Abstract
Improvisation is a vital part of an elementary general music education. While some music teachers successfully include improvisation in music instruction, others have fears and face challenges when attempting improvisational activities in the classroom. This article acknowledges obstacles facing music educators when attempting to incorporate improvisation in elementary general music, such as lack of instructional time, lack of experience improvising as part of personal musicianship, and lack of training to teach improvisation. Suggestions to address these challenges are provided, and practical lesson plans have been designed to help teachers get started with classroom improvisation. Ideas include combining improvisation with other musical skills while maintaining the integrity of all endeavors, starting with simple lesson ideas, setting guidelines that can be loosened as improvisational skills develop, using familiar methods and materials, and connecting improvisational activities with music that is desirable to students outside of school. Lesson plans that can be adapted for various classroom settings are included.
How can music teachers best help their elementary students learn to improvise? Here are some ideas to get started modeling the behaviors you want to see.
Improvisational activities are beneficial to children in many aspects of their lives. Spontaneous musical activities allow children to express feelings and ideas in musical ways and simultaneously combine the musical skills of performing, listening, and analyzing. Improvisation gives students outlets to create unique and different musical ideas. Teachers can foster creativity in the classroom by modeling improvisational processes, providing a safe and welcoming environment that honors the ideas of the learners, and allowing opportunities for students to rhythmically or melodically improvise in a variety of musical styles. Support for creative endeavors, such as improvisation, has been evident in the music education community. Perhaps the most widely known example of this support is the inclusion of improvisation in the National Standards for Music Education, published in 1994. 1 Standard 3, “Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments,” and its corresponding achievement standards provide educators with practical suggestions for including improvisation in instruction. 2
While some music teachers successfully include improvisation in music instruction, others have difficulty knowing where to begin. The goals of this article are to (1) acknowledge common fears and challenges facing music educators when attempting to incorporate improvisation in elementary general music classrooms, (2) suggest possible solutions to these challenges, and (3) provide practical lesson ideas to help teachers get started with classroom improvisation.
Common Fears and Challenges
When we consider some of the common fears and challenges faced by music teachers as they attempt to include improvisation in instruction, themes have emerged in recent research that can provide a context for practicing educators. Teachers’ overall attitudes toward inclusion of improvisation are positive, but finding time to include improvisation remains a challenge. While professional development opportunities, such as teaching demonstrations by fellow music teachers, have been reported to assist teachers in including improvisation in instruction, lack of experience improvising as a musician and lack of training to teach improvisation hinder teachers’ efforts. Findings from three research studies relating to these themes are described in more detail in the following.
A 2007 study based on a survey I did in the state of New York was designed to help better assess the status of improvisational activities in elementary general music classrooms. 3 Teachers were asked to report not only the extent to which they include improvisation in instruction but also the factors that assist and inhibit their attempts at improvisational endeavors. A promising 94 percent of teachers surveyed reported that they have included some form of improvisation in music instruction. In addition, 96 percent of respondents believe that improvisation should remain in the National Standards for Music Education. In a similar study in England, researcher Theano Koutsoupidou surveyed teachers, both nonspecialists and those specializing in music, to determine improvisational musical practices in classrooms. 4 Results were positive, with 81 percent of teachers reporting use of improvisation in instruction. Of those teachers, all use instrumental improvisation, 56 percent use vocal improvisation, and 59 percent use movement or dance improvisation.
In the survey described in the same 2007 study, I asked teachers to rank ten activities based on the instructional time devoted to each, with number 1 indicating the activity that is allotted the most instructional time and number 10 indicating the activity that is allotted the least time in the classroom. 5 The activities listed paralleled the content standards and also included movement. Improvisation ranked near the bottom of the list, with ninth place as its most common ranking (or mode). Similarly, in a 2002 study designed to investigate use of class time in thirty elementary general music classrooms, Evelyn K. Orman found that although all nine of the content standards were addressed during instruction, those that required creative or artistic skills on the part of the students received less instructional time. 6 Given findings from these studies, it seems that while teachers are supportive of including improvisation in the classroom, they are not always able to find time to include it in instruction.
In the 2007 study described above, New York teachers were asked to indicate factors that assist their inclusion of improvisation as well as factors that may inhibit them from including improvisation more often in instruction. 7 Among the reported factors that may assist teachers as they attempt improvisational activities are observing teaching demonstrations by fellow music teachers (according to 89 percent of respondents), in-service teacher training focusing on improvisation (86 percent), offerings at professional conferences devoted to improvisation (85 percent), and more time scheduled for music instruction (72 percent). Some common inhibiting factors include a lack of instructional time (60 percent), lack of experience improvising as a musician (53 percent), and lack of training to teach improvisation (42 percent). Koutsoupidou found similar results in her study of teachers in England, who reported inhibiting factors such as lack of practical experience improvising (77 percent), lack of theoretical knowledge of improvisation (69 percent), concern about a reduction in classroom discipline (62 percent), and lack of instructional time (54 percent). 8
With consideration of these reported inhibiting and assisting factors, it is now possible to provide strategies for including improvisation in elementary general music in ways that allow teachers to feel comfortable and successful in these endeavors. Some solutions are offered in this article, and many others are available on the Internet, including in My Music Class at www.nafme.org.
Solutions to Consider
The teachers in the studies described above indicated that a lack of instructional time inhibits their inclusion of improvisation in the classroom. Many music teachers desire more time with students and continue to advocate for music as a regular part of each school day. In addition to these ongoing efforts, there are also strategies that can assist teachers in including improvisation in existing class schedules. One way to address this issue is for teachers, researchers, and methods instructors to develop strategies that will enable teachers to incorporate opportunities for children to improvise within the limited contact time often provided for general music instruction. Techniques are needed that combine improvisation with other skills while maintaining the integrity of all endeavors. For example, teachers can continue to reinforce proper singing while children create spontaneous melodies using solfège. The quality of singing can remain intact while improvisational skills are developed. In addition, teachers can encourage students to listen to, analyze, and evaluate improvisational endeavors occurring in the classroom, thus developing skills in Standard 6, “Listening to, analyzing, and describing music,” and Standard 7, “Evaluating music and music performances.” 9
Music educator Kimberly Inks points out that improvisation does not need to be the primary objective of a lesson but can be incorporated into a lesson that focuses on a particular musical concept. 10 By combining improvisation with other activities and making it a part of the process of learning music, teachers can foster the creative endeavors of all children and provide an environment that embraces their musical ideas. This combination of activities does not mean that teachers need to create an entirely new set of lesson plans. Rather, teachers can consider the activities already occurring in their classrooms and adapt lessons to include an improvisatory component.
Similarly, teachers do not need to abandon their methodological choices or teaching approaches in order to include improvisation. Many educators are inspired by specific approaches and methodologies in elementary general music, such as Orff Schulwerk, Gordon Music Learning Theory, Dalcroze, and Kodály. Each of these established approaches/methods includes improvisation within its foundations or can be adapted to include improvisation, and most provide the melodic and rhythmic vocabulary necessary for students to improvise. For example, the prepare–present–practice sequence in the Kodály method can be adapted to include improvise as a final step, allowing students to demonstrate their true understanding of a rhythmic or melodic concept previously learned by incorporating it into spontaneous musical creation. The lessons included at the end of this article incorporate a variety of ideas and can be adapted to complement the approaches and methodologies already implemented by the teacher. Furthermore, a number of authors have described ways to maintain the integrity of the improvisational process while also maintaining the beliefs inherent within various methods and approaches. Table 1 contains suggested resources for further study, including those focusing on specific approaches and methodologies common in elementary general music.
Selected Resources for Further Study
Results from the survey studies also indicate that music teachers lack experience improvising as musicians and therefore do not feel qualified to teach improvisation. Teachers who feel they can improvise will certainly be more comfortable teaching improvisation, but this does not necessarily mean that years of experience improvising are needed before it can become at least a small part of the classroom. Inks suggests that teachers go through the process along with their students by stating, “When setting up the experience, play the role of the student . . . experiment with a pentatonic melody in an eight-beat phrase while your students count for you. If you have little or no experience improvising, learn with the students.” 11 When students become aware that the process of improvising is honored, they may show greater understanding and forgiveness for novice improvisers in the classroom environment.
According to John Kratus, a professor of music education at Michigan State University, improvisation begins with exploration, which includes trying out different sounds on a particular instrument or in a particular style. 12 Kratus states that exploration is followed by process-oriented improvisation, which includes the development of musical patterns. If a teacher is new to improvising, it is perfectly acceptable to start with exploration and move on to process-oriented improvisation, just as children do. These experiences can begin with the teacher’s own musicianship in the styles most personally appealing to the teacher. When teachers include creative musical endeavors in their daily lives, they will have a context when asking their students to go through similar processes. Improvisational experiences, then, become more authentic for both teachers and students. Teachers can anticipate the challenges and fears that students bring to the experience because they themselves have gone through similar feelings and have learned to work through them. In the preliminary stages, emphasis can be placed on the process rather than the product. For instance, a teacher can describe the processes that he or she has gone through to develop his or her own improvisational skills, including those endeavors that did not always sound polished or particularly desirable at first.
Lesson A: “Hot Cross Buns” with a Secret Ingredient
The students sing and play “Hot Cross Buns” as a review, either aurally or using visual representation, as in the example below. The students identify the measure that is different from the others.
After discussing the different measure and what “hot cross buns” are (e.g., how they are made, how they taste), the teacher eliminates the letters for the third measure and says that the students are going to add a “secret ingredient,” which will be their own choice of letters, to the already- existing eighth notes in the measure, using a visual representation similar to the one following:
The guidelines can be adjusted on the basis of the abilities of the students and past learning experiences with the recorder as follows:
Students choose one note (B, A, or G) and play it using the given rhythm within the measure. Students use the notes B, A, and/or G in any order within the measure as long as each note is repeated for a given pair of eighth notes. Students play any combination of B, A, or G in any order within the measure. Students use any notes previously learned on the recorder. Students use any notes previously learned on the recorder as long as the newest note is included in their improvisation.
The teacher explains that they will improvise the letters, which means they are going to make them up as they go along. Before playing, students are invited to clap the third measure and say any letters they would like (based on one set of guidelines listed above). To point out the important element of individual choice, the teacher asks, “Since we are all going to make it up as we go, will we all be saying the same letters at the same time?” The students will realize that the letters being said may all be different, so the chaotic sounds they will hear will be somewhat expected. Once the letters have been said, the students are invited to play the rhythm with their improvised letters on recorders, with a similar reminder from the teacher that it will not all sound the same because each student may make different choices—and this is okay!
The teacher plays measures 1, 2, and 4 and invites the class to improvise the letters for measure 3 as a class. Once the class is comfortable with this process, the majority of the class can play measures 1, 2, and 4 while small groups and/or individuals improvise measure 3 with the given rhythms.
The rhythm in the third measure is then taken away so students can improvise both melodically and rhythmically.
If the teacher shares personal stories that illustrate continued efforts to improve improvisational singing or playing in particular styles (such as jazz or rock), students might feel more comfortable taking musical risks and working through challenges to attain improvisational goals. Since many teachers will be more comfortable (and perhaps more successful) in improvising within their favorite styles of music, it is apparent that students will be more likely to succeed when attempting spontaneous musical creation if they are asked to do so in the context of familiar music that is attractive to them. In today’s musical world, teachers should consult their students’ iPods for guidance. Lessons D and E at the end of this article provide specific examples of how teachers can incorporate improvisational activities into music that interests students outside of school.
Findings from the survey studies also indicate that music teachers have not been provided with pedagogical guidance when attempting to teach improvisation. Unfortunately, improvisation was not included within their undergraduate methods courses. While efforts are being made to include improvisation in undergraduate music education programs both as a musicianship skill and as a teaching method, practicing teachers require meaningful professional development opportunities in this area. Since survey participants indicated that observing teaching demonstrations by fellow music teachers and in-service training would assist them in including improvisation more often, steps can be taken locally, regionally, and nationally to provide these types of opportunities for teachers to learn improvisational teaching techniques. Teachers experiencing successful endeavors with improvisation can share their techniques with colleagues. Due to the spontaneous nature of improvisation and the need to be “in the moment” while teaching improvisation, the best ways to share teaching techniques include live teaching demonstrations and video clips that can be viewed online. This is especially true given that student responses vary during improvisation, and similar techniques can create very different outcomes between groups of students. Furthermore, teachers can get together and improvise as musicians in a safe and nonthreatening environment in order to go through the improvisational processes necessary to be prepared to teach. If some teachers have more experience improvising than others, the group can account for differences in abilities within the group by having the more experienced improvisers playing on secondary instruments. This may allow teachers to go through the same frustrations as their students, which will lead to a better understanding of their students’ challenges when being asked to improvise.
Lesson B: Call-and-Response Rhythmic Patterns
Rhythmic patterns are displayed, as indicated below. The teacher snaps the steady beat and cues the students to say the patterns using familiar rhythmic solmization.
Each student chooses one pattern. The teacher snaps the steady beat and cues the students to say just their chosen pattern as a group simultaneously. Each student then chooses a different pattern, and this step is repeated until students show comfort with the process.
The students say their chosen patterns individually after the teacher provides a spoken call, creating a call-and-response progression. The spoken call will always be four beats long and include the eighth-and-two-sixteenth-note rhythm, but the call can vary or stay the same depending on the abilities of the students. Students are reminded to say their pattern immediately after the call, without any wasted beats in between. Students having difficulty choosing a pattern quickly can say the fallback pattern, indicated with an asterisk (*). To put all learners at ease, the teacher invites all students to say the fallback pattern in unison as a review.
After the first call-and-response progression when all students have individual turns choosing and saying patterns, all patterns are erased except for the fallback pattern. The students will improvise a pattern after the teacher provides the rhythmic call; the patterns created by the students should have the eighth-and-two-sixteenth-note rhythm and be four beats long. The students take a moment to improvise patterns simultaneously a few times to alleviate any fears and allow for improvisational practice. The teacher reminds the students that the fallback pattern can be used.
The students carry out the call-and-response rhythmic progression with the teacher once again, with each student individually improvising a four-beat pattern using the specific rhythm concept.
Through a willingness to combine improvisational activities into established routines and methods, take musical risks with students, share ideas with fellow music educators, and improvise as musicians in a variety of styles, elementary general music teachers can succeed in incorporating improvisation in instruction. The sections that follow provide a few general suggestions for teachers to get started with corresponding improvisational lessons that can be adapted for immediate and future use.
Suggestion 1: Start Simple and Set Guidelines
Improvisational activities do not need to add complexity or angst to the teaching process. To make the most of instructional time and to acknowledge a lack of experience improvising on the part of the teacher, it may be helpful for everyone to begin with a familiar song and add improvisation to the mix. Since the piece “Hot Cross Buns” is consistently included in recorder and instrumental methods books and is quite simple to learn, it serves as a good starting point for improvisational endeavors. Refer to Lesson A for the lesson sequence, which is written for recorder but can be adapted for other classroom instruments. The idea behind this lesson is to remove as much complexity associated with playing the recorder (fingerings, note-reading) as possible in order to focus on the spontaneous creations of the students. Since B, A, and G are often the first notes learned on the recorder and the song “Hot Cross Buns” can be learned by rote or with notation, measures 1, 2, and 4 can be reviewed quickly and played successfully by the entire class. Measure 3 provides an opportunity for improvisation. By having the entire class play all but one measure, the teacher is providing a familiar aural palette for the learners, which takes away anxiety often associated with improvisation.
Lesson C: Spontaneous Folk Song Rondo
The students sing the song “Great Big House in New Orleans” as a review from previous lessons. Before going to instruments, the teacher sings the first measure of the song, and the students sing the second measure, and this continues for the third and fourth measures, respectively. The teacher then claps the rhythm of the first and third measures, with the students clapping the rhythm of the second and fourth measures in succession with the teacher.
With xylophones set up in F pentatonic, the teacher plays the first measure of the song and invites the students to play the rhythm of the second measure on any notes in the pentatonic scale. The teacher models this process a few times first to give students musical ideas, depending on the objectives of the lesson (e.g., playing with both mallets, using three or more tones, repeating specific tones).
The teacher plays the first measure of the song and the students, as a group, play the second measure. This continues in real time with the third and fourth measures.
Improvisational efforts of the students can be enhanced by the teacher saying one of the following:
“Play something different this time.” “Choose only one note.” “Start with lower notes, and end with higher notes.”
The same process is carried out individually, with each student getting a turn to play the second and fourth measures while the other students listen. The teacher can continue to play the call each time, or the students can learn the simple call and play it for each other.
A discussion can take place about the improvisational choices made by the students, where the group analyzes individual efforts and determines which responses were favorites and why. The process can be repeated on the basis of what was learned from this discussion. For example, some students may play a different rhythm than what was expected for the second and/or fourth measures. The teacher can ask, “What do we think about that? Let’s all try a different rhythm this time, as long as it is the same length.” The guidelines can be loosened, depending on the improvisational products of the students, to honor their ideas and encourage them to make their own musical decisions. Similar processes can take place for any song with ABAC form.
The National Standards for Music Education indicate that teachers should provide opportunities for children to compose within specified guidelines, and this same idea can be applied to improvisation. 13 Philosophically, each teacher will need to decide where the guidelines begin and when they can be loosened to foster more creativity on the part of the students. A friendly debate continues within our profession regarding the need for guidelines in creative processes. For the purposes of this discussion and to assist those just starting to include improvisation, a good rule of thumb for teachers creating guidelines is “Specify, gradually loosen up, and then get out of way!” Since improvisation is a creative endeavor, it will be necessary for teachers to figure out how to control certain aspects of creation while at the same time working to avoid stifling students’ original ideas.
Teachers can address guidelines in multiple ways. The teacher must first provide the musical context, including tonality, meter, and mood. This can be done using the melodic and rhythmic vocabulary already addressed in previous instruction. Once the musical context is established, the teacher can guide improvisations of students by providing them with guidelines, such as number of beats or measures, specific pitches and rhythmic values, rhythmic or melodic patterns, and expressive elements. As beginners become accustomed to taking musical risks while remaining within the guidelines, the teacher can provide opportunities for children to more freely improvise by loosening up the guidelines. For instance, if the children have improvised the third measure of “Hot Cross Buns” using the rhythm provided without hesitation, perhaps they can decide the rhythm for their improvisations and explore notes other than B, A, and G for their creations. If this is done gradually, the teacher can remove himself or herself from the process more and more, allowing the students’ ideas to be at the forefront of musical endeavors.
Teachers can extend Lesson A to include other familiar songs with more complexity as the improvisational skills of the students improve. In addition to improvising during class time, students can be encouraged to improvise specific measures at home while practicing. Sometimes it is necessary for students to have some time alone to hear their own improvisational efforts in order to make them more pleasing and musically relevant with the chosen repertoire.
Suggestion 2: Use What You Know
As stated earlier, teachers can use the rhythmic and melodic vocabulary developed within their chosen approaches and methodologies to assist in the improvisational process. Lesson B provides an opportunity for students to spontaneously apply rhythmic knowledge in a call-and-response format. The eighth-and-two-sixteenth-note rhythm is the focus of the lesson. A teacher using the Kodály method would have prepared, presented, and practiced this concept in previous lessons and can now provide an opportunity for students to improvise patterns that contain that rhythm. Rather than creating a separate set of activities for improvisation, the process can be embedded into existing skill building activities. The materials used (in this case, rhythmic solmization, with a focus on ti-tika) have previously been learned, and the teacher and students are already familiar with the methodological sequence, so improvisation becomes a logical next step, both for continued conceptual development and assessment of skills.
All groups of elementary students are unique, and individuals in each group learn and grow at various paces. Improvisation can be a welcome outlet for some students to express their creativity and at the same time can be a source of anxiety and fear for others. The teacher can set different guidelines for individual students based on their various levels of ability and comfort. The teacher can indicate a fallback pattern within improvisational activities that can be used in case of a musical emergency when rhythmic or melodic ideas do not necessarily come spontaneously to certain students, as indicated in Lesson B at the end of this article. Since improvisation occurs in real time, the fallback pattern also allows for a consistent flow of musical ideas. The teacher provides the rhythmic call within this call-and-response lesson, so it can be changed at the teacher’s discretion and used to differentiate instruction. A student struggling with rhythmic concepts may benefit from a simple call from the teacher to allow that student to remain focused on his or her own creation. However, a student ready for more complex rhythmic concepts can be provided with a more challenging call that might provide that individual with inspiration to create a more sophisticated pattern.
Lesson D: “Who Says” You Can’t Improvise?
The students listen to a recording of Selena Gomez and the Scene’s “Who Says?” (written by Priscilla Renea and Emanuel Kiriakou) and keep the steady beat by mimicking the teacher as he or she patsches, claps, and steps the steady beat.
The students echo the following portion of the song (without visual representation):
The students identify the rhythm of the words and say the pattern using rhythmic solmization (at the time of year when four sixteenth notes have already been introduced). Once the pattern has been identified, it can be used as the fallback pattern and written on the board. The teacher will acknowledge (with much enthusiasm) that actress and singer Selena Gomez uses the same rhythms in her song that the students have been learning in music class. What an exciting coincidence!
The students come up with a four-beat pattern using body percussion (or unpitched percussion instruments) that incorporates the sixteenth-note rhythm. The teacher invites the class to simultaneously perform their patterns on the spot as a practice session. The students are reminded of the fallback pattern and that each has a turn improvising patterns at specific times during the recording.
The students listen to the recording again and are cued at specific times. Since the recording includes multiple layered instrumental and vocal tracks, it may be difficult to hear the students’ patterns. Therefore, the teacher may want to create a loop of the basic beat and chord progression from the song on Garage Band software to use during the students’ improvisations.
To develop students’ improvisational products, the teacher can change the guidelines by suggesting things such as the following:
“This time, put the set of sixteenth notes on a different beat.” “Add a rest to your pattern.” “Include two sets of sixteenth notes next time.”
Note. Ideas are adapted from a lesson written by Erika Coyne and are used here with permission.
Teachers comfortable with folk songs can go with what they know while still providing outlets for student improvisation, as outlined in Lesson C. A number of folk songs have an ABAC form melodically, rhythmically, or both. As in Lesson B, the teacher can provide the call and the students can improvise responses. The form of the song provides structure for the activity, and the lesson extends song study by adding different aural flavors.
Suggestion 3: Try Student Favorites
While there are benefits to students when a teacher is comfortable with methods and materials used in the classroom, improvisation calls for music educators to step out of their comfort zone and take musical risks. Sometimes, this requires that educators become familiar with the music students find appealing outside of school. When teachers choose popular music for improvisational activities, students may bring more enthusiasm and open-mindedness to improvisational processes, thus creating improvisational products that are more creative and memorable. Lessons D and E include musical selections that might not otherwise be included in the classroom but are familiar and desirable to elementary students. The ideas outlined in these lessons can be adapted to fit other songs and selections in the future.
Lesson E: Improvisational “Skating”
The students listen to a recording of “Skating” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. The students may be familiar with the music from the animated film A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The students listen again to the portion of the music that repeats the harmonic progression of the chords C–F–G–F while the teacher sings the root letter of each chord in time with the music. The students join in to sing the chord roots as well.
Xylophones will be set up with only C, F, and G bars. The chord progression is replayed using either the original recording or a prerecorded loop. The teacher will then demonstrate how to play the root of each chord in time with the music while also improvising the rhythm on the xylophone. The teacher will point out that each chord only occurs for three rapid beats at a time, so the rhythmic improvisation must be done quickly and spontaneously. The teacher will make sure to demonstrate interesting and varied rhythms while improvising to inspire the students.
While the chord progression is replayed, the students improvise together as a class. Once the students have become comfortable with the chord progression, each individual student is cued to improvise over the progression.
The class will discuss the rhythmic improvisations they created and what they might do to improve them on the next try. Descriptions of specific aspects of individual improvisations can serve as a starting point for meaningful discussion.
Note. Ideas are adapted from a lesson written by Adam Reyher and are used here with permission.
A Unique Opportunity
Challenges, such as limited instructional time, lack of experience improvising as musicians, and lack of familiarity with teaching techniques that foster spontaneous musical creation, can sometimes hinder teachers when attempting to implement improvisational endeavors in the classroom. Elementary general music educators can face common fears about improvisation by incorporating spontaneous music-making into the activities already occurring in classrooms. When teachers go through the improvisational process as musicians within familiar musical styles, they are able to work through processes associated with improvisation and can then relate to their students with better understanding. Teachers can start with simple additions to existing lessons, use the methods and materials with which they are familiar, and stretch their musical boundaries to include music that students are listening to outside of school.
Strategies such as these will benefit students by developing improvisational skills that will give them confidence in their own musical ideas and creativity in the future. Music teachers consistently serve as musical models for performance endeavors, such as singing and playing. In some cases, music teachers are the only professional musicians that students encounter in their lives, particularly at the elementary level. Therefore, music teachers have a unique opportunity to serve as models for improvisational music-making as well, allowing students to see how spontaneous musical creation can be embraced and included as part of personal musicianship.