Improvisation
Origin
French improviser, from Italian improvvisare, from improvviso sudden, from Latin improvisus, literally, unforeseen, from in- + provisus, past participle of providēre to see ahead
Definitions
- 1: to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously
- 2: to make, invent, or arrange offhand
- 3: to make or fabricate out of what is conveniently on hand <improvise a meal>
Description
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or new ways to act. This invention cycle occurs most effectively when the practitioner has a thorough intuitive and technical understanding of the necessary skills and concerns within the improvised domain. Improvisation can be thought of as an "on the spot" or "off the cuff" spontaneous activity.
The skills of improvisation can apply to many different abilities or forms of communication and expression across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines. For example, improvisation can make a significant contribution in music, dance, cooking, presenting a speech, sales, personal or romantic relationships, sports, flower arranging, martial arts, psychotherapy, and much more. Techniques of improvisation are widely trained in the entertainment arts; for example, music, theatre and dance.To "extemporize" or "ad lib" is basically the same as improvising. Colloquial terms such as "let's play it by ear," "take it as it comes," and "make it up as we go along" are all used to describe "improvisation."
The simple act of speaking requires a good deal of improvisation because the mind is addressing its own thought and creating its unrehearsed delivery in words, sounds and gestures, forming unpredictable statements that feed back into the thought process (the performer as listener), creating an enriched process that is not unlike instantaneous composition [with a given set or repertoire of elements].
Where the improvisation is intended to solve a problem on a temporary basis, the 'proper' solution being unavailable at the time, it may be known as a stop-gap. This particularly applies to engineering improvisations.[1]
