Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative ac

tivity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines perfor
mance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spont
aneous response to other musicians.[1] Sometimes musical ideas in improvisation
are spontaneous, but may be based on chord changes in classical music,[1] and ma
ny other kinds of music. One definition is a "performance given extempore withou
t planning or preparation."[2] Another definition is to "play or sing (music) ex
temporaneously, by inventing variations on a melody or creating new melodies, rh
ythms and harmonies."[3] Encyclopdia Britannica defines it as "the extemporaneous
composition or free performance of a musical passage, usually in a manner confor
ming to certain stylistic norms but unfettered by the prescriptive features of a
specific musical text. Improvisation is often done within (or based on) a pre-e
xisting harmonic framework or chord progression. Improvisation is a major part o
f some types of 20th music, such as blues, jazz, and jazz fusion, in which instr
umental performers improvise solos, melody lines and accompaniment parts.
Throughout the eras of the Western art music tradition, including the Medieval,
Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, improvisation was a value
d skill. J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and many other fam
ous composers and musicians were known especially for their improvisational skil
ls. Improvisation might have played an important role in the monophonic period.
The earliest treatises on polyphony, such as the Musica enchiriadis (ninth centu
ry), indicate that added parts were improvised for centuries before the first no
tated examples. However, it was only in the fifteenth century that theorists beg
an making a hard distinction between improvised and written music.[4]
Some classical music forms contained sections for improvisation, such as the cad
enza in solo concertos, or the preludes to some keyboard suites by Bach and Hand
el, which consist of elaborations of a progression of chords, which performers a
re to use as the basis for their improvisation. Handel, Scarlatti, and Bach all
belonged to a tradition of solo keyboard improvisation, in which they improvised
on the harpsichord or pipe organ. In the Baroque era, performers improvised orn
aments and basso continuo keyboard players improvised chord voicings based on fi
gured bass notation. However, in the 20th and early 21st century, as "common pra
ctice" Western art music performance became institutionalized in symphony orches
tras, opera houses and ballets, improvisation has played a smaller role. At the
same time, some contemporary composers from the 20th and 21st century have incre
asingly included improvisation in their creative work.
In Indian classical music, improvisation is a core component and an essential cr
iterion of performances. In Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi classical music,
raga is the "tonal framework for composition and improvisation."[5] The Encyclopdi
a Britannica defines a raga as "a melodic framework for improvisation and compos
ition.[6]