Improvisation has always been part of the piano’s history, yet many players still think of it as something mysterious or unreachable — a skill reserved for jazz musicians or prodigies who were “born with it.” In truth, improvisation simply means responding to sound in the moment. It’s the same instinct that lets us speak a sentence we’ve never spoken before, and to give voice to the thoughts in our head and the feelings in our heart. 

For me, improvisation and composition began when I was an adolescent, as small experiments between practise of pieces — a way of creating the sounds that I wanted to hear, and of saying the things that I wanted to say. Over time it became a language of its own, with many different vocabularies. I discovered that the more I improvised, the more I understood music from the inside out. Chord progressions stopped being rules to follow and became colours to explore. Modes such as Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Lydian opened completely new landscapes of sound — sometimes dark and turbulent, sometimes melancholy and introspective, sometimes luminous and expansive.

What I’ve learned from improvisation is that it isn’t separate from classical playing; it deepens it. The freedom, listening and communication that improvisation encourages feed directly into interpretation, phrasing, and tone. When you can make up music on the spot, you start to sense what the composers you study were doing as they wrote — how harmony moves, how one texture transforms into another, how rhythm and melody echo patterns of speech. This greater depth of understanding and internalisation of harmonic patterns and relationships directly improves fluency. Also, understanding the composers’ intentions opens up a greater understanding of how to interpret the music. 

The spontaneity required in improvisation also teaches resilience. There are no mistakes, only moments of choice. That same mindset helps in performance: if a note slips, you can recover musically instead of freezing. Say what you were going to say in a different way. Not only this, but the spontaneity develops the ability to be in the moment, and get into a flow state – yet another thing that develops fluency in playing.

For many adult learners, improvisation is a way to reconnect with why they wanted to play in the first place — to express, to experiment, to feel. For children, improvisation is a way to explore new and exciting sounds and unleash their creativity, without the restrictions of rules.

On my website you’ll find recordings of my own improvisations — music that grew out of these early ideas and became part of my teaching and creative life. They range from blues and jazz ballads to modal harmony and impressionistic colour. Each piece began as a single moment at the piano, but together they trace a journey of sound, reflection, communication and freedom. Each piece expresses something I can’t put into words, and captures a moment in time. 

If you’re curious about how to start, you can also read my guides:

• How to Improvise: The Basics
• Improvisation: The Benefits
• Improvisation for Classical Pianists and Learners- Relaxing and Meditative Piano Music Created in the Moment

Improvisation doesn’t replace traditional study — it complements it. It helps every pianist, from beginner to advanced, find a personal voice within the instrument. Once you start listening to what happens between the notes, like the gap between the thoughts, you might find, as I did, that improvisation becomes not just a skill but a way of being at the piano.

You can listen to one of my recent improvisations here:

You might also like:

Mirror Tetraptych — Improvisation in C Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian ♭6, and A♭ major

My writing and improvisations reflect the same thoughtful approach I bring to my video exchange lessons, where I offer detailed written and video feedback to students worldwide.