Structured Surround Soundscapes: A Three-Pronged Strategy for Effective and Meaningful Collective Improvisation

Abstract

This article presents a three-pronged strategy for teaching collective improvisation in the general music classroom through structured surround soundscapes. This strategy consists of developing socio-interactive skills, shared understanding, and personal music vocabulary in collective improvisation. In the music classroom, these concepts should be consciously developed in tandem through hands-on means to foster effective and meaningful collective improvisation. The structured surround soundscape project presents one such way this may be enabled using the three-pronged strategy to nurture ensemble improvisers who can engage in fluent sociomusical conversations in real-world contexts.