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Improvisation

By July 29, 2012December 6th, 2023Musician, Written Only
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As an amateur jazz musician I spend 3-6 hours per week working on improvisation.  In NY I studied with Al Golladoro, a virtuoso extraordinaire. Now in MA I learn from Jeff Harrington, a saxophone professor from Berklee College of Music, and for the past year I’ve played weekly in a student combo practicing improv under the direction of Dan Fox.  I’m blessed with the chutzpah to venture outside my comfort zone. I’ve landed on several fundamental principles while studying improv:

  1. Listen first, play next
  2. Know the underlying tune
  3. Keep my place
  4. If nothing else, feel the rhythm
  5. Less is more
  6. A good sound beats dexterity
  7. Forget it all and have fun
The lessons of improv serve me well as patient, caregiver, nurse, and leader. Subsequent blogs will dive into improv and the other hats, but I can distill it down as follows:
  1. Listen first, act next 
  2. Excel as a team member on a good team
  3. Know the goal and the related systems
  4. Keep it simple
  5. Enjoy life
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