Improvisation comes naturally to some students. They’ll happily noodle away on the keys for hours.

But it can lack a structure. (And by ‘structure,’ I don’t mean form. I mean, they randomly bash the keys with no thought behind what they’re doing.)

Others dream of being able to play something that isn’t written down in front of them but struggle to know where to start. With 88 keys in front of them and no instructions to follow, they draw a blank.

For those students, I give them starting points:

Table of Contents

1. Emoji Challenge
2. Story Soundtrack Improvisation
3. Make A Meal Of It
4. The Most Important Thing About Improvisation

Emoji Challenge

You need:

• A set of emoji cards (you can draw your own or print them off from the Internet)

What to do:

• Show your students an emoji card.
• Challenge them to play a melody that matches the emotion.
  Some emojis are open to interpretation, which adds to the fun! You may want to ask them what they think the emoji is first, so you’re both on the same page.
• Repeat for each emoji.

You could also:

• For students who are hesitant about improvisation, restrict them to a set of 5 notes.
  
  You can tie this in with pentascales and give them the option to use major or minor depending on the mood.
  
  They can simply play up and down the scale with an accurate feeling (e.g. if the emoji has a big grin, they’ll play the scale loudly and bouncy)
  

• If your student isn’t quite getting it, turn it into a listening activity first.
  
  Put two emoji cards on the piano, and you play one of them.
  
  Ask them to tell you which one they think you played and explain their answer.
  
  Then, get them to play the same emoji using what you played as inspiration.

Story Soundtrack Improvisation

You need:

• A story (you can prepare it ahead of time or come up with it on the spot)

What To Do:

• Tell your student the first scene of a story
• Ask them to create an improvisation that would accompany the scene’s action (they’re welcome to add in any other sound effects if they want!)
• Repeat, telling them a scene at a time.

You could also:

• Again, you can restrict more hesitant improvisers to a set of 5 notes (but make sure they understand they can use those 5 notes in different octaves on the piano if they think some scenes call for high notes or low notes)
• You could restrict to only using black keys

Story Soundtrack In Action

Teacher: Meet 10-year-old Fergus. He’s bored.

Student plays C on the piano. They hold the note for 2 beats. They play the same C again. Three times in a row. They yawn. They sigh.

Teacher: The doorbell rings, making Fergus jump. He runs downstairs, excited to see who’s there.

Student says, “Ding dong!” and then plays a staccato C. Then they play a descending chromatic scale starting on the highest note of the piano and ending on the lowest note (playing as fast as they can to mirror Fergus’ excitement)

Teacher: It’s Fergus’ best friend Olivia and her dog, Barkley. As Fergus is saying hello, Barkley spots the neighbour’s cat and starts chasing it down the street

Student plays an ascending pattern in both hands (mirroring the two animals running) while barking and meowing.

Teacher: Fergus and Olivia run after Barkley. They’ve nearly caught up with him, but… “Oh no! Barkley! Don’t go in there!”

Student plays an ascending pattern at the top of the piano (Barkley and the cat). They then play a similar pattern but at the bottom of the piano (Fergus and Olivia). They suddenly stop and cry, “Oh no!”

Make A Meal Of It

This is perfect for students who hate making decisions. They want to be able to improvise, but just deciding on a starting note stresses them out.

You need:

• The piano

What To Do:

• Ask your student to tell you something they’ve eaten today. Take the first letter in the food that’s a musical letter.
  For example, if they’d eaten ‘pancakes’ the first musical letter is ‘A’.
  
  This tells them the note their right-hand thumb is on.

• Ask them if they enjoyed the food.
  
  If they did, they’re going to use the major pentascale.
  If they didn’t, they’re going to use the minor pentascale.
  (And if the food was ‘fine’ they can use the major pentascale. It’s nice to be positive!)
  
  Let’s say our pancake-eating student loved their meal. They’ll use the A major pentascale.

• Then, ask them for something they’ve had to drink today. Ask questions to get a long and detailed answer rather than just one word.
  
  For example, if they had water, what did they drink it from? A glass. How big was the glass?
  
  Let’s say our pancake-eating student drank “A big glass of water.”
  
  This tells them the rhythm they’ll be playing.
  
  You can stay simple and use the rhythm in which they say the words.
  
  Or you can ask them to say their answer again differently until they get a rhythm they like.
  
  For example, “a biiiiiiiiiiig glass of…water” would mean the second note is going to be long, and there’ll be a rest after the fourth note.

Time to combine everything

Play the rhythm on the first note of the pentascale (and only the first note)

Now play it on the second note (and only the second note)

Then, play it alternating between the first note and the second note.

Now play it all on the third note.

Then, all on the fourth note.

Try alternating between the third note and the fourth note.

• By this point, your student may be showing signs of wanting to change things. They may want to play the rhythm using three notes. Or change the order of their notes (rather than alternating).
  
  Great! Let them!

• When they have a pattern they like, encourage them to make changes:
  • Add a simple left-hand accompaniment (use a power chord that complements their pattern.)Play it faster.
  • Change the dynamics.
  • Experiment with tempo.
  • Play it in different octaves.

Encourage and try out any ideas your student has.

The more times a student repeats this activity, the more confident they will feel to try different things. They use the formula to get a set of notes and a rhythm to start with, and then they can tweak it and change it however they want.

The Most Important Thing About Improvisation

Have fun!

Remind your students that there’s no right or wrong.

It’s all about being creative and expressing yourself!

For more improvisation inspiration, check out the course “Jam Sessions: How To Spark Fun Group Improv with Solo Students.”

Learn more about the course here.