Improvisation: An Integral Step in Piano Pedagogy

The purpose of this thesis is to illuminate the role of improvisation as an integral aspect of the pedagogical process that leads to a greater understanding and interpretation of cultivated music. In it, I contextualize and define improvisation to distinguish it from the process of composition, and address the issues that arise from this discussion. There also will be a brief exploration of the education philosophy of Robert Pace concerning creativity and exploratory exercises, and how his ideas (and those of other pedagogues) have been incorporated into current piano method books. Finally, through an analysis for improvisatory elements in Mozart\u27s Piano Sonata K. 457 Adagio, Chopin\u27s Berceuse, and Bolcom\u27s Scene de\u27opera, I will provide simple improvisation exercises as they are applied to the interpretation of advanced repertoire