Improvisation - looking and listening activity page
Henri Matisse

Find out what improvisation means in music. Go to Rhythmic Connections - Jazz. Look at the print by Henri Matisse. How is Matisse expressing this in the Jazz print that you can see?

Look at some more of the Jazz series. Find out why Matisse decided to use paper cutouts for his art. In what way are they improvisations?

Listen to the piece of jazz music. Compare the spontaneous nature of the music with the shapes in the print. Are there similarities?

Matisse was originally going to call his series of paper cut-outs The Circus. Why do you think he decided to change the title to Jazz?

Look at the piece of writing that accompanies one of the prints. In what way does the writing complement the artwork? Could the term improvisation also be applied to the text?

Make up an improvised composition of your own, using cut paper shapes. Collect some pieces of paper and paint each one a different color. Then cut out shapes and arrange them to form a harmonious composition. How are you using improvisation when you do this?