For lecturer Jackie Walduck, improvising with another person is a ‘dialogical’ experience through which, ‘in a non-verbal way, you can create connection and exchange ideas.’ The idea of improvisation as a great leveller, facilitating connections between people with vastly different musical and communication experiences, underpins Open Academy’s engagement ethos.
Postgraduate vocalist Joseph Hancock is one of many Academy students who improvised little prior to enrolling in an Open Academy elective. ‘It's a challenge to not be so process-driven and goal-oriented,’ said Joseph, whose project involved early years classes. ‘We had a vague idea of what we wanted to achieve,’ he said of the sessions, ‘but it was more about letting the children discover things and react in their own ways to the music.’ Spontaneously inventing a piece can introduce people to music making without intimidating associations. It’s also a lot of fun. ‘The best thing about young children,’ said workshop leader Yshani Perinpanayagam, ‘is they haven’t realised that improvising is scary yet.’
Aspects of improvising may appear incompatible with classical training, but students often find that the two can inform one another. Joseph utilises his comprehension of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of classical performance as a secure foundation from which to improvise, an approach which Jackie encourages. ‘People think it’s going to be like jazz,’ she said, ‘but we want to draw on your sound as classical musicians. Improvising over chords takes everyone to that space of right and wrong, notes that fit and notes that don’t.’
Paradoxically, practising improvisation benefits classical study because it de-emphasises perfection. Jackie argues that abandoning idealised results can enable musicians to better focus on their relationship with sound and their instrument. ‘When you get people to improvise,’ Yshani said, ‘they quickly find they have opinions. If they can work that back into written musical playing, because they’ve been creating expressive sounds from scratch, they can find they have opinions on how they want things to sound.’ Thinking critically about the notes on the page, when combined with the ability of a skilled musician to realise what they hear, can produce a truly distinctive performer.
Developing confidence in improvising is central to Open Academy electives because it can help people to connect, regardless of their backgrounds. ‘In lessons’, Joseph said, ‘it’s valuable to be flexible and reactive to unfamiliar situations, and to give [teaching] a sense of discovery and exploration.’ Looking beyond the lesson, many Open Academy initiatives involve people who have few opportunities to express agency in their daily routine. When one lacks control over their day, having an hour to set aside rules and create something can be a cathartic release. As Yshani said, improvising ‘gets people’s voices in the room.’ That those voices, when brought together, can produce a novel and beautiful sound is one thing, but more relevant to Open Academy’s goals is that each person – classically ‘trained’ or not – can participate and feel heard in a way that they might not otherwise be afforded. ‘Alongside our own striving for excellence,’ said Joseph, ‘we must remember the importance of music as a community-supporting tool. A bit of open-mindedness is a valuable thing.’
Image of Jackie Walduck improvising as part of a concert © Sean Kelly