At a time of unprecedented interest in improvisation across the arts, The Art of Becoming boldly asserts that everyone can and should improvise. Drawing on emerging psychological literature as well as their own research with musicians, authors Raymond MacDonald and Graeme Wilson - both musicpsychologists and renowned performers in their own right - propose new ideas on what defines improvisation in music. MacDonald and Wilson explore the cognitive processes involved, the role of specialist skills or knowledge in improvised interaction, and the nature of understanding betweenimprovisers. Their investigation lays out how we develop as improvisers, alongside health benefits derived from music participation. The Art of Becoming is a vital resource for courses on improvisation in contemporary practice, and for those applying musical improvisation in community and therapeutic contexts, setting out a framework based on psychological findings for understanding improvisation as a universal capability and anessentially social behavior. With suggestions for approaching this practice in new ways at any level, it demonstrates how improvisation transcends musical genres and facilitates collaboration between practitioners from disciplines across the artistic spectrum. Putting forward important implicationsfor contemporary artistic practices, pedagogy, music therapy and the psychology of social behavior, The Art of Becoming provides fresh and provocative insights for anyone interested in playing, studying, teaching, or listening to improvised music. | The Art Of Becoming by Raymond A. R. MacDonald, Paperback | Indigo Chapters