Improvisation: Music for an Occasion
1985 ◽
Vol 2
(2)
◽
pp. 177-186
◽
Keyword(s):
The case is put for improvisation as the basis for world music, with special reference to flexibility of the blues and the gamelan. An overview of the impact of society on music leads to a general survey of the status of improvisation in pre-industrial Western European culture. Improvisation is contrasted with composition and consideration is given to the problems of providing education in improvisation without destroying its vitality and communicative power.