Have you ever considered looking to music history for inspiration as you improvise? Get inspired by music from the Romantic through the 21st Century for your improvisation! After all, these patterns have stood the test of time.
If you haven’t read the previous article in this series, check out “How To Improvise With Patterns From the Romantic Era to 21st Century“
Bridging The Gap Of Romantic Through 21st Century Music
Once I became a teacher I gained a newfound understanding of what my teachers went through. In particular, when it came to a topic or subject that wasn’t interesting to me! After the initial ‘aha’ moment, I’ve done my best to remember what it felt like as a student.
Part of this is through the fascinating stories about composers, instruments and even genres. Part of it is a desire to use famous patterns as inspiration (they have stood the test of time) while still composing music that feels fresh and relevant now.
Romantic Era Improvisation
The Romantic music era was all about emotion. I often think of the over-the-top emotions in telenovelas. Or, romance with a big R.
Two of the most famous patterns from the Romantic era are:
- Waltz bass: “ohm pa pa” or a ‘strong weak weak’ pattern
- Arpeggiated Accompaniment: creates a flowing and continuous sound
Each of these has a few variations, but they can be adapted to beginner piano players!
One of the easiest versions of the waltz bass pattern is the bottom note of the chord, followed by the top 2 notes of the chord played together twice. To hear a modern take on this pattern, listen to “Waltz Of The Lilies” (not a beginner piece).
The arpeggiated accompaniment is more challenging but creates a lush, peaceful mood that’s hard to resist. One of the easier versions of this is to play the bottom note of the chord, followed by the top note of the chord, and finally the bottom note … but an octave higher. To hear a more modern take on this, listen to “Waltz Under The Stars” to hear both the arpeggiated accompaniment and the Waltz bass accompaniment we started with.
Since it can be difficult to visualize these patterns, play along with the video below or here.
20th Century Improvisation
With today’s constant access to new content, it can be hard to imagine that the 20th Century might be considered “now”. But, as someone who was born in the last century, it isn’t as surprising.
There has always been a reaction against the styles from the previous era. It’s the whole reason we even have eras for music, art, architecture and more! The 20th Century marked a change towards experimentation in a way that perhaps hadn’t been explored before.
Many patterns from the 20th Century, like polytonality (multiple modes/keys in the same piece) and polyrhythms (contrasting rhythms simultaneously), have created incredible music.
A pattern that can be simplified for beginners is parallelism. Beloved by Impressionistic composers like Debussy and Ravel, the 20th-century version focused on harmonies (or chords) moving in parallel motion.
To hear and learn my favourite, moody, but modern take on this pattern, check out the video above or click here. And, to hear a simple take on the impressionistic soundscape, listen to “Northern Lights‘.
21st Century Improvisation
Take a look at several arrangements of a top 40 song and you will probably see several versions of the 21st Century darling, the pop arpeggio.
It has its inspiration from the arpeggiated accompaniment from the Romantic era and its one I often gravitate towards. It has the same flowing quality as the original and can automatically make a piece sound a little fancier!
The only difference is instead of repeating the last part of the pattern, it is shortened. I like to think of it as a stretched-out broken chord! To hear and learn this wonderful pattern, check out the video above or click here.
You can hear great examples of these patterns and ‘meet’ some of the famous 20th and 21st-century composers in the “Travel Through Time” music history-themed digital escape rooms.
Improvising With Patterns: Romantic Through 21st Century
You have many incredible patterns from the Romantic through the 21st Century as a start for improvising and creating music!
In the Romantic era, two of the most popular patterns were
- Waltz bass: Strong-weak-weak pattern
- Arpeggiated accompaniment: Flowing and continuous sound
In the 20th Century, parallelism was given a new approach that led to Impressionism.
And, in the 21st Century, the pop arpeggio is beloved by many arrangers to create piano-friendly covers of popular songs.
The 21st Century also updated the ostinato by using:
- Looped rhythms
- Ambient sounds
- Electronic pad accompaniments
For a simple version, listen to “Light Reflecting off Raindrops”. You can hear the repetitive nature of the ‘raindrops’. And, it was inspired by the Raindrop Prelude by Chopin! Paying homage to different musical eras, including the Romantic era through 21st Century, is a great way to improvise … and perhaps even create something new.
Lastly, you can hear great examples of these patterns and ‘meet’ some of the famous 20th and 21st Century composers in the “Travel Through Time” music history-themed digital escape rooms.
Imagine learning how to play piano through fun activities, improvising (creating music in the moment) plus writing your own music!
As a parent, imagine your child’s smile as they have fun learning piano and creating music … plus, family and friends as they hear the music your child has created.
As a teen or adult student, imagine jamming with musician friends .. or wowing them with the latest song you wrote.
If you want to dive deeper and experience a creative and engaging piano learning journey, join us for our upcoming intro sessions. Spots are filling up fast, so don’t miss out! Click the link below to sign up or click here for upcoming dates and information.
