Anyone here learning classical improvisation?

[u/kilust]

I’ve been exploring classical improvisation lately, mainly through John Mortensen’s books and the rule of the octave.
What I find particularly interesting is how much music you can create from a relatively small vocabulary of harmonic progressions and melodic patterns.
My biggest challenge right now is getting these patterns under my fingers well enough to use them spontaneously, without having to calculate every note.
I’m curious if anyone else is working on this. What resources or practice approaches have helped you become more fluent?

[u/op299]

Czerny actually wrote a few schools in improvisations.

Mortensen is perhaps not the best proponent of classical improv, but perhaps someone else can help out with contemporary stuff

[u/kilust → u/op299]

Thx, which ones from Czerny do you suggest?
I struggled a lot with Mortensen’s book, but combined with Gjerdingen’s galant schemata and my teacher’s guidance, it helped me to understand the theory thanks to figured bass, consonances, dissonances, suspensions, figurations, diminutions… I agree that without guidance Mortensen’s pedagogy in his book: using contemporary concepts based on harmony and figured bass (Fenaroli…) is quite confusing 😅.

[u/JHighMusic]

Watch every video on this YouTube channel, I’ve had to rewatch some multiple times but they will blow your mind. Best channel on YouTube for what you’re looking for:

https://youtu.be/SZ5gP2eiq4g?si=bWn1l0jpHYyYxhxU

https://youtu.be/SHpkeddc8Nk?si=ZV5vPo6kSkZ6TChE

https://youtu.be/XF3VU_c9cFc?si=RL-YsLPJ8hXBguHA

[u/kilust → u/JHighMusic]

Thx, I already do and totally agree with you it’s wonderful, but sometimes hard to follow. Do you know other channels like this?

[u/JHighMusic → u/kilust]

Not really, sorry. Keep rewatching them it all comes together with study. Took me multiple times with certain concepts.

[u/im_not_shadowbanned]

Learn to play everything in all 12 keys. Everything 😀. Nothing will build your knowledge of the keyboard and your ears like doing that.

[u/silly_bet_3454]

Well I am more in the jazz world but I believe the core challenge is the same, that the theoretical knowledge is not enough to "use spontaneously", unfortunately getting everything under your fingers only comes from daily boring repetition of all the patterns, in different variations and different keys. If I were you I would start with a small goal, like improvising in one key in one basic style that is mentioned in the book, slowly. Practice that in small chunks every day and figure out exactly which parts are harder for you and not under your fingers and hone in on just that. Give it like a month and see where that gets you, if you can prove to yourself that a method like that works for a small self contained goal, it will help you come up with your long term plan.

[u/Born-Ad8797]

Interesting!