Musical improvisation

Musical improvisation is when musicians play a tune which does not exist yet. They play what comes to their mind. In the case of groups of musicians, they may have agreed on a few basic rules beforehand. Generally, improvisation requires a few skills:

 The person improvising must be able to play the instrument fairly well. 
 The person must know some basic rules or parameters on the kind of music played
 The person must be creative

Musical composition is different: With composition, people first write down and arrange the music, before playing it, with improvisation they play right away.

Category:Musical performance techniques