Creativity

• Balance
• Mastery of the Language

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

Balance

Creativity is what makes each jazz performance unique and special. If improvisation is the most important aspect of jazz, then creativity is the most important aspect of improvisation. It is what distinguishes the artist from the craftsman.

Whereas style and structure influence improvisation by setting expectations for the soloist to meet, creativity has more to do with the unexpected. More particularly, it has to do with the balance between the expected and the unexpected. Things that are unexpected are not necessarily creative in themselves. In the absence of familiar stylistic or structuring elements, music can be perceived as uninteresting in its randomness. Consider that the ultimate in randomness in sound is white noise, which has a completely random sound wave pattern:

At another level, the following melody is a randomly generated sequence of notes:

Very few people consider these sounds interesting. On the other hand, the following melody is so predictable, it is also uninteresting:

The ultimate goal of creativity is to create something of interest, and this often involves achieving a balance between the unexpected and the expected. In music, these factors are usually viewed as tension and release. Tension may come from the introduction of the unexpected, and release comes from the resolution to the expected. A common source of tension and release is harmony. For example, here is a melody that creates tension over the first three bars by employing some dissonant notes and then releases it in the fourth bar by becoming more consonant:

Rhythm can also be a source of tension and release. The following example creates tension in one place by using a rhythm that appears to clash with the underlying rhythm of the piece, and then releases it by returning to the expected rhythm:

Tension is not always completely unexpected. For example, the following passage contains tension in the form of an ascending line, and this is released by a fall at the end. This may have been unexpected the first time, but by the third time the device is used within the example, you should certainly see it coming. Still, the expectation itself creates some amount of tension, even when it occurs a fourth time:

Regardless of the source of the tension and release, a good melody balances these elements well.

The nature of creativity makes it difficult to characterize. An idea may be creative the first time it is expressed, but subsequent expressions of the idea might seem, almost by definition, derivative rather than creative. The irony is that as soon as we claim to understand what is creative about an idea, we reduce the idea to something quantifiable, which is the antithesis of creativity. The very act of trying to characterize creativity in this manner seems to diminish it. For this reason, one cannot give a recipe for creativity.

It is not reasonable to expect an improvisor to play only ideas that have never been thought of before. Indeed, it generally would not be desirable even were it possible, since most listeners tend to want to hear some familiar elements in music, even in improvised music. Stylistic and structural considerations will provide some of those of those familiar elements. They help ensure that different performances of the same composition or by the same musician will have elements in common. The role of creativity is to balance this by adding elements that differ between performances. It is not necessary to play ideas that have never been thought of before. It is sufficient to play ideas that are still considered interesting. While an idea may become more commonplace over time, an improvisor may still be able to find new and interesting ways of expressing the idea or of combining it with other ideas.

The quest to balance the expected against the unexpected applies to almost any creative activity. Consider gourmet cooking. Often, a successful dish is a combination of simpler elements such as meats, vegetables, grains, and sauces, that are combined in an unexpected way or with an unexpected twist. But not all unexpected combinations will work well. For instance, asparagus ice cream is not likely to appeal even to someone who otherwise likes asparagus and ice cream. A chef needs to have an understanding of the characteristics of the various ingredients in order to properly balance the expected and the unexpected. Similarly, in jazz, most successful improvisations involve elements of the jazz vocabulary and the personal style of the improvisor, along with some unexpected elements as well, combined with an understanding of these ingredients.

Different jazz musicians hold themselves to different standards of originality. At one extreme, some truly strive to eliminate all familiar reference points from their playing, and create their own structuring elements to avoid complete randomness. This is known as non-idiomatic improvisation:

At the other extreme are the stylists, who strive to master all elements of a given style. They rely more on the expected elements of jazz. Their creativity is in what they choose to say within their well-defined language. For example, the musician in the following example expresses himself within the particular style of bebop, but he is nonetheless playing unique and creative ideas:

There is a whole range of possibilities between the extremes of non-idiomatic improvisation and stylism. All such possibilities provide the opportunity for creativity.

If creativity is measured by terms such as "interesting", and has to do with "expectations", this suggests that creativity may be relative to the listener. What is interesting to one listener may bore another. What is expected by one catches another by surprise. Most musicians treat themselves as the ultimate arbiters. They seek to find ideas that please themselves. This is part of the expression of self that is at the heart of all art. The creative musician hopes that others will be similarly moved by what he has to say, but he says it because it is what he wants to say, not because it is what he is expected to say.

Mastery of the Language

In learning to become creative, many jazz musicians follow the model, often attributed to trumpet player Clark Terry, "imitate, assimilate, innovate". While imitation might seem inappropriate for someone trying to be creative, it is an essential part of learning what is expected of a jazz musician. Many of the elements of jazz discussed in earlier chapters, such as swing or jazz conceptions of melody and harmony, can be mastered only after extensive listening and practice. Only then can one begin to understand and learn from what one has listened to and practiced.

During the imitative phase, one need not necessarily transcribe entire solos improvised by others and learn them note for note, although this is certainly a valid exercise than some musicians spend many hours doing. Nor need one try to reproduce all elements of the personal style of another musician. This is not what is meant by "imitate" or "assimilate". Instead, the creative musician should be concerned with learning those elements of the vocabulary that will enable him to communicate successfully. One need not be able to quote entire passages from John Coltrane solos in order to say something the audience will understand, but having some grasp of the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other conventions of jazz will generally be of help.

Jazz is a language in which the musician communicates with his audience. As an improvisor gains command over this language, then he can begin to use it to innovate, and it is then he achieves creative success. For some musicians, study of music theory helps bridge the gap between mimicking a musical idea and understanding it. Other musicians are able to achieve this level of understanding on an intuitive level without the benefit of formal training in music theory. Usually, both factors play a role in the development of any given musician, but in the end, all that matters is that he is fluent enough to communicate. The means by which an improvisor comes to this stage is irrelevant; what is important is that he reaches it.

It is much like learning any other language. A person generally learns his native tongue as a child by imitating his parents. Gradually he begins to associate words with their meanings, and realizes he can use them to verbalize his own thoughts. Only much later will he receive formal training in grammar. Conversely, when picking up a foreign language as an adult, one can learn much grammar quickly and begin to speak after only a few weeks, but still, most people benefit greatly if they are also immersed in the language as part of daily life, as when visitng a foreign country. Either way, a person can develop enough of an understanding to enable him to communicate successfully.

Yet it is not interesting to merely string together a series of more-or-less grammatically correct sentences. As a person goes through life, his vocabulary and range of experiences constantly increases. At some point, it becomes possible to conceive and express original ideas. It is when a person is inspired to say something beyond the mundane that he is most interesting as a speaker or writer. Similarly, in jazz, while it is important to have mastery over the musical language, it is not enough to merely play the "right" notes. One must also play interesting music. Yet, in both speaking and music, it is familiarity with the language that enables one to express these ideas.

Improvisation is not magic. To a musician fluent in the language, it is as natural as conversation. Most people are able to talk coherently without a script, so it should not be surprising that a musician can play convincingly without a score.

Creativity also plays a similar role in mathematics and other seemingly objective pursuits. Learning the various axioms, theorems, formulas, and techniques may be helpful and even necessary, but it is not sufficient in order to solve the more complex problems of the field. Some amount of ingenuity generally is required as well. The great mathematicians are not those who can add correctly or quickly. They are the ones who conceive new ideas.

How does a creative musician receive inspiration? This question is very personal, and no two musicians would be likely to answer it the same way. If you are, or intend to become, an improvisor yourself, you will have to discover your own source of inspiration as well. The above discussion, including the analogies to cooking, language, and mathematics, may help give you a feel for what creativity is and its role in music.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Creativity