Editing Improvisation (section)

====Music====
{{main|Musical improvisation}}
[[Musical improvisation]] is usually defined as the spontaneous performance of music without previous preparation or any written notes.<ref>[https://musicterms.artopium.com/i/Improvisation.html Improvisation] musicterms.artopium.com {{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In other words, the art of improvisation can be understood as composing music "on the fly". There have been experiments by Charles Limb, using [[functional magnetic resonance imaging]], that show the brain activity during musical improvisation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/past_issues/fall08/the_science_of_improv.html |title=The Science of Improv |access-date=1 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625073946/http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/past_issues/fall08/the_science_of_improv.html |archive-date=25 June 2016 }}</ref> Limb showed increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is an area associated with an increase in self-expression. Further, there was decreased activity in the [[lateral prefrontal cortex]], which is an area associated with self-monitoring. This change in activity is thought to reduce the inhibitions that normally prevent individuals from taking risks and improvising.

Notable improvisational musicians from the modern era include [[Keith Jarrett]], an improvisational jazz pianist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed many improvised concerts all over the world;<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-10-17|title=New Jarrett Box Chronicles Solo Concerts from 1996 Italian Tour|url=https://downbeat.com/news/detail/new-jarrett-box-chronicles-solo-concerts-from-1996-italian-tour|access-date=2020-11-08|website=downbeat.com|language=en}}</ref> [[W. A. Mathieu]] a.k.a. William Allaudin Mathieu, the musical director for [[The Second City]] in Chicago, the first ongoing improvisational theatre troupe in the United States, and later musical director for another improv theatre, [[The Committee (improv group)|The Committee]], an offshoot of The Second City in San Francisco; [[Derek Bailey (guitarist)|Derek Bailey]], an improvisational guitarist and writer of Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Derek |title=Improvisation: its nature and practice in music |date=1993 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-80528-8 |location=New York}}</ref> [[Evan Parker]]; British saxophone player, the iconnical pianists [[Fred Van Hove|Fred van Hove]] (Be) and [[Misha Mengelberg]] (NL) and more recently the Belgian [[Seppe Gebruers]] who improvise with two pianos tuned a quartertone apart.<ref>{{Citation |title=Seppe Gebruers |date=2023-10-06 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seppe_Gebruers&oldid=1178816683 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=2023-10-11 |language=en}}</ref>

Improvised [[freestyle rap]] is commonly practiced as a part of [[rappers]]' creative processes, as a "finished product" for release on recordings (when the improvisation is judged good enough), as a spiritual event, as a means of verbal combat in [[battle rap]], and, simply, for fun. As mentioned above, studies have suggested that improvisation allows a musician to relax the control filters in their mind during this exercise.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Peak|date=2016-04-27|title=The Neuroscience of Improvisation: Where Genius Rap Lyrics Come From|url=https://medium.com/peak-wellbeing/the-neuroscience-of-improvisation-where-genius-rap-lyrics-come-from-f7717f3230a5|access-date=2020-11-08|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref> It often incorporates insults similar to those in the African-American game [[The Dozens]], and complex rhythmic and sometimes melodic forms comparable to those heard in jazz improvisation.