  For instance: when starting a composition, composers will often choose a specific scale (or key) to start from.  So, the more scales one has mastered, the more compositional options they will have.  

A useful parallel can be employed to contrast composition with improv.  Composition is akin to the art of writing a comedic essay.  Limitless opportunity for rewrites, restructuring, third-party feedback, and enhancement.  Musical improv is akin to…well, comedic improv.  Only immediate, in the moment feedback, minimal planning, on-the-spur creativity.  Now, notably, I do say there is still planning involved, though minimal.  Most improv comedians go on stage with at least a starting place for their routine; the same is true of musical improv.  But instead of a written outline with setup jokes, a musician will start with a key, a meter, and a tempo perhaps.  So, with those initial guidelines, a musician will begin composing as he performs.  

For many musicians, one or both of these skills is the end goal of their musical education.  So it must be preceded by the gathering and mastering of the other skills on this list.  Learn your scales.  Practice your chord progressions.  Then, get experimental.  

If this general roadmap is followed, you, as a musician, can hope to begin creating musical product that interests, excites, or even inspires your listeners—because it will, by definition, be something they’ve never heard before.