But what happens in our brains to allow this subconscious flow of music to occur? The following outlines some recent research articles on the subject:
What Happens when we improvise?
From the Washington Post: Instant Art: How does a freestyle rapper rhyme without rehearsal? How does a jazz improviser shape an instant solo? How do improv comedians wing it under pressure?
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| Listening, interacting, responding all come into play when we improvise in music |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/science-behind-improv-performance/
What's the difference between improvising and non-improvising musicians?
A research article posted on Futurity.org on what happens to our brains during the process of improvising. Do children who learn music by ear get the same benefits as children who learn to read musical notation, or even those who learn to improvise?
https://www.futurity.org/musical-improvisation-jazz-brains-2216752/
Can improvising improve my brain?!
This last article from Psychology Today concludes that there are 3 main benefits of musical training:
- Enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from hearing, touch, and sight.
- Early training, before the age of seven, has been shown to have the greatest impact, affecting the brain's anatomy as an adult.
- Brain circuits involved in musical improvisation are shaped by systematic training, leading to less reliance on working memory and more extensive connectivity within the brain.
The article ends by pointing the reader to a number other pieces of research that have been done on the subject.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/play-your-way-sane/201910/how-improvisation-changes-the-brain