Planning of Project

In the run up to the production of the guide, there are several areas that need to be addressed.


Commencing in December through to 17th January, I will analyse existing improvisations with the view that I will acheive an understanding of the relationship between harmony and improvisation within the context of the chosen chord progression. The differing harmonic possibilities possible will be studied and analysed and so should provide an initial framework for what is to be taught ahead of the production of my own method. This seems to be a logical first stage as I can then consider the difficulties a classical musician would face with these concepts.

Commencing on the 18th of January- 13 Feburary, I will study the limitations of a classical training in respect of improvisation. I will study the literature associated with a classical training and consider what aspects of this education are missing in order to be able to improvise effectively. I will also consider what aspects of a classical training could be beneficial to improvisation, such as scales and arpeggios. Therefore, drawing on aspects that a classical musician is familiar with should make the transition to improvisation more accessible.
I have given myself almost a month to carry this out this objective as understanding and addressing the needs of the audience is crucial if the product is to address the problem surrounding classical musicians and improvisation.
The next objective concerns understanding learning theories. I have given myself from the 16th of Feburary through to the 6th of March. This is the third objective, as by understanding the limitations of a classical education, it allows this objective to be contexulised. Once I know what will be taught in the guide and the intended audiences difficulty with this, I can research and apply pedagogy specific to the intended audiences needs.

Production of the Guide

This is objective four which I intend to implement between 5th of March and the 14th of April. This comes after:
1. Researching and understanding what concepts will be taught in the guide.
2. Understanding the intended audiences difficulty with such concepts.
3. Researching what learning stratagies will work in teaching these concepts.

During the production I will decide on what software to use to create the guide and the layout and format of the guide. I feel that the layout and format of the guide should come at this stage as it will be informed by the research done on classical education and pedagogy. For example, there will perhaps be an emphasis on notation to start with and gradually there is more spaces for improvisation. Another crucial task is to organise that a dvd is made which provides a suitable harmonic and rhythmic backdrop for participants to practice improvising. To do this, I will be using the jazz trio that I am a member of to record examples. Rehearsals will be organised from the start of the production objective as I need to have some material to work with first.


The last objective is testing. This is scheduled to last from 1st of Feburary- 26th of March

I need to gather participants while the guide is still in production and ask for their initial opinion on the guide. I will also ask my piano teacher for his opinion. I should be able to judge be peoples responses if the guide is going in the correct direction. I will do this at the start of Feburary as it could take time to gather participants. As part of this stage, I will also devise a test which analyses the participants existing knowledge on improvisation. This should ensure that the final test, which mesaures participants knowledge after they have used the method, is objective and yields accurate results.