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The Choral Music Teacher as Artist:

Vocal Jazz and Improvisation as Expressions of Artistry

by Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt. To read or download the bound, sterile, and tentative improvisations to relaxed,
full article, visit acda.org/choraljournal, log into your membership joyful, and humorous ones within one class period. With
account, and choose the June/July 2015 issue from the archives. novices in improvisation, the musical materials must be
simple (perhaps a pentatonic or blues scale with accom-
Sometimes it seems as though the idea of an impro- paniment), the words can be improvised from a chosen
vising choral music teacher is an oxymoron. Although theme (perhaps an upcoming holiday), and the form can
improvisation study is essential to a degree in jazz, future involve two-bar calls followed by two-bar responses that
choral music teachers are required to focus on classical relate yet contrast in some way. Psychologist Emanuel
music, not jazz, and rarely have the opportunity to im- Hammer asserted that teachers should assist their stu-
provise. Yet, many choral musicians catch the vocal jazz dents in “breaking their creativity loose from their in-
bug through a secondary school or college ensemble and telligence, i.e., to gain freedom to momentarily suspend
find that there is much to learn about performing jazz their orientation of convergent thinking to allow diver-
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authentically and artistically. Vocal jazz is an engaging gent flights.” He adds that we can teach them how and
and powerful musical art form because of its propulsive when to suspend the over-evaluative, criticizing, judging
and cathartic swing rhythm, its American popular song function of the mind in order to remain open to uncriti-
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repertoire, its challenging extended harmonies requiring cally “receiving” the creative idea.
near-flawless intonation, and its potential for self-expres- It is not the sole responsibility of the performance
sive and innovative improvisations. majors and professional musicians to teach us about in-
In my research with jazz singers, I have found three novations in music. We as artist-musician-teachers have
distinct factors underlying improvisation skill. Not sur- a wellspring of music within ourselves. My research
prisingly, the first two are good musicianship and knowl- subjects provided insights into the development of their
edge of jazz style. Learning a new style of music, such own improvisation skills, and these included listening to
as jazz, can feel like trying to learn a new instrument! a range of musical styles and playfully improvising to all
In fact, my research showed an inverse relationship be- of it, paying attention to interactions among the instru-
tween classical voice lessons and the ability to improvise. ments to gain melodic and rhythmic ideas, using lyrics to
The third factor underlying improvisation skill is help provide context, and seeking out musicians who are
the creative or inventive use of dynamics, range, tone better improvisers than themselves.
color, articulations, lyrics, melodies, and rhythms. It is
this creative aspect of improvisation that can provide Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman was a professor of
the necessary enjoyment and motivation for more cho- music education Indiana University’s Jacobs School of
ral musicians to develop their artistry as improvisers. Music. She published numerous research articles and
Artistic self-expression and innovation emerge through books on music education and vocal jazz improvisation.
conscious awareness of the musical criteria that can be
played with. The artist might choose to simply vary or NOTES
elaborate on a musical idea. Or she might explore dif-
ferent possibilities of vocal timbre, including vocal and 1 Jeff Pressing, “Black Atlantic rhythm: Its computational
body percussion or unusual vocables. The artist needs to and transcultural foundations,” Music Perception 19, no. 3
risk breaking the rules in order to discover those original (2002): 285-310.
ideas that have worth. 2 E. F. Hammer, Creativity, Talent and Personality (Robert E.
In my own teaching experience with children to Krieger, 1984), 119.
adults, I have witnessed the transformation from rule-

58 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2