Improvisation in Musik und Theater : ein interdisziplinärer Beitrag zur Vermittlung musikalischer Improvisation

Abstract

In music and in theatre, there are various ways of teaching improvisation. In this comparative Foucauldian discourse analysis, jazz and improvisational theatre are selected as representative parts of the improvisational education and are examined with methods of qualitative research. The study shows amongst other things that in the discourse of German music education, tonal improvisation is still linked with individual teaching and genius cult, and that tonal improvisation is understood as a contrast to composed music. Discursive formations reveal the continuous struggle of the German improvisational pedagogy and improvisation scene for recognition by educational and cultural institutions. Due to the high demands on the sound results, the problem of failure in teaching and learning of tonal improvisation in music is omnipresent. By contrast, in improvisational theatre, failure is perceived as pleasurable and creatively stimulating. Starting from this point the study shows to what extent music education can profit from a comparison of the discursive practice of teaching improvisational theatre and tonal improvisation in music.