Teaching Improvisation in UK Music Higher Education
Frank Griffith, Director of Performance, Department of Performing Arts, Brunel University
Disciplines: Music
Status: Complete
Start date: 1/9/2002
Outcome format: Report
Outcome available: Yes
Frank Griffith, born in Oregon in 1959, is a saxophonist, composer/arranger and jazz educationalist, currently Director of Performance at Brunel University in London. While resident in New York City from 1980-1996, he arranged for Lionel Hampton, Jon Hendricks and Ron Carter. His playing credits include the Mel Lewis Orchestra, Mel Torme and Jack McDuff. Moving to London in 1996, he has written for and played with Norma Winstone, Mark Nightingale and The Pete Cater Big Band. His CD "The Suspect" featuring Tom Harrell is on HEP (2077). His current group The Frank Griffith Nonet, appears regularly throughout the London area.
The project will explore the teaching and encouragement of improvisation in the HE sector as well as adult learners in the UK. Some of the points included in this will be the following:
Inherent challenges in "freeing up" classically trained players in their attempts to improvise.
Positive virtues in exploring improvisation through many different musical styles/genres.
Development of teaching materials that allow beginner to grasp rhythmical concepts of improvising before attempting to digest harmonic and scalar/melodic information.
Reason for doing project
There has been a growing interest on the teaching of improvisation (particularly jazz) over the last 20 years and this has been reflected in the changing music curriculum at all levels of music education. One example of this has been the recent development of the Associated Board Jazz Examination Syllabus. Within Higher Education however, opportunities for students to develop improvisational skills are still fairly limited. There is growing recognition of the role which improvisation can play in the education process and in the development of creative musicians, but many institutions don't have the expertise or the resources to include improvisation in their curriculum. This project aims to address this need and to produce material which can play a role in promoting the teaching of music improvisation within the HE sector.
The project is complete and the following report is available:
Final report: Teaching Improvisation in UK Music Higher Education 
You might also be interested to read two of Frank's recent articles:
Jazz Improvisation - Guiding the Young Person and Adult Learner