A voice of one’s own
Selaocoe on improvising
I improvise every day. It’s great practice and becomes easier the more you do it. I spend ten minutes on what I call the ‘flower tree’, as it takes a little while to come together. A few minutes in I think, ‘I should really stop. It’s not quite what I want. It’s not quite there.’ Then four minutes in, I’m in a new zone, and I’m feeling, ‘Oh, this is a good place to be.’ Six minutes in, I’m above it all, stuff is really happening, and I’m determined not to stop. It’s like freeform writing: you wake up and just start writing things down, and you don’t stop because some bits aren’t good, or some are bizarre.
Often classical music involves a lot of preparation for the performance to go well. You practise for many hours to achieve your goal – it’s like a sport. But improvising is about finding your voice. That sense of creativity should be a part of classical music. Composers, even today, use improvisation to come up with a concept – and a composition is really just an improvisation that has been put onto a piece of paper and remains like that.
I would encourage everyone to improvise as we all have the ability. The more you practise, the better you get and the more flow you have. It doesn’t have to be for the masses; it can be just for you. In my experience there are people who haven’t necessarily achieved a high level of technical prowess but who still produce a real sound, from the heart. I would love to foster the idea of finding your voice in younger people – of following your intuition without being hampered by technical ability.