Modernizing European Higher Music Education Through Improvisation

Institutions: Tallinn

Tallinn: Estonian Academy for Music and Theatre

Contemporary improvisation is a pioneering MA programme that offers new opportunities in traditional music education. Nowadays, a successful musician needs creativity and an open mind in addition to professional instrument playing skills. This means that an ability to improvise should be a natural part of a musician’s education. For more than 25 years, improvisation at EAMT was an elective subject, but since autumn 2011, it can be studied as a master’s programme that welcomes students from all styles of music wanting to develop their improvisation skills – thinking in and with sounds, exploring self-expression as well as their ability to make music with others. In addition to musicians, improvisation is also taught to those students that have previously graduated from another programme (e.g. drama or dance), and have now decided to obtain a deeper understanding of the potential for self-expression also through sound.

One of the main objectives of the programme is to develop the students’ open creativity, fluent communication and cooperation skills, but also continuous self-development. It is also possible to participate in the work of the improvisation choir or orchestra.  There is also possible to make a complete artistic PhD research project, which usually consists of four presentations of creative works and a written thesis about improvisation issues.

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Youtube channel: apett2001  

This video channel contains: all the contemporary improv. Masters final concert/exam performances, most of the artistic PhD students improv. concerts, numerous performances of EAMT improvisation students( both BA and MA), also mixed with other European institutions improvising musicians and lot of performances of european improvisation artists. As a solo, ensemble, choir and orchestra improv. performances.

Staff

Anto Pett

 

Anne-Liis Poll