I’ve been thinking more about what improvisation actually means to me. It suddenly took on a new meaning in terms of „finding melodies“. I never really saw improvisation as separate from the jazz context. Always based on the changes of a jazz standard and with an academic approach, through which I got to know improvisation a few years ago.
There’s a pressure behind it to sing the right notes. And that singing right notes is not enough. It should be advanced and unprecedented at best. At least that’s the impression I got from my bachelor studies. I ignored the fact that I also improvise whenever I sing my own melodies over my favorite songs. That humming previously unsung melodies is also improvisation or varying an already existing melody.
I think this is very much about renewing my approach to improvisation and taking away some of the dusty, unhealthy beliefs that I’ve collected and left untouched over the years…