At University I was considered a bit of a freak by some of the other musicians (especially the opera singers) due to my odd propensity toward improvisation. “Improvisation is rubbish,” an extremely promising soprano singer once informed me. “The correct way to make music is to carefully work on, and improve an idea until it is the best it can possibly be, and only then present it to the public. Not just make it up as you go along!” At the time I considered her view to be a little harsh, but her point had some substance to it also. After all, it’s hard to argue that something made up on the spot should be given as much intellectual value as a carefully composed Mozart aria – although Mozart was a keen improviser, so there is that…

​The point I felt she was missing was this: when you’re improvising you enter into a place that is more intuitive, rather than intellectual, and in this place you can find seams of creativity you otherwise would not encounter (“I am become music!”). This is the difference between thinking, feeling and, finally, doing. In the place of action one may create something truly unique, perhaps the ‘new sound’ the world has been waiting for!  The controlled creativity needed to compose a perfect piece of music is never enough to reach the rare moments of pure creativity a little bit of chaos can induce.

Also, improvising is more fun!