The Improvisational Brain By Amanda Martinez - 1162 Words

Learning to create music or a speech spontaneously is not an easy task. Any professional musician will say that improvisation is not as easy as just making it up as one goes along. In fact, the musicians that make improvisation look simple are the ones who have put in countless hours of time and study to make it look effortless. The Improvisational Brain by Amanda Martinez tells about a neuroscientist that studied the science behind how the brain works in order to improvise. In order to be able to be a good improviser, one must learn to shut down the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and let the creativity and skill take over. What about those that have limited ability? Should they learn to improvise as well? One would argue that it is not important to learn to improvise, whether it be music or otherwise. However, improvising can give a person a sense of freedom from the ordinary. â€Å"This notion of trying to tell your own story, without the constraints of caring how well it’ s going as you’re saying it, was really pretty intriguing† (Martinez p. 7). Although many struggle being able to shut down the part of your brain that allows one to improvise, it is important to teach children and adults alike how to improvise because it teaches creativity, divergent thinking, and encourages better communication skills. Improvising is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as, â€Å"to make, invent, or arrange offhand.† A classical pianist, Robert Levin said of improvisation, â€Å" It’s an act of