5/16/25 How to Improvise with More Confidence: Overcoming Hesitation and Self-Doubt
The issue of confidence and performance anxiety is a big one in the classical world. The greatest defense against performance anxiety is simply preparation and the confidence that preparation brings.
We can drill classical passages over and over, moving incrementally from a slow metronome setting to a faster one, virtually guaranteeing that the muscle memory will be so strong that you almost can’t play it wrong.
But when it comes to improv, we are intentionally taking away that kind of preparation. So how do we prepare for improvisation?
When it comes to improvisation, we are substituting a different kind of preparation—more like we’re provisioning for a camping trip.
What is the basic song structure? What are the main chord patterns and how can I negotiate them? Do I know where all the 2-5-1 patterns are? Quick check of the bag of tricks: do I have every possible solution to every possible approach to this chord progression—inner melodies, which scales/arpeggios, melodic ideas? Is there a “surprise” chord that stands out of a familiar sequence? How best to negotiate those non-intuitive twists in the chord progression? How can I respond to the rhythm section— take their ideas and run with them?
I think of all this as “doing my homework”. It’s more like researching someone before interviewing them. You get as familiar with them as possible, then can feel free to let the conversation go wherever it may.
When you’ve done your homework, you have a different kind of confidence. It’s not the confidence that you will play every note
exactly perfectly. It’s the confidence that you don’t fear mistakes at all; that you can improvise freely, without hesitation or fear, knowing that you have so many options available to you
in your bag of tricks.
Rather than the type of confidence that you have memorized and drilled your part, it’s the confidence that you understand the musical whole and how to participate in it. And the trust that you will land on your feet.
It’s different homework for a different test. You just have to know how to study for it.
Good luck!