%0 Journal Article
%T The Experience of Confident Music Improvising
%A Daniel J. Shevock
%J Research Studies in Music Education
%@ 1834-5530
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1321103X17751935
%X Improvisation plays a substantial role within the world¡¯s musical cultures. The purpose of this research was to explore the essence of the experience of confident music improvising. In this phenomenological study, confidence was considered a psychological experience and the confidence of improvisers the phenomenon under examination. The researcher compiled experiences through stories describing the phenomenon by interviewing three confident improvisers: a bluegrass fiddler, a jazz bassist and a baroque violinist. Vignettes portrayed the lifeworlds of these instrumentalists. The stories told were reduced through imaginative variation to identify which themes were essential, that is, shared among the participants¡¯ unique experiences. The essential themes revealed were: listening, criticism-free environment, sequential experiences, passion for a style, and openness to learning. Music educators could potentially use these themes to enrich their own improvisation pedagogy
%K baroque
%K bluegrass
%K improvisation
%K jazz
%K music education
%K phenomenology
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1321103X17751935