Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
Improvisation, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque
Abstract
Since improvisation is an important aspect of music in today’s society, questions arise whether improvisation was essential in music from the past or whether it even existed in the past. Rather than discussing the origin of improvisation, this paper will discuss the evolution of improvisation starting in the medieval period. This paper argues that improvisation did exist in the medieval period, and seeks to show certain ways in which it was evident and how it developed in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Many historically documented books discuss the music from different time periods. I specifically study the aspects of music from each period that deal with any relationship to improvisation. First, I discuss a working definition for improvisation that may change from period to period. I present that improvisation was clearly evident in the medieval period and display ways in which it was manifested. Next, I show that improvisation developed in the Renaissance and did not disappear. I offer examples that show improvisation in ways that differ from the medieval period. Finally, I analyze several different ways in which it was evident in the Baroque period. I provide examples and show that improvisation continued to manifest itself in new forms. These illustrations indicate that improvisation was clearly an integral part in the music of the past. From this research, I draw the conclusion that improvisation has existed as far back as the medieval period, and has continued to develop in the Renaissance and the Baroque.
Campus Venue
Stevens Student Center, Room 245
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-20-2016 3:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2016 3:20 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
PowerPoint
Improvisation: The History of Unplanned Notes in Structured Music
Cedarville, OH
Since improvisation is an important aspect of music in today’s society, questions arise whether improvisation was essential in music from the past or whether it even existed in the past. Rather than discussing the origin of improvisation, this paper will discuss the evolution of improvisation starting in the medieval period. This paper argues that improvisation did exist in the medieval period, and seeks to show certain ways in which it was evident and how it developed in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Many historically documented books discuss the music from different time periods. I specifically study the aspects of music from each period that deal with any relationship to improvisation. First, I discuss a working definition for improvisation that may change from period to period. I present that improvisation was clearly evident in the medieval period and display ways in which it was manifested. Next, I show that improvisation developed in the Renaissance and did not disappear. I offer examples that show improvisation in ways that differ from the medieval period. Finally, I analyze several different ways in which it was evident in the Baroque period. I provide examples and show that improvisation continued to manifest itself in new forms. These illustrations indicate that improvisation was clearly an integral part in the music of the past. From this research, I draw the conclusion that improvisation has existed as far back as the medieval period, and has continued to develop in the Renaissance and the Baroque.
