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The skills of improvisation can apply to many different abilities or forms of communication and expression across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines. For example, Music , Cooking , presenting a Speech , Sales , personal or romantic relationships, Sports , Flower Arranging , Martial Arts , Psychotherapy , The Arts , and much more. EXPLANATION Philosophically, improvisation often focuses on bringing one's personal awareness "into the moment," and on developing a profound understanding for the action one is doing. This fusion of "awareness" and "understanding" brings the practitioner to the point where he or she can act with a range of options that best fit the situation, even if he or she has never experienced a similar situation. The study of the skills and techniques of ''improvisation'' can strongly influence one's competence in Business , personal life, and/or in The Arts . The mental and emotional states needed to practice the art of improvisation are very similar to the practice taught in the religious and philosophical art of Zen , and many of the same concepts are used in both practices. Although it is not necessary for the study and practice of either ''improvisation'' or ''Zen'', the study of one often gives new insight into the practice of the other. Keith Johnstone , a teacher of Improvisational Theatre , often relates the two when teaching about improv. Techniques of improvisation are widely trained in the entertainment arts; for example, Music , Theatre and Dance . Other Terms: ''Improv'' is often used as the noun form of "improvisation." ("Improv" is not currently found in many dictionaries or spell checkers.) To "''extemporize''" or "ad lib" is basically the same as improvising. Colloquial terms such as "let's play it by ear," "take it as it comes," and "make it up as we go along" are all used to describe "improvisation." MUSICAL IMPROVISATION See Also: Musical improvisation Improvisation is an important aspect of Music in general. Musical improvisers often understand the idiom of one or more musical styles—e.g. blues, rock, folk, jazz—and work within the idiom to express ideas with creativity and originality. Improvisation can take place as a solo performance, or interdependently in ensemble with other players. When done well, it often elicits gratifying emotional responses from the audience. Very few musicians have ever dared to offer fully improvised concerts such as the famous improvised Piano Recital s by composers/pianists like Franz Liszt , or the origins of Liszt's improvisation in an earlier tradition of playing variations on a theme that was mastered and epitomized by Mozart and Beethoven . However, some have managed some very successful attempts similar to these precedents, one of the most successful of these is Keith Jarrett . He has performed many completely improvised concerts that have captivated audiences all over the world. A few pianists have given modern recitals of improvisation in the baroque style, which may be less intimidating because of its stricter development and range of Modulation and yet, on the other hand, more daunting because of its Polyphony . There have also been a few other exceptional improvised solo piano concerts in Stuttgart , Southern Germany in the 1990s . Many modern acts such as My Chemical Romance use Improvisation also. SINGING IMPROVISATION Singing improvisation is an ancient art form. It is a mixture of Musical Improvisation and Improvisational Theater . A singer makes up the words and melody to a song at the same time the musicians are making up the music to the song. Additionally, aspects of Dance , Comedy and showmanship are all part of the singing improviser's repertoire. In the Wales of centuries ago, there was an annual competition for poets and musicians—a sort of Olympics or Super Bowl for the Welsh culture—that featured improvised singing. It was sung in the style of music called a penillion, which is defined as “Welsh songs, often improvised, and sung to a harp accompaniment.” John Parry, a distinguished harp player (1709-1782), describes this art: “(...) The singer is obliged to follow the harper, who may change the tune, or perform variations, ad libitum, whilst the vocalist must keep time, and end precisely with the strain…” See article: Eisteddfod Beginning in the late 1800s, thousands of years of folk singing and popular music were changed forever: This happened because of the printing of popular music and the impact of the record player. Prior to the record player, popular music, "music of the people," was largely improvised. It was extremely common for people who sang songs to change the lyrics whenever they sang them. They would change parts of the song to adapt it to whatever was going on at the moment or to play to the next audience they faced. Since people mostly learned songs by hearing them and remembering them, the “improvising” of lyrics and melody was quite common amongst the populace. THEATER See Also: Improvisational theater DANCE . Experimenting with the concepts of shape, space, time, and energy while moving without inhibition or cognitive thinking can create unique and Innovative movement designs, spatial configuration, dynamics, and unpredictable rhythms. Improvisation without inhibition allows the choreographer to connect to their deepest Creative self, which in turn clears the way for pure Invention . . It is a dance form based on sharing weight, partnering, playing with weight and unpredictable outcomes. FILM The director Mike Leigh uses lengthy improvisations developed over a period of weeks to build characters and storylines for his films. He starts with some sketch ideas of how he thinks things might develop but does not reveal all his intentions with the cast who discover their fate and act out their responses as their destinies are gradually revealed, including significant aspects of their lives which will not subsequently be shown onscreen. The final filming draws on dialogue and actions that have been recorded during the improvisation period. COMEDY ''See main article - Improvisational Theatre '' Improvisational comedy is a common art performed throughout the world and throughout history. Some of the more famous North American comic improv groups are the Upright Citizens Brigade out of New York City , the Groundlings out of Los Angeles , The Second City out of Chicago , ComedySportz out of Milwaukee and Theatresports out of Calgary , Canada. Extemporizing on the methods of pioneers such as Viola Spolin , Paul Sills , Del Close , and Keith Johnstone . POETRY Traditional Epic Poetry included improvisation moments where the reciter flattered the audience (specially the authorities) or to substitute a forgotten passage. There are also societies that value improvised poetry as a genre, often as a debate or "poetic Joust ", where improvisators compete for public approval. Some of these impromptu poems are later recorded in paper or transmitted orally. Some forms of improvised poetry:
Usually wit is as valued as conformity to poetical form. Some of these forms also include humour. TELEVISION In the soap opera Train 48 , based on the Australian series Going Home , uses a form of structured improvisation, in which actors improvise dialog from written plot outlines. Even more recently, Australia's Thank God You're Here is a gameshow where celebrities are put into scenes they know nothing about and have to improvise. ROLE-PLAYING GAMES Role-playing Game s often involve a casual form of improvisational acting; a player's character may be pre-defined, with game statistics and a history, but the character's response to game events and to other players is improvised. Some players are more interested in the depth of the "acting" than others, while others enjoy elaborate plots, emotional investment in characters, and intense or witty Repartee . Some earlier role-playing games emphasise combat and Game Mechanic s over role-playing; however, modern Storytelling Game s are often more plot-driven, and Live Action Role-playing Game s are often more acting-focused. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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