TED Blog 2

Jennifer Lin improvs piano magic

The dictionary defines the word "improvisation" as:

• the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings
• the creative activity of immediate musical composition

Jennifer Lin is a 14-year old girl who has an amazing musical ability. She played a total of four. The first was an opening song that was very fast paced and showed off her articulation and talent very well. After she gives a brief explanation, she goes on to play another song, which starts very slow and calm, and then escalates into something much bigger and louder. She really emphasized the low notes and the high melodies. Then after those two songs she gives a brief talk to the audience, about how she composes music. She compares it to making a cartoon also. It is quite fascinating to learn that first she picks the style of song she wants to create (romantic, popular, baroque…). Then she listens to many different composers that made pieces of that genre. That would be similar to picking what type of drawing, and then looking at others'. Next she plans out the entire piece with help from her teachers and instructors. Then the hard part begins-filling it with "musical ideas." Once she has accomplished that, she moves on to polish the piece with final details. Just like in a cartoon, where it is planned out, and then pen and colored pencil are added, and then it is polished to look its best. For both of these activities, both of which she loves, the character, or the original idea is the first sketch. Both of these, to her, require much concentration and focus, which do not always come naturally. Following that short address, she played yet another song. This time, though, she asked a volunteer to pick 5 of 7 cards, each with a letter of the musical alphabet on them. She used those 5 notes to create a melody and then created her own piece around that melody, on the spot. That is real improvisation. At the end, she played an encore piece which was very lively and fast. It reminded me of a bumble bee.

Jennifer Lin used many different ideas to make this presentation very meaningful. First of all, it was not a traditional TED talk. She played the piano for probably at least half of the time. She did talk somewhat, but she was more confident at expressing her feelings or thoughts through her music. Jennifer was also always smiling. That helps the audience feel comfortable and relaxed. She was a very cute girl who always seemed happy. Another technique I noticed about her is just her idea of getting the audience involved, by laughing, or picking the cards and such. She was not the most comfortable speaker, but it was all ok, because she was really able to express a lot through the music.

I really liked watching this TED talk, because it gave me a new appreciation for people who are that good at instruments that they can come up with a song right on the spot. I love music, and I do play the piano, but I could never do that. It really inspires me also to be the best musician that I can be because it is amazing and it is fun. I think it partly related back to the personality type quiz. Introverts love to have quiet, and express their feelings alone, and extroverts just love to get attention. I think that improvisation is important in more than the sense that she used it in, like for music. I really think that improvisation is a skill that most people need to learn. There will always be last minute notices; there will always be instances where change is needed. Singing and acting are two of many ways that one can improvise. It is important in our daily lives because we need to be flexible to change arrangements, and adjust to what works and what is a better choice. It is important to know how to improv to be ready for any given situation, and it releases stress. In education, improv can also be used. It would probably benefit many if world-wide we were more able to improv.