Bring Creativity Back Into Music Lessons!

A new school year is starting, and for many students, piano, violin, voice, and guitar lessons are also resuming.Teachers, however, often face important questions:How much focus should be placed on instrumental technique? Which repertoire should be chosen? What goals should be set with each student? How important are discipline, structure, and method? And is there room for creativity—perhaps even improvisation?

No one would deny the value of discipline and structured practice. But what about creativity and freedom in musical expression? Isn’t making music always an act of creation—or re-creation—even when performing repertoire? How do we reconcile these two aspects? And are they even compatible?

In traditional classical teaching, great emphasis has been placed on structure and rigor: technique, sight-reading, stylistic accuracy, and so on. Over time, this became the dominant approach. Yet it wasn’t always so. In the Baroque era, realizing figured bass required freedom and a deep understanding of musical language. In the Classical period, it was expected that performers would improvise the cadenza in a concerto. Improvisation faded away when the roles of composer and performer grew apart. Later, jazz revived it—making creativity and freedom of expression central once again.

In my workshops with piano teachers, I often hear that there simply isn’t enough time to cover every aspect of learning—especially when following a structured curriculum. More often than not, creativity and improvisation are left out, either because teachers were never trained to integrate them into instrumental playing, or because improvisation is seen more as a process than a performance, and performance is often what gets valued most.

But even with limited time, it is possible to weave improvisation into repertoire and technical work. Creativity and structure can absolutely go hand in hand, as pianist and teacher Tom Donald of the London Contemporary School of Piano reminds us:

“…practice itself needs both structure and creativity. Too many people treat practice as a rigid, joyless checklist. But music is a creative art form. You need freedom to explore, to improvise, to play with sound. At the same time, some structure is essential if you want to make progress.”

Here’s a simple example of how improvisation can bring meaning to a basic musical concept. Every student learns major scales. Too often, students see this as a chore, disconnected from music-making.

My suggestion: play a duet with your student. Teaching the D major scale? At the piano, play a simple rhythmic bass pattern emphasizing the root and fifth (D–A). Ask your student to play the D major scale while listening carefully to your part. Then invite them to create short phrases and small motifs from the scale. Follow their lead, supporting their melodic ideas. This small act of creativity transforms what might otherwise feel like a dry technical exercise into real music-making.

Improvisation can also grow out of a repertoire piece. A motif, a melodic line, a chord progression, or even a rhythmic figure can serve as the starting point. My video Inspiration: Debussy shows how a simple motif from Debussy’s Rêverie can spark improvisation.

So, dear teachers, as you walk the tightrope of this new musical year, I encourage you to seek balance between rigor and creativity!And if you’d like more personalized guidance on integrating improvisation into your teaching, feel free to contact me. I’d be delighted to share my pedagogical experience with you.

Wishing you a wonderful start to the year!

Monique Poirier, M.Mus

Web site: www.moniqueimpromusic.com