Improvisation was something every keyboard player, and indeed, musician was expected to be able to do…until  “squashed out” of many-a-musician during the Victorian age, and countless learners of piano reaped what this achieved: bringing about a generation of musicians who could not contemplate improvisation as being something they could even begin to do. I belong to many Facebook groups relating to the piano and see many very sad posts relating to not enjoying the piano as a child / teenager, and not being allowed any freedom. I suppose I was also a product of a teacher who did not seem to improvise, but as I’ve said, luckily, I was already doing this by the time I began, aged 8, with this teacher. (My Mum had taught me, well too, the year before this). And there, I found the answer, or at least part of it. My Mum never stopped me from going to the piano. It was always there. She would play, and let me play alongside her while she played, and, just as I “played” at knitting, before I could create a stitch, clattering the two little needles together, I would sit and play the piano. To me, I was just doing what my Mum did I suppose. This lead me to further thought, and I came up with two strands, although I am sure there are others… improvising must not be treated as “not proper playing” and thank goodness, this concept seems to have largely changed, for this engenders a lack of inquisitiveness. I was lucky, I was already doing this before lessons, besides, I never really spoke to my teacher about it, so I don’t know what her reaction would have been, although she was not particularly interested in a composition I took, but then I always did, and always have, “done my own thing”, which leads me to the thought, that some children will improvise and explore anyway, even if they are told “not to”, or that it’s a waste of time, because some children do “do their own thing” – sometimes to their own detriment(!)… but maybe, sometimes, they have a point. If some children will do it anyway, why not others? They do not even have to tell a teacher whom the pupil may feel would disapprove, and can still turn up, having done all their practice, but everyone is different, and some people are less inquisitive / self-motivated to try new things, than others.

As we get older, can we really blame our first teachers for not encouraging it? If we so feel inclined, and wish we could do something, why do we not try it? We may try a fitness class, even if we did not like sport at school, or a cookery course, even if we hated the cookery teacher!… or even have a go at darning a sock, even if the needlework teacher told us we were “terrible”!   So, there must be other reasons we do not feel able to try it. I began to think further.