Developing improvisation skills and their effects on singer confidence and personal style

Improvisation for Singers: Benefits

Improvisation techniques are generally viewed as a tool mainly for actors and other comedic or dramatic performers. However, the benefits that improvisation bestows on these stage performers can also offer singers similar advantages. Improvisation can build confidence because it helps performers to get out of their head. Improvisation can give singers a greater sense of freedom. Instead of being chained to the "map" of the sheet music or the specific words of a song, singers are then able to create their own "map" through improv, a technique which can't help but intoxicatingly create confidence.

The first benefit of improvisation is that it forces the singer to perform out of their "safe zone" of what they know and what they're familiar with. As one vocal coach explains, "Improvisation takes away your 'comfort blanket', be it sheet music, lyrics, or even the tried and tested version of a song you already know quite well. This can feel scary: Cold water, deep end, without a warning. No chance to 'try to get it right' first" (Raspel, 2012). This metaphor is indeed a correct one. Improvisation essentially forces the performer to be thrown into the "deep end" of the metaphorical pool, and find a way to either sink or swim. This is in many respects, the ultimate challenge, and it is something which can't help but stimulate growth and advancement. This sudden change can help a singer better pinpoint what she likes, what she's good at, where her weaker areas are and what needs more work. In fact, one could argue that improvisation is a diagnostic tool for highlighting areas of power and limitation.

Moreover, the singer quickly discovers that with improvisation there's absolutely no conception or right or wrong, just appropriate and less appropriate (Raspel, 2012). Singers have to quickly abandon the fear of not being perfect and not wanting to make mistakes and adequately dealing with this fear is a definitive way to get past these developmental roadblocks. In fact, one could argue that the desire to be perfect is "a dangerous mindset however which can lead you into a real block and even performance anxiety" (Raspel, 2012). Improvisation can help strip away the desire or the expectation of being perfect and that's where real growth can occur. Improvisation can help the singer achieve a greater sense of freedom onstage and with that freedom comes the willingness to take risks and thus, achieve even greater heights of accomplishment. Furthermore, improvisation demonstrates to the singer that on stage things can go wrong, and that is all part of the learning process (Raspel, 2012). Playing it safe is not creative but, "If you allow yourself to improvise, you actually have to continuously find new 'solutions', think on your feet and -- be creative. As a positive side effect, it can also make you feel less stressed and anxious in performance situations. You will be prepared for the worst that can happen: Not knowing what to expect and how things will go" (Raspel, 2012). This type of preparation and experience can't help but build confidence in a singer as it demonstrates to the singer that no matter what happens onstage, he or she can handle it; he or she will be able to deal with the unknown.

Another aspect of improvisation that can benefit singers is that it helps them to develop their own personal style and flavor, another facet which can foster the development of confidence. "At the heart of improvisation is the ability to take a song and alter its phrasing and make it your own" (Thompson & Nelson, 2004). This truly a priceless experience which empowers the singer to realize what they can naturally add or subtract from a beat or melody. It helps them connect better onstage with the "you" of the person and the "you" of the singer. Rather than committing to a style of singing that they think they should portray, they can become more comfortable being themselves onstage and more in tune with the realization of who that person is that is them onstage. This is a tremendous part of the growth and development process and improvisation is just the tool to allow it to occur. Improvisation goes hand in hand with creativity and it fundamentally broadens the artistry capabilities of the performer (Conlon, 2009).

Yet an additional benefit of improvisation is that it can better help connect a singer with their emotions, again another aspect which can build confidence. Connecting with one's emotions can create a more moving performance and can elicit a more powerful performance from the singer. Engaging the art of improvisation can help a singer sing while being believable and authentic (Ostwald, 2005). Authenticity is something that audiences naturally respond and gravitate to and can thus make a performer more enjoyable to watch and listen to and create an altogether more moving performance. Improvising provides the performer with this ability and connection because, "Improvising is just a more spontaneous, sped-up, real-time version of the same process," agrees Jordan Scannella, a New York bass player and leader of the hip-hop-tinged JORSCAN. "When you're trying to write a song, you want to create something that's memorable, and that people can take home with them. Why should your improvs be any different?" (Gallant, 2012). The core of this commentary zeroes in on the fact that improvising forces the singer to act in a heightened sense of real time with a true sense of immediacy. Again, what this really comes down to is that it fosters authenticity, something that builds a greater sense of enjoyment and thus, confidence on stage (Jordan, 2007).