Research projects

The Art of Preluding

Jeroen Malaise

This website offers various learning platforms to practice the art of improvisational preluding at the piano, a discipline that has more or less disappeared from practice during the last hundred years. The contents of these learning platforms are the results of an academic research project at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp (Belgium). This website combines existing historical didactic instructions into a modern method that makes preluding accessible and up-to-date again for pianists, and promotes the development of a contemporary approach.

The Improvisational State of Mind: A Multidisciplinary Study of an Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Repertoire Performance

David Dolan, Henrik J. Jensen, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Miguel Molina-Solana, Hardik Rajpal, Fernando Rosas, John A. Sloboda

A research project (2018) combining neuroscience, cognitive psychology and performance studies established the existence of Improvisational State of Mind, and its relations with a State of Flow, well-being, enhanced listening, empathy and bonding between musicians and listeners.

Historically inspired improvisation

Bert Mooiman, Karst de Jong

The research project explains the reasons behind the integration of improvisation in the new music theory curriculum at the Royal Conservatoire.

Navigating through harmony

Karst de Jong

A research project in the field of Music Theory & Improvisation aiming at finding the answers for the following questions:
1) How can spatial representation of harmony contribute to the understanding and teaching of harmonic progressions in tonal improvisation? 2) And does the application of the directional approach provide an effective navigation tool for the improviser while shaping the harmony?

Compendium for teaching free improvisation

Urban Mäder, Christoph Baumann, Marc-Antoine Camp, Thomas Meyer, Marc Unternährer

A research project of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (in German).

Ensemble & Ensemble of Me

Ivar Grydeland

An artistic research fellowship project (2011-2015) at the Norwegian Academy of Music, as part of The Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme. The result of the project is solo improvisations that derive from the music of two improvising ensembles Dans les arbres and Huntsville, and collective improvisations with the ensembles.

Goodbye Intuition

Ivar Grydeland, Morten Qvenild, Sidsel Endresen, Andrea Neumann, David Toop, Henrik Frisk, Lasse Marhaug og Anna Lindal

In the project Goodbye Intuition (2017-2020) the machines can both take the role of a performer for musicians to play with and they can be extensions of the music instruments. They can become both duet partners and they can be additions, expansions or augmentations of the musician's sound. The main question of the research project is the following one: How do we improvise with "creative machines"?

Resources: Research_