Improvisation in the Moment
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This post was written before the results of the Presidential Election in the USA:
I am sitting at the dining room table. It’s late afternoon. Thanks to the shifting seasons it is already becoming dark. Within a short while we will know the outcome of the Presidential election and whether the planet is safe for now.
In the background is “Creation” by Keith Jarrett, a beautiful album of short piano improvisations. I love listening to his music. It inspires me. I may have mentioned before, that the striking thing about Keith Jarrett’s concerts of improvised music is the fact that he meditates and stills himself before performance and then walks onto stage with a mind of emptiness to create in the moment. There are no pre-arranged ideas, no threads and patterns to work from. He just begins to play and waits to see what emerges. In digging through the notes and phrases one can often hear him finding something he likes, developing and expanding on it. In the background if you listen carefully you can hear him reacting to some of the moments of ecstasy that emerge from the playing. It’s astonishing to listen to.
That process of creation and improvisation in the moment is amazing to listen to. I heard a similar process in Bristol back in May when I attended the Social Age Safari and watched the performance poet Selby creating poetry live and in the moment.
We also see this in the art of improvisation shown by comedians at work. Again, it is remarkable to watch. Billy Connolly at his peak also had a similar openness to creating in the moment when on stage.
These techniques can take our creative pursuits into exciting new areas. It’s a question of looking at what we do and then opening it up to the new – how might this work as a process in real time, something that is created and adapted as we go. Anything can be tried – break down the preconceived rules and just explore. Take the thought process where it wants to go. And above all, Trust! Trust the process, trust ourselves, and trust the outcome.
(November challenge: 7/31)
Also published on Medium.