Yes, something that I do in the morning, in the afternoon, and just before I sleep. Frequently, I would lumber straight to the piano a few moments after I open my eyes, clad in only boxers and eyes adjusting to the light of day. Of course, this only happens on weekends and the holidays, and no one is dumb enough to do that at 5am during schooldays.
Maybe at 2, but 5am is definitely overboard.
When did I pick it up? I started improvising since 9, but the music had no logic in it, and could thus be safely labelled 'atonal'. By logical I mean, with the proper voice-leading, melody, meter, form, and structure that could stretch the improvisation to well over 5 minutes. I only reached that level last year, while preparing for my Ettlingen competition. Surprising to know that it was not attained in Singapore.
Oh, and suddenly I remembered that there was one object that gave me the inspiration for my first improvisation - that of a clocktower in the centre of the town.
While practising the Ettlingen pieces in a musty practice room in the school, I noticed a most elegant and wise clock tower, gleaming white in the lukewarm afternoon sun. Underneath it was luscious green, and red-roofed houses were angled around it.
Interesting to note that the inspiration for Tendresse was drawn from the ticking of a green alarm clock in the dark of the night. Time and again.
Back to Ettlingen, I immediately recorded the improvisation, which was in D major. But before that there was a short process of discovery, taking roughly 10 minutes - a realization that everything did actually clicked into place - D major, G major, Bb major (the beautiful submediant major), A major, B minor, all of its different inversions, thus allowing the chromatic shiftings of each individual voice that would eventually lead to another key.
So all those years of nonsense didn't go to waste. All those years of "What are you playing? Doesn't sound right," from dad didn't lead to nothing. They lead to the realization of a dream. They led me to believe that it wasn't fake, those words from the history books - "Beethoven and Mozart improvised, Haydn improvised, he was good at improvising".
I questioned constantly the meaning of improvisation, WHAT it was. I had absolutely no idea what improvisation was - such was the cluelessness.
To know that I've finally improvised was such a huge joy. But the learning never stops.
The moment I got back to Singapore (without any prizes of course, those guys were freaking good), I immediately googled the word itself - here's something from Wikipedia that I read when I got back:
"
Improvisation is usually defined as composing music while playing an instrument at the same time. In other words, the art of improvisation can be understood as composing music "on the fly". This of course requires great skill and knowledge, and is a very important aspect of music in general, for any experienced musician. Musical improvisers often understand the idiom of one or more musical styles—e.g. blues, rock, folk, jazz—and work within the idiom and music-theory of the certain style to express ideas with creativity and originality. Improvisation can take place as a solo performance, or interdependently in ensemble with other players. When done well, it often elicits gratifying emotional responses from the audience. Very few musicians have ever dared to offer fully improvised concerts such as the famous improvised piano recitals by classical composers/pianists like Franz Liszt. The origins of Liszt's improvisation in an earlier tradition of playing variations on a theme were mastered and epitomized by Mozart and Beethoven.
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(munch munch, eating baos I just finished steaming)
Then again I'm thinking that it is a really good way of revealing one's character, and personally I think I would be amazed also to see the huge array of personalities and characters emerging if everyone could improvize.
Experience of improvising? It does seem overwhelming at first sight, but after a while, I absolutely appreciate the large range of tones I have in front of me, 81 of them, 1200 chords in one octave, 8400 in seven. Combine the different chords together, at different intervals, different dynamics, different configurations, and there you have it, a NEW WORLD available at your whim and fancy.
That is, if you can make it yours.
I search for passing inspirations, experiences - they float across my mind, and zip through my brain. There have been times when it gets so overwhelming I wish that I could write it all down, but such orgasmic moments are meant to be relished, with nothing worthy, not even time, of capturing it. It is meant as a gift of the moment, for the moment, that the performer could receive, but only just, before it withers into memory's recesses.
Yes, mind, body and soul are required.
You need to have the facility -and as I always emphasize, arsenal- to get the best OUT of the keyboard, and of course, to better express yourself. Look at it this way - the larger the array of technique you possess, the more you can express with. It's better to have something you have but don't need, rather than something you need but don't have.
Mind - the vision as to how your improvisation would turn out to be, its form and structure. This took years and years of looking and listening to hundreds of songs and pieces. And command of theory I guess, must be really way high up. Just that I have a cheat source, that's perfect/absolute pitch. Which is something I really treasure. Ok, this whole passage looks easy to type, but I'm proud of whatever that goes behind it. At least 10 years of immersing yourself in music.
Soul doesn't need much talking about. The lifeforce to the music, without which there would be nothing.
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