Improvisation as Liberatory Praxis

Abstract Paulo Freire believed that the purpose of education was to liberate human potential. He defined praxis as reflection and action directed at the structures to be transformed. In this chapter, the author explores how improvisation as liberatory praxis provides a window into the musical imagination, the canvas to expand the musical intellect, and a venue to nurture creativity. Further, the chapter posits that improvisation as liberatory praxis positively contributes to the discourse of popular music pedagogy. It fosters the acquisition of critical consciousness and conscientization and advances the ability to read and write the world. These are critical goals in Freire’s pedagogy that liberate human potential. Yet, improvisation is often delimited to those studying and playing jazz or in school music classes where children experience it as part of a classroom music lesson. A formal commitment to popular music pedagogy is often absent entirely. Applying critical theory as the theoretical framework and critical pedagogy to operationalize that framework, the chapter problematizes the hegemonic structures that bind human potential and argues that improvisation breaks down those structures, thereby deserving a central place in popular music pedagogy and musical practice for all.