A preliminary definition of improvisation encompasses such a broad range of human actions that it is helpful to consider both improvisation and rhythm in terms of embodied cognition and a notion of bodily empathy. This suggests a possible (though unstable and inconclusive) connection to action understanding, empathy, and mirror neurons, while acknowledging the latter’s disputed status. The concept of action understanding offers a reconsideration of improvisation and music cognition with or without bodies (i.e. live or recorded). The relationship of improvisation, rhythm and embodiment to contemporary theories of expectation, speech, and the evolution of music are considered. Action understanding is posited as the foundation of both music cognition and the perception of improvisation, marking both processes as inherently intersubjective, even whether the other’s body is absent or fantasized (as is the case with recorded music).
About the Author
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Vijay Iyer
VIJAY IYER is a Grammy-nominated composer, pianist, bandleader, and writer based in New York. His recent recordings include Holding it Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project (2013), a collaboration with poet Mike Ladd and post-9/11 veterans of color; and the trio album Accelerando (2012), voted jazz album of 2012 in three international critics’ polls. His honors include the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, two Echo Awards (aka “German Grammys”) and the Alpert Award in the Arts. He earned a PhD in music cognition from University of California, Berkeley, and has published in Music Perception, Journal of Consciousness Studies, and Critical Studies in Improvisation. Iyer was recently named the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard. Photo by Jimmy Katz.