Composition Versus Improvisation

Yale University Department of Music
Composition versus Improvisation?

Author(s): Steve Larson
Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Fall, 2005), pp. 241-275
Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of Music
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COMPOSITION
VERSUS
IMPROVISATION?
Steve Larson
In 1963, Bill Evans recorded the album Conversations with Myself

(Verve 314 521 409-2). To create that album's special sound, Evans first
recorded one piano track. Then, while listening to that track, he recorded
another track to go with it. For many of the selections, once he had two
tracks he liked, he overdubbed a third.
Composed of these improvised lines, Conversations with My self prob
lematizes the traditional distinction between composition and improvisa
tion. The following captures some of that traditional distinction.
re
is traditionally
a process
a
in which
with
and
pen
paper,
Composition
as
garded
composer,
of
outside
sion
or
tion
and
"real
hard
the
mistakes;
on tradition,
builds
of Music
and
composi
on
relies
Theory,
revi
to eliminate
avoid
constraints,
Journal
uses
time,"
work
re
is
Improvisation
traditionally
as a process
in which
per
or instru
their voices
with
formers,
garded
in
ments,
to
skill
mistakes;
imposes
out
training
and
"real
use
luck or
time,"
to or
incorporate
respond
the improvisation
grows
of
innovation,
freedom,
exploits
on talent
relies
in an instanta
49:2
DOI 10.1215/00222909-008
? 2008 by Yale University
241
in a time-consuming
rational
involves
process
reflection
neous
process
tional
invention
to create
to create
calculation
intellectual
that
and
simple,
emo
involves
intuitive
direct
impulse
expressions.
relation
sophisticated
complex,
that
and
ships.
I suspect thatmany musicians

to see,
is easy
such
given
may also hold this traditional view (and it
a view,
one
reason
that
compositions
are
ana
lyzed more often than are improvisations). And I have read books and
of them by very distinguished writers?that
articulate the
articles?some
distinction this way.
I also suspect thatmost music theorists would say that, although there
is an element of truth in this distinction, all musical creation really lies
on a continuum between these poles. Yet in this article, Iwill go further
and claim that, in important ways, the traditional distinction has it back
ward.
My
with Myself:
is drawn
evidence
"
from
'Round Midnight"
two
selections
from
Conversations
and "Stella by Starlight."
"'Round Midnight"
The first cut on Conversations with Myself isThelonious Monk's com
"
'Round Midnight." Its theme is in the standard thirty-two-bar
position
AABA song form. Example 1 shows features common to Evans's settings
of the first A section and of the bridge. The first A section begins with a
distinctive
motto.
This
motto
is transformed
into
an ascending-seventh
chord arpeggio inmm. 3 and 5. The bass descends by half-step on two

levels of tonal structure. And themelody echoes that descent inm. 4. The
A section ends with a "linking motive." I call it the "linking motive"
because it participates in a kind of hidden repetition that Schenker called
Kn?pftechnik or "linkage technique": the motive that ends the first A sec
tion also begins the bridge. The changed function hides the repetition so
well that many listeners (including jazz musicians who have performed
the piece hundreds of times) fail to notice this link. After two statements
of the linking motive,
its elements are reversed (so that another end
becomes a beginning). The result is that this collection of pitches, Gl?-F
Ek-D (a diminished tetrachord), and its extension Gb-F-Ek-D-Cb-Bl?
(all
the descending half-steps in El?minor, both with and without change of
octave for the last two notes) contribute to the coherence and expression
"
of
'RoundMidnight." (Notice also that conceiving of the linking motive
as two descending half-step pairs, and its extension as three descending
half-step pairs, makes a connection between the linking motive and the
chromatic descent.) I return to all of these features in the analysis below.
"
'RoundMidnight" usually begins with a standard introduction (which
has been attributed toDizzy Gillespie).
It features a distinctive melody, a
242
(*
= chromatic
descents, on two levels)
ai?7
?
linkingmotive
linkingmotive
motive
linking
^P^F^
F7
Cm7b5
motive
linking
JJ
v r?K
V-
[B]
^te
?
Cm7b5
Eb7
Fm7b5
F?m7
Db7
B7
Bb7
r j "f- Ij J 4^
r^=LJ
mî
Abm7
Bbm7
F7
1. Bill Evans, "'Round Midnight"

(Conversations with
Myself), first A section and bridge
Example
common jazz sequence of descending pairs of IIm7b5-V7 chords that lead

to the dominant, and a prolongation of that chord with an unusual altered
dominant. Example 2 offers transcriptions of three different recorded per
formances
Evans's
of
this
introduction.1
recomposition
of
this
introduction
adds
new
material,
based
on the Gb-F-Eb-D
diminished tetrachord. And, with that new material,
he creates the sophisticated motivic and transpositional relationships
shown in Example 3.2He first recorded the part given on the bottom line
of my transcription (labeled "Right"), which supplies the bassline that
243
moves
down the circle of fifths (see the T5 below the Analysis system in
Example 3). He then added the part given on the top line of my tran
scription (labeled "Left"), which offers successive transpositions of the
1 (see the T7 and T3 above
diminished tetrachord discussed in Example
the middle line of the Analysis system in Example 3). Yet those transpo
sition levels differ from those of the bassline. Finally, he added the rip
pling arpeggios given on the middle line of my transcription (labeled
"Center")?which
are
transposed
according
to yet
another
scheme
(see
the T3 and T7 above the top line of the Analysis

system in Example 3).
Thus, Evans's version of the introduction exhibits some of the sophisti
cated relationships that we are accustomed to seeing described in analy
ses of composed music. In fact, we should regard the introduction as
"composed"?whether
or not
he wrote
it down,
Evans
surely
could
have
reproduced it note for note. So itmay be tempting to assume that these

sophisticated transpositional relationships are here because this passage
was
composed.
Other elements may be regarded as "composed." The AABA theme

was composed by Monk. Evans had probably settled on the chords, the
Example 2. Three performances of the standard introduction

"'Round Midnight":
(a) Thelonious Monk, 1968.
to
244
rubato
Ip^nr^g- J j
r r
Example 2. Three performances of the standard introduction

"'Round Midnight":
(b) Thelonious Monk, 1957.
to
245
Piano
Wi i,J^
Bass
Percussion
X-J_I
fhffs
?n
j r^
ijt^j Jim
Pno. <
Bass
^s
v?-<?
4?4
-*- *
-*-/
-?]-J
7^
Pno.
Example
2. Three performances of the standard introduction

"
'Round Midnight": (c) Bud Powell.
to
246
Pno. <
m iA
^'iM
EUE
2(c) (continued)
Example
textures, and the functions of each piano part for these thirty-two bars
before entering the studio. Example 4 offers my transcription of 1A! and
the first half of 1A2.A transcription of the entire AABA theme may be
found as supplemental material
(online only) with this article at jmt
.dukejournals.org.
as an
sections
No
jazz
musician
would
describe
the music
of
these
improvisation.
Yet parts of it probably were improvised. Evans surely planned the

basic harmonization and even some of the specific voicings used in his
track (shown on the lowest system of Example 4).
accompanimental
are like
Such accompaniments,
called "comping" by jazz musicians,
continuo
Baroque
parts.
like
And,
continuo
parts,
they
are usually
impro
vised; differences between the first two A sections in Example 4 suggest

that this comping part was also improvised.
The commentary track (middle line of the transcription in Example 4)
was
probably
too. Evans
improvised,
may
have
planned
certain
or
licks,
planned, perhaps in outline, the beautiful gentle registral climb that occurs
in both the comping and commentary tracks over the first two A sections.
Nevertheless,
commentary lines like this one are usually improvised. And,
again, differences between these two A sections suggest that this com
mentary line was also improvised; although the first two A sections have
"the
same"
sationally
statements
to have
these
also appear
been
melody,
improvi
notes
or embellished,
varied:
have been
and
added,
subtracted,
rhythms have been varied.

these A sections also feature the kinds of relationships
Nevertheless,
that analysts often attribute to composed music. Consider the imitative
polyphony of mm. 5-8 of 1A2 (see Example 5). Imitation at the second
occurs
in mm.
5-6.
Measures
7-8
present
times and with different timings. Example

connecting
analogous
pitches
with
lines
the
same
melodies
at different
5 shows these relationships by

between
the
staves.
247
Example
"'Round
3.
Analysis
Left
Center
introduction
Midnight,"
Right
In fact, the coordination of the different tracks at the cadence inm. 8

is striking in another way. Notice that each of the tracks settles on a dif
ferent member of the tonic triad when it arrives on the third beat of m. 8.
Each track then moves to another member of the tonic triad on the fourth
beat. And all tracks do this in a way that results in complete triads on both
third and fourth beats. The result is shown in Example 6, with the tran
scription along the bottom, analytical notation in Example 6b, and dura
this may seem like a lucky coin
tional notation in Example 6a. While
a
cidence,
performance
look
at
the
suggests
In other words,
Example
measures
analogous
that something
similar
sophisticated musical
4.
"
'Round Midnight,"
of
the
other
happens
relationships
in this
phrases
in most
sections.
occur not only in
1Aj and first half of 1A2
249
(2) (D
[1A%)
Example
4 (continued)
the "composed" sections, but also in the sections that involve some impro
visation. In fact, I suspect that some of these musical relationships are
there
because
they were
improvised.
The commentary line of the first bridge (IB) was surely improvised.
In the spaces after each statement of the linking motive, the commentary
line restates the linking motive, but extends and embellishes it.And that
embellishment uses the ascending-seventh
arpeggio of theA section. The
fill inmm. 5-8 is analyzed in Example 7. The original melody is elabo
rated in an elegant twisting line (Example 7c) that contains several state
ments of the linking motive (bracketed in Example 7b). The result is
several examples of what Schenker called "hidden repetition." The last
250
Statement of this motive suggests that D^ will follow, but the harmony
the basic contour, complete
requires a different note, Dk Nevertheless,
with the following seventh leap, again refers to the linking motive.
These hidden repetitions occurred because these motives and embel
lishments "fell under Evans's fingers." To say this is not to dismiss their
musical significance. In fact, they fell under his fingers because he played
them a lot. And he played them a lot because his ear and his sense of
musical structure and development guided him to practice these patterns
when practicing this piece. Thus, in Evans's case, to say that he played
what fell under his fingers often means that it is well crafted, sophisti
cated,
and
compelling.3
For the same reasons, it is not surprising to find similarly sophisticated

in Evans's improvised "solos." Consider the first of his
relationships
on the bridge, a portion of which is analyzed in
variations
improvised
notice
that the commentary track (Example 8, Center)
8.
First,
Example
now at a differ
is playing the same licks we saw in the first bridge?but
Example
5.
"
'Round Midnight,"
mm. 5-8 of 1A2
251
ent transposition. Now look at the (presumably improvised) "solo" line

(Example 8, Right). This compound melody presents, as its lower strand,
a stepwise descent from Bb (stems down, Example 8b). As that stepwise
arrives
descent
at Eb,
it seems
to summarize
the preceding
material
(see
the embedded brackets below Example 8b). Since that second strand has
reached Eb (the same note as the other strand), the compound melody now
takes a new path. But since the Eb is now a seventh with the bass, the line
must continue to D. In m. 4, Evans delays the expected D with a new
embellishment of this same linear progression that also incorporates the
A
section's
ascending-seventh
The
arpeggio.
resultant
hidden
repetition,
since it simultaneously completes its path and that of the larger model it
represents (see the embedded brackets below Example 8a), is of the type
I call a "confirmation" (Larson 1987).
Every published Schenkerian analysis of an improvisation by Bill
Evans
includes
such
"'Round Midnight"
Example
confirmations.
(Larson
6.
"
They
1987). They
'Round Midnight,"
occur
in a
also occur
cadence
live
recording
of
in his improvisa
in 1Au m. 8
252
Example
7.
"
'Round Midnight,"
fill in IB, mm. 5-8
tions on "The Touch of Your Lips" (Larson 1998), "Stella by Starlight"

(Larson 1997-98), and "All of You" (Larson 2006).
Such
style.
His
confirmations
improvised
seem
lines
a natural
are
often
part
easily
of
Evans's
viewed
as?and
improvisational
as?
heard
of a descending linear progression that threads its way

embellishments
the
chord
through
changes on which he is improvising. Some of those
lines are what contemporary jazz pedagogy calls "guide tone" lines. But
Evans's playing usually features long stepwise lines at levels closer to
and further from the musical surface, too.4 These lines typically termi
nate in the cadences of the theme on which he is improvising?or
at least,
are
sound
like
to
our
often
with
(Evans
they
they
going
artfully plays
expectations in this regard). Since some of Evans's favorite licks involve
foreground
descents,
as well,
and
since
the rhetoric
of Evans's
solos
often
exploits gradual expansions and contractions in pitch space, it is not

uncommon for Evans to approach a cadence with something that can be
heard to retrace the steps of the preceding section. The result is that two
versions of the same descending linear progression are completed at the
same time?a hidden repetition of the confirmation type.
I think that itmay strike some readers of this journal as
Nevertheless,
253
Example
8. "'Round
Midnight,"variation
first
improvised
?'?(D
(D
[3:51]
Right
Center
Left
onbridge,2B,mm.1-4
unusual or unexpected that such hidden repetitions would be common in

in the improvisations of an artist such as Bill
improvised jazz?even
Evans. Elsewhere (Larson 1998), I have cited and responded to the reluc
tance of scholars to apply Schenkerian analysis to jazz improvisations.
Among these are Greg Smith, who wrote that Schenkerian analysis does
not "take the circumstances of composition
in performance fully into
account" (1983, 91). Instead of Schenkerian analysis, Smith suggests
that
an analysis
realistic
of relation
conditioned
image of the kinds
by a more
course
a player
and
in
of
the
is
of
sustaining
developing
capable
ships
in less ingenious
be couched
would,
explana
presumably,
performance
to reveal
would
Such
seek
tions of the melodic
organization.
analysis
devices
master
of
structure
and
in performance.
of a sort
expression
(1983,
player
could
Smith argues that Bill Evans could not conceive and develop
relationships shown in a Schenkerian analysis in the act of
but rather relied on a set of formulas that fell readily under
My first response to Smith was that if these patterns are
visations, it does not matter what we think Evans could
But
conceive.
I went
on
conceivably
126-27)
to include
a transcription
of Evans's
the kinds of
improvising,
the hand.
in the impro
or could not
demonstra
tion of his assertion that "I always have, in anything that I play, an abso
lutely basic structure inmind. Now, I can work around that differently, or
between the strong structural points differently, but I find the most fun
damental structure, and then Iwork from there." And I noted the striking
similarity between the stages of Evans's description and the levels of a
Schenkerian
analysis.
My argument in that article concerned the applicability of Schenker

ian analysis to improvised jazz, but my point here is somewhat different:
I want to explore why our way of thinking about improvisation versus
composition would lead us to embrace hidden repetitions as a significant
artistic feature of composed music and yet be skeptical of the same fea
tures in jazz improvisations.
To
dramatize
this point,
consider
received
ideas
about
rhythmic
com
plexity in jazz. Notice the rhythmic virtuosity of the sections that follow
the one analyzed in Example 8. Example 9 quotes two passages from
those sections. In the first (2B, mm. 5-6), all parts stay almost entirely on
the offbeats.
In the
second
(2A3, mm.
6-8),
the commentary
line
plays
long string of dotted eighths, creating a polymetric effect with its implied
3/16 against the prevailing 4/4.1 have described elsewhere (Larson 2006)
how such rhythmic displacement is generated in Evans's music and have
offered other, even more impressive examples (Larson 1997-98).
To make such a journey through the "metric space" of this piece with
such
confidence
and
elegance,
Evans
must
have
known
that metric
space
255
r*
7..J
vi.ly
Jt*SW
? ?jj ? ci~?
?
11
jjps
?P t-M^
Lf?Tf
Lfjf
?Jyt?E
?r^Mh
?j
L
Example
9. " 'Round
Midnight,"
rhythmic
in twopassages:(a) 2B,mm.5-6.
complexity
-?-ht
^tii^f
i^rn
jt?
r^
îî
p"i
y^
^=fe
?#?
? ^.
?
g##
EiP^
J^/f
tJ^+ff
^?
T^^
s
?E
Iliis
Example
9. " 'Round
Midnight,"
rhythmic
in twopassages:
(b) 2A2,mm.
6-8.
complexity
[4:41]
intimately, must have internalized its possible basic rhythmic paths

securely, and must have developed many ways of traveling those paths
flexibly and fluently. And I suspect thatmost analysts have no difficulty
believing that he did.
To improvise interesting middlegrounds
that include hidden repeti
must
Evans
tions,
have
worked
in an analogous
fashion.
must
Evans
have
the analogous pitch space intimately, must have internalized its

possible voice-leading
paths securely, and must have developed many
ways of ornamenting (in other words, prolonging) those paths flexibly
and fluently. Those familiar with John Rink's excellent essay on "Schen
ker and Improvisation" (1993) will see that such an analogy is consistent
with Schenker's concept of improvisation. Yet I suspect that there are
analysts for whom this analogy is not obvious.
known
I have
a number
encountered
of musicians
who
regard
jazz
as
rhythmi
cally complex or difficult, yet tonally simple or easy. Compared to some

twentieth-century concert music, this may be a fair description. Yet I find
it interesting to speculate as to why some people might think of jazz as
rich in rhythmic complexity yet lacking in pitch complexity. Perhaps
rhythmic complexity is more obvious on first listening than pitch com
plexity is. Perhaps typical?and misleading?dichotomies
slip into our
thinking unnoticed: jazz versus classical, African versus European, body
versus
mind,
notions
of
rhythm
versus
And
melody.
versus
composition.
improvisation
perhaps
we
are misled
by
our
Evans was able to improvise in these rhythmically and melodically

compelling ways only because he spent years studying and practicing
patterns: the rhythmic and harmonic patterns upon which jazz standards
are based, the rhythmic and melodic patterns of the specific pieces he
played, the patterns of voice leading that he embellished, and the patterns
of ornamentation that he applied to these other patterns. Although Evans
knew many pieces, he focused his greatest attention on a small subset of
these
during
he performed
pieces;
his decades-long
and
recorded
some
pieces
over
and
over
again
career.
Thus, I feel confident in describing Evans's apparently "instantaneous"

improvisations as the result of years of preparation. In fact, I suspect that
any given mature Bill Evans recorded improvisation took him a great deal
more
time
to produce
than most
compositions
twentieth-century
of
com
parable length cost their creators. The real work of producing such impro
visations happens not on stage or in the recording studio, but in the prac
room.
tice
to this argument, then, Evans's intimate familiarity with

According
"'Round Midnight"?with
its motive structure, with its rhythmic and
metric
structure,
and with
its underlying
to ensure that his improvisations

ships with those structures.
voice-leading
on it would
structure?helped
have compelling
relation
258
some
However,
readers
may
that
object
the
distinctive
character
of
"'Round Midnight"
already tends to guarantee both that those "relation
'Round
ships will be strong and that they will be apparent to the analyst.
a
an
a
common
is
slow
ballad
in
unusual
minor
not
is
key (Eb
Midnight"
key for jazz standards) whose distinctive melody has many leaps. All these
to keep their improvised variations
factors seem to lead jazz musicians
closer to the original melody of" 'Round Midnight" than they might with
other
that
themes
lack
these
characteristics.
"Stella by Starlight"
"Stella by Starlight" is quite different.5 It has a straightforward mel
ody that is mostly stepwise. And Evans performs it at a medium tempo
and in a commonly used key (Bbmajor). Most jazz musicians would not
to hear
expect
strong
an
between
relationships
on
improvisation
and its original melody. And, at least on first hearing, Evans's

variations
more
sound
like
on
variations
the
harmonic
"Stella"
improvised
structure
of
the
theme than like a paraphrase of the melody.

Few
accuse
would
Evans
of merely
the changes,"
"running
that
is, of
mechanically
producing melodic lines that, although they fit the chords,
are bereft of global logic (including any relation to the original melody
of the theme). To me, it seems counterintuitive to think (as some writers
seem to have suggested) that Evans's improvised lines could have global
structures depicted in
logic but not contain the kinds of middleground
voice-leading graphs. But Iwill grant that such global logic does not seem
to require reference to the original melody or guarantee the sophisticated
structures
hidden
(e.g.,
admired
repetitions)
in
the
common-practice
works that theorists typically analyze. Yet, in the analyses that follow, we
will see that Evans's improvised variations on "Stella" not only possess
but
middlegrounds,
interesting
also
contain
subtle
references
to the orig
and a number of hidden repetitions.

10 analyzes the leading melodic
line at the beginning of
Example
11 analyzes the analogous
Evans's first improvised chorus.6 Example
material in the next chorus. The discussion that follows refers to both
examples at the same time. In both Examples 10 and 11, level d gives the
right hand of the leading track and the left hand of the comping track.7
inal melody
Levels
a-c
analyze
this music
in stages.
Level c includes every bass note, but rhythmically normalizes them,

and shows some of the compound melodic structures that result in the
bassline.8 All chord roots for what might be called "the basic changes"
are
stemmed;
most
embellishing
notes
are
not.
Level
c also
includes
almost every right-hand note (I assume that the embellishment functions

of the omitted notes are clear). On level c, in the first four measures of
both
choruses,
asterisks
connected
with
a line
show
Bb-C-D,
an element
259
a
6t?T
<-"~"~~^T
- & %-&
&
&-
Example
10. Bill Evans,"StellabyStarlight"
withMyself),first improvisec
(Conversations
JîE?LLiEl-__63)
(34)(g)
(36)
(g)
[1:03]
1._I
I ?l??J^=^=^
?I -^-_
(continued)
10
Example
@
@
Example(continued)
10
-???1
@^_?_
of a subtle but elegant compound melodic structure. And throughout,

use of a limited number of techniques of melodic elaboration gives
the one
an organic
unity. On
that was
surely
whole
in a "solo"
makes
not
sense;
perfect
seem
it may
hand,
remarkable
note
improvised?every
every melodic
only does
gesture
that?
at
shown
the
the
this
level
express
clearly
the chord of the moment, but it also fits into the deeper-level structures
shown on level b. On the other hand, Evans created this recording in the
studio, so he had the opportunity to rerecord any solo that contained such
"mistakes."
In my
conversations
with
musicians
and
nonmusicians
alike,
I have
often heard them suggest that improvisers capitalize on their mistakes?

in fact, that mistakes are an important part of improvisation and that
responding to such mistakes and incorporating them into one's improvi
sation
to the process
of improvisation.
few "mistakes."
very
Despite
is central
contain
also
ings
"mistakes"
visation,
improvisations. Any
an
role
important
Of
to "mistakes"
one may
course,
Evans's
live
theories"
of
record
impro
role in Evans's
simply did not play a meaningful
of
and
theory
composition that grants
improvisation
of musicians
plishments
But
"folk
misunderstands
completely
the
accom
like Bill Evans.

assert
reasonably
that Bill
Evans
was
an
unusually
gifted improviser and that his improvisations differed from others' in this
regard. However, inmy experience, it is not these kinds of mistakes that
Evans
separate
from
other
jazz
are
There
pianists.
plenty
of
competent
improvisers who only rarely make mistakes at this level of musical struc
ture.While Evans was remarkably consistent in avoiding mistakes at this
level, his real gift appears clearly only when we examine the deeper lev
els
of his musical
structures.
Level b shows how the bass notes group in pairs (with pairs of chords
that are typically in a II-V relation) to project two-bar and four-bar
groups. Level b also shows the basic stepwise skeleton that underlies
Evans's improvised lines. Notice that most of levels a and b may be
described as long passages of descending steps (with some ascending
or other
sevenths
common
how
Evans
matic
the
approaches
As
transfers).
register
in Evans's
improvisations.
goal
notes
mentioned
Converging
in contrary
motion,
above,
such
lines
are
lines on level b show

often
with
a chro
lower neighbor or with chromatic passing notes in either or both of
lines
that
converge.9
Level a shows how the II-V pairs of level b relate to the more-basic
functional harmonies of the theme. The harmonic reduction shown in this
way agrees with the general outlines of the theory of harmonic substitu
tion described by Steven Strunk (1979), even though it departs from the
particular reading Strunk gives for this song. Level a also shows how
the right hand combines descending steps, ascending sevenths, and the
resolution
of unstable
notes
to create
the
compound
melody
that moves
263
1____]___J_
r?3?!
|________l_?_______l
_
Example
11. "Stella
5!î^^--?-?_(?)
???? ^?-s
_ (63)^_^
_
(64)
[1:55]
<
d
bysecond improvised
chorus
Starlight,"
f f**rr
[ir^^r"
Example(continued)
11
ff?f?fr
tfO
1r?~~~?'?~\
(77)
(78)
-?--^^
"^
1?^^-?--
?
Example(continued)
11
d
<
largely in parallel
and
on
vertically
sixths are expressed
sixths. These
level
both horizontally
a.
It is at this level that I feel we get the clearest picture of what makes
Evans's
so
playing
that mm.
Notice
compelling.
1-4
of
both
choruses
refer to themelody (see the top system of Example 2, mm. 1-4) by begin
But in both cases, the pickup notes in
ning with the descent Bk-A-G-F.
the preceding two measures elaborate the descending third D-C-Bk
(On
level b, a bracket above the pickup notes to the first improvised chorus
points to the embellishment of this pattern with an upper neighbor El?,
the subject of hidden repetitions on
creating the pattern D-Eb-D-C-Bb,
an
later
and
element
of the deeper structure of the
levels,
many
important
sort
of
the
While
this
of hidden repetition may
theme.
original melody
seem
remarkable,
I believe
it contributes
less
to the
of Evans's
elegance
improvisation than the features I point out below.) When this D-C-Bl? is
the result is a descending sixth. That sixth is fol
joined to Bb-A-G-F,
lowed by a number of "motivic answers," most of which may be described
as an
by
ascending
to create
step
appear
gradually
leap of
another
higher
a seventh
sixth. And
and
higher.
to an unstable
these
note
answers
In the next
that
resolves
are ordered
down
so that
they
the origi
four measures,
nal melody is based on the shape G-F-Bk That shape plays in an impor
tant role in the fifth through eighth measures of both choruses, but it is
also absorbed into the motivic answers mentioned above. The following
four measures begin with El? resolving to D. The first improvised chorus
echoes that resolution, but the second improvised chorus takes an entirely
different path. Yet, again, both continue to echo varied repetitions of the
motivic
answers
mentioned
above.
In the
following
brackets on levels a and b show confirmation-type

a transformation
El?-D-C-B,
of
the D-Et-D-C-Bl?
four
the
measures,
hidden repetitions
figure
noted
(of
paren
above).10
thetically
Levels a and b show interesting references to the original melody and

a number of hidden repetitions. But mere verbal description misses the
best part; the real elegance of Evans's playing seems best grasped when
we hear it as elaborating the slowly climbing and intrinsically beautiful
motivic
answers
Example
12
of balancing
summarizes
steps and
the deeper
shown
in level a.
leaps
common
structure
to both
pas
reveals further hidden repetitions. The lowest two levels of

sages?and
this example reproduce Examples
10a and 11a. Notice that the sixths
shown horizontally in Examples 10a and 11a are verticalized in Example
a deeper-level expression of the same descending sixth
12b?creating
(= 3prg + 4prg) that began Examples 10a and 11a. Example 12b also ends
with a deeper-level expression of the same confirmation bracketed in
10a and 11a.
Examples
"
These examples suggest that, despite the differences between
'Round
267
@."
???
,_^
i^
6Pfg
,r?-?-?-?i
6prg
=3prg
+4prg_
-? - ? _ "~~~~
"~~~
1
I-~???~-"??
Example
12.
Common
structure
choruses
of
improvised
\^~-~~"~^-^
j?LjyS]
4prg
3prg
6prg
+=^_^^
6th
10a<
Ex.
6th
6th
+3prg
6prg
4prg
=
Ex.
lla<
6th
5th
in
and "Stella by Starlight," Evans's improvisations on these

Midnight"
pieces relate to the melody of the original theme in interesting ways,
contain
hidden
on
repetitions
several
levels,
and
owe
some
of
their
ele
gance and global logic tomiddleground motives.

In discussing Evans's recomposition of the standard introduction to
"
'Round Midnight," I also noted interesting transpositional schemes. Are
there such transpositional features to be found in "Stella"? Actually,
despite the noted differences between these pieces, they do share an in
teresting harmonic feature: the harmonic progression of the introduction
to "'Round
Midnight"
is transpositionally
equivalent
to Evans's
rehar
monization of the final section of "Stella by Starlight." This section is

mm. 25-32 of the theme and is also the basis of mm. 57-64, 89-96,
121-28,
153-58,
and
159-64.
The last of these sections is analyzed in Example 13. Just as in Exam

ple 3, the bassline moves down the circle of fifths (see the T5 below
Example 13b). But here, that bassline moves around the circle of fifths
by alternating tritones and descending half-steps (see the T6 and Tj ?below
Example 13c). The result is a pitch-class set that is transposed down a
fifth (see the T5 below the system of Example 13 labeled "Right")?but
now in partial melodic inversion with each transposition. Just as inExam
ple 3, one part (the part labeled "Right" inExample 13, and the part shown
on the top staff inExample 3) follows a different transpositional scheme?
up aminor third and then down a perfect fourth (see the T3 and T7 between
now with
the staves on the system of Example
13 labeled Right)?but
six-note
instead
of four-note
sets.
Just
as
in Example
3, the
sequence
itself
moves down by major second every two bars (see the T10 above the system
of Example 13a)?but now with varied melodic realizations (each T10 on
Examples 13b and 13c illustrates one of these varied transpositions). And,
just as inExample 3, additional transpositional relationships emerge. The
13c)
piano labeled "Left" (analyzed on the middle system of Example
presents varied transpositions of three sets: the diatonically filled in de
scending minor third, the descending arpeggiation of a minor triad, and
a five-note subset of the chromatic scale. The T10 and T0 on Examples 13b
and 13c describe the transpositions of the first two of these sets. The T3
and T5 on Example
13c describe the transpositions of the last of these
sets.
My purpose in pointing out these relationships is not to argue that they

ensure the quality of this music. I think that these musical relationships
contribute to our experience of themusic. And I think that the complexity
of these relationships adds richness to the music. But I believe that the
quality of music lies partly in its balance of simplicity and complexity.
And I believe that while analysis may illuminate quality, it is a poor way
can
to "measure"
quality.
and coherent
(instead of poor or vacuous) when
Analysts
always
describe
simplicity
as elegant
it appears in something
269
Example
13. "Stella by Starlight," mm.
159-64
they like, and still describe complexity as rich and sophisticated (instead
of inelegant or incoherent) when it appears in
something they like.
Instead, my purpose is to examine the implications, for the practice of
and improvisation.
analysis, of the distinction between composition
What Ifind in a comparison of Examples 3 and 13 is that
trying to explain
differences
visation
as a result
in passages
can be
misleading.
In some ways, Example
of
the
real-time
13 is less complicated
constraints
of
than Example
impro
3. One
270
Example
13 (continued)
might argue that the real-time pressures of improvisation did not allow
Evans to develop the kind of simultaneous T3 plus T7 against T7 plus T3
that appears in Example 3.While the T3 plus T7 scheme appears in the
so
accompaniment,
that the improvised

T3
plus
the argument
at the
scheme
same
In other ways, Example

might
argue
that
might
go,
the real-time
too much
it is just
line above that accompaniment
would
to expect
express the T7
time.
13 ismore complicated
pressures
of
than Example
improvisation
meant
3. One
that after
271
similar
do
it was easier for Evans
the licks that began this section,
playing
at a less
shapes
more
something
restricted
of
number
to play
levels
transpositional
to
than
consistent.
Neil Sorrell suggests that, with respect to complexity, the traditional

distinction between improvisation and composition has it backward, at
least from the point of view of the history of Western art music: "The
argument that composition enables improvised material to be worked out
was
fashion
complex
perhaps
a means
of restraining
became
in a more
sition
ostentatious
could
the
real-time
as
tionships
choices
the
of
truth.
Compo
kinds
certain
at
(which,
least
of
pressures
and others
relationships
being
simpler
this may
be true, it seems more
While
plex.
that
argue
in some
result
of
excesses
of
(1992, 778-79).
improvisation"
one
Thus,
reverse
the
the
being
to regard
fruitful
a recorded
for
improvisation
more
com
these
rela
can
performance,
always be rejected in favor of another take) and to ask how these relation
us
affect
ships
as
listeners.
Conclusion
I began this article by observing that the music on Bill Evans's record
the traditional distinction
ing Conversations with MyseZ/problematizes
between
and
composition
and
tions
two
of
analyses
improvisation.
performances
And
we
from
that
have
studied
This study suggests a different definition of improvisation.

stand
as
improvisation
choice
among
possible
and
familiar
patterns
I now understand
And
real-time
yet preheard?and
a
that elaborate
preexisting
paths
their familiar
combinations
storing
media?in
a way
definitions
I now under
practiced?
structure,
using
embellishments."
as
musical
elements
composition
putting
together
or
in memory,
notation,
sound-recording
not require,
that allows,
but does
revision.
are not
can be either,
exclusive.
Music
nei
mutually
ther, or both of these things. Some

Other
compositions.
regarded
aleatoric
and
even
them?whether
and
These
the
transcrip
recording.
improvisations
as recorded
often
music,
improvisations
are not.
Other
improvisations.
cited as an example
of music
and improvised, may be neither. And
are best regarded as
are best
compositions
are not. Some
compositions
Some
that
is both
composed
I suspect that all enduring music
is
or not it is recorded
whether
in notation.
by improvisation,
as both
with Myself
records
Evans
im
Conversations
and
composer
on
Evans
of
the
which
he
many
composed
pieces
proviser.
improvised,
created
including one of the pieces

musical
that
when
elements
allowed
he was
but
and
did
on this album. But,
them on this
storing
not require
revisions,
improvising.
I cannot
imagine
in putting
together
its
in a studio
recording,
setting
even
he was
also composing
a different?and
still mean
272
of "composition" that would capture what Bach and

ingful?definition
Bacharach do, but that would exclude what Evans has done here.
In fact,
Evans's
ward
in some
on
improvisations
between
tional distinction
this
album
suggest
and composition
improvisation
that
the
tradi
has it back
respects.
important
To think that improvisation differs from composition because impro

visation is an instantaneous process is misleading. Most of the work of
the improvisations recorded here took place in the practice room, and I
have argued that any given mature Bill Evans recorded improvisation took
him
a great
positions
to suggest
more
than most
time to produce
twentieth-century
cost
their creators.
For the same
comparable
length
as opposed
to composition,
relies
that improvisation,
com
deal
of
reasons,
on
luck
or skill instead of thought and hard work is similarly misleading.

To suggest that an important part of improvisation lies in how
improviser
responds
to or
is misleading.
mistakes
incorporates
the
so
Seeing
few mistakes in the work of competent improvisers, I now assume the

reverse: mistakes probably play a more important role in the process
than in improvisation; composition allows for the revi
of composition
sion of mistakes, mistakes
simply do not play an important role in
improvisation.
To associate
innovation,
tradition, training, and constraint with composition
talent,
I now
ing. Again,
time pressures
ing, and clear
of
and
assume
freedom
that
improvisation
than
constraints
with
the
improvisation)
reverse
is more
require
do those
more
of
also
seems
(and
mislead
The
appropriate.
on tradition,
reliance
real
train
composition.
to associate simplicity with improvisation and complexity with

Both composition and improvisation must
is misleading.
composition
work to balance simplicity and complexity. In fact, I argue that some of
the sophisticated relationships prized by music analysts appear in the
in the music of Bach and Brahms?because
music of Bill Evans?and
both were (according to the definitions offered here) improvised.
And
273
NOTES
Hits
Greatest
Monk, Monk's
(November
(a) Thelonious
Thelonious
Him
CS 9775 and 32355);
Monk,
(b) Thelonious
reissued on 'Round Midnight
5, 1957, Riverside
12-253),
(Milestone
The timings
and (c) Bud Powell, Bud Powell
(Quintessence
QJ-25381).
1. The
performances
19, 1968, Columbia
self
(April
M-47067);
are
on the
to find the transcribed material
indicate where
[given in square brackets]
"
I have numbered
the mm.
of
'Round Midnight",
recording. On the transcriptions
numbers are circled Arabic numbers
(1-8) within each formal section. The measure
are
that measure.
Measure
numbers
and appear above the bar line that begins
but not in the text. I have also
and musical
circled in the transcriptions
examples,
of each formal section. The formal-section
the beginning
designations
designated
section. The
in square brackets
above the bar lines that begin a formal
appear
formal-section
bar) chorus,
three parts: the first describes

the (thirty-two
the (eight-bar)
section, and the third (subscript)
from the second and third. Thus, for example,
2A3
have
designations
the second describes
distinguishes
is the third A
the first A
section
section
of the second
chorus.
2. Here, and in Example

13, the notation "Tx" means
up x semitones
transposition
x indicates what Joseph Straus calls
octave.
In other words,
the appropriate
"ordered pitch class interval" (2000, 7).
this same point in an insightful discussion
3. Henry Martin makes
use of "pathways"
and "licks" (1996,
115-19).
4. Richard Hermann
(1996), and Thomas
(2004), Henry Martin
noted
5. "An Analysis
issue
1997-98
6. On
(1974)
have
in the playing
of Charlie Parker.
Takes?Stella
Alternate
Symposium:
Larson
in the
appears
by Starlight"
Forte
9; see Folio
1997-98,
of Jazz Studies
Lindeman
and Williams
1997-98, Martin
1997-98,
Review
of Annual
1997-98,
I have numbered
of "Stella by Starlight,"
the transcriptions
not starting anew with each chorus.
beginning,
7. In m. 41,
Owens
Parker's
lines
similar
1997-98,
1997-98.
of Charlie
in
an
both parts on
line, middle
measures
from
the
two systems play exactly

the same notes (the
system, adds one more note at the end of the bar; I have
for beats 3 and 4). I suspect that this hap
parts with divisi notation
con
because Evans had practiced putting certain ideas in certain harmonic
the upper
commentary
shown both
pened
texts within
happen
the reason, the simple fact that it could

this piece. But, whatever
to accept the notion that each new
that we should be reluctant
from scratch.
is created completely
suggests
improvisation
8. On rhythmic normalization,
9. Larson
(1993) has described
see Rothstein
similar melodic
(1990).
structures
in the improvised
lines of
Dave McKenna.
10. If we needed
further demonstration
that structures
like those
shown
in our voice
the structure shown in

compare
leading analyses were real for Evans, we might
line in mm.
109-12.
level a with what Evans plays in the commentary
structure may be very loosely conceived,
but inmost
11. In free jazz, that preexisting
seem
structures
to
have
the
music,
very
preexisting
specific
pitch
improvisational
content.
274
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1997-98.
"The Great Symphonie
Theme': Multiple
Folio, Cynthia.
Scheme." Annual Review of Jazz Studies 9: 3-24 and 103.
on
Takes
'Stella's'
"The Real
1997-98.
'Stella' and the 'Real' 'Stella': A Response
to 'Alter
Forte, Allen.
nate Takes.'" Annual Review of Jazz Studies 9: 93-101.
Richard.
2004. "Charlie Parker's Solo to 'Ornithology':
Facets of Counter
Hermann,
and Pedagogy."
point, Analysis,
1987. "Schenkerian
Larson, Steve.
of Michigan.
-.
1993. "Dave McKenna's
-.
Performance
of
'Have You Met Miss
Jones?'"
Amer
11: 283-315.
ican Music
-.
42/2: 222-63.
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Perspectives
of Modern
Jazz." Ph.D. diss., University
Analysis
1997-98.
of Victor Young's
Performance
"Triple Play: Bill Evans' Three-Piano
'Stella by Starlight.'" Annual Review of Jazz Studies 9: 45-56
and 105-7.
1998. "Schenkerian
of Modern
Jazz: Questions
about Method."
Analysis
Music
-.
20: 209-41.
Theory Spectrum
2006. "Rhythmic
Displacement
in Tonal Music:
A Festschrift
Meaning
in the Music
of Bill
L. Poundie
103-22. Hillsdale,
Burstein,
Steve.
"Miles's
'Stella': A Comparison
1997-98.
Lindeman,
Annual Review of Jazz Studies 9: 57-76.
Quintets."
1996.
Martin,
Henry.
Press.
Scarecrow
-.
Charlie
Parker
Evans."
Structure
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for Carl Schachter,
NY: Pendragon
Press.
and
Thematic
in the Light
Improvisation.
and
and
Gagn?
of the Two
MD:
Lanham,
"The Nature
1997-98.
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Miles Davis
and 'Stella by Star
and 109-10.
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Los Angeles.
light.'" Annual
Thomas.
Owens,
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Rothstein, William.
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Schirmer
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Normalization."
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87-113.
New York:
Cadwallader,
Books.
and Bill Evans? The Theory of For
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in the Context of Jazz Piano Improvisation."
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Smith, Gregory Eugene.

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vard University.
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Richard Orton,
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Strunk,
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Steven.
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of
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Williams,
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Hall.
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1997-98.
"Oscar
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Annual
and
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of Paraphrase:
The
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1965
and
275

Composition Versus Improvisation

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Composition Versus Improvisation

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Yale University Department of Music

Composition versus Improvisation?

In 1963, Bill Evans recorded the album Conversations with Myself

? 2008 by Yale University

I suspect thatmany musicians

may also hold this traditional view (and it

and "Stella by Starlight."

chord arpeggio inmm. 3 and 5. The bass descends by half-step on two

1. Bill Evans, "'Round Midnight"

common jazz sequence of descending pairs of IIm7b5-V7 chords that lead

the T3 and T7 above the top line of the Analysis

reproduced it note for note. So itmay be tempting to assume that these

Other elements may be regarded as "composed." The AABA theme

Example 2. Three performances of the standard introduction

Example 2. Three performances of the standard introduction

2. Three performances of the standard introduction

Yet parts of it probably were improvised. Evans surely planned the

vised; differences between the first two A sections in Example 4 suggest

rhythms have been varied.

times and with different timings. Example

5 shows these relationships by

In fact, the coordination of the different tracks at the cadence inm. 8

occur not only in

1Aj and first half of 1A2

For the same reasons, it is not surprising to find similarly sophisticated

mm. 5-8 of 1A2

ent transposition. Now look at the (presumably improvised) "solo" line

fill in IB, mm. 5-8

tions on "The Touch of Your Lips" (Larson 1998), "Stella by Starlight"

of a descending linear progression that threads its way

exploits gradual expansions and contractions in pitch space, it is not

unusual or unexpected that such hidden repetitions would be common in

My argument in that article concerned the applicability of Schenker

intimately, must have internalized its possible basic rhythmic paths

the analogous pitch space intimately, must have internalized its

cally complex or difficult, yet tonally simple or easy. Compared to some

Evans was able to improvise in these rhythmically and melodically

Thus, I feel confident in describing Evans's apparently "instantaneous"

to this argument, then, Evans's intimate familiarity with

to ensure that his improvisations

and its original melody. And, at least on first hearing, Evans's

theme than like a paraphrase of the melody.

and a number of hidden repetitions.

Level c includes every bass note, but rhythmically normalizes them,

almost every right-hand note (I assume that the embellishment functions

of a subtle but elegant compound melodic structure. And throughout,

often heard them suggest that improvisers capitalize on their mistakes?

like Bill Evans.

lines on level b show

lower neighbor or with chromatic passing notes in either or both of

sixths are expressed

brackets on levels a and b show confirmation-type

Levels a and b show interesting references to the original melody and

reveals further hidden repetitions. The lowest two levels of

and "Stella by Starlight," Evans's improvisations on these

gance and global logic tomiddleground motives.

monization of the final section of "Stella by Starlight." This section is

The last of these sections is analyzed in Example 13. Just as in Exam

My purpose in pointing out these relationships is not to argue that they

(instead of poor or vacuous) when

13. "Stella by Starlight," mm.

In some ways, Example

that the improvised

In other ways, Example