It has been quite some time since I posted to the list, but I have two
questions for list members. Perhaps these two questions are related .
. . I'm not musical enough to say for sure.
Question 1.
My third daughter, now age 17, has been playing the lute seriously for
a few years now, and has decided that she would like to try to major
in the lute at an overseas conservatory -- probably in Strasbourg,
France. (Practically speaking, there are no conservatories in our home
of Japan where she could study lute.) My daughter is extremely serious
and dedicated in her studies. She just bought a new lute for about
$4,000 (USD) with money that she earned through her part-time job. She
plays the lute for at least three hours each day, and she is also very
good at the piano. She does very well with her "solfege" studies as
well. However, her lute teacher recently pointed out to her that if
she hopes to play the lute professionally in the future she will need
to become much more proficient in playing improvisationally. This is
something my daughter is not naturally good at. I know some people are
naturally good at it because my wife, who gave up piano lessons at age
13 when she could no longer advance without being able to read music
(up to that point, her teacher had always assumed she was reading the
music, when she was in fact playing by ear), can improvise better at
the piano than anyone else in our family, even the two older daughters
who are both conservatory students. And my second-youngest daughter
also seems to have my wife's gift for improvisation -- in fact, a few
times she has picked up a new instrument and within a few minutes she
has been able to "fake it" well enough that, to an untrained person at
least, she gives the impression that she has been taking lessons for a
while: there is "real music" coming out. But my third daughter,
despite having very good lute technique, has never been one to
improvise, and this new demand is presenting a bit of a challenge for
her.
Is improvisational ability something that you either have or you
don't? Or is it something that can be learned? Are there any tips
concerning how my daughter could most effectively approach this? I'm
assuming that her teacher is also trying to guide her in this regard,
but it occurs to me that if he just happens to be one of those people
who naturally improvises well, maybe he doesn't really know how to
help a person like her improve in this area. (He plays not only lute
but also rock, jazz and classical guitar, while my daughter has never
played any string instrument besides the lute.) In any case, I would
be interested in knowing what sorts of ideas people on the list might
be able to offer.
Question 2.
A few years ago I found a website where someone was both discussing
his instruments and also introducing a summary of Thomas Campion's
counterpoint technique. I remember being impressed by Campion because
it seemed like a fairly easy, paint-by-numbers approach to composing
songs -- something that almost anyone could apply to song writing. I
recently tried an internet search but couldn't locate that website. If
anyone knows what I'm referring to and can point me to that website,
I'd be very grateful. Also, is it worth picking up the edition that
has both Campion's and Coprario's books bound into one volume? All of
my kids (and their musical friends too, for that matter) could benefit
from having access to tools that facilitate getting their feet wet
with composing. Although I don't do it myself, it stands to reason
that the earlier someone gets involved with composing music, the
better. I also wonder whether getting some of these compositional
techniques under one's belt would help my daughter to develop her
improvisational ability. Is not improvisation simply composing in real
time?
Sorry for the long questions! Any help you might be able to provide
would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.
-- Chris
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