Back to improvisation
For a long time, improvisation was my most precious ally and a secret weapon. Something I could always rely on, giving me an edge in many musical situations. However, after I turned more toward compositional work, my tendency to improvisation was not particularly helpful, at least not at first. It took me quite a while to distance myself from this and begin creating concrete pieces of music. The ones that are based upon recognizable melody and compact arrangement structure. In a way, this was a kind of revolt toward my former comfort zone, but also a strive for precision and neatness. Basically, I've said to myself: "You can't play on the jazz card forever".
Despite the common misconception, improvisation isn't a completely random thing - organized chaos derived from a lucky coincidence. In order to be a successful improvisator, one has to know and be fluent in as many concepts of music theory as possible. This fact is a bit ironic considering that true kings of improvisation are usually those who don't have any formal education whatsoever; the people whose musicality streams directly from their natural-born talent.
Looking at things from this perspective, I must agree with the thought that improvisation is inseparably bound with talent. I remember my own jazz beginnings in the mid-90s when I was still just a kid. After I've mastered the instrument to a certain degree through learning some well-known melodies, I've spontaneously begun to improvise on what I've learned. I must admit that I didn't know much about music theory back then, at least not on paper. I didn't have formal musical education or mentorship of any kind. I've learned by myself, using the method of "hit and miss".
This was not easy in times before the Internet. True, there was literature, but the one available to me at the time was mostly oriented toward those with classical education and also not geared to more modern styles. These days, you just open YouTube and you can learn whatever you're interested in (if you know what you are looking for and why). Music theory, technique, how to play a certain song... all this is just a click away. There are educational videos explaining complicated subjects so that even a three years old child could understand them. Sometimes I wonder how much easier would I've learned something back then and how faster would I progress had I had a resource like this. Still, I would never exchange my humble beginnings for the ones of modern times.
Improvisation has certain rules and it can be learned to a degree, similar to music theory. Many often rely on so-called "licks" - short musical phrases developed by other musicians. By learning and mastering those, one learns improvisation through imitation and creates personal music vocabulary in the process. I never went that way myself, though. Instead, I was trying to adopt certain theory concepts and apply them during improvisation. I often knew things in praxis even before knowing what they were in theory.
After finishing around 150 compositions in the past years that have "a head and a tail", I'm turning toward improvisation again, but primarily in search of new musical ideas. Improvisation might be art for its own sake and a form of creativity, but the singable melodies and themes are what remains forever. ;)