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Improvisation has been an integral part of Music since the Beginning Of Music . It is featured in many kinds of Traditional Musics , including Flamenco and Pygmy Music and other African Music s; Classical Music s such as European and Indian Classical Music ; Popular Music s including Rap Music ; and throughout regions such as Arabia . Improvisation can be structured, with certain rules constraining the improvisation (for example, "make up a Song about bicycles", "use these Chord changes", and so on), or can have no such constraints. CLASSICAL MUSICS European classical music Original score notations for medieval organ music commonly include instructions for improvisation and embellishments. The scales that were used were selected according to the same improvisational principles now used in jazz. When the single voice Plainsong started to develop into the 2-, 3-, or 4-part Organum (during the period 1000-1300 A.D.), one or more of the parts were also commonly improvised, weaving free counter-lines around the written Melody line. During the Baroque (1600 - 1750), Classical (1750 - 1830), and Romantic (1830 - 1900) periods, improvisation flourished, especially on the Organ , Piano , and Harpsichord . J.S. Bach , Handel , Mozart , Beethoven , Liszt , and many other famous composers and virtuoso pianists and organists excelled in the art of improvisation, at that time called ''extemporisation''. Many classical scores contained sections for improvisation, such as the Cadenza in the Piano Concerto . The Preludes to some keyboard suites by Bach and Handel, for example, consisted solely of a progression of chords. The performers used these as the basis for their improvisation. See also: Cadenza and Figured Bass . Contemporary composition and the improviser Since the 1950s, contemporary composers have placed fewer restrictions on the improvising performer, using techniques such as vague notation (for example, indicating only that a certain number of notes must sound within a defined period of time). Jazz ensembles formed around improvisation were founded, such as Lukas Foss ' Improvisation Chamber Ensemble at the University of California, Los Angeles; Larry Austin 's New Music Ensemble at the University of California, Davis; the ONCE Group at Ann Arbor; the Sonic Arts Group ; and the San Francisco Tape Music Center , the latter three funding themselves through concerts, tours, and grants. Significant pieces include Foss's ''Time Cycles'' (1960) and ''Echoi'' (1963). (Von Gunden 1983, p.32) Other composers working with improvisation include Pauline Oliveros , Terry Riley , Frederic Rzewski , Karlheinz Essl , and Christian Wolff . POPULAR MUSICS Blues , Jazz , and Bluegrass are well-known for using improvisation. Almost all of the improvisation heard in Rock And Roll , blues, Jam , and Metal bands is in the form of Lead Guitar or other Soloing . These musical improvisations are very song-oriented, usually working within the demands of the background rhythm and Harmony , so there is little concept of " Free Improvisation ." Blues and traditional rock improvisation leans heavily on the use of the Pentatonic (five tone) scale, which gives solos a distinctive "twang" and is simple enough for beginning guitarists to execute. Many rock and jam bands use this scale, although these forms of music are very open to individual interpretation, so the possibilities are almost limitless. Jazz improvisation See also: Free Improvisation . MUSIC THERAPY Improvisation is also a widely used technique in Music Therapy . See Improvisation In Music Therapy . REFERENCES
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