| Keyboard improvisation was a common performance and pedagogical practice of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The practice of improvisation is no longer considered an essential skill, as it was in former centuries. Yet improvisation is invaluable for developing creativity, interpretation, and spontaneity in musical performance.;Three treatises are reviewed for pedagogical methods in teaching improvisation: Fundamentum organisandi (1452) by Conrad Paumann, Compendium musices (1552) by Adrian Petit Coclico, and Arte de taner fantasia (1565) by Tomas de Santa Maria. These methods are then employed in developing lesson plans to teach improvisational skills to children who have had little or no previous piano experience.;The practicality and effectiveness of the lessons plans are tested on a class of eight fourth and fifth grade students in Chelsea, Michigan. The results of the research are reviewed and discussed. Options for further development are presented. |
