A Listener's Guide to Free Improvisation

“Hyper-insightful and . . . thoroughly entertaining . . . an essential read for anyone interested in the complex yet accessible world of musical improvisation.” —Glenn Kotche, drummer and composer, Wilco

Improvisation rattles some listeners. Maybe they’re even suspicious of it. John Coltrane’s saxophonic flights of fancy, Jimi Hendrix’s feedback drenched guitar solos, Ravi Shankar’s sitar extrapolations—all these sounds seem like so much noodling or jamming, indulgent self-expression. For these music fans, it seems natural that music is meant to be composed. John Corbett’s A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation provides a how-to manual for the most extreme example of spontaneous improvising: music with no pre-planned material at all. Drawing on over three decades of writing about, presenting, playing, teaching, and studying freely improvised music, Corbett offers an enriching set of tools that show any curious music lover how to really listen, and he encourages them to enjoy the human impulse to make up music on the spot. Providing fundamentals as well as advanced techniques, listening exercises to hone musical attentiveness and lists of accessible resources, this concise, humorous and inspiring guide will help transform one of the world’s most notoriously unapproachable artforms into a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

“Corbett [combines] deep musicological knowledge, heavy-lifting reportage, and crystalline prose of Peter Guralnick with the unbridled passion and joy of Lester Bangs.” —Jim DeRogatis, cohost of Sound Opinions

“This book is a small marvel. . . . immensely readable, enjoyable, and practical. . . . an excellent, accessible introduction.” —David Grubbs, author of Records Ruin the Landscape: John Cage, the Sixties, and Sound Recording