improvisations
Made-up on spot
Improvisations are things created spontaneously without preparation or a script.
A jazz musician's improvisations emerge in the moment rather than from written scores.
The word applies to any field where someone invents on the fly: theatrical improvisations, culinary improvisations with whatever's in the fridge.
The term can also describe makeshift solutions: The shelter was an improvisation of tarps and branches.
Unscripted speech or remark
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- unscriptedNot pre-written
off-the-cuff · on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · instinctive · intuitive · offhand · unplanned · unpremeditated
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- jam sessionInformal improvisational music gathering
- chord progressionSequence of tonal changes
standards · blue note · syncopation · comping · riffs · licks · vamps · cool jazz
Makeshift bypass of difficulty
- jury-rigImprovise temporary repair
- stopgapTemporary substitute measure
- kludgeAwkward but functional solution
- cobbledSurfaced with rounded stones
MacGyver · resourcefulness · hack · quick fix · bodge · temporary · patchwork · substitute
Modified versions of something
- cadenzaExtended solo passage
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- ornamentationDecorative additions to something
- riffsRepeated melodic figures
fills · modulation · vamping · noodling · flourishes · runs · arpeggios · free play
ad-lib
Unscripted speech or remark
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
unscripted · off-the-cuff · on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · instinctive · intuitive · offhand · unplanned · unpremeditated · winging it
bebop
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- jam sessionInformal improvisational music gathering
chord progression · standards · blue note · syncopation · comping · riffs · licks · vamps · cool jazz · free jazz
workaround
Makeshift bypass of difficulty
- jury-rigImprovise temporary repair
- stopgapTemporary substitute measure
- kludgeAwkward but functional solution
cobbled · MacGyver · resourcefulness · hack · quick fix · bodge · temporary · patchwork · substitute · field repair
variations
Modified versions of something
- cadenzaExtended solo passage
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- ornamentationDecorative additions to something
riffs · fills · modulation · vamping · noodling · flourishes · runs · arpeggios · free play · experimental
scene work
Rehearsing dramatic excerpts
- short formShortened written variant
- long formComplete, unshortened version
- HaroldTraditional masculine given name
montage · game · callback · offer · blocking · endowment · justification · sweep · walk-on · aside
- worksmasterpieces, compositions, piece, pieces, work
- workaroundsworkaround, workarounds, fixes, hacks, quick fix
- Jam BandsGrateful Dead, Phish, jam, jams, extended jam
- Organ Musictoccata, preludes, fugue, fugues, prelude
improvisationscompositions
Created artistic pieces
written works · rehearsals · recitations · set pieces · arrangements
improvisationsformulas
Symbolic rules for calculation
templates · set lists · compositions · arrangements · conventions
improvisationsreproductions
Copies of originals
recitations · covers · renditions · interpretations · transcriptions
- jazz improvisationSpontaneous musical composition during performance
- improvisational comedyUnscripted comedic performance
- musical improvisationSpontaneous live music creation
- improvisational theaterSpontaneous dramatic performance
- dance improvisationUnscripted movement performance
- improvisation skillsAbility to create spontaneously