The Importance of Improvisation in Music History
When one thinks of jazz, one's mind should immediately spring to 'improvisation.' It is a true characteristic of the jazz art form, but it truly is a rarity when seen in a historical context.
Improvisation has been an integral part of music since the very beginning of music, and it has
been a very important element in Western Classical music for most of the past 1000 years.
The following is a list of examples:
a) When the single voice 'Plainsong' started to develop into the 2, 3 or 4 part
'Organum' (during the mid Medieval Period 1000 -…
