Improvising in Styles: A Workbook for Music Therapists, Educators, and Musicians

Though improvisation is a therapeutic method that has been known and used in many settings, there are only a few published practical guides on how to learn to clinically improvise. This book aims to redress this gap by providing a comprehensive workbook specifically designed to give music therapists the tools needed to successfully improvise in their work. Each chapter focuses on a different style of music and begins with a discussion of its historical/musicological context and relevance to music therapy. Then follow exercises for solo and duet practice that are built on each relevant aesthetic and musical component of the style. Two accompanying CDs provide examples from the text that serve to demonstrate beginning ideas and how to formulate the exercises presented.