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Being Spontaneous

Robin Williams
  • Scientists then speak of the “scales falling from the eyes” or of the “lightning flash” that “inundates” a previously obscure puzzle enabling its components to be seen in a new way that for the first time permits its solution. [Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (University of Chicago Press, 1962), Chapter X.]

Creative improvisational jazz musicians, along with improvisational comedians, make an art of spontaneous creativity. Great scientific discoveries often occur in an instant, as Kuhn described. By either means, the practitioner is bringing order to seeming disorder, and though spontaneity can seem to break the usual rules of the discipline, nearly always the practitioner is following the usual rules in a variety of ways, while perhaps departing from them in others.

This is different from “thinking outside the box,” where someone will consciously try to do things differently. By definition, spontaneity is not planned. Yet it is valuable in many fields of endeavor, and in play and interpersonal relations.

Real

True Narratives

Technical and Analytical Readings

 

Photographs

Documentary and Educational Films

  • All the Notes, on the improvisational jazz pianist Cecil Taylor

Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Of the author Jim Harrison, critic Pete Dexter writes: Willie "Mays was a magic act, but the kind that left you with the feeling that the miraculous stuff surprised him too. And that's where Harrison fits in . . . you can still feel the excitement every time he pulls something new out of his ear. Which pretty much happens on every page he writes."

Poetry

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Spontaneity is not the only element of creativity but in musical performance, it may be the most obvious, largely because it happens in the most. Spontaneity in music performance probably is most apparent in improvisational jazz. An improvisational jazz artist must understand music theory, and apply it in the moment. Top non-solo performances are those in which the players listen carefully to each other, and take into account a wide array of elements in the music that surrounds them. Improvisational jazz enhances creativity in its listeners, and in its performers (see also here). This music is not to everyone’s tastes but for those who understand what the players are doing, it can be stimulating, fascinating, and even transformative. Some of our greatest improvisational (free) jazz artists are:.

Ivo Perelman has spearheaded a series of albums, in trio, on improvisation:

The Indian raga. Raga Sindhi Bhairavi “is centered around the improvisation of the sitar. The tabla and tambura instruments are used to accompany the sitar. Classical Indian is not centered around harmony the way western music is. This piece can therefore be seen as a kind of improvisational ‘vamp’ using the Sindhi Bhairavi raga. The task of the accompanying instruments is therefore contribute to the atmosphere through rhythmic and melodic accompanying lines.”. Ravi Shankar explained: “Indian classical music is based on melody and rhythm. This differs from western music, which focuses on chords, key changes, and the interaction between multiple instrument lines that creates harmonies. Shankar explained that the music system of Raga Sangeet is around two thousand years old and has roots in the Vedic Hymns of the Hindu temples, like western classical music has roots in religious chants from the Catholic church. The classical music of India also varies from the North to South of the subcontinent.” Linked performances are by Ravi Shankar in 1971; Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan in 1984; Ali Akbar Khan in 1985; and Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan & Alla Rakha in 1972. 

Usually, we do not think of classical pianists as being exemplars of spontaneity but Wilhelm Kempff is an exception. “Alfred Brendel, a later pianist influenced by Kempff, valued the elder artist’s improvisational manner, writing that he 'played on impulse... It depended on whether the right breeze, as with an aeolian harp, was blowing.'” “Yehudi Menuhin . . . cherished the pianist’s 'supreme integration of the spontaneous on the one hand and the rigorous on the other.'” A reviewer of his 1950s concerto recordings noted: “It is striking how he gives an impression of spontaneity and expressive freedom without resorting to rhythmic distortion.” Here is a link to his playlists. 

Albums:

Books on jazz improvisation:

Music: songs and other short pieces

Visual Arts

Wassily Kandinsky emphasized the art of improvisational painting:

Film and Stage