From as early as primary school, I was fascinated with improvising music. As my improvisation skills developed, I was drawn to its limitless possibilities for creating music and connections forged with musicians. Having worked with other musicians and performers who improvised for a living, I expected secondary education to teach music improvisation; it was only when I became a teacher that I encountered that it was seldom used. Only a few of my students improvised in performance or composition and, interestingly, none of my colleagues past and present ever properly taught it. If ‘95% of jazz graduates do not enter the classroom teaching’, according to Jazz Education UK (2024), it was perhaps logical that I encountered this issue.
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